Effat University, English and Translation Department Strategic Plan 2022-2027

English & Translation Dept. Strategic Plan 2022-2027

I. Department Chair's Message

The English and Translation Department will support the University and the College’s strategic plans, mission and vision in line with the Saudi 2030 vision. It will provide high quality education which focuses on innovation and technology integration. It will expand its relations and agreements with the community nationally and internationally. In addition, it will offer diplomas and programs that serve the needs of these communities. It will also update its programs to continue graduating students who meet the market demands. The Department will also focus on research that serves the country’s current and future needs. It will support the development of its faculty and students and will strengthen its relationship with the alumni. The Department will ensure maintaining its full national reaccreditation and will work with the University and College on attaining international accreditation by the end of the strategic plan. The Department also plans to increase its visibility nationally and internationally.

II. College Vision, Mission, and Goals

Mission

The Department of English and Translation provides high quality education and research in intercultural and inter-lingual communication. The Department is committed to excellence in teaching and learning in a diverse and interdisciplinary environment. The graduates will be specialists in their respective fields and agents of change who contribute to the advancement of the local and global communities.

In the new Strategic Plan, the Department aims to put a special emphasis on the digitalization of its programs. It will strategically incorporate emerging digital innovations into its teaching systems to improve students’ positive engagement with teachers, and to help students become innovative and creative problem solvers.

The Department will continue to offer its international standard Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting, which offers its students the unique opportunity to practice in real settings. In addition, the Department plans to continue and expand the international collaborations through student exchange programs, study a semester abroad, professional development, its international conference and hosting international students and faculty.

Vision

The Department of English and Translation aims to be a center for intercultural communication, research, and training. The Department aspires to serve as an agent of cultural understanding, innovative scholarship and civic responsibility.

Goals

1. Track the progress of the achievements of Effat College of Humanities’ mission and vision and actively contribute to the fulfilment of the nation’s 2030 vision.

2. Provide a positive and productive work environment in Effat College of Humanities through efficient and transparent leadership; and maintain national accreditation and obtain international accreditation

3. Uphold academic excellence by providing innovative Liberal Arts education through state of-the-art learning resources and services; and work towards implementing further distinctive programs that meet the market needs.

4. Attract high quality students and graduate distinguished specialists, effective leaders and true representatives of Queen Effat’s Legacy who will be agents of change and social and economic well-being

5. Recruit and retain diverse and research-oriented faculty and continuously develop their professional skills

6. Provide information technology, state-of–the-art labs and other facilities through sufficient budgeting, optimizing their use.

7. Cultivate a vibrant research environment to increase the Effat College of Humanities’ faculty and students’ scholarly output and activities and serve the needs of the local and global communities

8. Strengthen the Effat College of Humanities’ relations and interactions with the national and international community through fruitful joint endeavours.

The English & Translation Department houses two programs: Bachelor of Science in English and Translation and a Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting.

The Bachelor of Science in English and Translation

Mission

The program of English & Translation graduates specialists in intercultural and inter-lingual communication who will excel in creative and critical thinking, cross-cultural competencies, research and civic responsibility.

Vision

The program of English & Translation aims to provide advanced knowledge and skills in Translation, Literature, Linguistics and related fields. The program aspires to be a center for research and training.

Goals

1.Ensure the ET Program’s achievement of its mission through offering quality education, community service and research

2.Encourage a positive and productive work environment through transparent and effective leadership; also maintain national and seek international accreditation.

3.Provide high quality education in Translation, Literature, and Linguistics, creating a dynamic learning environment through the use of state of-the-art learning resources.

4.Attract and retain students who will become skilled in their respective fields.

5.Retain and attract research-oriented faculty through substantially increasing their professional development.

6.Provide state-of–the-art labs and other facilities through optimizing budget use.

7.Foster a successful research environment to increase faculty and students’ research and scholarly output and activities.

8.Support a culture of service through productive partnerships and collaborations with the community.

The Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting:

Mission

The Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting provides specialized knowledge and skills in the field. It graduates professional translators and interpreters of an international caliber, and is committed to excellence in research and community service.

Vision

The Master of Science in Translation & Interpreting aspires to be a leading provider of internationally recognized education in Translation and interpreting and a center for innovate scholarship and research in the field.

Goals

1.Ensure the MTI Program’s achievement of its mission through quality education, research and contribution to national and international communities.

2.Provide a work environment conducive to productivity and innovative scholarship, through effective leadership and seek national and international accreditation.

3.Sustain academic excellence by providing an innovative, distinctive and high quality education in Translation and Interpreting and provide the necessary resources.

4.Attract and retain students who will graduate as highly skilled translators or interpreters and as agents of change.

5.Attract and retain research-oriented faculty and provide them with diverse professional development and research

opportunities.

6.Provide faculty and students with state-of–the-art labs and other facilities and offer them the necessary training, optimizing budget use.

7.Cultivate a successful research environment to increase faculty and student research activities and output.

8.Sustain and develop productive partnerships and collaborations with the community to support a culture of service.

The Strategic Plan of the English and Translation Department covers the market study, objectives, initiatives, action plans, risk management and Key performance indicators of the two programs under the English and Translations Department.

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):

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

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

3. 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:

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 all sectors would be seeking graduates from the English and Translation Department, especially the education sector (10%). Other sectors might also be seeking students with excellent translation and interpreting skills from the English and Translation Department, like the defense sector, social security and public administration.

• According to the market study, there is a focus on English language programs for professional development with focus on “Technical English” curricula. The English and Translation Department, should continue to offer the Diploma in English Language with its different levels that include English for Specific Purposes. The study also concludes that the Saudi Government will focus on the Saudization of all education jobs at national and international schools over the next three years. This move is expected to create around 28,000 new jobs for Saudi nationals. This implies that there will be an increasing need for English Language teachers.

