Frequently Asked Questions

Most of your contact prior to your trip will be with the U.S. Coordinator and U.S. Assistant Coordinator. Once you arrive in country the Jordan Coordinators will assist you with most of your questions. If you have a general question, or if you are not sure who you should contact, please contact the U.S. Assistant Coordinator.

Jordan Coordinator: Muntaha Gharaibeh, Ph.D.
muntaha@just.edu.jo

Jordan Assistant Coordinator: Laila M. Akhu-Zaheya, PhD
akhuzaheyalaila@yahoo.com

Jordan Assistant Coordinator: Arwa Oweis
arwa@just.edu.jo

Jordan Assistant Coordinator: Nahla Malkawi
nahlakhozama@yahoo.com

U.S. Coordinator: Linda J. Hayes, Ph.D.
lhayes@unr.edu

U.S. Assistant Coordinator: Erick M. Dubuque, M.A.
erickdubuque@yahoo.com
(775) 225-6980

U.S. Assistant Coordinator: Maria Isabel Munoz Blanco, M.A.
mimunozb@bt.unal.edu.co

In October of 2005, a delegation from the Association for Behavior Analysis, International visited the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with the purpose of exploring and promoting the long-term development of behavior analysis in the region. The delegates included: Wayne Fisher, Ph.D., Linda J. Hayes, Ph.D., Alexandra Logue, Ph.D., Maria E. Malott, Ph.D., and M. Jackson Marr, Ph.D. During their visit the delegation met with several prominent figures in government, education, and military including a visit with Her Royal Highness, Princess Muna Al Hussein, the mother of Jordan’s King, His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein (Association for Behavior Analysis Newsletter, 2005, Vol. 28, No. 3). A main topic of interest discussed during these meetings was the establishment of higher education programs in behavior analysis designed to train practitioners and educators. In response to these concerns, Dr. Wjih Owais, President of the Jordanian University of Science and Technology (JUST), unveiled his plan to establish the first Middle Eastern Masters degree program in Applied Behavior Health Analysis. The program has been in existence within the Faculty of Nursing Program at JUST since the Summer of 2007 and currently has 2 cohorts of students enrolled.

Below is the general plan of study for the JUST Masters Degree Program in Applied Behavior Health Analysis. Courses are listed in the order they are generally taught although in the past some small changes have been made to accommodate instructors’ schedules. If you would like a confirmed list of the courses students have been exposed to prior to your class you should visit the Program website and click on the “Plan of Study” link located in the menu on the screen.

Introduction to Behavior Science (1 credit)
Ethical Guidelines for Behavior Analysts (1 credit)
Principles of Behavior (3 credits)
Applied Research Methods (3 credits)
Behavior Assessment (3 credits)
Practicum I: Observation and Assessment (1 credit)
Behavioral Interventions (3 credits)
Analysis of Complex Human Behavior (3 credits)
Practicum II: Behavioral Interventions (1 credit)
Applied Behavior Analysis Survey (3 credits)
Practicum III: Behavior Development (1 credit)
Behavior Systems Analysis (3 credits)
Practicum IV: Behavioral Health Interventions (1 credit)
Behavior Therapy (3 credits)
Graduate Research (3 credits)

Academic instruction is delivered by doctoral level behavior analysts who have a specialization in the course they are teaching. The mode of instruction for academic courses is designed to be relatively flexible allowing instructors to conduct their courses using the internet and on-site instruction. This flexibility allows instructors with other full-time jobs to complete their primary responsibilities while still working in the JUST program. Since its inception the program has been fortunate to hire several prominent scholars and practitioners within the field. Below is a list of the instructors that have taught in the Program since Fall of 2009.

Michele Bishop, Ph.D.
Michael Dorsey, Ph.D.
Michael Dougher, Ph.D.
Mitch Fryling, Ph.D.
Linda, J. Hayes, Ph.D.
Martha Hubner, Ph.D.
Daniel Hursh, Ph.D.
Marianne Jackson, Ph.D.
Kate Kellum, Ph.D.
Barbara Kohlenberg, Ph.D.
Kennon A. Lattal, Ph.D.
Richard Malott, Ph.D.
M. Jackson Marr, Ph.D.
N. Joseph Rodrigues, Ph.D.
Sigurdur Sigurdsson, Ph.D.
W. Larry Williams, Ph.D.

