University of Dubai and the Princeton Review Score Plus hosted the 5th Annual Forum for School Principals and Student Counselors at Dubai Chamber on March 3, 2015. More than 45 principals and counselors from top schools in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain attended the event, organized under the theme Bolstering Counselors Arsenal.
Welcoming the participants, Dr. Eesa M. Bastaki, President of University of Dubai, stated: University of Dubai supports the mission of school counselors and their role in bringing out the best in UAE education.
Suresh Nathan, Head of Admission Consulting Services at The Princeton Review Score Plus, spoke on the new challenges facing the counselors amid new admissions trends such as Early Decision II, Video Interviews, and the use of anti-plagiarism tools in colleges. He added that counselors role would become more challenging once the changes are implemented.
Dr. Harold Koster, Dean of Faculty of Law at University of Dubai, spoke on legal aspects of student counseling. During the highly interactive discussion, the counselors shared their experiences about the challenges they face while counseling students and discussed key issues such as privacy law, parenting role, and school regulations.
Dennis Ortiz, Master Trainer at The Princeton Review Score Plus, a graduate of Colombia University, USA, shared the transition challenges faced by UAE students. Ortiz, who has taught students in the UAE for over 10 years, stressed the importance of preparing high school students for college.
Expressing satisfaction at the Forum, Damian Graizevsky from Kings School said the presentation provided informative insights to better support students, while Lynn Prince from Dubai Women College High School said the event helped created appropriate awareness. All the participants felt the Forum offered an opportunity to share and learn from each other and was therefore highly beneficial.
About The Princeton Review - Score Plus Education
The Princeton Review has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for 34 years through college and graduate school test preparation, private tutoring, and more than 150 books published by Random House. The company is headquartered in Framingham, MA, with 1100 locations across the USA and abroad.