• Another important observation is the growing travel and tourism industry, accounting for 9% of GDP and is expected to grow at an accelerated rate thanks to $65 Billion earmarked for investment into the sector. The Increasing government focus on the tourism sector is likely to push for more jobs in translation and Interpreting

POV (Point of View) - Employer

The market study shows that most industries have a positive outlook after the pandemic except Hospitality, Retail and F&B. For example, Educational institutions and Health care are two sectors that have a 100% positive outlook. This means that there will always be demand for teachers and mental health workers, two areas the ET and PSY Departments can contribute to.

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

• Wholesale and retail sector is the largest employer followed by public administration and defense as indicated in the chart below:

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)

% 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.

• 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.

• 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. 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)

• The graph above shows that 58% of employers seek graduates from the Liberal Arts. Effat University programs have 42 credits of General Education, which is a program rooted in the Liberal Arts. Psychology and English and Translation are fundamental programs in the Liberal Arts framework, which means that employers will be looking for their graduates in the coming years.

• The combined share of business, administration and law; health and welfare course enrollments among total higher education enrollments in Saudi Arabia increased from 45% in 2013 to 51% in 2019.

• The English and Translation international and national academic partners. The ET Department partnered with Western Sydney University and Alyamaha University. It established many agreements throughout the years including an agreement with The Emirates Literature Foundation, Ratl Aalkalimat, Al-Fanar Media, Al-Bilad Newspaper, and Uzbek State University of World Languages.

POV (Point of View)– Students & Parents

• 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.

• Graduates the English and Translation Department show great technical knowledge, communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills and an awareness on world matters, which are amongst the most important characteristics employers are looking for.

• The ET program require the completion of internships (180 hrs). 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 extra-curricular activities 56% 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:

• 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.

• The Market study shows that there is moderate demand for Literature and the Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting and Translation. The demand from the market is likely to come from the following sectors: Education & Research, Healthcare, Hospitality and Entrepreneurship. There will also be high demand for continuous courses especially, English language and test preparation.

• Both Translation and Literature make 8% of students’ interests, while the Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting is at 2%

• 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, marketing, business administration and psychology are the graduation streams of choice for higher or further education as shown 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:

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:

2 in 10 students are highly likely to continue their higher education with EU. According to current students, law program is the top program EU could consider. Increasing the number of teaching staff is the top improvement area according to current students as depicted by the chart below:

Potential UG Students

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:

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:

Internet / Social media 99%

58%

14%

14%

12%

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

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:

Objective 1: Implement ET Strategic Plan

Implement ET Annual Operational Plan

Actions by Initiatives

Implement Annual Operational Plan

• Formulate and set the 5-year strategic plan.

• Develop and implement the annual operational plan.

KPI-I-01 Percentage of ‎achieved indicators of the ‎Department strategic plan ‎objectives

LEAD:

• 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.

Objective 2: Appraise ET Mission Objective and Success

Actions by Initiatives

Evaluate the Achievement of ET Mission Statement

• 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.

V. Strategic Area 2: Governance, Leadership & Management

Objective 1: Revise ET Organizational Structure

Actions by Initiatives

Restructure ET Department Units

• Review the current ET Department structure and number of Departmental units by benchmarking with other universities of similar size and age to recommend updates at all levels.

• Monitor the effectiveness of the departmental structure based on a set of criteria and make updates if needed.

• Conduct an interim comprehensive review of organizational changes and make updates, as necessary.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of ET Department structure by the end of the planning period in preparation for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Update Leadership Roles

• Evaluate leadership roles and responsibilities by revising and updating the specific descriptions of these roles of leaders at different levels (Department Chairs, Directors, and Managers).

• Set specific authorities, responsibilities, and tasks for each leadership role based on the University & College Charters and the Ministry bylaws.

• Review the leadership succession plan regularly.

• Ensure the effective and efficient distribution of the responsibilities of academic and administrative leaders to achieve harmony among the different units.

• Monitor and evaluate the adherence of leaders to the description of their leadership roles and tasks annually and be ready to adjust the description based on work needs.

• Review the leadership roles and their tasks by the end of the third year of the strategic plan and make changes as needed.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of leadership roles by the end of 2026-2027 in preparation for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Review and Revise Reporting Lines

• Revise ET Department reporting system and reporting lines to ensure a clear and smooth flow of information from bottom-up and top-down among academic and administrative units to achieve cooperative teamwork environment.

• Update efficient reporting templates used for producing semester reports for all academic and administrative units for Falls and Springs.

• Agree on the reporting lines and templates with all units.

• Pilot the reporting system in Fall and Spring 2022-2023 to adjust as needed for use in subsequent semesters.

• Conduct an interim review of the reporting system by the third year of the strategic plan and adjust the reporting system and reporting lines, as necessary.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the reporting system and reporting templates in preparation for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Evaluate Leadership Performance

• Assess how far ET Department leaders have managed to achieve their units’ annual objectives and help them set their new objectives for the subsequent year for their units as part of oversight and accountability of ET Department governance system.

• Conduct an interim review by revising the tools for leadership assessment and make changes as needed.

• Conduct a final comprehensive review of leadership assessment tools in preparation for the following 5-year strategic plan.

Objective 2: Restructure ET Responsibilities

Actions by Initiatives

Establish New ET Strategic Roles & Develop Role Descriptions

• Update the Departmental strategic roles at the level of ET Department and specify their authorities, responsibilities, and tasks taking into consideration that they have both academic and technical skills to achieve effective governance.

• Update the Governance Manual to include the updated strategic roles at the levels of ET Department and their job descriptions/authorities, responsibilities and tasks.

• Evaluate the Governance Manual that includes the administrative and organizational flowcharts and job authorities, responsibilities and tasks by the end of the third year of the strategic plan to make changes, as necessary.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of strategic roles at the ET Department levels and their descriptions to make organizational changes by the end of the planning period in preparation for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Evaluate the performance of individuals carrying the new strategic roles:

• Evaluate individuals carrying out new strategic roles based on an agreed criterion (e.g., competence and skills) for evaluation every Spring.

