VII. Strategic Area 4: Students

Objective 1: Improve Student Involvement

Initiative 2022-2027

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Objective 2: Improve Student Experience

Initiative 2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Revise student clubs and activities

KPIs Responsibility

• Percentage of clubs and students associations per year fulfilling IQRA value.

• Percentage of sport activities fulfilling IQRA value in which ECoAD students participated.

• Number of Community service hours completed per student (volunteering) fulfilling IQRA value.

• Percentage of students participating in activities fulfilling IQRA value out of the total of ECOAD students’ body.

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: STUDENTS COUNCIL

Automate ECoAD students’ related processes

Improve quality of student’s experience

Improve student services

Encourage students to become future entrepreneurs

• Percentage of students satisfied with automated processes.

• Percentage of utilization of the automated processes.

• Percentage of ECoAD students satisfied with the quality of co-curricular and extracurricular programs and activities.

• KPI-I-10 Students’ satisfaction with the offered services.

• Number of student activities geared towards entrepreneurship.

• Number of partnerships established

• Number of start-ups.

LEAD: DEAN SA

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEAN/ DEP. CHAIRS/ DEAN QA

LEAD: DEAN SA & PROVOST

OTHERS: DEAN QA

LEAD: DEAN SA & PROVOST

Enhance student role in governance

Actions by Initiatives

Revise Student Clubs and Activities

• Percentage of identified ECoAD governing bodies with student involvement.

• Satisfaction rate of students’ activities.

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN/ STUDENTS COUNCIL

Actions by Initiatives

Automate University Students’ Related Processes

• Identify processes that need to be automated in collaboration with DSA/DAR or initiated by ECoAD

• Devise a plan with a timeline to automate the identified processes.

• Implement the automation plan.

• Broaden the range of clubs and students’ organizations to help students build unique set of skills

• Support sports activities by ensuring the participation of ECoAD students in sporting events. Contribute to the community with activities geared towards civic engagement (volunteering in charity organization, environmental projects, socio-cultural activities, etc.).

Enhance Student Role in Governance

• Enhance the ECoAD culture by supporting students’ participation in university governance (councils, committees).

• Improve students’ governance (students shura, student government) by aligning it with students' interests and needs.

• Measure the satisfaction of students.

• Improve the automated processes as needed.

Improve Quality of Student’s Experience

• Review and recommend updating co-curricular and extracurricular programs and activities serving ECoAD (Student Success Programs)

• Revise the Academic incentives for co-curricular and extracurricular programs and activities.

Improve Student Services

• Promote and support learning activities beyond the classroom (such as field trips, site visits, hosting guest speakers, workshops, students’ seminars, etc.).

• Enhance academic services (admission, registration, advising, orientation, grievances and appeals, graduate audit, scholarship, graduation ceremony).

• Improve campus wide services (food services, technology, printing services, housekeeping services, etc.).

• Planning, designing, and implementing Campus Life student counseling and wellbeing services.

Encourage Students to Become Future Entrepreneurs

• Cultivate entrepreneurship culture within the ECoAD by focusing on the activities geared towards entrepreneurship.

• Create opportunities for students to participate in social entrepreneurship contests.

• Develop partnerships with community entities that could support or finance ECoAD students’ start-ups.

Objective 3: Develop International Student Mobility

Initiative

Establish opportunities for outgoing student mobility

Establish opportunities for incoming student mobility

Establish virtual mobility experiences within programs

International Student Ratio

2022-2027

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

KPIs Responsibility

• Percentage of graduate and undergraduate students enrolled at educational institution abroad for at least six weeks in the academic year.

• Percentage of international incoming students to ECoAD.

• Number of virtual mobility opportunities and programs established.

• Proportion of international undergraduate and postgraduate ECoAD students who spent at least three months in the institution during the academic year.

Actions by Initiatives

Establish Opportunities for Outgoing Student Mobility

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEAN/ DEP. CHAIRS / DEAN QA

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN T&L

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

• Promote student mobility program, select and send the best eligible undergraduate and graduate students to the partner.

Establish Opportunities for Incoming Student Mobility

• Plan and implement recruitment campaign for attracting international and visiting students.

• Update and maintain a well-informed website devoted to international students.

• Build and maintain strong relations with international entities (cultural attaché, Islamic centers, international schools, international universities, ...).

