Governance changes in German higher education institutions

All German bachelor’s and master’s programs must be accredited, and this entails a process involving extensive self-review and external review with experts visiting in cycles of five or seven years to re-accredit the program. Since 2008, German higher education institutions have had the option of maintaining more autonomy and control by becoming system accredited. In this case, the entire quality assurance system of the higher education institution is subjected to external review and finally accredited as being competent to ensure quality standards in its own programs and accredit its new courses of study itself (Harris-Huemmert, 1, 2016).

In the context of efforts made towards system accreditation, German higher education institutions have used their increased autonomy to develop a variety of different models for governance. At the University of Constance in Baden-Württemberg, for instance, which was system-accredited in 2014, the Rector maintains direct control over accreditation while being advised every four years by a small committee that he sets up (Harris-Huemmert, 2016).The University of Frankfurt followed a modified version of this leader-accreditation model but put

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control not into the hands of one person, but a small internal accreditation committee composed of professors, staff, and students (Harris-Huemmert, 2016).

This top-down approach stands in contrast to the de-centralized model exemplified by the University of Mainz, which in 2011 became the first German institution of higher education to be system accredited. In accord with the specific higher education laws of Rheinland-Palatinate, the University of Mainz requires new programs to be peer-reviewed before being introduced and maintains a Center for Quality Assurance and Development, which grants accreditations while also being subject to review itself by an advisory board (Beirat). At the University of Regensburg (Bavaria), which was system-accredited in 2015, an “external”

working committee, in which the university chancellor only has “guest” status, assumes responsibility for accreditation. Although it works externally on behalf of the university, this commission also includes some professors and students from the university among its members (Harris-Huemmert, 2016). An extremely de-centralized model has been established at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, which was system-accredited in 2014. In this model, Advisory Working Committees are set up for each individual degree, forming “mini accreditation agencies” consisting of four members each, one with professional experience, two external subject experts, and one student (Harris-Huemmert, 2016).

On the whole, governance in higher education in Germany is becoming more diversified, ranging from top-down approaches to highly de-centralized ones, depending on the laws of the various Länder as well as the goals and vision of the respective institutions of higher education.

This diversity and the changes taking place are closely linked with efforts to establish accreditation.

The German higher education system is described as decentralized and centralized at the same time. It is decentralized concerning the federal (national) level and centralized in regard to each Land. The funding of German higher education institutions is Länder responsibility, as since the national reform, the respective federal state provides financial support for higher education institutions in the research and science area. The tuition fees which were recently introduced could be considered as a main finance resource for higher education institutions.

56 3.3 Higher education system in Saudi Arabia 3.3.1 History

Reviewing the history of Saudi higher education shows that there are six main characteristics for this system: a short history as the first university opened in 1957;

tremendous growth in the last ten years (Al-Eisa & Smith, 2013); the centralized support and control system; full financial support from the government (free education); a focus on teaching the Islamic religion; and a policy of separating males and females (Smith & Abouammah, 2013).

The history of higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia is divided into five phases.

These are explained in the sections which follow.

3.3.1.1 Pre-formal education

Before the institutionalization of the higher education sector, there were a number of informal higher education options in Saudi regions with variation in levels offered for certain majors such as Arabic language, religion and education science. In Makka, Al-Madina, and Al-Monaourah, such education options were featured due to their historic and religious status, and students and teachers worldwide flocked to programs offered there. This explains the early interest and the desire to organize higher education in these cities.

3.3.1.2 The institutionalization of the higher education sector (1926-1949)

The year 1926 marks the actual beginning of the organization of the higher education sector in Saudi Arabia with establishment of the Knowledge Directorate. This directorate had the responsibility of organizing, planning, and establishing the public and higher education institutions. It started by establishing modern schools in different Saudi cities. The existence of organized education seminars in Saudi cities before that time was followed by the establishment of the official higher education institutes in Saudi regions, which paved the way for establishing modern higher education institutions.

The nucleus of higher education is represented in the preparation step in 1928 with establishment of the scholarship affairs committee, which sent 14 students to study different majors at the University in Egypt in 1928. Then as the next step a high school for scholarship preparation opened in 1936 in Makkah and lasted three years (Ministry of Higher Education, 2012). It aimed to prepare the high school students using a modern school model to continue

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their scholarship in the faculties of medicine, engineering, agriculture, and art in Egypt, Lebanon, United State and some European countries (Ministry of Higher Education, 2012, Al-Mohizai, 2009).

3.3.1.3 Establishment phase (1949-1960)

This was followed by the establishment of four colleges as the first building blocks of the Saudi higher education. The first one, the College of Sharia in Makkah, was established in 1949, with the Teachers’ College in Makkah following in 1946. Then in 1953 and 1954, Sharia College and Teachers’ College were founded, respectively, in Riyadh.