• Give recommendations for improvement to the concerned individuals to improve their performance for implementation in the following year.

Objective 3: Streamline ET Committee Structures

Actions by Initiatives

Review and Evaluate ET Department Committees

• Evaluate the efficiency of current standing committees based on a set criterion and recommend improvements and updates of their mandate, structure and/or function, as necessary.

• Monitor the initiatives and projects carried out by all committees and give a final report on their performance in Spring each year.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the standing committees to give final assessment of their work and recommend changes for the subsequent 5-year strategic plan accordingly.

Review and Evaluate ET Department Committees

• Evaluate the efficiency of current ET Department committees based on a set criterion and recommend improvements and updates of their mandate, structure and/or function, as necessary.

• Monitor the initiatives and projects carried out by the ET Department committees and give a final report on their performance in Spring each year.

• Conduct a comprehensive review of current ET Department committees to give final assessment of their work and recommend changes for the subsequent 5-year strategic plan accordingly.

Objective 4: Attain and Maintain Program Recognition

Obtain

accreditation

Attain and maintain subject ranking

Conduct benchmarking data analysis annually

Actions by Initiatives

Obtain and Maintain Program National Accreditation

KPI-I-02 Proportion of accredited programs‎ LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

Number of programs achieving subject ranking LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

‎# of benchmarking ‎agreements achieved and ‎activated ‎ # of programs conducting ‎benchmarking annually in the ‎APR (SAQR)‎

LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

• Establish a schedule for all national institutional and program accreditations for the programs that have not received them and renew accreditations for the programs that have been accredited over the 5 years.

• Monitor, manage, and coordinate all national accreditations in preparation or in progress with the institution and concerned programs starting Fall 2022 and over all subsequent semesters.

• Conduct an interim review of the effectiveness of QA oversight processes in steering national accreditations and recommend improvements and changes, as necessary.

• Conduct a final review of the effectiveness of QA oversight of national accreditations and recommend improvements for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Obtain and Maintain Program International Accreditation

• Review, and revise, as necessary, the current approach to international accreditation.

• Set a schedule for supporting the university in achieving international accreditation from NECHE over the 5-year planning period.

• Set a schedule for monitoring and supporting the ET Department and its programs in acquiring/ international over the 5-year planning period.

• Set a plan for applying for other professional accreditations for all applicable programs across the ET Department.

• Conduct an interim review of the effectiveness of QA oversight processes in steering international accreditations and recommend improvements and changes, as necessary.

• Conduct a final review of the effectiveness of QA oversight of international accreditations by the end of the planning period and recommend improvements for the next 5-year strategic plan.

Attain and Maintain Subject Ranking

• Establish protocols for improving subject ranking based on monitoring and analyzing benchmarking data of the top ranked universities nationally and internationally to develop a plan to acquire the targeted subject rankings over the remaining 5-year planning period.

• Monitor subject ranking achieved annually and set plans for improvement.

• Conduct an interim review of the protocols for subject ranking and revise, as necessary.

• Conduct a final assessment of the achievements of subject rankings by the end of the planning period and provide recommendations for improvement for the next 5-year strategic plan accordingly.

Conduct Benchmarking Data Analysis Annually

• Review, and revise, as necessary, policies and procedures for benchmarking.

• Supervise data collection and analysis of benchmarking data annually.

• Make use of the benchmarking data to reinforce and streamline the KPI management process by introducing a sound KPI framework.

• Automate the KPI management process by continually raising the benchmarks every subsequent year.

• Review the action plan for benchmarking to introduce improvements as required annually.

Objective 5: Monitor the Effectiveness of the Governance System

Initiative 2022-2027

Ensure the compliance of ET governing bodies, bylaws, and policies and procedures with relevant ‎authorities (e.g., MoE, MOI)‎

Ensure the dissemination of circulations and decisions made by all governing bodies

Ensure that ET Department members follow Effat Ethical Conduct

Actions by Initiatives

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Percentage of adherence of the governing system with relevant authorities (e.g., MoE, MOI)‎

Percentage of circulations and decisions disseminated ‎

Percentage of violations of the code of ethical conduct (Tarbawyyat).‎

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT CHAIRS/FACULTY

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT CHAIRS/FACULTY

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT CHAIRS/FACULTY

Ensure the Compliance of the ET Governing Bodies, Bylaws, and Policies and Procedures with Relevant Authorities (e.g., MoE, MOI)

• Review, and revise, as necessary, the governance system, bylaws and policies and procedures for ensuring their compliance with regulatory authorities.

• Monitor compliance activities with regulatory authorities based on the agreed criteria and set action for improvement as necessary every semester.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the governing bodies

• Conduct an interim review of the effectiveness of the governing body, bylaw, policies and procedures for ensuring compliance with regulatory authorities by the third year of the planning period and revise, as necessary.

• Conduct a final review of the effectiveness of policies and procedures for ensuring compliance with regulatory authorities over the whole planning period and revise as necessary for the next 5-year strategic planning cycle.

Ensure the Dissemination of Circulations and Decisions made by all Governing Bodies

• Review, and revise, as necessary, policies and procedures for internal and external dissemination of ET decisions.

• Monitor dissemination of relevant information to stakeholders and set and implement actions for improvement as necessary every semester.

• Evaluate the levels of awareness by stakeholders of disseminated circulations and decisions and set improvements accordingly.

• Conduct an interim review of the effectiveness of policies and procedures for dissemination of ET decisions and circulations and introduce improvements as needed.

• Conduct a final review of the effectiveness of policies and procedures for dissemination of ET circulations and decisions and circulations by Spring 2027 in preparation for the next 5-year strategic planning cycle.

• decisions and circulations by Spring 2027 in preparation for the next 5-year strategic planning cycle.

Ensure that ET Members follow Effat Ethical Conduct

• Review, and revise, as necessary, protocols for monitoring ethical conduct across the ET Department.

