The Saudi economist and academic, Dr. Abdullah Sadiq Dahlan, lays down a clear road map to diversify the sources of income of Arab and Saudi universities, through his new scientific publication, “Financial Sustainability of Universities,” which appeared on the market in the past days, as the first Arabic book to deal with the subject in detail, and to present new technologies that keep pace with the new boom. witnessed by the education sector in the Kingdom and the world.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Business and Technology, Dr. Abdullah Sadiq Dahlan, confirms that the book does not stop at presenting successful models and realistic stories, but rather presents future mistakes for the sustainability, growth and development of universities. He says: “Higher education institutions face a set of financial and non-financial challenges, which requires them to research The need to develop and diversify sources of income has become an urgent necessity recently, and the need has emerged to develop indicators that reflect the financial performance of institutions, and make it easier for leaders and decision-makers to manage financial aspects effectively and sustainably ». .
He believes that the book “Financial Sustainability for Universities” presents a comprehensive picture of financial sustainability through its presentation of successful global models. It also discusses the state of financial sustainability of Saudi universities and presents a comprehensive proposal for developing their conditions. It is considered an integrated introductory chapter that helps the reader understand the important theoretical aspects of financial sustainability and adds to the decision-maker a clearer and more informed picture of his institution.
He adds: In its second chapter, the book deals with a number of the most important and famous international universities that occupy advanced rankings in the global ranking of universities, and details the features of the administrative and financial excellence of these universities. This chapter also reviews the methods of governance of these universities, the role of endowments in them, various investment strategies, various sources of income, aspects of spending, and aspects of the intersection of academic research with the market and industry. its graduates in achieving its sustainability.
According to the author, the third and final chapter discusses the financial sustainability of Saudi universities and their funding sources, and some examples of Saudi universities that were able, in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, to make a boom in their funding sources. It also discusses the new university law in the Kingdom and the role of scholarships in the development of Saudi higher education. The chapter concludes with a proposal to reduce Financial burdens on the government budget and access to the financial sustainability of Saudi universities similar to the major international universities. The proposed proposal relies on benefiting from international experiences in finding sources of funding for higher education. It also recommends the importance of privatizing higher education gradually without prejudice to the government’s supervisory role, as well as the gradual transformation by introducing endowments. The university system, as well as encouraging the transformation of universities into non-profit universities and developing university systems in line with their sources of income, in addition to focusing on the importance of attracting funding from the private sector through fruitful partnerships.
The writer pointed out that the current challenges necessitate private universities in particular to renew and change their management and strategy in order to achieve financial sustainability in order to reach their goals in a way that meets their immediate and future needs, and that with the decline in the role of the government in financing education in many countries, the matter has also become important for public universities. Which need financial resources in a way that allows it to develop and compete at the national and global levels.
