On June 19th, Al-Quds University (AQU) held its annual 29th Board meeting on the importance of good governance, discipline, and accountability to achieve a sound university environment. The participants expressed their enthusiasm to make Al-Quds University an example for the other universities in this area, which enhances the status the university has reached in providing social support for its students. Further, they stressed the need to promote and disseminate a code of conduct, and develop it to include all parties sharing the university environment, and develop and publish a guide to social responsibility at AQU.
Within this context, the Board pointed out to the importance of increasing communication between the students and the administrative departments at the university to increase understanding of their diverse needs. They expressed the need to constantly publish university regulations and instructions that clarify the rights and duties of all members of the university community, emphasizing that the selection of administrative and academic leaders should take into account the professional foundations that achieve the interest of the university at all levels, as recommended by the Council.
The president of the university, Prof. Imad Abu Kishek, and the participants discussed session with several issues such as communication with workers and students, and the role of the academics in reformulating the social contract around the system of values within the framework of the Code of Conduct in order to develop a healthy society based on value discipline. The university president referred to the proposal to establish a mental health clinic and to train the employees administratively and academically to establish a system of values based on the spirit of teamwork, and the relationships and partnerships established by the university to create supportive endowments for the university students, entrepreneurs, and creators in a fertile research environment for professors and students.
Dr. Muhammad Barghouti, from the Faculty of Business and Economics, touched on the relationships between emotional intelligence, social support and anxiety, student behavior and discipline in Palestinian universities, as well as the need to develop strategies to reduce stress among the students.
For his part, Dr. Omar Hamarsheh, from the Faculty of Science and Technology, presented creative ideas on the mechanism of disciplining student behavior in the university environment, such as guidance and psychological support, rewarding students for positive behavior, and using digital learning platforms to enhance it.
Dr. Iyad Hallaq and Dr. Ola Hussein, from the Faculty of Educational Sciences, presented a paper on the mechanisms of disciplining the student’s behavior in the university environment from the point of view of faculty members at Al-Quds University. They recommended the need to shed light on the importance of raising awareness of the behaviors that are likely to affect the course of discipline by providing a guide to deal with them.
It is worth noting that the 29th annual meeting was held over two days in the West Bank city of Jericho under the theme “Good Governance, Discipline, and Accountability, within the strategy to achieve a sound integrative university environment at all levels.
