Women’s Enrollment & Participation Policy

1. Purpose

An-Najah National University (ANNU) is committed to women’s equitable access to higher education and full participation in university life. This policy establishes fair, transparent, and supportive pathways for women from application and acceptance through enrollment, academic progression, graduation, and leadership.

The policy’s objectives are to:

1. Ensure equal opportunity for women in applications, admission, and entry to all University programs.

2. Encourage applications to programs where women are underrepresented.

3. Identify and address financial, academic, social, and accessibility barriers affecting women’s enrollment and participation.

4. Support women’s retention, academic success, research participation, and graduation.

5. Strengthen women’s participation in student governance, extracurricular activities, innovation, and leadership.

6. Monitor outcomes annually and establish measurable improvement objectives where inequalities are identified.

2. Scope

This policy applies across all University campuses, faculties, departments, and relevant centers. It covers:

• Domestic and international applicants to undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional programs.

• Application, selection, admission offers, acceptance, registration, and entry.

• Enrolled students’ academic progression, retention, completion, and graduation.

• Participation in research, practical training, student organizations, extracurricular activities, and leadership.

• Scholarships, financial assistance, mentoring, counseling, accessibility services, and career guidance.

It applies to staff and University representatives responsible for admissions, teaching, student support, and activities covered by this policy.

3. Guiding Principles

• Equal opportunity: Women shall have equitable access to every stage of the student journey.

• Fair and transparent selection: Admissions decisions shall follow published academic requirements and consistently applied criteria.

• Non-discrimination: Women shall not be disadvantaged because of gender, marital status, pregnancy, motherhood, or family responsibilities.

• Evidence-based improvement: Monitoring shall guide actions to address identified barriers and inequalities.

• Inclusive participation: Support shall recognize the needs of women facing overlapping disadvantages, including disability and financial hardship.

• Accountability and confidentiality: Responsible offices shall document implementation and protect applicants’ and students’ personal information.

4. Policy Commitments

4.1. Women’s Applications

The University shall:

• Publish accessible information on programs, entry requirements, application procedures, deadlines, fees, and available support.

• Provide application guidance to prospective women students.

• Conduct outreach to secondary schools, communities, and families to explain higher education opportunities and available assistance.

• Encourage women to apply to programs where monitoring demonstrates underrepresentation, including relevant fields within engineering, ICT, and physical sciences.

• Identify barriers arising before application and use outreach, preparatory guidance, mentoring, and financial information to address them.

4.2. Women’s Acceptance and Entry

The University shall:

• Apply fair, transparent, and consistently documented admissions procedures.

• Evaluate applicants against published program requirements and academic criteria.

• Prohibit discriminatory treatment during selection, admission offers, registration, and entry.

• Provide guidance to women who receive offers but encounter difficulties completing registration or beginning their studies.

• Provide reasonable accessibility arrangements for applicants with disabilities.

• Examine differences between applications, offers, and actual entry to identify where women may face barriers.

Where direct intervention at selection is inappropriate, the University shall use monitoring findings to address underlying inequalities through earlier outreach, preparation, and support, while maintaining academic standards.

4.3. Scholarships and Financial Assistance

The University shall:

• Provide clear information about scholarships, financial assistance, fee waivers, and application procedures.

• Support access to available assistance for women from financially disadvantaged or underrepresented groups, according to approved eligibility criteria.

• Seek partnerships with donors, NGOs, and other relevant bodies to expand financial support opportunities.

• Monitor whether financial barriers contribute to women declining admission offers, interrupting study, or withdrawing, and use the findings to guide support.

4.4. Academic Support, Retention, and Completion

The University shall:

• Facilitate access to academic advising, mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and peer support.

• Encourage mentoring involving female faculty members and other appropriate role models.

• Identify students at risk of academic difficulty or withdrawal and offer timely support.

• Support continuity of study for women with pregnancy, motherhood, or caregiving responsibilities through arrangements permitted under University regulations.

• Ensure that accessing support does not result in discriminatory treatment or reduced academic opportunities.

• Monitor women’s progression, retention, completion, and graduation to identify persistent barriers.

4.5. Participation in University Life

The University shall promote equitable opportunities for women to participate in:

• Research projects, practical training, internships, and academic development.

• Student organizations, representative bodies, and University committees open to students.

• Innovation, entrepreneurship, community engagement, and extracurricular activities.

• Leadership development and decision-making opportunities.

Faculties and relevant offices shall review participation patterns and address barriers such as inaccessible information, scheduling difficulties, discriminatory practices, and unequal access to opportunities.

5. Monitoring and Performance Indicators

The Deanship of Admission and Registration, working with faculties and relevant student support and quality assurance functions, shall coordinate annual monitoring.

