Scientific Research Charter at Universities

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Issued by a decision from the Higher Education Council on 2/10/1419 H. (following a meeting by the Council on 6/2/1419 H) - approved by the Custodian of Holy Shrines - Head of the Higher Education Council.

Decision #2/10/1419

The Higher Education Council;

Based on the stipulations of code #6 in article #15 of the charter for Higher Education and Universities Council ordaining that specialties of the higher Education Council is to issue common regulations for universities;

Given that the unified regulations for scientific research at universities are derived from common regulations and their endorsement would organize aspects surrounding scientific research at universities;

And upon reviewing the memorandum passed by the Higher Education Council on the subject and on the copy of the above-cited unified regulations attached to the proposal - the Council has decided the following:

((Approving the unified regulations for scientific research at universities according to the formula attached to the decision - provided a the formula the regulations are reviewed within three years starting the date of implementation and forwarding the recommendation to the Higher Education Council. Financial allocations should be ready at the time of adopting the unified regulations)).

Article (1): Definitions: Expressions used in the regulations with meanings detailed below:

Scientific research: an achievement founded on world-renowned scientific basis resulting from individual or common efforts or a combination of both.
Main researcher: a member of the teaching faculty or someone serving in his/ her position; representing the group participating in the research effort - and supervises and manages the group.
Co-researcher: a member of the teaching faculty or someone serving in his/ her position; working with the group to complete research in a certain topic.
Inspection arbitrator: a member of the teaching faculty or the expert entrusted with scrutinizing and studying a scientific product.
Reviewer: a member of the teaching faculty or the expert entrusted with scrutinizing and studying a scientific product.
Counselor: a member of the teaching faculty or someone serving in his/ her position or the expert commissioned by the respective research center to provide consultative services or studies.

Article (2): research conducted at universities aim to enrich science and knowledge in all fields, particularly the following:

(A) Highlighting Islamic curricula and their contributions to civilizations and humanitarian sciences.
(B) Documenting Arab and Islamic heritage and preserving, indexing, auditing and facilitating the previous for researchers.
(C) Offering scientific advisories to developing scientific and practical solutions for problems confronting society via research and studies ordered by government and civil organizations.
(D) Relocating and locally instilling modern technologies and participating in their development and adaptation to suit local requirements and serve developmental objectives.
(E) Linking scientific research with the university's goals and developmental plans, and avoiding duplicity, repetition and benefiting from past studies.
(F) Rearing a generation of select Saudi researchers and training them to conduct premium original researches by making way for postgraduate students, lecturers and research assistants to partake in carrying out scientific research.
(G) Uplifting the standard of university education and postgraduate studies.

Article (3): teaching faculty and students researchers are encouraged to conduct original and innovative research which contributes to enriching specialized sciences and knowledge, serving society, providing means for their achievement and mobilization. Universities can employ the following for the realizations of the above goals:

(A) Publishing the findings of scientific research in local and international journals and providing scientific documentation means to facilitate researchers' missions.
(B) Cooperation between scientific and research agencies and institutions inside the Kingdom and abroad via conducting research and exchanging knowledge and expertise.
(C) Devising methods and channels for encouraging individual and institutions to support and finance research projects in order to underscore the role of universities.
(D) Providing advanced communication means and modern scientific publications of all kinds (journals, books...etc).

Article (4): establishing a deanship in every university affiliated devoted to scientific research and affiliated with the vice-dean for postgraduate studies and scientific research. The respective dean and vice-dean are to be appointed based on the stipulations of articles #39 and #40 of the Higher Education and Universities charter.

Article (5): the Scientific Research deanship joins a Scientific Research Board comprised of:

(A) Dean for Scientific Research Head
(B) Dean for Postgraduate Studies Member
(C) Vice-Dean(s) for Scientific research Member
(D) A number of research study center directors (maximum five) chosen by the university council based on a recommendation from the university director.
(E) A number of elite professors in scientific research fields (maximum five) chosen from the university's teaching faculty and appointed by the university council for two-year renewable terms based on a recommendation from the university director.

The council meets and makes its decisions within the stipulations of article #35 of the Higher Education and Universities charter.

