Abstract
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s current effort in developing its higher education sector and building world-class universities has drawn international attention. In particular, its higher education reform is aimed at preparing the Kingdom for a future that does not solely depend on its oil resources, and thus strive to assume a key position not only in the Middle East but also the world. With full support from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and his government, a range of policies and approaches have been implemented, both at the national and institutional levels, geared to fulfilling these ambitions. Based on this socio-economic context, this chapter provides a review of the current developments and strategies of higher education reform in the Kingdom. More specifically, a case study of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) is presented to illustrate how these national strategies and policies are being adopted at the institutional level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Academic Leadership Centre. (2012). Mission and Vision. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.alc.edu.sa/Page.aspx?id=6
Al-Mubaraki, A. A. S. (2011). Natioanl and global challenges to higher education in Saudi Arabia: Current development and future strategies. In S. Marginson, S. Kaur, & E. Sawir (Eds.), Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific, Higher Education, Dynamics 36. Dordrecht: Springer.
Arab News. (2012, May 2). King Abdullah’s SR 81.5 billion to education. Arab News. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article622349.ece
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. (2006). The First Strategic Planning. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www1.kfupm.edu.sa/opq/
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. (2011). The Second Strategic Planning. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www1.kfupm.edu.sa/opq/ssp/index.html
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. (2012a). Development of Creativity and Excellence of Faculty Members in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www1.kfupm.edu.sa/dad/excellence/
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. (2012b). Research Overview. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.kfupm.edu.sa/SitePages/en/DetailPage.aspx?CUSTOMID=16&LinkID=Link3
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. (2012c). Patent Portfolio. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://dtv.kfupm.edu.sa/IC/patport.html
Marginson, S., & Wende, M. C. van der. (2007). Globalization and Higher Education. OECD Directorate for Education, OECD Education working papers series, Working Paper No.8. Paris: OECD.
Ministry of Economy and Planning. (2011). KSA Economy in Figures. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.mep.gov.sa/inetforms/article/Download.jsp;jsessionid=7AFA795010945EE8F6AC9967BBEBEA36.alfa?Download.ObjectID=181
Ministry of Higher Education. (2010a). Saudi Arabia: Kingdom of Humanity. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.mohe.gov.sa/en/studyinside/aboutKSA/Pages/default.aspx
Ministry of Higher Education. (2010b). Women in Higher Education: Saudi Arabia Initiatives and Achievements. Riyadh: Ministry of Higher Education.
Ministry of Higher Education. (2010c). The King Abdullah Scholarship Programme. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.mohe.gov.sa/en/studyaboard/King-Abdulla-hstages/Pages/default.aspx
Ministry of Higher Education. (2010d). King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.mohe.gov.sa/en/studyinside/Government-Universities/Pages/KFUPM.aspx
National Commission for Assessment and Accreditation. (2010). Vision and Mission. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.ncaaa.org.sa/english/acmspage.aspx?id=4
Onsman, A. (2011). It is better to light a candle than to ban the darkness: Government led academic development in Saudi Arabian universities. Higher Education, 62(4), 519–532.
Quacquarelli Symonds. (2011). Top Universities: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/king-fahd-university-petroleum-minerals/wur
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. (2007). The 43rd Annual Report. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Research and Statistics Department.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University. (2011). Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.arwu.org.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sait, S.M. (2013). Policies on Building World-Class Universities in Saudi Arabia. In: Wang, Q., Cheng, Y., Liu, N.C. (eds) Building World-Class Universities. Global Perspectives on Higher Education, vol 25. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-034-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-034-7_7
Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam
Online ISBN: 978-94-6209-034-7
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)