If you would like more information about which courses these instructors taught please visit the "Instructor Roster" page on this site.

There are two general course formats used to delivery instruction in the program. The format decided upon is dependent on the type of course and instructor’s schedule. The type of format you use for your course should be decided upon before you agree to teach in the program. The two most common formats listed below are only for 3 credit courses. One credit courses must be taught face-to-face in Jordan over a 1 week period.

1. 3-week face-to-face: This format involves the instructor delivering the course in Jordan. The class is scheduled from Sunday through Thursday (Friday and Saturday there are no classes) for 3 hours. In other words, instructors will teach a total of 15 hours a week for a total of 3 weeks (i.e. 45 hours).
2. 7-week hybrid (3-1-3): The 7 week hybrid course involves 3 weeks of online course instruction, followed by 1 week of face-to-face instruction in Jordan, followed by the final 3 weeks online. Instructors are required to provide 5 hours of online assignments a week during the total 6 weeks the course is online. This instruction can come in the form of writing assignments, readings, essays, projects, etc. In addition, half way through the semester instructors will need to travel to Jordan to provide 1 week of face-to-face instruction. During this week, instructors should expect to teach for 3 hours a day, Sunday through Thursday, for a total of 15 hours.

Flights to and from Amman, Jordan are organized and scheduled in conjunction with the U.S. Coordinators for the program. Once dates for the course are agreed upon, this information is sent to the Jordan Coordinators for the program, who book and pay for the the plane tickets for the instructor. Unless they are unable to, JUST will book an e-ticket for you and your flight information will be sent to you. At that point you only need to show up at the airport with your passport at the designated date and time to claim your seat on the plane.

Most citizens from foreign countries are able to obtain a visa upon arriving at the airport (e.g. U.S and Canadian citizens) However, there are some noticeable exceptions (e.g. Columbian) and it is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that they complete all of the requirements necessary to obtain a visa prior to flying to Jordan. For those instructors that need to purchase a visa before arriving in Jordan they should note that this process can sometimes take several weeks and often requires a special letter from JUST to the embassy. Any instructors that need to purchase a visa prior to arriving in Jordan should immediately contact the U.S. Assistant Coordinator.

JUST pays instructors $3,000 USD for a 3-credit course, $1,000 USD for a 1 credit course and $3,000 USD each for practicum co-instructors. Instructors receive their money either by check at the end of their course or by wire transfer depending on the instructor’s preference. If payment is made by check the instructor should arrange a ride with JUST to bring them to the bank to cash their check immediately after the last day of their class before the banks close. Before deciding on this option instructors should note that past experience has taught us that there are some high fees for cashing a check in Jordan. If an instructor would prefer a wire transfer, then before arriving in Jordan they should visit their banks and request all of the information their bank needs to successfully complete the transaction. In addition, to writing down their personal account and routing numbers, instructors should ask for the bank’s international routing number and address. Please note that the international routing number is not the same as the routing number shown on your checks.

Invitations to teach in the Program are handled initially by the U.S. Coordinators. Decisions about teaching invitations are made based on relevant experience, educational background, and in the case of practicum instructors, practical experience. Individuals interested in teaching in the program may apply to teach using the application listed on this website.

The U.S. Coordinators will send an email invitation to instructors they think are qualified to teach in the program. The invitation letters will include details about the teaching assignment. If the applicant accepts the invitation then they provide their contact information to the Coordinators so they can notify JUST. JUST then mails out an official letter of invitation to the instructor from the President of the University.

We found that most of the students speak and understand instruction in English without a problem. It is sometimes necessary to have them repeat or paraphrase what you have told them as they will nod as if they understand and say that they understand without actually understanding. However, writing in English does not appear to be a strong point for most of the students and you should expect to put some time into correcting grammatical errors if you plan on having them submit any writing samples.

