Performance of Saudi Universities in Global Rankings and appropriate strategies for its improvement

Authors

Ahmed Al Kuwaiti PhD, Associate Professor & General supervisor, Department of Dental Education, College of Dentistry & Deanship of Quality and Academic Accreditation, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), P.O. box 40065, Al-Khobar 31952, Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 13 3332500 Fax: +966 13 3330380 Mobile: +966 505843183 Email: akuwaiti@iau.edu.saFollow
Kevin Downing PhD, Director, Knowledge, Enterprise and Analysis City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Email: sckevin@cityu.edu.hkFollow
Arun Vijay Subbarayalu PhD, Assistant Professor, Quality Measurement and Evaluation Department, Deanship of Quality and Academic Accreditation Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), P.O. box 1982, Dammam 31441 Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 13 3332503 Fax: +966 13 3330380 Mobile: +966 535071285 Email: ausubbarayalu@iau.edu.saFollow

Date of this Version

2019

Comments

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Abstract

Saudi universities are utilizing various university ranking systems to publicize their academic and research performance to the students and their parents. This study aimed to describe the ranking position of top ten Saudi universities across Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings based on the ranking results established in 2019. Based on results, the leading position observed among such universities were King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in QS and King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in THE. This study is not only provided an analysis of rankings of top ten Saudi universities; but also highlighted the key areas such as reputation, teaching quality, research/citations, internationalization, and industry income where, Saudi universities need to concentrate in order to succeed in these rankings systems. Further, this study also suggested appropriate strategies that would aid Saudi universities to enhance their performance to improve their ranking position.