Q) I am moving to Dubai and my daughter is planning to attend her first year of university there. She is interested in business. I don't have a lot of information about the school system, so would appreciate any advice. - SH Los Angeles A) Your daughter has chosen an exciting time to come to the UAE to attend university. The tertiary sector here is expanding rapidly and students have an array of options.
There are home-grown institutions, many of which are open to expatriates, and increasing numbers of branch campuses of foreign universities. And when it comes to business, she will have plenty of choice as, alongside IT, this is probably the most popular and widely offered subject. An important factor to consider when selecting an institution is international accreditation, as this may give the degree added credibility when it comes to applying for jobs. Some universities in the country are internationally accredited - the American University of Sharjah, for example, is recognised by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education - but plenty are not. However, if it is a branch campus, then the parent institution may have accreditation.
If your daughter is thinking of staying in the UAE for work, she may like to consider whether the university is accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research's Commission for Academic Accreditation. Anyone applying for a government position may find it difficult to get their degree attested if it is not from a CAA-accredited university. Institutions outside freezones are obliged to apply for a ministry licence and CAA accreditation, but those in freezones are not.
Dubai's education freezones are Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City, and many universities in these areas do not have CAA accreditation for their programmes, although some have chosen to secure this. However, all campuses in freezones have to show the University Quality Assurance International Board they are maintaining the standards of the parent university. When it comes to reputation, for the branch campuses check the international ranking of the home institution. These differ widely between universities that have branches in the UAE. For UK universities, search online for the Good University Guide from The Times newspaper, while a good set of American university rankings is published by US News and World Report.
Fees show variation between institutions and as a very general rule some of the well-known foreign universities that have more recently opened campuses in the UAE tend to charge more, but this does not hold in every case. Also, while many bachelor's degrees in the UAE take four years to earn, many are just three years, so your daughter can save herself a year, and your family a lot of money, by selecting a shorter course.
It is difficult to make individual recommendations, but among the universities worth considering are the American University in Dubai, founded in 1995 and accredited by the Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as the CAA. There are countless others worth looking at, among them Middlesex University Dubai and Manipal University Dubai in DIAC. I wish your daughter good luck. dbardsley@thenational.ae