Monitoring shall include the following indicators:

Stage	Required measures
Applications	Number of women applicants and women’s share of all applicants.
Admission offers	Number of women receiving offers, women’s share of all offer recipients, and women’s offer rate.
Acceptance of offers	Number and proportion of women accepting offers, where acceptance is recorded separately.
Entry	Number of women newly enrolled, women’s share of all new entrants, and conversion from offers to enrollment.
Enrollment	Number and percentage of women among enrolled students.
Retention and progression	Continuation, progression, interruption, and withdrawal rates for women.
Completion and graduation	Completion rates for defined cohorts and women’s share of graduates.
Participation	Available measures of women’s participation in research, student representation, leadership, training, and extracurricular opportunities.
Support	Uptake of scholarships, mentoring, academic support, and other relevant services.

For consistent reporting:

• Women’s offer rate means women receiving an admission offer divided by women applicants, multiplied by 100.

• Women’s offer acceptance rate means women accepting an offer divided by women receiving an offer, multiplied by 100, where separately recorded.

• Women’s entry conversion rate means women newly enrolled divided by women receiving an offer, multiplied by 100.

• Retention and completion measures shall identify the cohort, reporting period, and denominator used.

Data shall be broken down by faculty, program, and study level where available and appropriate. Comparisons with men and with previous academic years shall help identify inequalities. Additional breakdowns shall be used only where data can be collected appropriately and confidentiality maintained.

6. Annual Objectives and Improvement Actions

Each academic year, the University shall:

1. Review monitoring findings and identify programs or stages where women are underrepresented or experience unequal outcomes.

2. Investigate likely barriers using available data and consultation with applicants, students, and relevant staff.

3. Establish measurable improvement objectives based on the findings.

4. Assign a responsible office, implementation timeframe, and appropriate resources for each action.

5. Review progress during the following reporting cycle and adjust actions where necessary.

Each objective shall specify a baseline, an intended improvement, a timeframe, and a measure of success.

Actions may include targeted school outreach, clearer application guidance, financial assistance, preparatory support, mentoring, improved accessibility, or measures supporting retention and participation. Objectives shall reflect documented needs and preserve fair admissions and academic standards.

7. Implementation and Responsibilities

• Deanship of Admission and Registration: Leads implementation for applications, admissions, registration, and entry; maintains relevant records; and coordinates monitoring of these stages.

• Faculties and academic departments: Monitor academic progression and participation within programs, provide advising and mentoring, and implement agreed improvement actions.

• Deanship of Student Affairs: Coordinates relevant student support, participation opportunities, and assistance with concerns affecting university life.

• Scholarships Office and relevant financial support functions: Communicate available assistance and administer support under approved criteria.

• Relevant quality assurance function: Consolidates annual findings, tracks improvement objectives, and supports policy evaluation.

• University administration: Oversees implementation and considers recommendations requiring institutional decisions or resources.

Responsible offices shall cooperate to ensure that barriers identified at one stage are addressed across the student journey.

8. Complaints and Admissions Appeals

Women applicants and students shall have access to established University procedures for raising concerns about discrimination, unfair treatment, or barriers to participation.

• Applicants may submit admissions concerns or appeals to the Deanship of Admission and Registration through its official channels.

• Enrolled students may raise participation or support concerns with the Deanship of Student Affairs or their faculty.

• Receiving offices shall explain the applicable procedure and refer matters to the competent University authority where necessary.

• Complaints and appeals shall be assessed fairly, with confidentiality maintained to the extent consistent with investigation and resolution.

• Individuals shall be protected from retaliation for raising concerns in good faith.

• Where a concern involves the receiving office or a conflict of interest, it shall be referred to an appropriate independent University authority.

9. Reporting and Data Protection

The University shall prepare an annual institutional summary of monitoring findings, improvement objectives, actions taken, and progress.

Relevant aggregate information shall be published through appropriate University reporting channels, including sustainability webpages, while protecting individual privacy.

Personal records shall be accessible only to authorized staff. Public reporting shall avoid identifying individuals, including through small groups or sensitive information.

10. Policy Review

This policy shall be reviewed periodically and whenever monitoring findings, complaints, or changes in University procedures indicate a need for revision.

Reviews shall involve relevant University offices and consultation with women students, faculty, and other appropriate stakeholders. Review findings and approved amendments shall be documented.

11. Related Policies

This policy shall be read alongside:

• Equitable and Inclusive Student Admissions Policy

• Non-Discrimination Against Women Policy

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

• Disability and Accessibility Policy

• Protection of Whistleblowers Against Discrimination Policy

Effective Date: October 12, 2021
Last Documented Review Date: June 15, 2025