DOHA: The Academic Bridge Program (ABP), a centre of Qatar Foundation, has enrolled 260 students this year, up about 40 compared to last year, according to a senior official.
Almost 80 percent of students are Qatari, and the remaining 20 percent represent 33 nationalities, ABP’s new Director, Dr Bryan K Lewallen, told a press conference yesterday.
For 31 years, Dr Bryan has worked as teacher and administrator in the US, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Indonesia, and Morocco before joining ABP.
On ABP’s functions and achievements he said, “Cross-registration allows ABP’s most advanced students the opportunity to take certain classes for college credit at one or more of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) partner universities in Education City. This year, 66 students are enrolled in 71 university classes, while attending ABP.”
He said ABP is the premier English language university foundation programme in Qatar and the Gulf and this is ABP’s 14th year of operation.
So far, ABP has graduated 2,650 students from the one-year programme that prepares young men and women for university study. More than 80 percent of ABP graduates are Qatari.
ABP is charged with preparing Qatari high school graduates, with strong academic backgrounds, for admission to programmes at Qatar University that are taught in English and other universities in Qatar, the UK and the US.
ABP focuses on preparing students for admission to one of HBKU partner universities in Education City.
Last year, 43 percent of ABP graduates were offered admission to one or more of these universities and over the past 13 years, almost 90 percent of ABP graduates have gained admission to universities in Qatar and around the world.
Mini-courses at Learning Resource Centre after school are also offered to ABP students to help them prepare for IELTS and ACT tests.
These standardised tests are required for admission to most universities.
ABP also has a full-time college counsellor to assist students seeking university admission.
THE PENINSULA
