King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals KFUPM

http://www.kfupm.edu.sa/kfupm

HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIVERSITY

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) was officially established by Royal Decree on 5 Jumada I, 1383 H. (23 September 1963). The first students were admitted a year later, on23 September 1964, when 67 young men enrolled in what was then theCollege of Petroleum and Minerals (CPM). Since that time, the University enrollment has grown to 6500 students in 1994-95 and is expected to reach the 7000 level by 1995-96.

Several significant events have marked the University's growth. In 1971, at the first graduation ceremony, four men received their baccalaureate degrees in engineering; since that time, more those 8575 degrees have been awarded. In 1975, theCollege of Petroleum and Minerals became the University of Petroleum and Minerals, a change both in name and academic status. In 1986, the University was renamed: The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

The successful management ofSaudi Arabia's vast petroleum and mineral resources poses a complex and exciting challenge for scientific, technical and management education in the Kingdom.

To meet this challenge, the University has adopted advanced training in the fields of science, engineering, and management as one of its goals in order to promote leadership and service in the Kingdom's petroleum and mineral industries. The University also furthers knowledge through research in these fields.

ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITY

THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM
The major components of the higher education system in Saudi Arabia are the Council of Higher Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, seven universities distributed throughout the country, and several specialized colleges and institutions.

The Council of Higher Education

The Council of Higher Education is the supreme governing body for all universities and institutions of post-secondary education inSaudi Arabia. The Council is chaired by HM The King, and the Minister of Higher Education serves as the Deputy Chairman. Members include the government's ministers responsible for planning, finance, education, and civil service; the rectors of the universities; and other senior government officials concerned with post-secondary education. The Council is responsible for approving the creation of new institutions of higher education and new academic units and programs. It coordinates the activities of an institutions of higher education, approves bylaws and guidelines for university operations, and appoints vice rectors of universities

The Minister of Higher Education

The Minister of Higher Education is the immediate supervisor for the rectors of all Saudi Universities. He appoints the deans and ensures that all operations of universities are carried out in accordance with the Charter of the Council of Higher Education and Universities, and the Law. He also chairs the board of every university

The University Board

Each university has a board chaired by the Minister of Higher Education while the rector serves as the deputy chairman. Membership of the Board includes the Secretary General of the Council of Higher Education, the vice rectors, the deans, and three external members appointed by the Minister of Higher Education. The Board is responsible for all university operations, it grants degrees to students, approves textbooks and curricula of existing departments, and makes recommendations to the Council of Higher Education in other matters

The Rector of the University

The Rector is the chief academic and executive officer of the University. He is responsible for administering its affairs in accordance with the Law, the Charter of the Council of Higher Education and the Universities, government edicts, and decisions of the Council of Higher Education and the University Board. He also represents the University in contacts with outside organizations.
The Rector is assisted by three Vice Rectors (identified as Vice Rector for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Vice Rector, and Vice Rector for Applied Research), several deans, and Councils and Standing Committees (composed of a mixture of ex-officio, appointed, and elected faculty and staff members). The faculty includes all instructional personnel holding academic ranks of Instructor / Lecturer or higher.
The three Vice Rectors (appointed for renewable three-year terms,) are assisted by Deans, Managers of Divisions in the Research Institute, Academic Department Chairs, the Director of the Information Technology Center (ITC), Director Generals and Directors of the administrative units. The Deans and Academic Department Chairs are appointed for renewable two-year terms. Director Generals and Directors of the administrative units are appointed for indefinite terms.

KFUPM Library

It is an "open stack" library, allowing users free access to its resources.Reading areas are provided on the first, third, and fourth floors. To encourage maximum utilization, the University Library operates with a minimum of regulations and restrictions.
The current collection of books and bound periodicals totals over 328,000 volumes, 32% in Science, 21% in Engineering, 24% in Humanities, and 23% in Social Sciences. The Library has over 23,000 volumes in Arabic and over 300,000 volumes in English, and also subscribes to approximately 1,500 periodical titles. In addition, there are some 490,000 research reports on microfiche and 63,000 documents in other media, including more than 25,000 educational films and 38,000 reels of journal back issues on microfilm. Audiovisual materials are provided through a well-equipped AV department with a collection consisting principally of motion pictures, filmstrips, videotapes, and audiocassettes. These AV materials can be used in the Library Auditorium which is also used for seminars, lectures, short courses, theses defense, and other presentations.
The Library serves a community of more than 12,000 people at the University. In addition, it provides direct borrowing privileges to SAUDI ARAMCO. The Library frequently extends its services to local government agencies and private institutions.
Library services include: Library instruction (orientation of the University community m the effective use of the library which includes the use of an online instructional lab specifically designed for tutorials and seminars); interlibrary loan and photocopy services; reference services; research assistance, including manual literature searches, on-line and CD-ROM searching of bibliographic, full-image, multimedia, and numerical databases; circulation of library materials; and audio-visual services.

Faculties

Academic

Deanships

o Academic Development

o Admission and Registration

o Educational Services

College of Graduate Studies (CGS)

Student Affairs

Colleges

o College of Sciences

o College of Engineering Sciences

o College of Computer Science and Engineering