• Monitor and report on the violations of ethical conduct in line with the approved protocols and take actions for improvement as necessary every semester.

• Conduct an interim review of the effectiveness of ethical protocols followed over the previous planning period and revise, as necessary.

• Conduct a final review of the effectiveness of ethical protocols over the planning period and revise, as necessary.

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

Enhanced Governance and Improvised Organizational Structure

Develop and Maintain Professional Accreditations

Communication gap between levels in the hierarchy Regular committee meetings to align all organization personnel on the updated policies

Proposing additional responsibilities and defining objectives

Stringent requirements to obtain the accreditations

Adherence to NCAAA standards while using best and innovative industry practices

Task force to be established to oversee the execution of all operational steps

VI. Strategic Area 3: Teaching & Learning

Objective 1: Redevelop the Academic Portfolio

Review and reassess the current academic portfolio

Percentage of Completion of ‎the review process of all ‎programs nominated for ‎review

Percentage of nominated ‎programs revised

LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

Develop new academic programs

Monitor and respond to national policy on international HE regarding academic offering

Number of new programs ‎developed - (BSC, MS, PhD, ‎Minors, DM, DD, Ass Degree, ‎Diploma, Certificate)‎

LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

Percentage of operational ‎steps completed LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

Proportion of existing partnerships (At least 1/ program)

Review existing, and identify new, international educational partnership opportunities (DDs, Minors)‎

Degree of fulfillment of the educational partnership agreements

Number of international DDs and Minors introduced

LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

Actions by Initiatives

Review and Reassess the Current Academic Portfolio

• Continue overseeing working parties at ET Department levels to follow up on the Program Review schedule.

• Ensure all academic programs conduct regular assessment processes to continually improve the curriculum, through a feedback system for all teaching faculty.

• Deploy an assessment committee that reviews the reports periodically and provides feedback to the respective departments to re-assess the existing academic programs.

• Benchmark the academic programs with the leading national and international universities to review and assess the programs.

Develop New Academic Programs

• Assess the current portfolio strengths and weaknesses, to strengthen the existing portfolio and incorporate new programs to expand the current portfolio. We recommend a framework that incorporates competitors’ strength, current students’ ratings, and sector outlook to determine if the potential course is an opportunity or not.

• Assess the current portfolio strengths and weaknesses, to strengthen the existing portfolio and incorporate new programs to expand the current portfolio. Based on the graph below, show that enrollment in Health and Welfare and Arts and Humanities make 29% of enrollment in Higher Education.

Higher Education Enrollments by Specialization

College Program Specialization

Effat College of Humanities

King Fahad university for petroleum and minerals

Prince Sultan university

The American university in Cairo

American University of Beirut Wesleyan university Georgetown university

College Program Specialization

Effat College of Humanities

King Fahad university for petroleum and minerals

Prince Sultan university

The American university in Cairo

American University of Beirut Wesleyan university Georgetown university

Accordingly, we recommend the following framework to support future planning including the current ET Department programs appraisal:

Based on the market gaps and ET Department capabilities, the following decision-making academic program portfolio matrix with actionable outcomes to each scenario is recommended:

Attractiveness

• There exists an opportunity for more enrolments through a fierce media campaign and recruitment efforts. Based on the above outlook, the Department has to monitor any updates in HE bylaws which can help its program become more attractive like creating exit points or including minors. The Department has to invest in offering continuous education diplomas and training workshops for the community, especially in language for specific purposes.

• Program feasibility studies to be conducted for four to five programs per academic year.

The table below shows the competition between English and Translation program offered by the ET Department and other institutions at the undergraduate level:

The table below shows the competition between the Master of Science in Translation and Interpreting offered by the ET Department and other institutions at the graduate level:

Monitor and Respond to National Policy on International HE Regarding Academic Offering

• Monitor developments of national policies on internationalization in higher education.

• Monitor internationalization activities in other Saudi higher education institutions.

• Monitor international higher education institutions’ activities in the Kingdom.

• Develop response policies and activities considering changing environment.

Review Existing, and Identify New, International Educational Partnership Opportunities (DDs, Minors)

• Review current partners

• Evaluate effectiveness

• Recommend renewing contract or identifying new partners

• Develop and offer joint programs with international partner

Objective 2: Establish E-Learning Provision

Actions by Initiatives

Review and Revise e-learning Facilities and Resources

• Continue activities, finalize proposals and submit to Teaching and Learning Committee for approval.

• Invest in an adequate e-learning platform.

• Review the adequacy of the e-learning facilities and resources through satisfaction rate of the stakeholders (Faculty, students).

Develop and Operate e-learning Strategy

• Develop e-learning programs per Department

• Offer the programs as per the approved schedule

• Assess the successful implementation of the offered e-learning programs by assessing:

a. Number of students registered compared to the projection,

b Satisfaction rates of Faculty

c. Satisfaction rate of students

Objective 3: Develop and Extend Novel Pedagogies

Increase integration of project-based learning

Strengthen Research/Teaching nexus in educational delivery

Review, revise and extend cocurricular education and the Effat Ambassador Program

Actions by Initiatives

Increase Integration of Project-based Learning

courses involving project-based learning

Proportion of courses embedding the research/teaching nexus leading to publication (With Research ‎Publication)‎

of operational steps completed

FACULTY

LEAD: DEPT CHAIRS OTHERS: FACULTY

• Emphasize project and problem-based learning, helping students learn by constructing solutions to real-life problems through three main characteristics that are central to the twenty-first century pedagogy:

a. Problem statements are tied to curriculum and learning goals of the university.

b Focus on the central concepts or principles of topics.

c. Projects are based on real-world problems and are presented in the form of case studies.

Strengthen Research/Teaching Nexus in Educational Delivery

• Foster the concept of learning beyond classrooms using technology to gain a deeper understanding of complex ideas and ability to work in global teams to generate new ideas and theories.

• Lead the students to publish their work in journal/conferences.

