Prince Sultan bin Salman

The King Salman Center for Disability Research (KSCDR) signed a deal on Sunday with an American university to provide special training for disabled Saudi students, including high school graduates.

This was disclosed by Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of KSCDR, who said that the Compass Program, focusing on the transition from secondary to higher education, would take place at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida, in June this year.

It is a short-term, intensive college preparatory program that will take place over five weeks. Beacon College is the first accredited institution in the world to offer a four-year degree course exclusively for students with learning disabilities.

Speaking at the signing event, KSCDR Executive Managing Director Sultan Al-Sedairy, said the center has been considering US academic programs for some time. “As part of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, we annually provide tuition support for about 100 students with learning and other disabilities at universities around the world,” Al-Sedairy added.

George Hagerty, president of Beacon College, said: “We are taking a holistic approach based on our cutting edge approach and integrating our best collaborative effort with the ideas of experts from Saudi Arabia.”

He said Beacon’s faculty would offer courses to meet the contemporary needs of Saudi students with world-class teaching methods for individual learners. This includes a new concept known as metacognition, or self-understanding. It is a novel way of looking at oneself, at the learning experience, and at the individual, said Hagerty.

The program is the first of its kind to be offered anywhere in the world. It is designed for talented and motivated students who aspire to attend university, but who have struggled in traditional academic settings. It will also target those whose performance is inconsistent with their perceived potential as learners.

Selected students will be accompanied by Nabil Hab Rumman, KSCDR staff member, who will serve as a chaperone and mentor. He is a former staffer at Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Washington, DC.

He will also serve as a cultural liaison, arriving several weeks before the program begins so that he can provide lectures and presentations about Saudi Arabia’s culture and history to community groups.

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