III. Summary of Market Scan Findings

IPSOS conducted an in-depth market research on the KSA Education market in December 2021 with the following objectives to develop a sound strategic plan for Effat University (EU):

Macroeconomic and Employment Landscape –Economic profile of KSA and its key industries, current and future demand of programs of KSA

POV – Employers – Interviewing potential employers within institutions in the target segment to understand the expectations from candidates and programs

POV – Students & Parents – Understanding the perceptions and attitudes of the current students and potential students and their parents, towards universities and programs

To achieve the objective, IPSOS conducted a comprehensive desk research, quantitative survey with 875+ stakeholders (employers (50), current students (154), potential students (61) and parents (112) of the potential students), backed up by qualitative research for deeper insights.

Here are the key findings from the research for the three departments for Effat College of Architecture and Design: Architecture (Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Science in Urban Design), DESN department (Bachelor of Science in Design comprising interior design and product design tracks), and finally School of Cinematic Arts (Bachelor of Science in Cinematic Arts including animation and direction & production tracks).

Macroeconomic and Employment Landscape

• While oil remains the major export product for Saudi Arabia, its dominance of the total export share for the country has declined over the past few years as shown in the graph below:

• 80% of the population is employed by private companies while 20% are in government services.

• 56% of the employed population is at the bachelor’s or equivalent level.

• Human Capital Development Program (HCDP) has set a goal to raise the percentage of higher education graduates in employment within six months of graduation from 4.5% in 2019 to 20% in 2025.

• It is clear from this chart that employers from manufacturing and construction are about 11 % who would be seeking our graduates from Architecture, Interior Design, and product Design. It is worth to mention that this graph lacks information about the growing entertainment sector in Saudi Arabia which School of Cinematic Arts, including animation, direction, and production tracks, can support.

• According to the market study, KSA would need professionals with hands-on training in specializations such as machine tooling, metalworking, electro-mechanics, and auto mechanics. These specializations are covered under Product Design track in the Design department.

• The market study has also indicated that Saudi Arabia will invest over SAR 500 billion in airports, seaports, rail and other infrastructure by 2030 to make the kingdom a global transportation and logistics hub. These will secure many job opportunities for our graduates from Architecture and DESN undergraduate program and our postgraduate program: Master of Science in Urban Design.

• It is worth mentioning that travel and tourism are currently accounting for 9% of GDP and is expected to grow at an accelerated rate thanks to $65 Billion earmarked for investment into the sector with remarkable government focus on that sector. This would again push for more jobs related to architecture and design (including product and interior design); as there would be more need for building related constructions and infrastructure. The tourism growth will be also associated with growth in entertainment sector as an accompanying sector, and thus securing more job opportunities for cinematic arts graduates.

• On the overall, and according to the following chart, it is evident that architecture, design and planning together with media and entertainment have 100% positive outlook reflecting the confidence of having come out the pandemic and on the path to recovery. This clearly indicates the needs for all programs covered by Effat College of Architecture and Design

• Despite a decline in overall population share, female share of total workforce has increased from 11% in 1990 to 16% in 2020.

• The chart below indicates the number of employees by sector, 2021:

Employers’ Point of View

This module captures the willingness and likelihood of employers in KSA to hire graduates of Effat University. The findings were as follows:

• Driven by Saudization, employers across sectors noted that entry level hiring is likely to grow more than 5% in the next 3 to 5 years. 6 -10% of the employees are at entry level/fresh graduates. Saudization is expected to bring about 7.6%-12.5% growth in recruiting entry level/fresh graduate candidates.

• 70% of the employers surveyed also stated when it comes to recruiting candidates for entry level jobs, the University the candidate graduated from is the most important parameter.

• The key parameters used by employers to evaluate a university are the ‘Reputation’ of the university, its ‘Partnership with International Universities’, ‘Regional Ranking’ & ‘Past Experience’ with the students from the same university. Below is the snapshot of the universities considered as most reputed among employers:

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

• Graduates from Effat College of Architecture and Design show great technical knowledge, communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills and practical exposure, which are amongst the most important characteristics employers are looking for.

• The ARCH program requires a completion of 120 hrs. of internship, while Design and Cinematic Arts programs both require the completion of 240 hrs. of internships. 62% of employers consider this an important skill in new employees.