Email addresses and access to a mailing list for all of the students will be provided to the instructor once it is confirmed they are teaching the course. It is the instructor’s responsibility to confirm the dates and times of their meetings with students and to provide them with any information relevant to the course. Most students in the program work and therefore it is important that they are informed about course times and dates as soon as possible so they can schedule accordingly. An up-to-date contact list can be found on this site.

By default every instructor is assigned a single course webpage designed to list basic information about their course (usually information taken from the syllabus). However, if you would like additional functionality to your course web pages then the U.S. Assistant Director, Erick Dubuque, may be able to set you up with some additional resources to help you deliver your course materials. Some of the functionality we can offer include the following:
 
Course Webpages
Course Forums
Course Evaluations
Course Resource Page
Online Quizzing (e.g. multiple choice, essay, etc.)
Easy File Uploads
RSS Feeds
and more...

Please be aware that the website is still relatively new and we are still becoming accustomed to the many different options we can offer instructors. If you have a specific request for your course website please contact Erick Dubuque at erickdubuque@yahoo.com and he may be able to assist you.

When the course is finished instructors will need to submit their grades to the Jordan Program Coordinator. Grades should be sent using a form provided by JUST. You can find a copy of this form by clicking on the "Instructor Resources" link on this website. In the form, you have been provided an example of how grades should be listed using 3 fictional students. Grades are divided into 3 categories. These categories include: coursework (50%), final exam (50%) and total grade (coursework plus final exam score). Although 50% of the grade for the class must be designated for the final exam the instructor may include other coursework activities in this category if they believe that this puts too much emphasis on the final test or project. However, there should be a clear delineation between the coursework grade and the final grade such that two separate scores can be provided and so that a Total grade can be calculated.

A student must score 70% or better in a course in order to pass. Generally speaking, grading practices in Jordan are considerably stricter than in other programs found in the U.S. For example, in most of the JUST graduate programs it is unusual for a student to receive an “A” or higher. Instructors are free to set their own grading policy, but are strongly advised to avoid offering “easy A’s” in the program. As a point of reference, instructors who have experience with grading policies in U.S. institutions should consider a 90% earned in a U.S. institution as equivalent to an 80% at JUST. The JUST administration has informed us that when all students in a cohort earn 90’s or above it sends out the message that the coursework in the program is not challenging and therefore not as prestigious as other graduate programs offered by JUST. For questions about or assistance setting grading policies please email the U.S. Assistant Coordinator.

If you plan on using PowerPoint in your lectures or would like to use a computer during your stay, you should bring a laptop with you to Jordan. A projector (and whiteboard) is available in the classroom for instuctors to use. We've had problems with computer viruses in the past so please be careful about using student's USB memory sticks with your laptop.
 
The electricity situation in Jordan is a bit frustrating and you will need outlet adaptors. You can find adaptors at Safeway in Irbid and sometimes even at the little store next to your housing unit but these are often very cheaply made. We recommend bringing adaptors from home especially for use with your laptops. One of our laptop cords burnt out because we used one of the cheap outlet adaptors and we were left with only one laptop for the last 4 weeks of the Practicum. Most of the outlets in the rooms you will be using are known as G Plugs.
 
We also recommend that you bring a single hard copy of any materials you plan on using in your class. You do have access to print using the secretary's computer but the printer is extremely slow and is not recommended for large documents. Copies on the other hand are relatively easy to make in a room across from the Dean's office.

You will be picked up by a driver from JUST upon your arrival in Amman. The driver will take you to the faculty housing where you will be staying during your time in Jordan. Instructors can also arrange for rides to and from their classroom on the university or if they prefer they can walk from their housing (1.5 miles). If you wish to arrange a ride you can call the Faculty of Nursing’s Office from your faculty housing phone at 23606.

Instructors can print materials by using the computer in the secretary's office next to the Dean of Nursing. Instructors should be forewarned that printing from that computer is often a very slow process and is not recommended for very large documents. We recommend that instructors bring a single hard copy of all the materials they will need for the class or require students to print materials.
 
Instructors can make copies of their materials in a room opposite to the Dean's Office. To find the room just ask the Dean's secretary.