Establish Virtual Mobility Experiences within Programs

• Form successful virtual academic and non-academic opportunities and programs for undergraduate and graduate students with EU network of partners.

• Encourage motivated students to join the established virtual opportunities and programs with the partner universities.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual opportunities and programs and students’ satisfaction for continuous improvement.

International Student Ratio

• Plan and implement recruitment campaign for attracting international and visiting students.

• Provide attractive scholarship/sponsorship programs and support services.

• Plan and implement recruitment campaign for attracting international and visiting students.

• Update and maintain a well-informed website devoted to international students.

• Build and maintain strong relations with international entities (cultural attaché, Islamic centers, international schools, international universities, ...).

Objective 4: Increase Student Population

Initiative 2022-2027

Achieve sustainability through recruitment and retention of diverse body of students

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Actions by Initiatives

KPIs Responsibility

• Percentage of ECoAD students’ population out of the projected number in the strategic plan.

Achieve Sustainability through Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Body of Students

LEAD: DEAN SA & PROVOST

OTHERS: DEANS/DEP. CHAIRS

• Launch and closely monitor a student journey management initiative, where strong recruitment and retention plans cover the entire students’, journeys based on the following different levels:

• Enrolments – Conduct effective marketing activities on relevant students target groups, attractive online and offline recruitment processes and on-campus school recruitments from leading schools with great pass-out, to ensure enrolling good quality students. Special attention should be giving to male recruitment

• Onboarding – Simplify the onboarding processes through efficient digital tools, bringing services directly to the students.

• Student Life – Employ a Customer Relationship Management to track and monitor a student’s touchpoints throughout the journey.

• Alumni Engagement – Engage alumni in building marketing capabilities and contributing to the university through donations or other non-revenue generating activities.

Objective 5: Improve Alumni Relations

Initiative

Graduates with entrepreneurial businesses

Improve alumni communications and data management

Develop focused portfolio of alumni activities

Establish alumni mentorship program

Improve alumni performance

2022-2027

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

KPIs Responsibility

Percentage of entrepreneurial businesses of undergraduate alumni within (12/24) months of graduation.

Percentage of completion of ECoAD alumni database.

Number of alumni activities developed.

Percentage of alumni participation in mentorship programs.

Percentage of alumni participation in offered training programs.

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/ DEP. CHAIRS

Actions by Initiatives

Graduates with Entrepreneurial Businesses

• Cultivate entrepreneurship culture within the ECoAD by focusing on the following: a.Case studies of real-world corporate stories and operational hiccups faced by them. b.Create opportunities for students to participate in social entrepreneurship contests. c.Invite business executives to deliver lectures. d.Provide consulting services to non-profit organizations (for final year students).

• Follow closely with clubs and activities that encourage entrepreneurial activities.

• Follow graduates with entrepreneurial business and invite them as motivational speakers and for workshops, etc.

Improve Alumni Communications and Data Management

• Obtain the information while they are still students in ECoAD.

• Build unbreakable alumni relations, promote their brand, and earn goodwill for the institution.

• Update the alumni database with all possible alumni information every semester.

Develop Focused Portfolio of Alumni Activities

• Organize focused portfolio of alumni activities and events in collaboration with the alumni association representative through: a. Engaged and rich discussions with alumni from different ages, locations, and professional backgrounds. b.Social media activities. c.Personalized messages to establish a strong personal communication. d.Alumni annual gathering. e.Other focused activities.

Establish Alumni Mentorship Program

• Provide mentorship opportunities for alumni by current ECoAD faculty.

• Invite alumni to mentor current students through individual or group activities.

• Invite alumni regularly to the university campus to meet with the current students through seminars, speeches, etc.

Improve Alumni Performance

• Assess the needs of the alumni for professional development opportunities.

• Offer training programs, workshops, seminars, to improve the performance of the alumni.

Risk Management

The following table indicates the key risks associated with each strategic recommended area and a corresponding mitigation plan for every risk:

Topic Risk Mitigation Plan

Improve Students’ Involvement in Activities & Governance & Experience

Financial restraints. Smart allocation of funds and collecting extra fees from the students participating to reduce the burden of additional funds required.

Organizational constraints (lack of time and resource).

Lack of internal capabilities.

Hiring additional resources to balance the workload and focus on student clubs and activities.

Hire external agencies and organizations that are proficient, to deploy a few of these initiatives.

Improve Student Population and Experience

Long term commitment. Deploying systems such as CRM and capturing sufficient data should be considered a long-term goal.