• It is worth noting that students’ enrollment in the Ambassador Program and their participation in campus-wide activities and clubs, in addition to volunteering in events give them the practical exposure 70% of employers are looking for and the extracurricular activities 56% of employers are looking for.

• It is worth mentioning that Architecture program, having the NAAB certification represents an internationally accredited program; a certification that 80% of employers are looking for.

• Other programs/subjects suggested by employers that are likely to be in demand in the coming years are as follows:

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

• Effat University’s reputation stands tall amongst the private universities, with 56% of the employers considering EU as one of the most reputed universities.

• Majority of the employers state that they consider the candidates are technically sound, with very good communication skills, in addition to holding a recognized internationally accredited degree.

• 100% of the employers in Jeddah and Makkah are aware of Effat University, followed by 60% in Riyadh, while the awareness is lower in other regions of KSA.

• 70% of the employers that are aware of EU are inclined to recruit candidates from EU in the coming years.

• EU is currently ranked as 61 – 70 in QS Arab Regional Ranking 2022, moved up from 101 – 110 ranking in 2019, tracing an upward trajectory.

• EU has established strong partnerships with 15 global universities. In Effat College of Architecture and Design, Architecture and Master of Science in Urban design have partnership with Miami University, together with ongoing exchange activities with Kent State University, IU Hamburg, TU Berlin, and Kingstone University. Design program has partnership with Auburn University and fi Universiti Teknologi Mara in Malysia. Finally Cinematic Art has partnership with Tische University, New York, Bournemouth University, and Middle Tennesse State University.

• The table below depicts the key skills preferred by the employers in order to hire candidates:

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

• It is clear from the graph that 58% of employers suggest that media and communication will be in demand which indicated the high future market need for Cinematic Arts graduates.

• As for the employers’ propensity to hire candidates by different programs offered by Effat University, as indicated in the chart below, there is high demand for Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Science in Urban Design; mainly driven by the construction sector growth. Similarly, there is high demand for Bachelor of Science in Cinematic Arts; driven by regional and global trends. As for the design tracks, although the demand shown below is moderate, but it is expected that interior design and product design demand will also grow as a complementary specialization related to growth in manufacturing and construction sectors.

Existing

BSc

Demand likely to be in the following sectors

• While the employers (~10) that are likely to recruit from Effat in the coming years are content with the positive reputation of the university, technical skills of the students, positive relationship with EU, etc., they have suggested that the candidates from EU would have a scope to work on their confidence level and interpersonal/presentation skills.

• 75% of the employers would like to receive direct communication from EU about their updated curriculum to the industry needs and newsletters about their students’ achievements which will increase their likelihood of hiring from the university.

Existing Offerings of Effat University

Program / Specialization

English Language Training & Test Preparation

Professional certificates and Diplomas (e.g.Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Risk Management, etc.)

Short Courses (e.g. PMP, Six Sigma, Soft Skills, etc.)

Specialized Programs (e.g. Robot Design, Computer Applications, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Automotive Design, Photograpyh, etc.)

Verbatimsy

“These programs are designed for working professionals for working professionals for further career development and these programs are affordable”

“With Saudization being implemented, these programs would be critical to enhance the knowledge of the existing and new employees across sectors”

“Not aware that Effat is offering these programs”

“Why aren’t these programs offered online?”

“Online programs would help the corporates to suggest and encourage their employees to do these programs”

Employers didn’t have opinion on a few programs like General Education Program (GEP)

It is worth to refer to the high demand for the short course in photography offered by SCA.

Students’ & Parents’ Point of View

• A student’s journey to choosing a university is described as follows:

Current Student

• Location, preferred subjects, and reputation are the key parameters for evaluating among the universities.

• Even though the EU placement test (English & Math) are considered as moderately difficult, overall admission process at EU was seen as smooth.

• Architecture is the highest undergraduate program studied in all Effat University, as shown in the chart below. It is worth to mention that the graph is lacking the reference to the Design and Cinematic arts programs, together with the Master of Science in Urban Design which have witnessed a remarkable growth in enrolment in the past two years.

