Foundation
LIU is part of the Better Future Association (Al Ghad Al Afdal Association) that is chaired by Minister and former MP Abdul Rahim Mrad. The university is supervised by a Council of Secretaries constituting 21 members.
The University was established in 2001 under the name of Beqa’a University in accordance with decree 5294 on April 9, 2001. The head quarter of the university was built in Al Khiyara village in west Beqa’a, covering an area of over 150 thousand square meters, including dorms for more than 500 students.
Later on, the university expanded with the inauguration of branches in Beirut and Saida. Its name was then changed from Beqa’a University to the Lebanese International University, in accordance with decree 14592 on June 14, 2005.
In 2006, the university created two new branches in Nabatieh and Tripoli, making the university present in five Lebanese provinces out of six. It encompasses six faculties: Education, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Management, and Pharmacy.
The University and its Educational System
LIU has adopted the American system of education based on credits and dividing the academic year into trimesters, of which two are mandatory and one is optional.
The university has registered increased attendance during the last two years. The number of students increased from accademic year 2002-2007 as indicated in Graph 1.
In addition, the university hosts more than 253 non-Lebanese students, particularly in its Beqa’a campus close to Syria.
Administrative and educational staff includes more than 400 employees, in which 124 work in the administration department and 322 are teachers.
The LIU Beirut, Beqa’a and Saida branches include at least one central library and one cafeteria, in addition to computer laboratories with internet access.
Characteristics
The below are main characteristics of LIU:
It is less expensive than other universities in Lebanon that have adopted the American education system. Table 1 shows the average cost of a Bachelor degree in the five faculties as well as the American Freshman Program.
|
Average cost of a Bachelor degree in the five faculties as well as the American Freshman Program |
Table 1 | |||
|
Specialization |
Credit price (USD) |
Period required to get the BA |
No of credits required To get the BA |
Total cost (USD) |
|
Faculty of Education |
90 |
4 years |
120 |
10,800 |
|
Faculty of Arts and Sciences |
90 |
3 years |
99 |
8,910 |
|
Faculty of Engineering |
135 |
2 to 3 years |
52 to 108 |
7020 to 14,580 |
|
Faculty of Management |
105 |
3 years |
99 |
10,395 |
|
Faculty of Pharmacy |
180 |
5 to 6 |
179 to 209 |
32,220 to 37,620 |
|
Freshman |
105 |
One year |
30 |
3,150 |
|
Source: LIU Administration | ||||
The student-teacher ratio is very high with 18:1 (one teacher for every eighteen students)
The university encompasses many centers, including the Computer and Languages Center, Tests and Evaluation Center, Research and Development Center, Information Technology Center, Strategic and Future Studies Center, Quality Control Center, Society Service Center, and Human Rights Center.
The university is member of the Arab Universities Union and the Islamic States Union.
The university has signed many cooperation and exchange agreements with Arab and western universities, which offer many opportunities for its students to continue their studies outside of Lebanon. Among these agreements are: a cooperation and exchange agreement with the University of Ohio in the United States, a cooperation agreement with the University of Missouri in the United States, the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) with the aim of installing a Geological Movements Measurement Center in Lebanon, “Al Akhawain” in the University of Morocco, and Kaunas University of Medicine established in 1919 in Lithuania.
The university offers financial aid for students that can reach up to 40% of the expense in some cases, such as for orphans. Financial aid for other students may reach 25% of the payment except for pharmacy students who cannot get more than 15%.
The university administration communicates with the students through modern technological means. In fact, the students can register online and the university even sends them SMSs to inform them about the latest news in case other means were not available.
The University Ambitions for Today and Tomorrow
The university founders and directors have fixed a series of objectives and ambitions, in which some were already achieved and others are still in the planning phase.
For instance, under the objective of establishing a branch in Beirut, the university established a campus in Al Msaytbeh region in Beirut, consisting of three buildings and a fourth one still under construction. The university administration bought the lands surrounding these buildings; however they are overcrowded with residential buildings. It also set up a plan of extension over the course of three years that aims to expand the campus and establish courts and green areas.
Furthermore, the university became authorized for launching a Faculty of Agriculture that was supposed to open its doors in 2005-2006 but did not due to not having a sufficient number of registered students.
Moreover, the LIU inaugurated a branch in the Yemen capital of Sana’a in 2006 in the framework of its extension plan towards the Arab states such as Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
- Business and Computer University College (BCU)
- Private schools in Lebanon: Religiously affiliated schools in Lebanon
- International College
- Notre Dame University (NDU)
- The University of Balamand (UOB)
- Melkite Catholic Schools in Lebanon : 3.9% of private school students in Lebanon
- Orthodox Schools in Lebanon : 1.1% of Lebanese students attend Orthodox Schools
- Druze Schools in Lebanon : Attended by 1.3% of Lebanon’s private school students
The Center for Education and Computer Studies, headed by Mr. Hamza Mustafa acquired its license to establish the Business and Computer College in the year 2000, under decree #3585 on August 7, 2000.
According to the statistics of the year 2005-2006, the number of private-free schools was 364 with a total number of 115,254 students and the number of private schools 1,025, with 417,409 students.
International College, one of the largest and oldest international schools in the world, was founded in Smyrna – Turkey in 1891 as a missionary school. In 1936, The American University of Beirut which at that time was called the Syrian Protestant College, invited International College to come to Beirut to affiliate as their Preparatory School.
Notre Dame University's main premises in Zouk Mosbeh, near the Lady of Louaizeh Monastery, were inaugurated in 1998 after four years of works.
The University of Balamand was established in 1883 by the decree of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the East to establish a higher institution to teach theology. Decree no.9764 was issued on February 26th 1975 licensing the establishment of this institute in the Monastery of Balamand, near Tripoli.
There are 49 Melkite Catholic schools in Lebanon making up 3.5% of the total number of private schools in Lebanon (1,390 schools). They take in 21,111 students; 3.96% of the total of Lebanese private school students (532,662) attends Melkite Catholic schools, which are divided into private-free (private schools with no fees) and private non-free schools (private schools with fees).
There are 15 schools affiliated with the Orthodox Church in Lebanon, three private- free schools, and 12 private non-free schools. Accordingly, Orthodox schools make up 0.54% of the total number of schools in Lebanon.
There are 19 Druze schools in Lebanon divided between private schools, with and without fees. With an overall number of 7,211 students they account for 1.37% of the total of Lebanese private school students.
RSS