Article (6): void of interfering with functions of scientific councils, faculty boards and department boards - the Scientific Research Deanship specializes in the following:

(A) Sketching an annual plan for researches at the university and sanctioning a draft budget for the previous to be lodged to the scientific council.
(B) Proposing codes, regulations and procedures organizing scientific research efforts at the university.
(C) Approving research and study projects, following up, rating and financing them based on regulations in place. Proposing means for organizing links and cooperating with various research centers outside the university.
(D) Liaising operations between research centers at the university and working to avoid overlapping responsibilities and encouraging conducting joint research between all departments and faculties in order to boost efficiency and optimize available resource exploitation.

Recommending consent to publish research deemed fit following arbitration according to the regulations in place.

(E) Encouraging faculty members and other researchers to conduct innovative scientific research and mobilizing available resources for this purpose, especially professors fully devoted to research, and enabling them to work in an appropriate scientific environment.
(F) Organizing communications between research centers outside the university (local and foreign) and nurturing cooperation with the previous to benefit from latest developments.
(G) Building an information database for research completed and underway at the university and exchanging research information with other universities and research centers.
(H) Studying the annual report and final accounts for scientific research activities at the university as a prelude to their review by the Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific research.
(I) Supervising and following up on research financed from other agencies outside the university but falling with its realm.
(J) Establishing specialized committees according to specific requirements.

(L) Studying all material forwarded to the university director or the Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific research.

Article (7): the Dean for Scientific Research is responsible for managing financial, administrative and technical affairs relating to scientific research at the university using codes and regulations in place - and can entrust the Vice-Dean with the following:

(A) Supervising the university's annual research plans and necessary budgets as a prelude to review by the deanship board.
(B) Spending from the allocated research budget within his financial authority.
(C) Technical and administrative follow up on various activities conducted by the deanship and devising plans and working programs and following up on their implementation.
(D) Supervising research centers' activities affiliated with the Scientific Research Deanship and following up and evaluating their performance.
(E) Cooperating and liaising with research center, institutes and foundations within the university and outside; communicating with foreign research centers and institutions and mobilizing findings for modernizing scientific research capability at the university.
(F) Liaising with the Postgraduate Deanship in all aspects pertaining to conducting postgraduate students' researches and working to provide all available resources and research capability for completing their research and/ or scientific dissertations.
(G) Constant follow up on scientific research and securing finances for this objective in order to bankroll researches from within and outside the university.
(H) Recommending signing up researchers, employees and technicians for limited tenures based on the research projects' budget supervised by the deanship.
(I) Appraising staff performance at the deanship and forwarding respective reports to the university management.
(J) Preparing the deanship's draft budget as a prelude to review by the deanship council.

Article (8): each research center following the Scientific Research Deanship is to be managed by:

(A) The center's board.
(B) The center's director.

Each within their respective authorities.

Article (9): the center's board is comprised as follows:

(A) The center's director, head of the board, appointed from Saudi teaching faculty by a decision from the university director based on the nomination from the Dean of Scientific Research - supported by recommendation from the Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research for a two-year renewable term. The director is financially regarded equivalent to a department head.
(B) A number of teaching faculty renowned for excellence in scientific research (maximum five) appointed by the university director based on the nomination of the Dean of Scientific Research and a recommendation from the Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research for a two-year renewable term.

Article (10): the center's board is responsible for all respective issues and especially:

(A) Proposing an annual research plan and sanctioning the necessary draft budget.
(B) Studying research projects for teaching faculty and their equivalents and following on their implementation.
(C) Studying research and studies' projects ordered by parties outside the university and selecting researchers for their implementation and follow up and proposing bonuses for those responsible based on regulations in place.
(D) Recommending spending from the research budget within the regulations in place.
(E) Studying the annual report, final accounts and draft budget and forwarding them to concerned authorities.
(F) Studying all incoming issues from the Scientific Research Deanship.

Article (11): the Scientific Research Center director is responsible for the following:

(A) Supervising and following up on the procession of research activities conducted by teaching faculty, their equivalents and assistant researchers including direct supervision on the center's administrative and technical apparatuses.
(B) Communicating with scientific department and enticing teaching faculty to conduct research, liaise between their researches and provide necessary means and capabilities for speedy completion and publishing.
(C) Communicating and coordinating with other research centers inside and outside the university in all issues pertaining to the nature of researches conducted under the center's supervision or those carried out on behalf of external parties.
(D) Preparing an annual budget draft for the center as a prelude to review by the center's board and further review by higher authorities at the university.
(E) Preparing an annual report on the center's activities and forwarding it to respective authorities.