Financial consideration for the student.

Form strong relationships with the partner universities, such that the host college provides a tuition waiver and free accommodation to visiting students and provide the same to the visiting students.

Student Mobility

Cultural differences between the host and home institution.

The international office should provide psychological counselling for those students who are in culture shock or face any kind of difficulty.

Language-barrier. Emphasis on English learning courses.

Pleasantries exchanged are usually one-way. Communication to be designed in an interactive way.

Alumni Engagements

Alumni relations solely based on financial contribution.

Alumni contribution can be in other forms too such as helping in bringing in employers, mentoring students, etc. Efforts should be focused on these if financial contribution is not likely.

Communication might be impersonal. Customized and more personalized communication to build an emotional connect.

VIII. Strategic Area 5: Faculty & Staff

Objective 1: Maintain the Staffing Profile that Complies with Governing Body Requirements

Initiative 2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

•Percentage of achievement of ECoAD Saudization body

•Percentage of females vs males (KPI-P-12).

Enhance the staffing profile to meet and maintain the requirements of governing bodies

•Proportion of faculty members with doctoral qualifications (KPI-I-12).

•Percentage of Part-timers vs. Full-timers.

•Percentage of achieved ranks (Full ProfessorAssociate Professor – Assistant Professor) (KPI-P-12, KPI-PG-11).

•Percentage of achieved recruiting needs.

LEAD: PRESIDENT OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN

Actions by Initiatives

Enhance the Staffing Profile to Meet and Maintain the Requirements of Governing Bodies

• Attract and recruit a qualified Saudis faculty and staff to fulfill the Saudization requirement by governing bodies.

• Promote talent Saudis within the ECoAD by offering incentives to pursue their path

• Send Saudi students abroad for higher studies to prestigious universities around the world under the scholarship program.

• Identify the needed teaching staff profile.

• Implement the recruitment process.

• Achieve the appropriate desired staffing profile complying with MoE regulations.

Objective 2: Improve Faculty Experience

Initiative

Rebalance faculty workload

Objective 3: Extend Faculty Development Program

Initiative 2022-2027

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

KPIs Responsibility

Provide professional development support for novel pedagogies

•Proportion of professional development opportunities provided to support for novel pedagogies out of the total

•Faculty satisfaction with professional development opportunities provided to support novel pedagogies.

LEAD: PROVOST

OTHERS: DEAN/DEAN QA

Foster equity diversity and inclusion strategy

2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

•Ratio of students to teaching staff (KPI-I-11, KPI-P-11, KPI-PG-10).

•Proportion of faculty with reduced teaching load.

•Faculty satisfaction with work environment.

•Proportion of teaching staff leaving the institution (KPI-I-13, KPI-P-13, KPI-PG-12).

•International teaching staff Ratio.

Actions by Initiatives

Rebalance Faculty Workload

LEAD: PROVOST OTHERS: DGSR/DEAN

Provide professional development support for research

Actions by Initiatives

LEAD: PROVOST OTHERS: DGSR/DEAN

• Maintain the balanced workload to help the faculty to participate in different research and professional activities by receiving research support (reduction of teaching load, incentives, facilities, leaves.

• Balance faculty workload between teaching and research for research-intensive faculty.

Foster Equity Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

• Provide an effective orientation program.

• Make the University bylaws& faculty and staff handbooks available for all employees.

• Maintain a healthy work environment.

• Enhance the climate of ECoAD by engaging faculty & staff.

• Give employees multiple ways to provide feedback.

• Apply fair and transparent promotion procedures for all employees.

•Proportion of professional development opportunities provided to support research out of the total.

•Faculty satisfaction with professional development opportunities provided to support research

Provide Professional Development Support for Novel Pedagogies a.Educational Development. b.Personal Development. c.Organizational Development.

• Collect the annual needs for faculty professional development.

• Prepare an annual plan for professional development, which is implemented in three phases.

• Implement the PD plan.

• Assess the plan through the faculty satisfaction rate.

• Encourage faculty to have memberships of professional societies aligned to their respective programs.

• Recognize outstanding teaching.

• Encourage faculty to have memberships of professional societies aligned to their respective programs

Provide Professional Development Support for Research

• Develop and implement an annual plan for professional development to support research activity.

• Conduct training and workshops to enhance the faculty research skills.

• Increase the involvement of Professors in research to increase the research and innovation output.

