By Jack Armstrong News Editor
The registrar’s office at Western has seen a rise in the number of international students from Saudi Arabia requesting enrollment in online and hybrid classes.
For some, this is no problem, but for Saudi students who receive grants or scholarships from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM), enrollment in online classes is strictly forbidden if there is a classroom option available.
According to their website, the Saudi Cultural Mission was created by the Saudi Arabian government in 1951. Along with several other programs created at the same time, the SACM is designed to create and administer programs and policies to aid Saudi students studying abroad in the United States.
One of the programs strictest polices concerns students enrolling in online or hybrid courses.
“Online degree programs are strictly forbidden,” states the SACM policy handbook. This means that Saudi students are required to attend traditional brick and motor colleges.
While attending traditional U.S. universities, SACM students are also limited in how many online or hybrid courses they are allowed to take, and must limit these classes to special circumstances.
Western Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Stephen Scheck said this policy is in place to ensure SACM students experience the full spectrum of what it is like to be an American student during their time abroad.
“SACM wishes for the students to have face-to-face engagement with professors and other students in the class,” Scheck said. “This allows them to gain as much exposure to American culture as possible.”
According to the policy handbook provided by SACM, students are allowed to enroll in online classes if the course is required and a face-to-face option doesn’t exist, or if it doesn’t otherwise fit into their current schedule.
“If a face-to-face class offering exists, we would not wish for a SACM student to enroll in the online section,” said Scheck, “but recently we have experienced an increased number of inquiries from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission about why students enrolled in on-line courses.”
As a result of increased scrutiny on the part of the SACM, Western’s registrar’s office has been instructed to increase their diligence when enrolling Saudi students in online sections.
SACM students will now be automatically prevented by a BannerWeb hold from registering for online or hybrid classes.
According to the new Western policies, “holds will be removed if the student provides the International Education and Development Office documentation that SACM has approved enrollment into a specific on-line/hybrid course.”
“We are being more proactive to ensure that students stay in compliance with scholarship requirements — hence the additional steps Saudi students must fulfill to enroll in online coursework,” Scheck said.
Despite the extra steps now required of both Western faculty and Saudi students, Scheck remains confident that SACM’s policies are beneficial to the international scholars.
“[SACM’s] oversight is a resource for students and their families adjusting to life in the United States,” Scheck said. “This is just like other students on scholarship, restrictions may be applied that must be met such as maintaining a minimal GPA, or making progress toward major completion requirements.
Saudi students seeking assistance in enrolling in these classes have been asked to contact Ambre Plahn in the International Office at 503-838-8434 or plahna@wou.edu.
