Bahir Dar University was founded in 2000 upon the merging of an existing polytechnic institute and a teacher’s college. It has about 17,600 undergraduates in 61 academic programs, 3,400 master’s-level students in 92 programs, and 67 PhD students in 14 programs.
Total enrollment equals about 40,000 counting its distance education students, who we learned are typically those whose college entrance scores were too low to be accepted into a university but who can enroll via distance at their own expense.
Similar to Appalachian, BDU has as its mission a focus on education, research and community service. Its tagline is “Wisdom at the Source of the Blue Nile” and its vision is to become one of the 10 premier research universities in Africa in 2025.
BDU has four colleges and one school:
· College of Science
· College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
· College of Medical and Health Sciences
· College of Business and Economics
· School of Law
…as well as four institutes:
· Institute of Technology
· Institute of Textile, Garment and Fashion Design
· Institute of Land Administration
· Blue Nile Water Institute
According to its strategic plan for 2011-16, BDU is focusing its research on neighboring Lake Tana and its watershed, pedagogical issues, textile, energy and biotechnology, with community service focused on education, health, agricultural extension and technology transfer.
The students
We have learned their students are very much like those at Appalachian. The first few weeks are critical to forming good study habits and avoiding drug and alcohol use that may prevent them from adjusting to college life effectively. The university’s counseling center works with many of the same issues Appalachian’s center does: anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse and sexual abuse.
Psychology professor Kibrom Mengistu told us Ethiopian research has shown that the country’s students deal with academic, social and economic problems; physical psychological and mental health issues; and political issues as well as stereotyping and prejudice of its 80 different ethnicities.
The admissions process
A primary difference between Ethiopian universities and U.S. universities is the admissions process. Unlike the U.S. where students can apply to any school they chose with hopes of being accepted and then again having a choice of which of these schools to commit to for enrollment, Ethiopian students are assigned to a public university by the country’s Ministry of Education based on enrollment needs of each university. For example, BDU may have slots for five more pre-med students, and the ministry will select which five high-scoring students to fill them. Also, there does not seem to be much choice of major: the highest-performing students on the entrance exam are placed in medicine, engineering and law programs, while the poorest performing students are placed in education. What does this mean for quality in the primary schools, which of course feed the higher education system and build society?
I will be giving a presentation later today on how the U.S. admissions process works in comparison to theirs, as well as the cost to attend a public university. Since their students pay nothing upfront and have several years to pay back the 12,000 to 15,000 birr (equivalent to $500-700) it costs the government to educate them, BDU’s administrators and professors may find it very interesting that it would cost the equivalent of 270,000 birr upfront for just one year at Appalachian.
Total enrollment equals about 40,000 counting its distance education students, who we learned are typically those whose college entrance scores were too low to be accepted into a university but who can enroll via distance at their own expense.
Similar to Appalachian, BDU has as its mission a focus on education, research and community service. Its tagline is “Wisdom at the Source of the Blue Nile” and its vision is to become one of the 10 premier research universities in Africa in 2025.
BDU has four colleges and one school:
· College of Science
· College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
· College of Medical and Health Sciences
· College of Business and Economics
· School of Law
…as well as four institutes:
· Institute of Technology
· Institute of Textile, Garment and Fashion Design
· Institute of Land Administration
· Blue Nile Water Institute
According to its strategic plan for 2011-16, BDU is focusing its research on neighboring Lake Tana and its watershed, pedagogical issues, textile, energy and biotechnology, with community service focused on education, health, agricultural extension and technology transfer.
The students
We have learned their students are very much like those at Appalachian. The first few weeks are critical to forming good study habits and avoiding drug and alcohol use that may prevent them from adjusting to college life effectively. The university’s counseling center works with many of the same issues Appalachian’s center does: anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse and sexual abuse.
Psychology professor Kibrom Mengistu told us Ethiopian research has shown that the country’s students deal with academic, social and economic problems; physical psychological and mental health issues; and political issues as well as stereotyping and prejudice of its 80 different ethnicities.
The admissions process
A primary difference between Ethiopian universities and U.S. universities is the admissions process. Unlike the U.S. where students can apply to any school they chose with hopes of being accepted and then again having a choice of which of these schools to commit to for enrollment, Ethiopian students are assigned to a public university by the country’s Ministry of Education based on enrollment needs of each university. For example, BDU may have slots for five more pre-med students, and the ministry will select which five high-scoring students to fill them. Also, there does not seem to be much choice of major: the highest-performing students on the entrance exam are placed in medicine, engineering and law programs, while the poorest performing students are placed in education. What does this mean for quality in the primary schools, which of course feed the higher education system and build society?
I will be giving a presentation later today on how the U.S. admissions process works in comparison to theirs, as well as the cost to attend a public university. Since their students pay nothing upfront and have several years to pay back the 12,000 to 15,000 birr (equivalent to $500-700) it costs the government to educate them, BDU’s administrators and professors may find it very interesting that it would cost the equivalent of 270,000 birr upfront for just one year at Appalachian.
Small apes are among the residents of campus. Students stared us at we got so excited taking pictures of them -- probably what Appalachian students would do if people starting acting like they'd never seen squirrels before!
The university is constructing a new soccer and track stadium. The grass is real, and the people in the far left are cutting it one fistful at a time using small scythes.
Kia, Mylyia, Denzel and Jordan scope out materials in the social sciences library.