Article (12): researches financed from the university's budget are selected by an imitative from the researcher or respective scientific authorities according to the plan in place and organization codes. Consequently the scientific board within the following financial ceilings:

(A) A monthly bonus of SAR1200 is dispensed to the prime doctorate researcher and SAR1000 per month to each member of the teaching faculty participating in the research and those in their equivalent (holding doctorate degrees) during the basic time interval outlined in the research plan.
(B) A monthly bonus of SAR30 per hour (maximum SAR800 per month) is dispensed to research assistants (holding masters degree) during the basic time interval outlined in the research plan (maximum three researchers).
(C) A monthly bonus of SAR25 per hour (maximum SAR600 per month) is dispensed to graduate degree holders during the basic time interval outlined in the research plan.
(D) A monthly bonus of SAR20 per hour (maximum SAR400 per month) is dispensed to undergraduates, technician and/or technicians during the basic time interval outlined in the research plan.
(E) A bonus of SAR500 is dispensed to counselors from inside the city for every day of consultation (maximum SAR7000 per year).
(F) A bonus of SAR1000 is dispensed to counselors from outside the city for every day of consultations (housing and living stipends inclusive - maximum SAR14000 per year) plus a roundtrip ticket.
(G) A monthly bonus of SAR2000 is dispensed to counselors from outside the city for every day of consultations (housing and living stipends inclusive - maximum SAR20000 per year) plus a roundtrip ticket.
(H) The above bonuses are withheld from researchers not fully devoted to scientific research.

Article (13): the university director can assign Saudi members of the teaching faculty to prepare researches and studies for specific purposes falling outside the realm of the university's publishing programs - provided the bonus for each researcher does not exceed SAR10000 per research - and a report on this should be forwarded to the head of the university board at the end of each term.

Article (14): necessary services for research and studies conducted by a personal initiative on behalf of the researcher are provided for publishing and/or promotion even outside of the allocated budget.

Article (15): researches financed from government or other institutions are implemented based on the regulations issued by these institutions provided the scientific research council presents a recommendation to this effect to the Scientific Research Deanship.

Article (16): taking into account the stipulations in the charters regulating Saudis enrolled in universities from teaching faculties and their equivalents; the university council formulates the rules and procedural codes governing the research conducted by teaching faculty members during their vacations devoted to research.

Article (17): encouragement bonuses can be dispensed every year for distinguished researches determined by the university council based on a recommendation from the scientific research board.

Article (18): encouragement bonuses can be dispensed every year for distinguished researches determined by the university council based on a recommendation from the scientific research board according to the following criteria:

(A) The research is appraised as original and innovative and has been published for no longer than two years.
(B) The research should be completed at the university and subject to its evaluation standards.
(C) The research should not have received preceding prizes or rewards.
(D) The research should not be derived from a masters or doctorate degree.

Article (19): each prize consists of an appreciation certificate and a financial reward (maximum SAR20000) determined by the university council based on a recommendation from the scientific research board. More than one researcher can subscribe to the same prize, to be shared equally amongst them.

Article (20): the scientific board lays down the rules regulating the nomination mechanism for prizes and rewards presented to the university or those declared by other scientific agencies.

Article (21): material forwarded for publishing at the university should include the following:

‌Scientific dissertations.

(A) Scientific researches.
(B) Books used in educational curricula.
(C) Library references.
(D) Translated references and other books and texts.
(E) Corrected references.
(F) Scientific encyclopedias and glossaries.
(G) Journals deemed fir for publishing by the scientific board and harmonious with the university's objectives.

Article (22): upon receiving approval from the scientific board; some masters and doctorate dissertations can be published if relevant to developmental goals in the Kingdom.

Article (23): if the dissertation is written in a foreign language and the scientific board deems fit for publishing in Arabic a bonus is declared for its translation.

Article (24): for publishing purposes; dissertations completed by other universities inside the Kingdom and abroad can be considered if they meet the university's goals.

Article (25): a bonus of SAR8000 is dispensed to the researcher in return for publishing the masters dissertation and SAR150000 for a doctorate dissertation.