Review, Revise and Extend Co-curricular Education and the Effat Ambassador Program

• Deploy teaching metacognitive skills, that will help the students to plan, monitor and evaluate one’s own understanding and performance, thereby allowing them to reflect on their own critical awareness about how they think and learn, enhancing their personality.

• Conduct Focus group to revise the co- and extracurricular activities.

• Update the co- extra-curricular activities.

• Implement the programs.

• Assess the successful implementation of the program through EGC achievement and students’ satisfaction of the EAP.

Attain the Effat Graduate Characteristics

• Review and monitor the progress of students and provide aid to assist the attainment goals.

Attain the English Level proficiency:

• Conduct regular workshops to empower students’ English proficiency and encourage obtaining professional language certifications.

Objective 6: Revise Learning Resources

Initiative

Review and improve learning resources

Actions by Initiatives

2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Satisfaction of beneficiaries with learning resources ** (KPI-I-07 & KPI-P-17 & KPI-PG-13)‎

Review and Improve Learning Resources

LEAD: DEPT ‎CHAIRS

OTHERS: FACULTY

• Improvisation to the learning resources (textbooks, videos, relevant reading material, etc.) should be done every academic year by taking the collective feedback of both the students and the faculty.

• Constantly expand the learning resources used in the Effat library to broaden the learning gamut.

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

Market data are challenging to acquire

Reputation of the newly launched program in the ‎region

VII. Strategic Area 4: Students

Objective 1: Improve Student Involvement

Initiative

Revise student clubs and activities

• # of clubs and students associations per year fulfilling IQRA value

• # of sport activities fulfilling IQRA value in which ET students participated

• # Community service hours completed per student (volunteering) fulfilling IQRA value

• % of students participating in activities fulfilling IQRA value out of the total of ET student body

LEAD: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

OTHERS: ‎ DEAN SA

STUDENTS ‎COUNCIL

Enhance student role in governance

Actions by Initiatives

Revise Student Clubs and Activities

Conduct a thorough research project to procure ‎data for the analysis

Effective marketing to convey the prospects (em-‎ployer demand) of the newly launched program

Reinforcing the academic portfolio

Shortage of faculty with expertise in the newly ‎launched program

Legal and political risk

Additional time effort and ‎increased workload for the ‎faculty

Technical glitches

Lack of necessary hardware or skill exhibited by ‎the students

Hire additional staff with prior experience in the ‎newly launched program, along with newly gradu-‎ated talent, as an assistant

Legal formalities to be navigated by a firm special-‎izing in education and the mission and vision of the ‎program to be launched should be aligned well ‎with the Department faculty

Set realistic timeline expectations for the faculty ‎with appropriate boundaries

Setting contingency plans for the faculty ‎

E-learning provision

The e-learning platform should be designed after ‎carefully considering the students’ limitations to ‎provide equal opportunities to all students

Enhanced Learning Experience and Skill Set ‎Development

Financial challenges

Resistance towards e-learning by the internal ‎faculty

Students’ resistance towards new pedagogies

Faculty with lack of knowledge or skills to execute ‎newer pedagogies

Usage of grants and endowments to facilitate the ‎elearning environment

Align the Department faculty with the benefits of ‎e-learning and hire staff that is skilled in e-learning ‎if the existing faculty chooses to opt out of it

Communicate the benefits of the new pedagogies ‎to the students and make the whole process lika-‎ble to the students by executing them in the form ‎of a game or in a fun way encouraging more partic-‎ipation

Workshops by professionals to educate and align ‎the color faculty to carry out the functions ‎smoothly and appropriately

• % of identified ET governing bodies with student involvement

• Satisfaction rate of students’ activities

LEAD: DEPT. ‎CHAIR ‎

OTHERS: ‎ DEAN SA

STUDENTS ‎COUNCIL

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

• Support sports activities by conducting intercollegiate, intermural and community 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 ET Department culture by supporting students’ participation in ET Department governance (councils, committees).

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

Objective 2: Improve Student Experience

Initiative

Automate ET Department students’ related processes

Improve quality of student’s experience

Improve student services

Encourage students to become future entrepreneurs

2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

”% of students satisfied with automated processes

% of utilization of the automated processes

% of ET Department students satisfied with the quality of co-curricular and extracurricular programs and activities

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

# of student activities geared towards entrepreneurship

# of partnerships established

# of start-ups

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

LEAD: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

OTHERS: / DEAN ‎QA DEAN SA

STUDENT ‎COUNCIL

LEAD: DEAN SA ‎

OTHERS: DEAN ‎QA/ DEAN/DEP‎T. CHAIR

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

Actions by Initiatives

Automate ET Department Students’ Related Processes

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

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

• Implement the automation plan.

• Measure the satisfaction of students.

Ensure the utilization of the automated processes Improve Quality of Student’s Experience

• Review and recommend updating co-curricular and extracurricular programs and activities serving ET Department (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.).

• Plan, design, and implement Campus Life student counseling and wellbeing services.

Encourage Students to Become Future Entrepreneurs

• Cultivate entrepreneurship culture within the ET Department 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 ET Department students’ start-ups.

