Chapter I: Mission & Objectives

 

Article 1

The office reports directly to the Presidency of the Lebanese University (LU) and works under its supervision. Its headquarters is in Beirut, and has subsidiary offices in Tripoli, Saida and Zahle.

 

Article 2

The Office's mission is to provide students of the Lebanese University, in all its faculties, with the opportunity to improve their language skills in Arabic, French and English, and become able to communicate verbally and in writing fluently, which allows them to pursue their studies easily and smoothly engage in the labor market.

 

Article 3

The office seeks to achieve the following objectives:

Linguistically rehabilitate LU students by conducting language support courses in the basic languages (Arabic, French and English) in coordination with each Faculty and in line with its requirements and needs.

Prepare students, optionally, to sit for exams and obtain internationally recognized language placement certificates.

Empower language professors contracting with the Office, by conducting a set of training courses in cooperation with various foreign and Arab educational institutions to keep pace with global developments in the level and methods of language education.

 

Chapter II: Office Structure

 

Article 4

The Office is supervised by a Committee formed of the General Coordinator and the Central Language Coordinators. The Supervisory Committee meets at the headquarters of the Office at least once every two weeks at the invitation of the General Coordinator or upon the invitation of the LU President. Committee sessions are not legal unless attended by more than half of the members, and decisions are taken by an absolute majority, and upon a tie, the General Coordinator's vote is cast.

 

Article 5

The Office Secretary performs the function of the Secretary of the Supervisory Committee and organizes and duly maintains the minutes of meetings. In his absence, the General Coordinator assigns someone to carry out the duties of the Committee Secretary.

 

Article 6

The Supervisory Committee undertakes the following tasks:

1. Develop a comprehensive educational plan at the beginning of each academic year under the supervision of the LU President, in line with Office mission and objectives.
2. Coordinate with the various LU faculties to determine their needs and levels of qualification courses in order to organize the process of enhancing students' linguistic level.
3. Establish an annual calendar for placement tests, courses, deadlines, and final examinations for each qualification course in coordination with faculty deans and branch directors.
4. Propose the distribution of teaching hours according to the levels approved by the professors contracting with the Office in all LU faculties.
5. Determine the Office needs to contract with new professors.
6. Conduct seminars, workshops and training courses on teaching methods and mechanisms for the Office’s professors.
7. Propose the creation and strengthening of partnerships with local and foreign educational institutions, in the public and private sectors.

 

Article 7

The General Coordinator is appointed by a decision of the LU President for a period of three years, renewable for one time, from among the Teaching Staff members (tenured or full-timers), who have the rank of professor or assistant professor, who spent at least ten years in university teaching, and who have experience in language teaching.

 

Article 8

The General Coordinator is exempted from one third of the teaching quorum upon his/her request and after the approval of the LU President, and shall supervises the work of the Office staff in addition to the following tasks:

1. Conduct the day-to-day business and carry out all tasks stipulated in the laws and regulations related to the Office and its activities or delegated thereto by the LU President.
2. Invite the Central Coordinators to meet periodically, prepare the meeting agenda, chair the meeting, and follow up on its recommendations.
3. Follow up on language support courses and evaluate the results of the educational process in order to ensure that the Office's objectives are best implemented.
4. Propose the names of the Central Language Coordinators, and submit them to the President.
5. Propose the names of the Office Coordinators, in all their categories, and the names of the professors to contract therewith after perusal of the recommendation of the Central Language Coordinators.
6. Raise the proposal to distribute teaching hours to professors contracting with the Office, follow up on and review the completion of their contracts.
7. Supervise the Office's web pages.
8. Submit a periodic report to the LU President at the end of each academic semester, showing the progress of technical and administrative Office work and the results of evaluating qualification educational courses in the faculties based on the reports of the Central Coordinators.

 

Article 9

Central Language Coordinators are appointed by a decision of the LU President based on the proposal of the General Coordinator for a period of three years, renewable for one time, and on the basis of one Central Coordinator for each of the three Arabic, French and English languages. The Central Coordinator shall be a member of the Teaching Staff (tenured or full-time) who has the rank of professor or assistant professor, who spent at least five years in university teaching in his/her linguistic specialization, in the Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences and the Faculty of Pedagogy, and who has experience in language education.

 

Article 10

The Central Language Coordinator of the tenured or full-time professor is exempt from a quarter of the teaching quorum upon his/her request and after the approval of the LU President.

The Central Language Coordinator undertakes the following tasks according to his/her linguistic competence:

1. Ensure the proper implementation of the educational plan of the Office in cooperation with the language coordinators in all LU faculties.
2. Follow-up educationally with the language coordinators in the regions in order to update and develop the educational material, according to the needs of the faculties.
3. Study the files of professors who wish to teach in qualification courses organized by the Office and submit recommendations in this regard to the General Coordinator.
4. Recommend the distribution of scheduled teaching hours to the professors contracting with the Office, according to educational experience.
5. Develop a work plan for annual training activities for professors contracting with the Office.
6. Supervise language placement questions, qualification course exams, and correction criteria, in coordination with the language coordinators in the regions.
7. Invite the language coordinators in the regions to periodic meetings, or whenever needed, prepare the meeting agenda, chair the meeting, and follow up on its recommendations.
8. Follow-up the educational process, administrative and organizational procedures, and evaluate the completed work and their compatibility with the set plan.
9. Submit a periodic report at the end of each semester to the General Coordinator on the status of education in the faculties and its results, based on the reports of the language coordinators in the regions.
10. Proofread all information published on the Office's electronic pages.

