Hanna El-Nakat1, Walid Moubayed2

University of Balamand, P. O. Box 100, Tripoli, Lebanon1- Division of Special Programs2- Office of Admissions and Registration

Equivalences to Lebanese Equivalences to Lebanese Baccalaureate Part IIBaccalaureate Part II

March 30 – April 2, 2009March 30 – April 2, 2009 University Of Balamand, LebanonUniversity Of Balamand, Lebanon

29th Annual ARAB- ACRAO Conference

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Introduction

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• In the USA, universities offer the Bachelor (BS/BA) degree following the High School Certificate (HSC, 12 years of schooling) in four academic years: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior, i.e., an approximate total of 120 credits

• The Freshman Year is not an independent Program.

• It is perceived as the first year integrated in the Bachelor degree.

• It covers topics that are related to the particular major as part of a 4-year curriculum.

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•In Lebanon, the Lebanese Baccalaureate Part II (LB) is offered after the successful completion of 13-years of education.

•Lebanese Universities, that follow the American Educational System, offer the Bachelor degree in 3-years: Sophomore, Junior and Senior (90 credits)

•Automatic equivalence is given to the Lebanese Baccalaureate Part II year with the Freshman year.

Introduction

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Introduction

• Recently (2000), due to the increasing numbers of Lebanese living and studying outside Lebanon, the LMOE has acknowledged a 1-year independent Freshman Program to substitute for the missing year in the HSC programs. Thus bridging the gap between the two systems of education (HSC & LB)

• The Lebanese Ministry of Education (LMOE) has always acknowledged the following certificates as equivalent to the Lebanese Baccalaureate (LB) Part II:

1. French Baccalaureate2. IB Diploma3. High School Leaving Certificate (Thanaweiah

A'ammah) from all Arab countries.• 

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Introduction

The acknowledgment of the Freshman Program (American Educational System) by the LMOE and its equivalence to the Lebanese Baccalaureate Part II made possible the comparison between the material covered in each of the two programs and the many high School Certificates (HSC) that are related in one way or another to either the Freshman Program or to the Lebanese Baccalaureate. 

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Objective

In this study, the focus is on giving equivalence to the British "International General Certificate Of Secondary Education" (IGCSE/GCE) and the American "Advanced Placement International Diploma" (APID), that cover the same material as the Freshman Program, to the LB and accordingly give students admission to the Sophomore year in Lebanese universities that follow the American Educational System.

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Freshman Program

•It is clear, therefore, that the Freshman Program is the standard against which the topics covered will be measured and assessed.

•It is the basis on which equivalences may be given or not.

•A good understanding of the Freshman Program, its capacity and characteristics is instrumental to achieve the aim of this study.

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LMOE Freshman Year

LMOE Rules and Regulation for Admission to the Freshman Program All applicants to the Freshman Class must:

•Hold a Secondary School Certificate based on twelve (12) years of schooling starting with Grade One awarded by an institute recognized by the Lebanese Ministry of Education.

 •Obtain a “PERMISSION” from the LMOE, allowing them to pursue their higher education in a Foreign (non-Lebanese) Program. In this regard, LMOE requests Lebanese Applicants to provide evidence of having lived and studied outside Lebanon for at least two years. Lebanese, holders of a foreign passport, are not required to provide such evidence.

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LMOE Freshman Year

• Take/pass the TOEFL (or equivalent) and SAT I. The SAT I exam includes three tests: Mathematical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Writing.

• Lebanese Applicants are also requested to take both the SAT I and the SAT II subject tests. The Lebanese Law specifies that the SAT II subject tests must be taken as follows: For Freshman Sciences (Mathematics IIC – Obligatory, Two out of the three following tests: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and For Freshman Arts (Mathematics IC – Obligatory plus Any two SAT II subject tests)

• Obtain a minimum total score of 2850 (Freshman Sciences) or 2750 (Freshman Arts) points for the SAT I and the SAT II tests.

