Academic rankings indicate the progress of Saudi universities after the approval of the new university system
Welcoming and concerned about the new university system, they talk about the partial fees paid
QS Advisor: Saudi Arabia remains the best performer in academic rankings
Some bachelor’s graduates find it difficult to complete postgraduate studies with paid fees, after the issuance of the Royal Decree on November 8, 2019 approving the new system for Saudi universities, which includes 69 articles, some of which focus on the issue of university financing, which included approving tuition fees for some specializations. And academic degrees, as the system will begin to be implemented after the month of Ramadan this year.
Fees are described by some bachelor’s degree students as an obstacle to completing their academic career, while officials describe them as a step on the right path in order to rise to the ranks of advanced universities.
Between the two sides of the debate is a third party that reveals to us whether the changes that have occurred in the university system are appropriate for advancement to the ranks of advanced universities or whether they reduce the scientific treasury resulting from postgraduate research. That party is the academic classification institutions around the world, the most prominent of which are the Times and QS classifications. British, which are considered among the academic classifications that most universities in the world rely on.
The classification is based in its entirety on five things: the research strength of universities, the percentage of international students, the number of degree tracks, the teaching staff, and the percentage of scientific citations taken from university research to all researchers around the world.
The Times bodes well
| The British Times classification is based on the previous factors in addition to other factors, including: the gender distribution factor (male and female students), the financial income of science and technology research when applied on the ground, up to the international reputation that the university enjoys, as this is measured through three indicators: The ratio of international students to domestic students, the ratio of international staff to domestic students, and the proportion of research involving international collaboration.
The Times relies on rankings of the best 1,400 universities distributed across 92 countries. When we return to the comparison between the three years 2018 - 2019 - 2020 to know the status of universities before, after and during the issuance of the new university system, we notice that the number of Saudi universities in 2018 is five universities, the first of which is King Abdulaziz Government University, which is classified within the list of (201 - 250) international universities, where it maintained The university was ranked on this list over a period of three years. It is noteworthy that King Abdulaziz University did not cancel free study for postgraduate studies after the issuance of the new system, but it also allowed paid study for those who wished for it. This is also the case with King Saud Government University, whose ranking over the three years remained stable within the list (501 - 650). As for King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, it has gone through an important turning point despite being a government university, and this change represented the transfer of supervision over it from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Energy. Likewise, the change did not exempt it from implementing the new system for universities, as it remains in the Times classification in the years 2018 and 2020 on the list of (601 - 800) International university. These universities are preparing to apply the new system to them, while the rest of the other universities remain in the process of qualifying and preparing to implement the new system. |
World University Rankings 2020 _ Times Higher Education (THE) |
The best in the Arab world
| QS-Arab-Rankings-2020 | In a speech by Dr. Shadi Hegazy - Business and Training Advisor at the British QS Organization for Academic Classification of Universities - about the results of the classification for the beginning of 2020, Dr. praised. Hijazi, King Abdulaziz University ranked first in the Arab world; He attributed this to the university’s contribution to the transformation taking place in the Saudi economy.
As pointed out by Dr. Hegazy, during his speech published in the QS issue for the year 2020, referred to the level of Saudi universities, saying: The Kingdom continues to have the best performance in the rankings, as three Saudi universities ranked among the top 10 Arab universities, and 23 other Saudi universities appeared in the list of 131 Arab universities. At the conclusion of his speech, Dr. Hijazi pointed out that a lower rating does not necessarily indicate a decline in performance; As universities in the Arab region, more than ever before, are keen to develop and increase their global recognition, so the competition is even more intense compared to previous years, he said. Returning to the classification and comparison between the years 2019 and 2020 - that is, before and after the issuance of the decision - we find that King Abdulaziz University advanced from third place to first, while King Saud and King Fahd Universities each fell slightly, by two places. This classification matches the Times classification in terms of criteria, in addition to another criterion, which is the academic communication network and the popularity of its official website. |
Between welcome and anxiety
The recent decision was officially welcomed among local officials, who in turn confirmed that the new university system is a step to advance Saudi universities to the ranks of advanced international universities.
While the situation is different in academic circles at Taibah University, which implemented the last decision in the part related to tuition fees, for postgraduate studies, there are those who welcome it with caution and those who express concern about the decision and the extent of its impact on some people continuing postgraduate studies, as Hatem Wazna - educational supervisor in the Department of Education, spoke. Al-Madina - to the newspaper, saying: This decision affects people with limited income in particular, especially since the male or female student strived hard to obtain the highest grades in the bachelor’s degree in order to enroll in higher studies, but the presence of paid fees, unfortunately, will hinder the ambition of a very large number of them.
On the other hand, Dr. Noura Al-Awfi - a faculty member at Taibah University - had a cautiously welcoming opinion, as she said about the fees paid: Universities have the right to demand it, and make it a condition for enrollment in programs, and its return is definitely positive for universities through benefiting from financial income, and in return, the issue of imposing fees. This burden is burdened by students who wish to join these programs, as many do not have the financial capacity despite having the determination and determination to study.
No fear for her
In addition to the statistics shown by The Times and QS regarding the level of Saudi universities, which bode well, the same is true of the well-known Chinese Shanghai classification, the Spanish Webmetrics classification, and the American News USA, which agree that the academic level of the Kingdom’s public universities is progressing despite the recent decisions. Because these universities support scientific research, which is considered the basis for the progress of any university, there is no benefit to the large number of students with the lack of academic achievement, as this imposes a financial burden on government universities in accommodating everyone while the scientific outputs do not match the inputs.
