A mainstay of Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), the Deanship of Admission and Registration, since its inception, has been associated with the very existence of the university's educational system.

The registration process at UQU has passed through several stages, starting with the application of the credit-hour system in the departments of the College of Education in Makkah and then in the departments of the College of Shari`ah and Islamic Studies at the beginning of the academic year 1395/1396 A.H. At that time, a department called Admission and Registration had already been established.

In the year 1396/1397 A.H., as its role and scope of responsibility further expanded, the department was restructured and took the name: "Deanship of Admission and Registration", for which a dean and a vice dean were appointed. The deanship began to focus on using statistical methodology to collect and analyze the students’ data. Later on, it started to introduce computer-based and other modern technologies to improve and develop work procedures. As a result, the registration of male and female students was computerized in 1401 A.H. and 1405 A.H., respectively; the registration of courses was performed manually, under the supervision of academic advisors, and then entered into the host computer. The same method was used for entering results until 1415 A.H.

In 1415 A.H., the following procedures were implemented:

The computer network of the Deanship of Admission and Registration was set up and directly connected to the Computer Center via fiber optics, forming a network of personal computers connected to the host computer in the Computer Center.
Programs related to the activities of the Deanship of Admission and Registration were prepared on PCs using the MS Access Database Management System. Such programs included the admission and registration programs for the regular students.

In the year 1418 A.H., the following updates were made:

The admission and registration system was developed and installed on the PCs of the regular students.
The computer-based registration program started to be installed on the PCs of the regular students.

Updates made in 1419 A.H.:

The computer-based registration program was updated and installed on the PCs of the regular students.
New programs of admission tests were installed on the PCs, and scanners were used for grading the tests.
New admission and registration programs started to be installed on the host computer. Such programs covered admission, registration, results, graduation, and academic affairs.
A new auto-archiving program was installed and tested for implementation.

Updates made in 1420 A.H.:

All admission and registration programs on the host computer were developed and used instead of the programs installed on PCs.
Admission tests were developed and linked to the computer.
The auto-archiving system was introduced at the Deanship of Admission and Registration.
Most of the university’s academic departments were linked to the admission and registration program on the host computer, so that departments could follow up their students by directly contacting the appropriate department.
The UQU premises at Al-Zaher were linked to the host computer to enable the employees of the deanship of Admission and Registration to undertake the deanship’s tasks, which included admission, registration, and academic affairs.

Updates made in 1422 A.H.:

The implementation of a new admission and registration system based on the Oracle database was developed, in coordination with the Information Technology and Computer Center.
The new admission and registration regulations were amended to be in line with the study bylaws and other university regulations.
Provisions for computer-based registration were included in the new admission and registration regulations.

Umm Al-Qura University

عن Deanship of Admission & Registration