Objective 3: Develop International Student Mobility

Initiative 2022-2027

Establish opportunities for outgoing student mobility

Establish opportunities for incoming student mobility

Establish virtual mobility experiences within programs

International Student Ratio

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

KPIs Responsibility

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

% of international incoming students to ET Department

# of virtual mobility opportunities and programs established

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

Actions by Initiatives

Establish Opportunities for Outgoing Student Mobility

• 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 ECoH 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

Achieve sustainability through recruitment and retention of diverse body of students

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR ‎

OTHERS: DEAN SA/ PROVOST/DEANS

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR ‎

OTHERS: DEAN SA/ PROVOST/DEANS

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN T&L/ DEAN

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEANS/DEPT. CHAIR

2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

% of ET students’ population out of the projected number in the strategic plan

Actions by Initiatives

Achieve Sustainability through Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Body of Students

LEAD: DEPT CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEAN SA‎

• 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

a. 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

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

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

d. 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 2022-2027

Graduates with entrepreneurial businesses

Improve alumni communications and data management

Develop focused portfolio of alumni activities

Establish alumni mentorship program

Improve alumni performance

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

KPIs Responsibility

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

% of completion of ET alumni database

Number of alumni activities developed

% of alumni participation in mentorship programs

% of alumni participation in offered training programs

Actions by Initiatives

Graduates with Entrepreneurial Businesses

• Cultivate entrepreneurship culture within the ET Department by focusing on the following:

d Case studies of real-world corporate stories and operational hiccups faced by them

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

f Invite business executives to deliver lectures

g. Provide consulting services to non-profit organizations (for final year students)

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

LEAD: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

OTHERS: ‎DEAN/DEAN SA

LEAD: DEAN SA

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIR

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEAN SA

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEAN SA

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEAN SA

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

Organizational constraints (lack of time and resource)

Lack of internal capabilities

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

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

• 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 the ET Department.

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

• 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 ET 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.

Alumni Engagements

Cultural differences between the host and home institution

The international office should provide psychological counselling for those students who are in culture shock or in some 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 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

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

KPIs Responsibility

% of achieve institutional Saudization body

% of females vs males (KPI-P-12)

Actions by Initiatives

Rebalance Faculty Workload

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

Foster Equity Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

• Provide an effective orientation program.

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

Actions by Initiatives

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

% of Part-timers vs. Full-timers

% of achieved ranks (Full Professor- Associate Professor – Assistant Professor) (KPI-P-12, KPI-PG-11)

% of achieved recruiting needs

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

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN MHR

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

• Maintain a healthy work environment.

• Enhance the climate of the ET Department by engaging faculty & staff.

• Give employees multiple ways to provide feedback.

• o Apply fair and transparent promotion procedures for all employees.

• Apply fair and transparent promotion procedures for all employees.

Objective 3: Extend Faculty Development Program

Initiative

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

• Promote talent Saudis within the ET Department 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 2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Provide professional development support for novel pedagogies

2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

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: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN MHR/DQA

Rebalance faculty workload

Foster equity diversity and inclusion strategy

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

Provide professional development support for research

Actions by Initiatives

LEAD: DEPT. ‎CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN ‎MHR PROVOST

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN MHR PROVOST

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

• Collect the annual needs for faculty professional development.

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

a. Educational Development

b Personal Development

c. Organizational Development

• 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.

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.

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: PROVOST/ DEAN MHR/DGSR

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

Initiative 2022-2027

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

KPIs Responsibility

Ratio of students to support staff in all occupational category

• 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.

Develop and implement desired support staff profile plan

Actions by Initiatives

Develop and Implement Desired Support Staff Profile Plan

• Attract and recruit the finest staff.

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: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: PROVOST/ MHR

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.

• o 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.

• Apply retention strategies, aimed at retaining qualified employees.

• Ensure at least 12% of ET 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:

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:

Meeting Internal Weekly (Ad-hoc as per requirement) President

Government Entity Organization 1 Keep Satisfied Face-to-Face Meeting

External As per protocol Dean

• 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 ET:

• 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.

• 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 on a monthly basis 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

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

Actions by Initiatives

Implement the ET Department Financial Plan Reflecting ET Strategy

• Maintain the financial planning and management control system, with capabilities to perform budgetary and forecasting processes, financial delegations and risk management

Diversify Income Stream

Management Initiatives Increasing research output with limited resource

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

• Develop, implement, and evaluate Revenue diversification strategy.

Objective 2: Improve ET Department Services (IT & Facilities and Equipment)

2022-2027

Vision Saudization Finding and recruiting local talent

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

Initiative

Enhance/upgrade the technological solutions to support academic and administrative operations

KPIs Responsibility 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

KPI-I-15 Average of beneficiaries’ satisfaction rate with technical services...) on a five-point scale in an annual survey in terms of:

a. Suitability.

b. Safety and confidentiality.

c. Availability and ease of access.

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DQA/ MIETS

Faculty Development Program (FDP)

Building an internal development center

Knowledge Development

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

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

IX. Strategic Area 6: Institutional Resources

Objective 1: Maintain Financial Stability

Implement the ET Financial plan ‎

Diversify income streams

Deviation percentage (positive or negative) of expenditure and income from the budget (measured ‎monthly, quarterly, per semester and annually)‎

Percentage of self- income of the department to total income (KPI-I-14)‎ ‎% of achievement for each source of income to budget

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/MF

LEAD: MF

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIR

Optimize the use of facilities and equipment to achieve safe, healthy, and sustainable campus

Actions by Initiatives

d. Maintenance and support services.

% of fulfillment of facilities and equipment of the needs for the department

Average of beneficiaries’ satisfaction rate with facilities and equipment services on a five-point scale in an annual survey in terms of:

a. cleaning services

b. Safety and healthy campus

c. access for disabled

d. Maintenance and support services

e. security

f. restaurant, CDC, residence g. transportation

Enhance/Upgrade the Technological Solutions to Support Academic and Administrative Operations

LEAD: DEAN QA – SES & PES

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

• Improve the quality and equipment of the lecture rooms and computer labs to ensure high quality of teaching and facilitate the interaction with students.

Optimize the Use of Facilities and Equipment to Achieve Safe, Healthy, and Sustainable Campus

• Revise and update Master Campus Plan to ensure its alliance with ET Department needs (including vacant land parcels) and to maintain compliance with Ministry of Education Bylaws.

• Annually review campus building and facilities to meet the emerging needs of academic and administrative units.

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

Untenable financial demands for ‎new technology commitments

Prioritization and smart ‎allocation of funds based on ‎more lucrative opportunities

• Support Faculty in identifying external sources of funding to supplement funding from the University, thus ensuring their financial autonomy.