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LMOE Topics & Categories

Course-wise, the LMOE acknowledges the Freshman year as a minimum of thirty credits (30 cr) distributed as such: • Nine credits (9 cr) of courses from the categories of Humanities and Social Sciences 

This includes subjects in the areas of history, languages, literature, philosophyPsychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, geography, public administration, business administration, political sciences, and management

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LMOE Topics & Categories

• Six credits (6 cr) of courses from the categories of Mathematics and Natural Sciences on condition that a minimum of three credits (3 cr) of Natural Sciences must be covered 

This includes subjects in the areas of mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, and nutrition

 • Fifteen credits (15 cr) of courses from the different categories of Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Arts and various electives. A maximum of three credits of Arts is allowed.

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Comments on LMOE Freshman

•The acknowledged Freshman Program is of a similar nature to the LB in the sense that it is a common year that aims to qualify students to the different majors.

 The LB 3rd secondary year is currently divided into four disciplines (with fixed courses). Likewise the Freshman Program is divided into Freshman Sciences and Freshman Arts (with fixed categories of courses). Freshman students have the possibility of choosing courses to suit the intended future specialties.

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Comments on LMOE Freshman

• Admission to either Freshman Arts or Sciences is based on the sum of the scores obtained for SAT I reasoning test and SAT II subject test in addition to the subject chosen for the SAT II examination which are a reflection of the background of the student and the topics covered during the HSC program.

• Students need to successfully pass a minimum of 30 credits during the Freshman Year. The courses are chosen in accordance to the LMOE rules, in a manner that suits both discipline (Freshman Arts or Freshman Sciences) and the future intended major.

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Comments on LMOE Freshman

•The LMOE set the rules and regulations for a Freshman Year with broad titles but no concrete curriculum

•The purpose of this study can not be achieved as such

•For this reason, the authors propose the UOB Freshman Program as the standard to which other curricula may be evaluated and compared.

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UOB Freshman Program

• UOB Freshman Program is prepared in reference to the Rules and Regulations set by the LMOE

• UOB Freshman Program has a practical curriculum with specific course syllabi

• The courses were proposed to suit the categories assigned by the LMOE and the need of the students to qualify for their future majors

• This program is acknowledged by the LMOE and, upon successful completion, students are given the equivalence to the Lebanese Baccalaureate Part II.

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UOB Freshman Program

• In an earlier study, “Why Lebanese Baccalaureate Holders Should Skip Freshman Year”, the authors compared the UOB Freshman Program to the Lebanese Baccalaureate and other Freshman Programs offered by universities that follow the American System in Lebanon and in USA, with the aim to exempt Lebanese students seeking university education in USA from repeating the Freshman year and, accordingly, be directly admitted to the Sophomore Year; the second year in the undergraduate program.

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UOB AUB BU J BU RICE IOWA UCLA

Selected Freshman Courses at Selected Universities

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APID

To earn an APID, students must earn grades of three or higher on at least five AP Exams in the following content areas:1.Two AP Exams from two different languages selected from English and/or world languages2.One AP Exam designated as offering a global perspective: World History, Human Geography, and Government and Politics: Comparative.3.One exam from the sciences or mathematics content areas4.One (or two) additional exam(s) from among any content areas except English and world languages. These include the content areas already described as well as history and social sciences and arts

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APID vs UOB Freshman

• The topics covered in the APID courses show a great resemblance to the topics covered in the UOB Freshman Program

• The credit equivalence to the five APID examinations will add up to thirty credits as requested by freshman students.

• Just like the advising procedure in the Freshman curriculum, students undertaking the APID examinations need to carefully choose the topics that suit the undergraduate disciplines they intend to major in.

