Academic Affairs

Nugaal University will provide undergraduate teaching programs with strong foundations of knowledge and skills to prepare new teachers and health care professionals, technology and business graduates. An in-depth evaluation of the Nugaal education (Evaluation of Nugaal Education Rehabilitation Project by the UNESCO-PEER, July 1998) noted that the quality of the education was poor in the region and the nation because of the lack of qualified teachers. Many of the older generation of teachers are constantly leaving the profession as well as the education system as a whole for better paying jobs and there has not been a supply of new teachers for more than a decade and half since the collapse of the former Somali government in 1991. There are only two teacher training colleges in the country; one recently opened in Hargeisa (Northwest -Somalia) and other former Somali National University in Mogadishu. Because of the security situation many of the teachers prefer to stay in the main cities or the locale of their immediate families. Therefore, the first priority of the Nugaal University is to establish a College of Education to satisfy the demand for both primary and secondary school teachers and to improve the quality of the present teachers. The College of Education will adopt a special mission to educating primary and secondary school teachers with an emphasis on undergraduate baccalaureate degree programs.

In addition, the University will establish priorities for School of Nursing and Health Education to meet the current and future demand of health care professionals in the Sool, Sanaag, Hawd, and Nugaal regions and beyond. The shortage of health care professionals in the region is well above the national average. The University will provide health education that is innovative and that will be continually improved through ongoing evaluation of its programs. The University will provide educational opportunities for new and existing health care professionals in support of their ongoing professional growth and development. The University is also committed to fostering learning opportunities to students aspiring to careers in technology and business professions that serve the needs of society. The University's Core Committee will prepare a separate Academic Master Plan that contains priorities for new programs based on the community's need.

Academic Programs

Develop academic programs that are consistent with the mission of the university to meet the particular needs of the people and institutions in the region

Strategic Actions

Establish priorities for College of Education to meet current and future demand for elementary and secondary school teachers
Primary education (Associate degree 2 years) targeted to provide immediately, trained teachers for elementary and intermediate schools.
Secondary education (Bachelor 4 years) targets to incubate secondary and higher level teachers.
Focus training on teaching methods, social behaviors, and child psychology.
Provide new teachers the option to go back to college to complete 2 more years to earn bachelor degree.

Establish priorities for School of Nursing and Health Education to meet the current and future demand of health care professionals.
Primary health care (Associate degree 2 years) targeted to provided immediately trained health care assistants to community clinics and hospitals.
Training will focus on primary care and disease prevention.
Students will work actively with hospitals, rural clinics after the first year.
Schools will provide appropriate health enhancement seminars.
Nursing (Bachelor 4 years) to produce well-trained nurse professionals.
Collaboration with Sister Universities on resources may be needed.

Establish priorities for School of technology education: information technology (IT), accounting, and business programs.
IT will provide all computer & network functions to support university administration and classroom instruction
IT will provide basic vocational training and certification. For example word processing for clerks or administration assistants.

Use consultants to provide expert advice and consul on teacher education and health care profession supporting programs and degree majors.

Identify appropriate technology integration in classroom instruction and in distance learning opportunities to serve both the students and the faculty.

Establish departmental organization structure as needed to ensure that each of the academic programs will be incorporated and administered appropriately.

Establish new programs based on the needs of the community, projected employment demand, availability of funds, and availability of existing academic, physical, and service support capabilities

Establish new academic programs in such a manner that they complement existing programs and do not detract or diminish resources from existing programs.

Establish university admission policies that meet high standards of education
Provide library and computing support system for the academic programs

Core Curriculum

Establish University's core curriculum with emphasis on programs that are fundamental to Education and Information Technology.

Strategic Actions

Develop the core curriculum through appropriate evaluation and planning.

Provide offerings of joint classes across disciplines to prevent duplication.

Diversify curricular offerings by providing students with skill that can be tailored to specific career paths.

Foster post-secondary teacher education program to prepare teachers in new fields in order to satisfy special needs in the public schools.

Establish quality control system to ensure that the courses in the curriculum meet high standards of academic qualification and integrity.

Focus resources to support the University's core degree programs.

Provide a balanced, high-quality general education experience for all degree programs.

Recognize, plan and initiate programs for technology utilization in the classroom instruction.

Establish Teaching Resource Center (TRC) within the College of Education to provide current primary and secondary teachers with workshops and resources that enable them to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Establish Center of Excellence in Management & Technology (CEMAT) within the departments of Accounting & IT to provide current & future public & private employees with training, seminars, workshops and resources that enable them to gain new skills and improve the quality of their skills.

Ensure that library, computing resources, and services are sufficient to support the academic mission.

Student Recruitment

Develop plans to recruit a better-prepared, diverse student body.

Strategic Actions

Develop enrollment strategies that attract an increasingly talented pool of students

Recruit diverse group of students from across the Sool, Sanaag, Hawd, and Nugaal regions, and beyond. The student population should not be bounded by demographic characteristic, but by preparation, achievement, and motivation.

Embrace and advance an all-inclusive policy to attract diverse student body.

Establish programs that introduce secondary school students and their teachers to the university environment through summer workshops and publications

Inform secondary school students about university expectations.

Establish secondary school students tracking advising, and orientation programs.

Establish higher admission standards for the University enrollment.

Enhance our ability to attract and retain students by providing uplifting student residence, impressive landscaping, and campus-wide recreation and service facilities.

Provide student financial aid and scholarships to attract and retain talented students.

Faculty Recruitment

Develop mechanism to recruit well-prepared diverse faculty.

Strategic Actions

Recognize the value of good teaching as the basis of faculty recruitment.

Recruit well qualified and prepared faculty

Organize searches including examination of recruit's teaching success and academic skills

Provide competitive benefit packages, such as salaries and housing

Assure potential recruit's commitment to the University's policies.

Develop system that supports professional development for new faculty

University Relations to Sister Universities

Enhance the University relationship with sister universities (Amoud University, Hargeisa University, Mogadishu University and East Africa University) to provide greater opportunities for students and faculty.

Strategic Actions

Develop partnerships with sister universities on academic programs

Explore joint program degree offering with Universities

Community Outreach

To develop university/community enterprise partnerships that will expand opportunities for community and foster economic growth of the region.

Strategic Actions

Promote community-based partnerships and business outreach programs.

Establish priorities for Community Health Centers (CHC)

Establish priorities for Business Assistance Centers (BAC) to provide comprehensive assistance to small business.

Establish feasibility and priorities for enterprise partnerships to include Somali Diaspora investment to support the community

Establish community-based, lifetime-learning programs

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