Once you have completed your course we ask all instructors to take a moment to fill out our online instructor evaluation. Your feedback on this evaluation is valuable as we use this information to assist in the overall improvement of the program. To locate the instructor evaluation, login to the site and look for the “JUST Instructor Resources” menu. In this menu click on the item labeled “Instructor Evaluation” and follow the instructions on the screen.

At the end of your course, we request that students fill out online evaluations of your course. If you would like a course evaluation report created for you based on your student’s feedback please send your request to Erick Dubuque at erickdubuque@yahoo.com.

Sometimes on your trip back from Amman you will need to stay overnight at a hotel. JUST should provide you with a hotel voucher during your stay. It is the instructor’s responsibility to look over their flight information and determine whether they will need a hotel voucher. If one is needed then they should see the secretary of the Faculty of Nursing Department. Hotel vouchers are used by trading them in at the Royal Jordanian desk in the airport located in the city you will be staying in.

If you are scheduled to be in Jordan for a 3-week period or longer you will be living in the JUST Faculty housing. The faculty housing building is located next to a cluster of other dorm buildings that house female students attending JUST. You should not enter these other buildings uninvited especially if you are a man. Previous instructors have stayed in the fourth floor of the B4 building in the hospitality suite. The suite consists of 3 rooms each with its own bathroom, air-conditioning, internet connections, mini-fridge, bed, and kitchenette. There is also 1 large lobby room located in the suite with a TV, internet connections, several chairs, couches, and tables.

If you are scheduled to be in Jordan for a week or less than you may be staying in a hotel in Irbid located 15 minutes from the University. The hotels in Irbid have private bathrooms, TVs, and other basic amenities. Some of the hotels have wireless internet connections in their lobbies. However, if no connection is available then there are plenty of internet cafes within walking distance of all the hotels.

The housing complexes on the University compound most instructors stay in during their time in Jordan are located rather far from the University and both the housing complexes and the University are not really located next to anything. It is possible to walk to the University from the housing complex but you should expect the walk to take around 20-25 minutes. The University is about 20 minutes by car from Irbid, the nearest city. Fortunately, it is very easy to schedule a driver to take you to the University when you want to go. Just let the Dean of Nursing know your schedule the day before so he can arrange your rides.

The other option for getting around or outside the University is to learn the bus system. During the summer the public buses going back and forth from Irbid to JUST stop running around 4:00pm. The times may be later during the other months but you should double check. From the bus station you can take a cab or a bus to Irbid and other surrounding cities.
If you decide to take a bus to Irbid, it is highly advisable to take it from the Hospital instead of the university bus station, since this bus for only ½ a Jordanian Dinar (about 75 cents) will take you faster to Irbid's bus station from which you can take cab from there to other parts of the city or even a bus to any other town in Jordan including Amman. Buses from the Hospital are more frequent and even in the summer they run everyday (less frequently on Friday) until 6:00 pm or later. The Hospital is located close to the Nursing building and anyone will be able to give you directions. Also a bus leaves at 6:00 pm from the dorms to University Street in Irbid (a very popular street) and returns at 8:30 pm in the same place that it left you. If you plan to return at night, you can either take the dorms' bus or take a cab for about 4 Jordan Dinars (about 7 dollars). Make sure you know the prices before getting into a vehicle, as drivers will sometimes try to charge you the “tourist” price if you don’t know how much you are supposed to pay.
A bus from Irbid to Amman (the capital city) is around 4 Jordanian Dinars, however, these prices may have changed.

If you stay at a hotel in Irbid during your time in Jordan then it is easy enough to get around the city by walking or taking cabs and buses. Many of the drivers speak English, however, you should ask for a business card from the hotel you are staying at to show the cab driver when you wish to return to your hotel.

Rides to and from your housing to class are arranged by the University. You should inform them of when you want to be picked up and when you will want to return to class ahead of time.