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APID vs UOB Freshman

APID Examination UOB course UOB credit

HUMANITIES

English Language and composition ENGL 101 5

English literature and composition ENGL 102 5

World Language and composition 3-5

World literature and composition 3-5

World History HIST 100 3

History 3

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APID vs UOB Freshman

APID Examination UOB course UOB credit

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Economics ECON 101 3

Human Geography GEOG 101 3Government & Politics PSIA 101 3

Psychology PSYC 101 3

MATHEMATICS

MATHEMATICS AB

MATH 111 3

MATHEMATICS BC

MATH 111 & MATH 112 3+3

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APID vs UOB Freshman

APID Examination UOB course UOB creditNATURAL SCIENCES

Biology BIOL 101 & BIOL 103 3+3Chemistry CHEM 100 & CHEM 102 3+3

Physics C-Electricity & Magnetism

PHYS 102 3

Physics C-Mechanics PHYS 100 3ARTS & ELECTIVES

Art History ARTH 101 3Computer Science CSIS 100 & COMP 200 2+1

Music-Theory PART 242 3

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GCE

• The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary level (O-level, IGCSE) and the Advanced level (A Level). More recently examination boards also offer an intermediate third GCE level, the Advanced Subsidiary level (AS Level).

• An O-level is a qualification of its own right, but more often taken in prerequisite for the more in-depth and academically rigorous Advanced Level exams. It is usually taken by students during the final two years of Senior secondary school (Grade 10 & 11 (usually ages 14-15)).

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GCE

• The Advanced Level (A-level) is usually taken by students during the optional final two years of Collegiate level (Grades 12 & 13 (usually ages 16-18)).

• According to the British Council, A-levels are similar to the American Advanced Placements which are themselves equivalent to the first year of America's four year bachelor degrees.

• In 1987, Advanced Supplementary levels (abbreviated as AS-level or A/S-level), worth half of a full A-level, were introduced to encourage students to broaden their knowledge of other areas. These were of the same academic standard of a full A-level (i.e. the topics were studied in the same amount of depth) but covered a narrower range of topics.

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GCE in LMOE CategoriesCategory Courses

Humanities Afrikaans - Language, Arabic, Arabic - Language, Chinese, Chinese - Language, Chinese - Literature, English - Language, English - Literature, French, French - Language, French - Literature, German, German - Language, Hindi, Hindi - Language, Hindi - Literature, Japanese Language, Language and Literature in English, Marathi, Marathi - Language, Portuguese , Portuguese - Language , Portuguese - Literature, Spanish , Spanish - First Language , Spanish - Language , Spanish - Literature , Tamil , Tamil - Language , Telugu , Telugu - Language, Urdu , Urdu - Language , Urdu - Pakistan onlyHistoryClassical Studies, Divinity, Islamic Studies, Thinking Skills

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GCE in LMOE Categories

Category CoursesNatural Sciences Biology, Chemistry, Food Studies, Marine Science,

Physics

Mathematics Mathematics, Mathematics - Further

Social Sciences Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Environmental Management, Geography, Psychology, Sociology

Arts & Electives Applied Information and Communication Technology, Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Design and Textiles, Dress and Textiles, General Paper 8001, General Paper 8004, Law, Music, Physical Education , Physical Education , Research Projects , Travel and Tourism

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GCE vs UOB Freshman

• GCE courses are covered over a period of two years

• Such courses must definitely have a bigger credit load than the Freshman courses, For this reason, some universities require 3 A-Level courses for admissions to the Sophomore Year.

•UOB gives equivalence to the Freshman year to students who have successfully fulfilled 2 A-level courses and 5 O-Level courses (or 4 AS-level courses and 5 O-Level courses) provided that they are properly chosen to suite the future major of choice.( to allow a broader range of topics to suit our curricula)

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GCE vs UOB Freshman

•The courses covered in the GCE can be grouped in according to the categories set by the LMOE.

• Comparison between the A-Level courses, AS-Level courses and UOB Freshman courses based on the topics covered showed that the GCE courses cover a broader range.

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As / A vs UOB Freshman

AS-Level Course A-Level Course

Biology BIOL 101 + BIOL 103 BIOL 101 + BIOL 103 + topics from Sophomore BIOL 201

Chemistry CHEM 100 + CHEM 102 CHEM 100 + CHEM 102 + topics from Sophomore CHEM 202

Mathematics MATH 111 + MATH 112 MATH 111+ MATH 112+ MATH 113

Physics The topics covered by PHYS 100 & PHYS 102 are present within the AS-Level and the A-Level topics. Neither AS or A Level courses is equivalent to any of the UOB Freshman Physics Courses. Both AS or A Level courses contains a variety of other topics than required by the UOB Freshman Physics Courses.

