[Introduction to North Cyprus]
North Cyprus Universities
[Complaints and Feedback page]
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADVICE SERVICE.
NORTH CYPRUS.
The Island of Cyprus lies at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, presently comprising of two states; the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus boasts sandy beaches, superb scenery and many historical sites from the Soli ruins in the West to the classical ruins of Salamis in the East. The stunning ruins of Kantara, Buffavento, and St Hillarion castles sit among the majestic Besparmak mountain range.
The island enjoys reliable sunshine for most of the year and is a popular all year round holiday destination. However the months of November to March can be chilly and wet.
The Greek Cypriot administration would have you believe that the North of the island is under Turkish Military Occupation and has been since 1974. This is of course absolute nonsense. Northern Cyprus has its own democratically elected government and its own democratically elected President. There are a considerable number of Turkish soldiers stationed on the island but they are on the whole; unobtrusive, exceptionally polite, well mannered, and well disciplined. You are likely to see more of a military presence in some parts of Europe than you are in North Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus is home to five universities with a further university due for completion in 2008. Students from Turkey, Cyprus, and the Middle East predominate, but an increasing number of students are coming to the island from further afield, lured by the promise of quality international standards of higher education. Using the title of ‘International’, ‘American’ and ‘European’ some of the universities do their best to meet such recognized standards, sadly others do not. Those universities claiming to have connections/collaborations with European and American universities probably have or have had such arrangements in place. However, any student would be very wise to double check given the results of an investigation carried out by the highly respected Times Higher Education Supplement in August of 2004, where it was found that claims made by one of the universities, the European University of Lefke, were highly exaggerated to put it mildly and also those of collaboration agreements with UK universities by Girne American University. We suspect that such practices are not exclusive to these two universities.
All universities in North Cyprus are required to meet the standards laid down by the Turkish Higher Education Board (YÖK), but just how stringent YÖK is in applying its standards is a matter of conjecture. A teacher who had worked in various universities in North Cyprus for eight years had never seen an inspector from YÖK during that time. As YÖK will be validating your diploma at the end of your studies, it would be prudent to check that the course on offer is actually a YÖK validated course and if it is, what benefit that validation actually affords the foreign student. The standard of English at some of the universities here is pretty atrocious. Your YÖK validated transcript will state that your degree course was taught in English. It is our opinion that few employers outside Turkey are likely to be impressed if an applicant for a job cannot converse even in basic English at a subsequent interview!
Many of the teachers, especially those employed in the English foundation courses, are inexperienced and very poorly paid, often relying on very limited resource materials; those materials that do exist are often plagiarized or illegal copies. Classes are seriously overcrowded for language learning; the recognised optimum number being 15 to 20 students. In some cases over 40 students are crowded into classrooms designed for no more than 20. Faculty classes are equally if not more overcrowded. With such large class numbers, teachers are forced to apply a drilling system of teaching which relies solely on memorization and not critical thinking. Few classrooms have any electronic teaching equipment such as: OHP’s, DVD/Video/TV equipment. (See listing for individual universities for specific information)
Some universities publish Proficiency Exam Results on their websites. It is important to take these results at face value in that they are “in house” exams and do not relate to any international standard proficiency exam. One Head of a preparatory school tried to introduce an internationally recognized placement test and an international level proficiency exam. The level of failure was unacceptable to the management; that the passes and failures were genuine mattered not one jot. Sadly this is where the problem lies.
All universities in North Cyprus are required by law to teach in English, except those courses which result in Turkish language diplomas. The fact of the matter is most appear to be doing their best to circumnavigate this stipulation with disastrous results. Most of the students coming from Turkey have neither the will nor the ability to learn a second language, and many of the teachers from Turkey are only too willing to appease their somewhat bellicose students if just for a quiet life.
The fees in most N. Cyprus Universities are well below those found in most European countries and this is no doubt where the attraction lies. Entry requirements are also much lower than those in Western Europe, therefore giving an opportunity to students for a ‘university education’ deigned elsewhere.
Foreign students are not covered by the local health service for anything other than basic emergency treatment. You will need to purchase health insurance to cover any expenses that may arise. Health Care, although adequate, is not cheap.
Having said all this North Cyprus is still a good place to live and work but be under no illusions, things are far from perfect: most of the universities fall short of Western European or American standards.
The biggest and most important failure in most of the universities is the English Preparatory/Foundation programme. Failing here spells likely disaster for any student required to study on a degree Programme, which must be taught in English. We should perhaps define the term failure here. Failure in most cases would mean that you have failed to achieve an acceptable level of English to continue your studies at degree level: the fact is few if any students actually fail the EPS/Foundation Programme courses. Most if not all students will pass a proficiency exam either genuinely or ‘administratively’.
