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.

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.