Higher Education Governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Its Impact on Improving University Performance at King Saud University: An Applied Analysis

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This study aimed to examine the impact of applying higher education governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on improving university performance, identify the level of implementation of higher education governance principles at King Saud University, and analyze the effect of governance dimensions, including transparency, accountability, justice, participation, and independence, on enhancing university performance. The study adopted the descriptive correlational approach due to its suitability to the nature and objectives of the research, and a questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The study population consisted of all faculty members at King Saud University, while a simple random sample of (247) faculty members was selected. The findings revealed that the level of higher education governance implementation at King Saud University was high, with the dimension of independence ranking first among governance dimensions, followed by accountability, transparency, participation, while justice ranked last despite remaining at a high level. The results also showed that university performance was high and indicated a statistically significant effect of governance dimensions on improving university performance, along with a strong relationship between governance implementation and the level of university performance. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated variation in the influence of governance dimensions, with participation having the greatest effect on improving university performance, followed by accountability, justice, transparency, and finally independence. In light of these findings, the study recommended strengthening organizational justice within the university by developing clear mechanisms that ensure equal opportunities in promotion, participation, and the distribution of responsibilities among faculty members.