In the spring semester of 2020, the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) seems to have been the FIRST university in the whole Middle East to move all of its campus instruction to distance learning following the COVID-19 outbreak, and it was the ONLY university in Iraq to offer uninterrupted and complete high-quality education for the full semester without any detriment to the continuous learning of its students. Several factors critical to success were taken into consideration by the University during its unparalleled efforts and implementation of distance learning.
These include, but are not limited to:
(1) continued efforts to provide a high quality of education, including the ability to measure course and program learning outcomes;

(2) full adherence to international accreditation standards;

(3) recognition and accommodation of potential electricity and connectivity issues faced by individual students; and

(4) lack of specific prior experience by students and faculty.

This presentation seeks to initiate a productive exchange of thoughts and ideas between K-12 and university representatives attending the session