Undergraduate Programs

Postgraduate Programs

Effat College of Architecture & Design - BSc Arcchitecture 14% Effat College of Business - BSc Finance - Finance 4%

Effat College of Business - BSc Marketing 11% Effat College of Humanities - BSc Translation and Interpreting 2%

Effat College of Engineering - BSc Computer Science 11%

Effat College of Humanities - BSc PsychologyClinicalPsychology 9%

Effat College of Business - BSc Finance 6%

Effat College of Engineering - BSc Elecctrical & Computer 6%

Effat College of Humanities - BSc English & Translation 5%

Effat College of Business - BSc Supply Chain Management 5%

Effat College of Humanities - BSc English & Translation

- Literature 3%

• Before deciding on EU, current students planned on visiting the university’s official website, seek advice from their families and visiting the university’s campus as shown in the table below:

• According to current students, offering scholarships, the availability of preferred programs and the quality of education are the reasons behind choosing EU as shown in the table below:

• 2 in 10 students are highly likely to continue their higher education with EU. According to current students, the industrial Engineering, and Fashion Design should launch. Those two specializations could be integrated in the Design program offered by Effat College of Architecture and Design. Increasing the number of teaching staff is the top improvement area according to current students as depicted by the chart below:

Likability to continue higher education at Effat university

Delighted 31%

Satisfied 33%

Dissatisfied 37%

Potential UG Students

Programs Effat university should lunch

Law 10%

Medicine 5%

Industrial engineering 5%

Political science 1%

Public relations 1%

Fashion 1%

International relations 1% ccording to current students, design including architecture and both design tracks (interior and product design tracks) along with Cinematic Arts represent streams of choice for higher or further education, as shown below.

After considering the overall experience as a student at EU, 6 in 10 students are satisfied with the institution. This is depicted by the table below:

Delighted 31% Satisfied 33%

Dissatisfied 37%

Improvement areas

Doctors providing a sufficient number of Doctors / More doctors to teach in all majors 10% More courses / Variety of courses / Advanced courses 5% Building / Improve building / Development of building 5%

Provide more teachers / Recruitment / Restaffing the ICT department 5%

Scholarship offer / Pay attention to the issue of scholarships 5% More majors 3%

Reduce fees / Fees 3%

• Quality of education, reputation of the university and the career opportunities are the top reasons high school students consider Effat University. When comparing results with the overall universities, availability of dorms, international affiliations and ties with foreign universities are significantly higher for Effat University as shown in the chart below:

• Internet and social media are the types of media most viewed by high school student. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are the social media platforms accessed regularly as shown in the charts below:

Out of those who access Internet / Social media

Potential PG Students

• Top reasons behind considering Effat University by postgraduate students are having affordable fees, quality of education and the alumni network. When comparing the results with the overall universities, affordable fee, alumni network, international affiliations, and the faculty’s profile are reasons that are significantly higher as shown in the table below:

Actions by Initiatives

Implement Annual Operational Plan

• Formulate and set the 5-year strategic plan.

• Develop and implement the annual operational plan.

• Assess and report on the achievement of the annual operational plan for all units every Fall and Spring semester.

• Provide recommendation and improve the operational plan of the following year.

• Internet and social media as well as the television are the types of media most viewed by potential postgraduates. Instagram and Twitter are the social media platforms accessed regularly as depicted in the charts below:

IV. Strategic Plan Strategic Area 1: Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning

Objective 1: Implement ECoAD Strategic Plan

Implement ECoAD Annual Operational Plan

Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Percentage of achieved indicators of the ECoAD operational plan objectives (KPI-P-01 & KPI-PG-1).

Initiative 2022-2027 KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Evaluate the Achievement of ECoAD Mission Statement

Actions by Initiatives

Evaluate the Achievement of ECoAD Mission Statement

Overall achievement of Mission Matrix consisting of select indicators that best represent mission components.

LEAD: DEAN

OTHERS: DEPT CHAIRS

• Identify the relevant KPIs that best represent the Mission components.

• Evaluate and report on the related KPIs and assess the overall achievement of the Mission.

• Provide recommendation and improvement plans where necessary.

Objective 2: Appraise ECoAD Mission Objective and Success Initiative 2022-2027

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT CHAIRS