• Assist faculty with the process of writing proposals for funding by, among other things, organizing proposal writing workshops, marketing the capabilities of the ET Department Researchers among the funding agencies, and incentivize the ET Department Researchers for networking.

• Delegate responsibilities to the most credible names within the research faculty to write proposals for funding.

Improve Institutional ‎Infrastructure

Strong faculty and staff ‎resistance to new solutions ‎related to buildings and grounds ‎on philosophical or other ‎grounds

Long-term benefits to the ET ‎should be clearly communicated ‎before taking capital decisions

X. Strategic Area 7: Research & Innovation

Objective 1: Develop Diversified Research Impact in Areas of National and International Priority

Number of national, and international research partners per year

Percentage of national and international partnered research/total research output

• Identify EU research clusters and link them to the activated research partnerships nationally, and internationally. Monitor and Respond to National Policy on International HE Regarding Research

• Scan, on a yearly basis, the possible updates of research by checking the governmental research related institutions (i.e., KACST, RDO, SAIP).

• Design a timeline to review research related policies, and update if needed.

Objective 2: Consolidate Research Achievements

Extend

Proportion of graduate students with a) at least one refereed publication during their study) presented paper in a conference to the total number of students in the PG program during the year. (KPI-PG-18)

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR OTHERS: DEAN/DGSR

Identify and establish focused research relationships with national and international partners

KPI-I-21 Proportion of external funding for research‎

The degree of international diversity in terms of partnered international research network is as: Formula =

‎‎(Number of partners -1)/ln (number of collaborated research output)‎

Percentage of partnered research to the total research output (Including internal collaborations amongst ET ‎Department and its departments)‎

LEAD: DEAN

OTHERS: DEPT. CHAIRS

Increase researcher productivity

Improve research impact

KPI-I-17 Rate of published research per faculty member

KPI-I-18 Citation’s rate in referred journals per faculty member

Number of Scopus/ISI publications over the 5 years.

Number of Scopus publications per year

KPI-I-19 Number of patents, innovations, and awards of excellence per year

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DGSR

Monitor and respond to national policy on international HE regarding research

Actions by Initiatives

Percentage of operational steps completed

Identify and Establish Focused Research Relationships with National and International Partners

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY

Actions by Initiatives

Increase Proportion of Active Researchers

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: DEAN/DGSR

• Review policies and procedures related to research for faculty participation in national and international seminars and workshops.

• Promote research collaboration by enhancing the ET Department visibility through national media communication.

• Scan, identify and collaborate with possible opportunities for national, regional and international research partners.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the research partnership and set the new goals for next cycle.

• Prioritize fund-raising efforts through collaborative research proposals targeting national and international funding organizations and businesses.

• Develop capabilities to raise funds (5% from the total research budget not less than 500 K SAR) through external sources by targeting national and international funding organizations.

• Foster the recruitment of leading national and international scholars, leading in their respective fields of research (postdoctorates, scholars on sabbatical, retired scholars as they can contribute through their experience).

• Offer adequate compensation or incentives for the active researcher, based on the research projection.

• Conduct regular workshops and meetings to promote collaborations between EU faculty with active researchers.

Extend Integration of Graduate Students and Programs in Published Research

• Promote the process of involving PG students in research publication by co-authoring with their faculty.

Increase Researcher Productivity

• Focus further in the faculty recruitment on candidates with a proven track record in research.

• Aid new researchers and early careers in the process of publications and grant proposal writing.

• Provide adequate internal seed funding (Internal Financial Support) to increase the research productivity of active scholars.

• Allow teaching release time for very active researcher whenever possible to spend the needed time on research production.

Improve Research Impact

• Raise awareness for internal cross citations.

• Facilitate the ET Department support for open access publications to increase the opportunity of citations.

• Index the ET Department Journals to help in increasing the number of indexing citations.

• Empower faculty to publish with top 2% (highly cited) scholars.

• Spread the research advancements made by the ET Department researchers through effective PR communication, both internally and externally.

• Establish a regular newsletter to highlight and celebrate the achievements of the ET Department researchers.

• Create awareness of ET Department research activities on the EU website and blogs as a gesture of promoting research culture both within and outside the ET Department.

• Instill and grow a strong research culture amongst all departments to bolster research output through support and motivation to the researchers.

• Encourage ET Department Faculty & Students to produce quality research by providing variety of venues (Indexing Effat Journals/Proceedings, incentive systems, Editing Office Services).

• Maximize the opportunities for faculty to collaborate with highly cited researchers.

• Develop capabilities to increase the production of IPs, patents, and innovations through the establishment of an intellectual property office in the university.

• Support the ET Department faculty, students & researchers to obtain external research awards across various fields and categories.

Objective 3: Promote the Research Environment

Actions by Initiatives

Establish Endowed/Named Research Chairs

• Identify research strengths and opportunities of the ET Department and develop plans for scientific chairs.

• Scan, identify and collaborate with governmental and/or institutional bodies for the selected research areas.

• Address potential donors/ sponsors for research chairs.

• Manage the chairs and evaluate their effectiveness.

Utilize Existing Research Labs /Units /Centers

• Enhance the research environment and infrastructure to increase the research productivity through effective use of state-ofthe-art research laboratories, research centers, online databases and resources such as Scopus, Thompson Reuters Web of Science, and software for both qualitative and quantitative research.

• Evaluate the satisfaction of the users of research facilities and equipment.

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

Research collaborations

Research Output & Alignment to National Objectives

Competitive space to get grants and funding from external sources

Financial constraint, lack of resource and skill

Increase credibility of ET research Enhanced communication and marketing to get ET out there in the public space thereby enhancing visibility

Focus on high ROI through spends to hire more resource

Conduct training workshops to develop skill Focus on winning grants and getting funded

XI. Strategic Area 8: Community Engagement

Objective 1: Institutionalize Community Engagement Governance

Establish coordinated approach to community engagement (Partnership and Agreement)‎

Increase memberships with wellknown organizations

Promote consultancy services

Number of partnerships and agreements per year (diverse and aligned with community service areas ‎PACCE)‎

Number of active memberships per year

Number of consultancy opportunities offered per year

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY/ DGSR‎

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY/ DGSR‎

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY/ DGSR‎

Actions by Initiatives

Establish coordinated approach to community engagement (Partnership and Agreement)

• Develop, review and implement policies for community engagement relations.