Article (26): the scientific board can accept all incoming material for publishing in the name of the university (researches, authored - translated and corrected material) provided it meets the university's goals and is original.

Article (27): the scientific board devises the detailed criteria for publishing any scientific material based on stipulations of article (21) in the charter.

Article (28): material presented for publishing is appraised by at least two specialist members and the rules and procedural codes for judging and review are laid down by the scientific board.

Article (29): authors, correctors and translators receive a bonus determined by the scientific board based on reports presented by appraisers and according to the individual topics at hand and the scientific value of the material (maximum SAR50000 per book).

Article (30): bonuses for authoring and translation of encyclopedias are determined based on procedural codes formulated by the scientific board (maximum SARE50000 per volume).

Article (31): a bonus is dispensed for authorizing book corrections and appraisals (maximum SAR2000) from inside and outside the university.

Article (32): a bonus is dispensed for linguistics correctors (maximum SAR2000 per book published by the university).

Article (33): a bonus is dispensed to those taking part is appraising and inspecting scientific material presented for promotion (maximum SAR500 per research and SAR3000 per scientific volume).

Article (34): owners of scientific material presented for publishing should correct typing mistakes and put together comprehensive glossaries. The university should furnish the owner with 100 original copies of the printed volume.

Article (35): translated material should adhere to the following:

(A) Material presented for translation should be of high scientific quality and/or tangible application worth.
(B) The material should be subject to appraisal by at least one (or more) reviewers.
(C) Translators and reviewer should fully command both languages from which the translation is taking place.
(D) Translators should adhere to observations made by the reviewer and proposed amendments.
(E) Obtaining rights for translation and publishing from concerned authorities prior to launching the effort.

Article (36): the sum paid to authors in return for publishing rights waives their rights to royalties from selling the volume for a period of five years starting the date of consent by the scientific board.

Article (37): upon reprinting material by the university the original owners are compensated at follows:

(A) If the material had been compiled through research bankrolled by the university or fully purchased its printing rights or completed by university professors then the owners are deprived of new financial compensation upon reprinting.
(B) Materials compiled by the owners and partially purchased by the university receive a bonus not exceeding the initial sum upon reprinting.

Article (38): the university preserves the right to reprint published material for a period of five years. If owners conduct additions to the original volume over the period - then the scientific board estimates a new bonus for the additions payable upon endorsement from the appraiser.

Article (39): five years from the scientific board's approval to publish the volume is ownership is fully returned to the author and his/her heirs and reprinting of the work is subject to a new agreement with the university.

Article (40): the scientific board retains the right to reconsider republishing material not previously published by the university or had been sold out if the university deems the volume of particular scientific importance. A bonus is estimated by the scientific board in this case.

Article (41): scientific journals are published by a decision from the university council based on a recommendation from the scientific board.

Article (42): the university council appoints an editing board based on a proposal from the scientific board for two-year renewable terms - with members and heads of editing boards holding no less than the title of adjunct professor.

Article (43): the editing board is ethically liable for material published in the journal and the board supervises the issuing of the journal and determines the number of copies.

Article (44): researches and articles cannot be published in university journals prior to approval for publishing by two expert appraisers - at least one of whom must be from outside the university.

Article (45): the scientific board dispenses an annual appraisal bonus to the editing board valued at SAR5000 to the editorial chief and SAR3000 per editor.

Article (46): a bonus of SAR1000 can be dispensed to those subscribed by university journals in return for publishing appraised scientific material in these journals.

Article (47): a bonus is dispensed (maximum SAR500) in return for inspecting research presented for publishing in university journals, research centers, conferences or scientific seminars held by the university. The same is applicable to research projects presented for financing from the university.

Article (48): the editing board presents an annual report to the scientific board detailing all its activities throughout the year.

General stipulations

Article (49): without breaching any article included in this charter; the scientific board formulates based on a proposal from the Scientific Research Deanship the detailed organizational and internal codes for conducting, publishing and rewarding research achievements on the levels of the university, faculty, institute and research centers' levels.

Article (50): this charter is effective starting the date of endorsement by the Higher Educational Council and annuls all conflicting articles from previous charters.

Article (51): the Higher Education Council retains the right for explaining this charter.

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