The University is under contract to provide instructors with a lunch everyday except Friday and Saturday. Lunch can be scheduled at any reasonable time you prefer but after 3:00pm the staff appear to be finished for the day. The lunch-time meal is the biggest meal of the day for Jordanians. The lunch provided by the University is always a very large meal consisting of a soda and bottle of water, bowls of baba ganoush, humus, flat bread, a salad, the main course (meat; either chicken, beef, lamb, or a combination, a vegetable; carrots, peas, beans, cabbage, or a combination; and a starch; rice, French fries, mashed potatoes) and a fruit desert (e.g. oranges, apples, watermelon, or cantaloupe).
Since this lunch is probably more than what you can eat, a good idea is to ask the kitchen staff to what is left of it. Most of the kitchen staff do not speak English very well, however, the words "take out" have been adhered to the vocabulary of Jordanians.
Although the lunch time feast will probably take care of most of your meal requirements you will probably also want to purchase items to snack on or cook in your suite. There are generally three options for getting food. The first option is to talk to the Dean of Nursing and ask him to schedule a driver to take you to Safeway. Generally, you should give at least 24-hours notice before making a request for a driver. You should be able to take care of all your shopping needs at Safeway. You will find food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and other various living items there. The second food option is to visit the small store next to your housing unit. Surprisingly the store has a number of food and toiletry items. Including, ice cream, flat bread, coffee, chips, eggs, fruits, vegetables, cookies, chocolate, sodas, milk, orange juice, bottled water, toilet paper, etc.
The third option is to go out to eat. Irbid has plenty of restaurants and there is also a restaurant located in the same building as the small store next to the housing complex. Some of the traditional food includes shawerma (a sandwich made of lamb or chicken and Bedouins' bread) and sandwich falafel (vegetables and falafel balls). For desert you can find kanafa or Kanafeh (soft cheese covered by is a very fine vermicelli-like pastry) or baklawa or baklaba (rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey).

Both male and female instructors should bring at least one nice professional outfit. Men should bring a tie and women should bring an outfit that they would wear to a conference (as long as it’s appropriate for the culture).  For Jordanian men, a typical outfit usually consists of a collared shirt tucked into some nice pants. For women a typical outfit (outside of traditional wear) consisted of nice shoes with at least some heel and slacks. If you travel during the summer, you can wear sandals instead of shoes. Non-muslim women can show off their elbows, but you should be aware that the more traditional students in the program appreciate a ¾ length sleeve. Women should not show off any cleavage. Dresses and capris are also accepted in the community as long as it covers your knees while you are sitting. In addition, women may want to consider bringing a semi-formal dress for occasions like weddings.

At the time of this writing, 1 U.S. dollar was equal to about .70 Jordanian Dinars. It is important to note that prices are listed to the hundreds place (e.g., $2.160 JD) instead of the U.S. dollar’s tens place (e.g., $2.16). In other words, if you see a price tag for “1.300” or “1300”the item costs 1.3 Jordanian dinars (or about $2.00 USD) not 13 Jordanian dinars. for up-to-date information on currency rates please click here.

Every room in the JUST housing complex has a television with about 350 channels. Unfortunately, only about 7 of those channels play English language programming. However, the TV isn’t terrible and there is often movies or old TV seasons that can be found. The English speaking channels are 1 (CNN), 2 (Music channel), 3 (MBC, similar to NBC, ABC, or Fox), 4 (same as channel 3), 5 (same as channel 3), 6 (same as channel 3 but plays more action movies), 134 (BBC), and 231 (sometimes this is 230). I found this channel late in our stay, it is Al-Jazera International, the news channel you can’t get in the states. Other stations also sometimes play English programming but not really often enough for you to want to channel surf through 350 channels to find something.
Please notice that the channels change according to the room, some rooms have more channels than others.
Other Movie Options
If you want to watch movies we suggest renting movies from the iTunes store before you arrive in Jordan. When we first came here we were able to download movies in our room but then the SmartFilter started blocking the iTunes store. A second option is to just bring TV series or DVDs that you can play off of your computer.

If you want your clothes dry cleaned or laundered you can either buy powdered soap or detergent and wash them in your kitchen sink or bring your dirty clothes to the small store near your room and ask them to send your laundry out. If you choose to send your laundry out be sure to specify if you want them washed or dry cleaned. Your items will be returned in two or three days and you can pay for them when you pick them up. If you would like to wash your clothes in your room it might be a good idea to bring a clothesline and some clothespins so you can hang your wet clothes in your bathroom to dry.