• Nurture and continue community engagement activities both locally and internationally through constant communication with organizations in the community, showcasing the mutual benefits that can be achieved by partnering.

• Develop relationships with the community leaders by inviting them to the ET for their expertise and problem-solving abilities.

• Focus on developing agreements and partnerships with key government, economic and service sectors, to support the sustainability of environmental resources.

• Increasing the awareness hereabout the important of community engagement.

Increase Memberships with Well-known Organizations

• Evaluate the current ET Department memberships and recommend the renewal of efficient ones.

• Scan, identify and activate new membership opportunities with prestigious national/international organizations.

Promote Consultancy Services

• Assess consultancy needs of the market, develop the marketing plan to promote consultancies, and implement & analyze the effectiveness based on the market study.

Objective 2: Engage with the Community (Activities, Events, and Exhibitions)

Improve quality of community engagement activities

Improve quantity of community engagement activities: volunteering activities, Conferences, events, workshops, sports, webinars industropedia, etc.

Actions by Initiatives

Improve Quality of Community Engagement Activities

Rate of community programs, projects and initiatives

KPI-I-22 Satisfaction of beneficiaries with the community services

Number of volunteering hours/Effat employees and students per year

Number of Conferences, events, workshops, and webinars per year

Objective 3: Provide Training with Community Partners

Establish a PACE-HIT training center and programs

Offered professional and certified training

Actions by Initiatives

Establish a PACE-HIT Training Center and Programs

• Finalize all the required process to authorize PACE-HIT.

Percentage of executed program s over the planned ones

Percentage of registered students from the projections

DEPT. CHAIR

DAR/DGSR

FACULTY/DQA

• Align the ET Department’s training programs to the economic development, job creation to support Saudi Vision 2030.

• Develop, and license the identified training programs by the TVTC.

Offered Professional and Certified Training.

• Design, and approve an offering plan for the training programs,

• Implement a recruitment plan for the training programs to achieve the projected number of trainees,

• Evaluate the results of the plan to modify and enhance the offering plan.

Objective 4: Enhance the ET Department Visibility

ET contribution to MCPR/Media Center

Market the ET Department with all key external stakeholders

Number of press releases by the ET Department per year

Number of new external stakeholders per year

Number of participations in Exhibitions per year

Number of solicitations per year

Number of new followers for each platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) per year

• Review, update and enhance the quality of the community engagement activities.

• Increase the engagement level of students, faculty, staff and alumni in quality community engagement activities to nurture the culture within the university.

Improve Quantity of Community Engagement Activities: Volunteering Activities, Conferences, Events, Workshops, Sports, Webinars Industropedia, etc.Review the needs of the community to offer community engagement activities.

• Review the needs of the community to offer community engagement activities.

• Plan, and implement the annual community engagement activities (volunteering activities,

• Conferences, events, workshops, sports, and webinars).

• Evaluate the impact of the offered community engagement activities and plan for future improvement.

Develop revised social media presence

Number of reaches per post

Number of marketing campaigns per year

DEPT. CHAIR OTHERS: MCPR

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY

LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR OTHERS: FACULTY

Promote the participation in external Awards opportunities for ET Department Faculty and Students

Number of external awards obtained LEAD: DEPT. CHAIR

OTHERS: FACULTY ‎

Actions by Initiatives

ET Department contribution to MCPR/Media Center:Specify the function, tasks and responsibilities of ECOB contribution to the media center.

• Specify the function, tasks and responsibilities of ET Department contribution to the media center.

• Develop and implement the annual plan of ET Department contribution to the media center.

• Assess the impact of the implementation of the plan on the ET Department visibility.

Market ET with all Key External Stakeholders:

• Maintain and update the ET Department content and insights as per international standards to attract the best talent and connect with all external stakeholders.

• Expand the ET Department stakeholder network, categorize them and tailor-made communication strategy plan.

• Interact with the prospect students or their families through the chatbot to help resolving any query.

• Participate in major exhibitions to promote the ET Department.

• Scan, and identify, the solicitation opportunities in the market.

• Design a marketing plan to attract the attention of potential companies and evaluate its success.

Develop Revised Social Media Presence

• Intensify the presence of social media platforms such as Instagram, twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

• Enhance targeted ad-strategy to market the content on these social media platforms to increase the number of followers (Audience Growth) and post reach (impressions).

Promote the Participation in External Awards Opportunities for the ET Department Faculty and Students

• Encourage the internal participation with awards and certificates to foster more participation.

MarCom (Marketing & Communication) Planning Framework

The following is an integrated marketing and communication (IMC) framework followed widely around the globe because of its strong fundamentals:

Review of the marketing plan for the ET Program

Review of the marketing plan for the ET Program

Review of the marketing plan for the ET Program

Review of the marketing plan for the ET Program

Advertising Digital Marketing

Events and Fairs PR Activities

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategy for the ET Program

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategy for the ET Program

According to the research conducted by IPSOS, digital marketing is the most accessed channel by both the UG and PG potential students, with Instagram and Twitter being the most popular social media venues explored by the potential students.

The visual representation of the same is depicted below:

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

Institutionalize and Enhance Community Governance and Engagement

Assistance needed by the students engaging in community services

Lack of motivation for students and alumni to continue with community engagements

Financial constraints

Provide support to the students in the form of transportation, food, and guidance

Reward the service providers in the form of awards and certificates

Events can be done in collaboration with the local community bodies to reduce the financial burden on the university

Enhance ET Visibility

Marketing team hiring constraints

Avail the services of an external marketing agency while slowing ramping up internal marketing capabilities