In 1954, the Ministry of Knowledge was established to oversee public and higher education issues. It developed and oversaw these colleges and the scholarship programs. The goal of sending scholarship students abroad was to fulfill the need of the country in science and applied disciplines, while the religion and education disciplines were taught within the country to be in line with the religion and cultural context. As a result of the expansion in the dissemination in public school establishment in all the country’s regions, there was a growing demand for qualified teaching skills to fulfil the needs in all school stages. This led to continuation in establishing higher education institutions to serve this need. At the end of this phase, the Ministry of Knowledge adopted the established of the first modern Saudi university.

King Saud University was founded in 1957 in Riyadh, and it included four colleges: the College of Literature, College of Science, College of Administrative Sciences, and College of Pharmacy (Education Ministry, 2012).

3.3.1.4 Expansion phase (1961-1980)

This phase represents the expansion in establishing universities in the country regions. In this period, six universities in the big cities were established: Islamic University in AlMadinah Almunawarah in 1961, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in 1968, Al-Immam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh in 1974, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran and King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa in 1975, and Umm AL-Qura University in Makkah in 1980. These universities included 58 colleges and faculties. Later some of these universities opened branches in other cities. This phase is characterized by the diversity of

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education, with a number of teacher colleges were established in the big cities of the country (Ministry of Higher Education, 2012).

3.3.1.5 Comprehensiveness phase (1981-2012)

Proceeding from the principle of availability of equal opportunities of higher education for the sons of the homeland in all cities and villages, without resorting to big cities, the higher education policy in this phase aimed at spreading higher education institutions in all the country’s regions. Universities and colleges were founded in 80 provinces with a variety of disciplines to meet the needs of the labor market and development plans. This phase started with the establishment of King Khalid University in Abha in 1981 and ended with the approval decision to establish The Saudi Electronic University in 2011.

In 1994 the problem of providing university access for all became apparent, which required expanding the establishment of governmental colleges and universities and starting to open private higher education institutions. The Saudi higher education sector is described as a development achieved in a short period in both governmental and private institutions. In 2016 the number of higher education organization reached 66, 28 state universities, 30 private universities and colleges and 8 colleges and institute for vocational education, with 1,622,441 students enrolled in them (Education Ministry, 2016).

The most important feature of the growing and development phase in the higher education sector in Saudi Arabia is the size of gains made in the higher education of women. In 1970 there were seven women students in higher education. In 2011 the number of women students in higher education reached 700,000, which represents 60% of the total enrollment in higher education institutions.

Table 3 below shows the growth in the higher education institutions in the last two decades.

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Table 3. The growth in the Saudi higher education sector in the last two decades

Year Universities Colleges Faculties

1989

State Private Total State Private Total State Private Total

7 0 7 83 0 83 410 0 410

1999 8 2 10 203 6 209 644 9 653

2012 25 8 33 498 45 543 2277 116 2393

2017 28 10 38 * * * * * *

(*) the information is not available.

Sources: Statistical information on higher education institutions from: - Ministry of education, Higher Education Statistics (1400- 1415), https://www.moe.gov.sa - Ministry of education, Higher Education Statistics (1416-1430), https://www.moe.gov.sa. - General Authority of Statistics (https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/3218, 2017).

However, this number of higher education organizations is not sufficient to serve a population of 31 million in a country that seeks to begin a national transition in 2020 and aspires to achieve its vision by 2030.² It is necessary to push for an increase in the number of universities, allow international universities to open branches in the country, and sell academic services in some specializations.

2 “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030” is a national plan that aims to enhance the development process for the Saudi economy through developing all sectors by reducing Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversifying its economy, and developing service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism. The plan’s details were announced on April 25, 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. It represents a roadmap and methodology for achieving this aim, by identifying the general directions, policies, goals, and objectives of the Kingdom. As a result of this new vision some ministries, institutions, and government entities are subject to ongoing restructuring processes to prepare them for this stage. The plan includes 80 projects, each costing between $3.7 million and $20 million. The Council of Ministers tasked the Council of Economic and Development Affairs with implementing and establishing mechanisms and measures necessary for “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030”

(http://vision2030.gov.sa/en, 2017).

60 3.3.2 Reform and development plans

In 2007 King Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz launched an initiative to develop the education sector, for both public and higher education. With regard to higher education, this initiative paid attention to its future through the “Afaq” project.

The Ministry of Education has implemented this national project for higher education to set up a plan based on strategic planning methods and mechanisms. This project is a 25-year strategic development plan for the transition process to the knowledge-based economy era, setting the vision, mission, strategic dimensions, and a practical implementation mechanism. This project’s objectives are to maintain the quality of higher education and to invest prudently in human resources. Moreover, one of the important issues included in this project for achieving its goals in preparing for the next era is quality control and developing quality culture in public education institutions and higher education institutions.