Community Colleges and Universities in the Arab Countries

Abstract

A community college, sometimes referred to as a junior college or technical college, is a taxpayer-supported two-year institution of higher education. The term “community” is at the heart of the mission of the community college. These schools offer a level of accessibility—in terms of time, money, and geography—that cannot be found at most liberal arts colleges and private universities. Community colleges are common in many different Arab countries, and just recently established within other countries. It is mostly responsible for graduating effective technicians in different disciplines. In addition, it plays an important role for students' manipulation for university enrollment in different Arab countries. Through this chapter there are many points and views relevant to concept, initiation, academic programs, employability, job destination, and benchmarking versus global community colleges.