New list of approved foreign institutes out

The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has recognised a new list of institutions for Omani students who want to pursue studies abroad.

The list, released on Sunday, includes the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Vienna and institutions under it: UAS of Bfi Vienna, UAS of Technikum Wien, UAS of Vorarlberg, UAS of Carinthia, UAS of Wiener Neustadt, UAS of St Pölten, IMC UAS Krems, UAS of Salzburg, UAS of Kufstein Tyrol, UAS of Joanneum Graz, UAS of Burgenland, UAS for Management and Communication, Vienna, UAS for Health Tyrol, and UAS for Health Professions Upper Austria.

Hult International Business School in the US and the UK has also been recommended, along with Belgorod State Technological University in Russia and Sciences Po in France.

The ministry has decided not to recognise the curricula adopted by following institutions for low academic quality, including Institute of Management Technology, Dubai.

The Master of Arts in Islamic Studies issued by Allam Iqbal Open UniversityIslamabad, Pakistan in 2011, has been derecognised because the study was conducted through distance learning system of a higher education institution not included in the list of institutions recommended by the ministry.

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Computing, issued by Camden University in USA in 2011 and Diploma in Multimedia Programming issued by Bharat Sevak Samaj in India in 2012 have been rejected since the certificate does not meet the standards of academic certificates.

Master’s degree in Information Technology and Business Management from University of Wales in the UK in partnership with Robert Kennedy College in Switzerland in 2015 is “not equivalent” for following reasons: the study was conducted through the distance learning system in an institution not recommended by the ministry.

Robert Kennedy College is a nonrecognised institution of the Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of the Swiss Universities and the Swiss Universities Recognition Authority (Rector).

The other course not recognised is the Diploma in Legal Studies issued by the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Egypt in 2012.