 

Article 11

The LU President, upon the proposal of the Office Supervising Committee, appoints the language coordinators in the regions (Beirut / First Branches, Beirut / Second Branches, Beqaa, South, North) from among the professors contracting with the Office to teach these languages in the concerned region.

 

Article 12

Each of the language coordinators in the regions is calculated 60 hours annually as coordination allowance, on condition of undertaking the following tasks according to the linguistic competence:

1. Coordinate with the Central Language Coordinator to implement the educational plan approved in the Office and follow up on all organizational issues related to the branches of the region under responsibility.
2. Holding periodic meetings with the relevant language professors to standardize the teaching process and content according to each of the approved language levels, and ensure that the recommendations of the Central Coordinator are well implemented in this regard.
3. Propose to amend or develop the teaching content for each of the approved language levels, based on the recommendation of language professors approved in the region.
4. Work on collecting appropriate learning resources and their various references for teaching the target language.
5. Submit a quarterly report to the Central Coordinator on the faculties under his/her responsibility and all matters related to teaching in the relevant language.

 

Article 13

The LU President, based on the proposal of the Office Supervisory Committee, appoints faculty coordinators from among the professors contracted with the Office, and those with experience in coordination work, in the faculties that have more than two branches.

 

Article 14

Each faculty coordinator is calculated 60 hours per year as coordination allowance, on condition of undertaking the following tasks:

1. Coordinate with branch coordinators and language coordinators in the regions to follow up all organizational issues related to the specific faculty in all of its branches and centers (if any).
2. Follow-up administratively the progress of the educational process, placement examinations and end-of-course oral and written examinations in one faculty.
3. Receive the entire course file from the branch coordinators (attendance lists of students signed by the Branch Director and a copy of the score lists, etc.) and deliver it to the main office.
4. Submit a quarterly report to the General Coordinator on the faculty under his/her follow-up and all matters related to the progress of education therein, in the three languages.

 

Article 15

Upon the proposal of the Office Supervision Committee, the LU President appoints the branch coordinators in the faculties from among the professors contracting with the Office to teach these languages in the concerned branches.

 

Article 16

Each branch coordinator in the faculty is calculated 40 hours per year as coordination allowance, on condition of undertaking the following tasks:

1. Permanently coordinate with the Branch Director to provide the appropriate requirements and conditions for the proper functioning of the language educational process in the Branch.
2. Follow up administratively the educational process, placement examinations, and oral and written end-of-course examinations in the Branch.
3. Conduct periodic meetings with language professors in the Branch, ensure the proper regularity of qualification courses and address logistical problems, if any.
4. Receive the entire course file from the Branch professors (student attendance signed by the Branch Director and a copy of the score lists, etc.) and deliver it to the main office or sub-offices according to geographical presence, in the faculties that consist of one or two branches only.
5. Hand over a basic copy of the score lists to the Branch Director or whoever appointed for this task.
6. Submit a periodic report to the General Coordinator at the end of each qualification session on the progress of the educational process in the Branch and assess the extent of professors’ commitment to the directives and recommendations of the General Coordinator in the faculties that consist of one or two branches only, and submit it to the faculty coordinator in the faculties with more than two branches.

 

Article 17

The Office shall contract with professors who hold a language certificate at C1 / C2 level consistent with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), of other than the tenured, full-timers or retired professors at the Lebanese University, as follows:

1. Candidates for teaching French language shall have the C1 or DALF level.
2. Candidates for teaching Arabic language shall have the Advanced A Level organized by the Office.
3. Candidates for teaching English language shall have the C1 level and to pass the TKT 1, 2, 3 (Band 3 or 4) teaching skills test for non-native speakers of English.
4. All professors of the Office are required to participate in the training courses that the Office organizes annually.

 

Article 18

The maximum number of contracting with office professors is 450 hours per year.

 

Article 19

The General Coordinator is assisted by an administrative body appointed by a decision of the LU President in accordance with the following:

Office Secretary

(1) IT Specialist at the headquarter

(2) Data Entry at the headquarter

(1) Administrative Officer at the headquarter, and (1) in each Branch

(1) Doorkeeper at the headquarter

(2) Cleaning staff at the headquarter, and (1) in each Branch

 

Chapter III: General Provisions

 

Article 20

The placement test is organized, and the timing of the courses in each faculty is determined separately according to the terms of admission and attendance. Accordingly, intensive and extended courses, mandatory or optional, are organized according to an implementation plan set in coordination with the faculties.

 

Article 21

Students who previously obtained a language placement certificate equivalent to the required level are exempt from submitting a placement test.

Those who obtain 12/20 in the placement test in a certain foreign language are exempt from participating in the support course parallel to their language level.

 

Article 22

Students' attendance in qualification courses is mandatory, and successful students are given affidavits signed by the General Coordinator specifying the acquired language level.

 

Article 23

This decision is communicated where needed.