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Advising

The three programs discussed, UOB Freshman, APID & GCE, offer a variety of courses. A comparative study could only be made following the proper advising of students. The advising procedure takes into consideration the requirements of each program and the future major that each student is planning to join after the fulfillment of the program. Once again, the advising of UOB Freshman students will be taken as the standard against which advising in the other two programs will be evaluated.

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Advising UOB Freshman vs APID

Based on future major, student students are divided among the following categories:

1- Students Planning to Join the Faculty of EngineeringStudents in this category are advised to register in: MATH 111, MATH 112, MATH 113, PHYS 100, PHYS 102, and CHEM 100 in addition to courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and/or electives to reach a minimum of 30 credits. Accordingly a student with the APID who has chosen Calculus BC, Physics C-Electricity & Magnetism, Physics C-Mechanics and Chemistry may be accepted in the Faculty of Engineering with one remedial course, MATH 113.

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 2- Students Planning to Join the Departments of Biology or Health Sciences

Students in this category are advised to register in: MATH 111, MATH 112, PHYS 100, CHEM 100, CHEM 102, BIOL 101, and BIOL 103 in addition to courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and/or electives to reach a minimum of 30 credits.

Accordingly a student with the APID who has chosen Calculus BC, Chemistry, and Biology may be accepted in the Departments of Biology and Health Sciences.

Advising UOB Freshman vs APID

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Advising UOB Freshman vs APID

3- Students Planning to Join the Faculty of Business and Hotel Management

Students in this category are advised to register in: MATH 111 in addition to courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and/or electives to reach a minimum of 30 credits.

Accordingly a student with the APID who has chosen Calculus AB, may be accepted in the Faculty of Business and Hotel Management.

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Advising UOB Freshman vs A/As

 Due to the variation in the level of courses covered within the GCE program, it is not that simple to carry out the general comparison as in the case of APID examinations. A student may take any combination of A-Level and AS-Level courses with the 5 O-level courses thus making each case a special case which needs to be discussed independently. However, common sense requires that AS and A-level courses need to be chosen to qualify the students towards the future major they intend to join.

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Conclusion

Students who have successfully fulfilled the APID examinations with proper choice of topics may have their courses transferred as Freshman courses and accordingly join the university at the sophomore level. It is left to the discretion of the university to decide if an APID student is in a need for bridging courses in order to join a specific major. For example, at UOB, APID students planning to join the Faculty of Engineering are advised to register for MATH 113 as a Freshman bridging course.

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Conclusion

Similarly, GCE students who have successfully passed 2 A-level courses and 5 O-Level courses (or 4 AS-level courses and 5 O-Level courses) with proper choice of topics may have their courses transferred as Freshman courses and accordingly join the university at the sophomore level. However, GCE students planning to join the Faculty of Engineering or the Faculty of Sciences may be advised to register for MATH 113 and/or PHYS 100/PHYS 102 as a Freshman bridging course based on the courses chosen and their level (O-Level, AS-Level or A-Level)

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References

1- “Why Lebanese Baccalaureate Holders Should Skip Freshman Year”, The annual meeting of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, AACRAO 90th Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 19- April 22, 2004, Hanna El-Nakat, Walid Moubayed, University of Balamand, Lebanon2- Lebanese Official Newspaper, issue 32, p 3878, 2005.3- University of Balamand, catalogue, 2006-2007, Special Programs, Freshman Program, pages 621-6284- www.balamand.edu.lb5- http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd_intl.html6- http://www.mcgill.ca/student-records/transfercredits/ap/7- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_of_Education8- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education”9- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_Level_(SL)10- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Level_(SL)11- http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/academic/uppersec/alevel12- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement_Program13- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Level_(UK)

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