Call from Vice President to Ensure Quality of Lectures

Doctor Omar Ahmed Al-Maqrami, the Vice President of the Islamic University of Minnesota, urged faculty members to prioritize "presenting lectures by displaying educational material and turning on the video whenever possible," emphasizing that "delivering a lecture with a black screen on Zoom significantly affects students' understanding and comprehension."

Dr. Al-Maqrami called for a summary of each lecture to be prepared in a PowerPoint or PDF file, noting that the course instructor can upload these summaries to the new electronic portal to make them available to all students.

He explained that each lecture lasts two hours, and instructors can choose to deliver it in one session or split the two hours into two separate lectures. He highlighted the students' enthusiasm and eagerness to meet their teachers and start the lectures, stressing that a professor's cancellation of a lecture at its scheduled time and postponement to a later date can lead to student frustration and negatively impact the quality of education in the department, college, and university.

It is noteworthy that the Vice President's remarks were part of a letter addressed to faculty members on the occasion of the summer semester's launch, which began on Saturday, April 5, 2025, and typically lasts for six weeks according to the university's regulations.