Academic Plans and Programs Department Procedures:

After considering the procedures for approving academic plans and programs in a number of leading universities, the Academic Plans and Programs Department decided to enforce the following procedure to enhance areas of strength while avoiding areas of weakness for the purpose of improving the outputs KSU’s academic plans.

• Initiatives for revising academic plans or proposing new programs, or so-called amendments, are raised by:
  • Requests to revise the plan from entities inside or outside the University
  • New developments in the field of specialization
  • Job market needs
  • National development requirements
  • Academic accreditation requirements
• The concerned department coordinates with the Academic Plans and Programs Department to hold workshops with experts in academic plans including members from the concerned department’s faculty, students, and graduates (male and female), in addition to potential employers and those interested in the field.
• The concerned department prepares the academic plan in accordance with standards of academic accreditation.
• The academic plan is approved by the concerned councils.
• The academic plan is submitted to the Academic Plans and Programs Department which is responsible for studying and revising it in preparation for its approval according to the following procedures:

• First: Technical Review

  Second: Review via the following:

• Academic experts (internal and external)
• Public and private sectors
• Interested stakeholders by posting the plan on the Department’s website

• Third: Collecting and forwarding referees’ feedback to the concerned department for consideration

  Fourth: Advisory Committees which include representatives from different KSU colleges as follows:

• The Advisory Committee for Humanities Colleges
• The Advisory Committee for Scientific Colleges
• The Advisory Committee for Health Colleges

• Fifth: Submitting the plan to the Standing Committee for Academic Plans and Programs for approval in preparation for its discussion by the University Council

  The procedures for approving new academic plans or approving major amendments to existing plans can be summarized in the diagram below:

If the changes are minor and are within certain courses without any major effects on the study plan, required recommendations are made by the concerned college and department councils. These recommendations are then sent to the Vice Rector for Educational and Academic Affairs in order to approve them by the Standing Committee for Academic Plans and Programs.