Objective 4: Maintain Appropriate Mechanism to Recruit and Retain Competent all Occupational Category

Initiative 2022-2027

Develop and implement desired support staff profile plan

LEAD: PROVOST

OTHERS: DGSR/DEANS

Support Staff in

KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

•Ratio of students to support staff in all occupational category.

•Proportion of support staff in all occupational category leaving the institution.

•Proportion of staff receiving professional development opportunities per year.

•Staff satisfaction with professional development opportunities provided.

LEAD: PRESIDENT

OTHERS: HRPC/DEAN

Actions by Initiatives

Develop and Implement Desired Support Staff Profile Plan

• Attract and recruit the finest staff.

• Apply retention strategies, aimed at retaining qualified employees.

• Ensure at least 12% of ECoAD staff are being professionally developed.

Stakeholders’ Management

The development of a robust Stakeholder Management Plan (SMP) is critical to achieving project’s objectives in more streamlined and effective way. According to the industry best practices, the SMP can be bifurcated into four phases:

• Phase 1: Stakeholder Identification - Identify the stakeholders and bifurcate them into:

• Phase 3: Execution of the Plan - Assign a committee headed directly by and under the supreme control of the university president responsible for the execution of the SMP.

• Phase 4: Monitoring and Improvisation - SMP cannot be static; it must be dynamic and amended and updated as and when required throughout a project (continuously improved). Disaffected people within stakeholder groups must be identified throughout the process and managed accordingly.

To achieve the best results through the implementation of above-mentioned framework, we recommend the following to ECoAD:

• Assign a team of 3-4 members to a committee that is responsible for the development, monitoring and implementation of the SMP.

• One member will be responsible for the mode of meetings to be conducted with the stakeholders (face-to-face, telephonic, etc.). This member will segregate the stakeholders according to their seniority and position with the university to further decide on the mode of engagement.

• Build impersonal relationship with the stakeholders at various levels through constant interaction and engagement.

• Seek their opinion and views of the stakeholders regarding various issues and activities.

• Create a feedback system where the stakeholders are empowered to share their thoughts on sensitive matters without any apprehension.

Note: There might be an overlap for some people

• Phase 2: Stakeholder Analysis - Each stakeholder must be analyzed based on their influence, motivation/interest, success, etc. to develop a tailored plan to keep the stakeholders happy and committed to university’s vision. We recommend the following framework for the analysis:

• One member within the team will be responsible for the communication channel strategy, to choose the best mode of communication depending on the type (internal or external) of stakeholder and their importance to the university.

• One IT and process related member will be responsible for all the data to be stored and analyzed later. This process must be streamlined and eventually the same member will develop reports monthly to continually leverage stakeholders’ position with the university.

Risk Management

The following table indicates the key risks associated with each strategic recommended area and a corresponding mitigation plan for every risk:

Topic Risk Mitigation Plan

• Based on the category of the stakeholder, develop a tailor-made communication strategy plan using one or more of the following communication channels:

- Push – Where information is pushed to the stakeholder either manually in the form of emails, memos, written agreement or automatically, through a work management software, where email notifications are sent every time a project action has been performed.

- Pull – Consists of information and resources like project management plan, resource load charts, and other reports stored in a central repository for stakeholders’ perusal.

- Interactive – These include face-to-face meeting, training sessions, telephonic meetings, video calls and any other mode of communication involving direct human touch.

• Devise a communication plan based on the identification and segmentation of stakeholders to establish clear goals and action points. A sample table to illustrate the recommended framework is mentioned below:

Recruitment Criteria Lack of talent or stringent recruitment criteria in the national market. Nurture talent from within as a part of a fast-track initiative.

Training workshops should be conducted, and lecturers should be utilized as a resource under the professors.

Management Initiatives Increasing research output with limited resource.

Lecturers will gain more exposure to research while contributing to more research output. Assistant professors can contribute more to the research while passing on some of the administrative responsibilities to lecturers and admin staff.

Vision Saudization Finding and recruiting local talent.

Incumbents should be promoted from within the ECoAD Incentives in the form of scholarships, fast track-growth, exposure in the form of faculty exchange programs, etc.

Faculty Development Program (FDP)

Building an internal development center.

Workload amongst the internal faculty needs to be redistributed to make time for the inception of an FDC.

Knowledge Development. Introduction of professional courses or workshops to define and align the goals in professional development.