We must however repeat that there is no such thing as a standardized proficiency exam in North Cyprus. All universities have their own proficiency exam and few, if any, would be accepted as adequate at any respectable European or American institution. As we mentioned earlier, during 2003, one Head of an EPS introduced a Proficiency test (for non-native English speaking students) that only just met the basic minimum requirements of a UK university that had been consulted. This was done after checking one of the ‘in-house’ exams that had been used on previous occasions, finding no less than 23 serious grammar and spelling errors! Remember, students had taken this exam, and been passed as ‘proficient’ when the exam itself was so seriously flawed as to be worthless. The same thing was found with the ‘in house’ placement test: this is the exam every student has to take when arriving at a university in North Cyprus, always assuming of course that the student does not hold a recognized certificate such as TOEFL, IELTS etc,. The result was that few students actually scored a pass mark of 70%. The pass mark was then lowered to 60% and finally to 50%, before the Head of the department called the end to such farcical horse trading. Not to be beaten, the same teacher then introduces the internationally accepted Oxford Placement Test. Unfortunately few students were able to score a satisfactory mark with this test either; the majority of students entered the EPS at beginner level when they had expected to be passed through to the faculty programme. Of course there s little wrong with the Oxford Placement Test so it would suggest that the students taking the OPT probably should not be embarking on a university Programme that must be taught in English, especially given the poor standards that exist in English Preparatory/Foundation Courses. Many were passed nonetheless and a great proportion onto an ELT (English Language Teaching) course, where some no doubt, will eventually be recycled into the EPS as teachers. Shortly afterwards, the Head of the EPS in question was replaced, by someone who could barely converse in English, was compliant to the management’s wishes and had the right political connections amongst other things! She has since been replaced by a 'workers' committee!
Given that most of the EPS Foundation Programmes appear to be less than satisfactory, and there appears to be no real desire to rectify the problems that have now existed for some time, we would urge all foreign students to consider the following suggestions.
Most countries will have English foundation schools designed to help students to pass the internationally recognized TOEFL, Cambridge, or IELTS examinations. We would strongly suggest that any student, keen to speak and study in English, consider enrolling in one of those courses. The course in itself might prove to be more expensive than an English Foundation Course in North Cyprus, but when you take into account the generally poor standard of English language teaching, the high cost of accommodation coupled with almost European prices for food and everyday items, you may indeed find that course available in your own country will turn out to be more cost effective. Once armed with your internationally recognized exam pass you can then enroll on any degree programme at any university in Northern Cyprus, provided you meet other minimal requirements. These are likely to be centered around money incidentally!
Any student thinking of going to Cyprus will need to do some careful detective work before making a firm commitment; relying on glossy advertising, agent’s advice, and university websites could prove to be an expensive mistake resulting in a very unpleasant experience for the unwary.
Websites such as this, and of a similar type, are sure to be branded as a forum for those “wishing to grind axes,” or for those suffering from an overdose of “sour grapes” and ultimately that they are all lies. Our reply to such accusations would be that anyone having experienced prejudice or racism for example, might indeed have an axe to grind, but it doesn’t stop them informing others.
We advise any potential student to do their own research into which university is best for them. Further education is expensive; money invested in your further education must be spent carefully. Decisions about where you spend your money should only be made after you have carefully studied all the information available. Furthermore, it is our opinion that you should not commit any large sums of money until you are absolutely satisfied with what you are offered. Any sums handed over are unlikely to be returned in the event of a dispute.
ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT CAREFULLY; GET
EVERYTHING OF IMPORTANCE IN WRITING. SHOULD ANY INSTITUTION REFUSE TO DO THIS,
YOU MIGHT TAKE THIS REFUSAL AS A WARNING TO LOOK ELSEWHERE.
We welcome comments from individual students or teachers who are working in, or who have had experience of the universities in North Cyprus. We will be happy to publish your experiences if you wish, provided they meet with the website legal requirements. However, it might be wise to use an independent Internet Café when sending articles to us for consideration rather than rely on the security of any university server. All of us on this website wish you every success with your future studies in N. Cyprus.
This website is entirely voluntary and receives no financial assistance from any universities featured here, or any governmental group or organization.
Finally, all entries describing each individual university have been submitted to the university concerned for comment or correction.
Translated from a German text document 13/2/05 for ISAS.
Urs Thyssen, Webmaster, Switzerland. 2006.