FAYETTEVILLE -- A fourth cooperative agreement has been signed between the University of Arkansas and an Iraqi university, UA announced Wednesday.
An agreement with the University of Basrah was signed last week, with university president Thamer A. Hamdan visiting the UA campus. The agreement encourages visits from one campus to the other and also the exchange of academic and research materials.
In the past 12 months, agreements have been announced between UA and the University of Kufa, University of Kerbala, and University of Sulaimani. The announcement Wednesday stated UA is working on a similar agreement with another Iraqi university.
In April, the U.S. State Department updated information about travelling to Iraq, warning U.S. citizens against all but essential travel given terrorist activity and violence.
So far, no UA students have visited an Iraqi university as part of the agreements, but a UA doctoral student plans to visit the University of Kerbala for historical research this winter, said UA spokeswoman Amanda Cantu. But before going to a country with such a travel alert, a university approval process must be followed, she said.
The process for students, faculty and staff involves a review by UA's International Education Advisory Committee, which considers the experience of the traveler and the trip's purpose, among other factors. The committee makes a recommendation that's reviewed by the provost and chancellor who then make the final decision.
UA enrolled 34 students from Iraq in the recent spring academic term, with another 14 Iraqi students enrolled at the Spring International Language Center to improve their language skills, according to UA. Most of the Iraqi students are graduate students receiving Iraqi government scholarships.
NW News on 05/28/2015