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Wintec KSA

Annual Report 2017-2018

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Table of Contents

CEO Welcome 3

Governance and Leadership 5

Quality Assurance 9

Marketing and Business Development 14

Human Resources 19

Student Affairs 24

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CEO Welcome

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I am very pleased to present the Wintec KSA 2017/18 Annual Report which highlights the many successes

we have experienced over the past academic year. I would like to take this opportunity to commend all

the staff and students who are responsible for the achievements detailed in this report and who have

shaped the excellent reputation we have established in Tabuk province.

By the same token, it gives me great pleasure to thank the Wintec NZ International Team for their

continued support and direction, the College Advisory Board members and employment partners, who

have provided many On Job Training opportunities for our students, the local community who have so

warmly welcomed us and the Umluj and Al Wajh Governors, who have provided us with their wisdom

and encouragement to fulfil our mission as an international education provider in the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia.

In August 2017 Wintec KSA took over the three Tabuk Province International Technical Colleges (in Al

Wajh and Umluj) and commenced the provision of education on the 17th of September. This report

chronicles the achievements and challenges we faced over the past nine months, the foundations we

have laid for the next ten years and our aspiration to lead tertiary education within the communities we

serve, into and beyond the Saudi Vision 2030.

Throughout the academic year, we have seen an increase in student numbers, better retention figures

and an increase in students passing the end of semester examinations, both in the Foundation and

Vocational Years. In the second semester, we saw a rise in students graduating with the full Diploma

Certificate, B1 Cambridge English and Cambridge Information Technology Certificate, many of whom are

already contributing to the local labour market, setting themselves as the future skilled workforce and

community leaders.

We will start the 2018/19 academic year with a strong ambition and a healthy appetite to achieve

successful outcomes in all areas, and I strongly believe that what Wintec KSA is capable of achieving in

the future shall be limited only by our imagination, vision and the ability to inspire greatness from our

staff and students. Wintec aims to expand its operations to wider areas of education is KSA and grow

with the community through Saudi Vision 2030, the Red Sea Project and NEOM.

Marc Corner

Chief Executive Officer

Wintec KSA International Technical Colleges

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Governance and Leadership

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Wintec KSA commenced the management of the Tabuk Cluster of ITCs (Al Wajh Male, Al Wajh Female and Umluj) at the beginning of the 2017/2018 academic year by revising the mission statement and vision so that to reflect the developing context of the cluster of colleges in Tabuk region.

Mission Statement To foster and empower a vibrant learning community to support progression and sustainable employment opportunities of the Red Sea Project, NEOM and Saudi Vision 2030.

Vision To build an international business that promotes an innovative and creative learning environment where all stakeholders work in collaboration to create a highly skilled employable workforce, promoting individual and social well-being, and enhancing economic growth by increasing industry productivity.

Deriving from the revised mission statement and vision, new strategic and operational plans were adopted.

The Strategic Plan sets out the approaches to be adopted over a 5-year period, 2017/22, to meet corporate, student, community, Colleges of Excellence (CoE) and the Saudi Skills Standards (SSS) expectations, whilst establishing WKSA as an exceptional International Training Provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Whilst the strategic plan is based on the WKSA and Wintec NZ strategic objectives, it does focus on specific challenges faced by the Tabuk Province Cluster of colleges. The strategic plan has been elaborated with the support of key staff members from college, corporate levels and with input from Wintec NZ, and has been approved by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in its meeting on 12 November 2017.

To enact the strategic plan and capability of WKSA, the following objectives were agreed:

Strategic Objective One - Sustainably increase student numbers; Strategic Objective Two - Foster a professional learning community amongst staff; Strategic Objective Three - Enhance the students learning experience and develop student performance in attendance and attainment; Strategic Objective Four - Increase community engagement, industry and external stakeholder relationships.

Drawn from the strategic plan, the operational plan has been developed for the 2017/18 timeframe and has set the actions aimed at supporting the achievement of the strategic objectives within this timeframe. The operational plan adopted in February 2018 was a result of an internal analysis, identification of developmental needs and challenges across the cluster, while also having in mind the continuous enhancement of cluster operations and the Wintec NZ vision. Wintec NZ Business Plan and CoE contractually agreed KPIs, as well as different recommendations provided to the colleges during external accountability procedures (CoE education advisors visits, SSS Institutional Reviews, and contract and data compliance), have also been taken into consideration.

The operational plan will be revisited and adjustments made accordingly at the beginning of every academic year.

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The composition of the Senior Leadership Team is defined in the organisation chart of Wintec KSA, which has also been adopted in September 2017. At the end of the 2017/18 academic year, the SLT had the following composition:

CEO - Marc Corner Administrative Director and HR Manager - Abdulllah Al Ghabban Dean AWF - Aileen Lamden Dean UML - David Conway Dean AWM - Riccy Longdon Head of Quality – Anca Prisacariu Head of Foundation Studies - Sharon Whiston Head of Vocational Studies - Gary Mitchell Marketing and Business Development Manager - Mahmoud Ismail Student Services Manager - Nawaf Al Muallem

Following the adoption of the two documents, the SLT members reported on their achievements against the set actions in the SLT meetings taking place every month. The data collection capacity of Wintec KSA is in its final stage of development and will provide the required support in offering an overarching framework for the monitoring of and reporting on the achievement of strategic objectives, an early warning system that has the capacity to detect and signal irregularities, provide potential sources of the problem and support the solution finding. This will be in place for the commencement of the 2018/19 academic year.

In order to ensure the monitoring and performance management of the strategic plan, a new Data Coordinator will be brought in for the 2018/19 academic year and the role of the Quality Improvement Plan at the college level will be increased so that to guide the individual colleges’ actions designed for quality enhancement throughout the year.

In line with the new organisation chart of Wintec KSA, the Chief Executive delegates to the Academic Steering Committee (ASC) power to make and enforce academic regulations. For this purpose, regular ASC meetings have been conducted in order to discuss, adopt and ensure cluster-wide consistency of Wintec KSA academic policies as well as quality management instruments.

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The qualifications below were available to the students enrolled at the Tabuk cluster of colleges during the 2017/18 academic year:

Umluj Al Wajh Male Al Wajh Female

Foundation Year

Cambridge PET Certificate

IT Certificate

Vocational Years

Associate Diploma in Electrical

Technology

Diploma in Electrical

Technology

Associate Diploma in Business

Foundation Year

Cambridge PET Certificate

IT Certificate

Vocational Years

Associate Diploma in Electrical

Technology

Diploma in Electrical

Technology

Associate Diploma in

Information Technology

System Support

Diploma in Information

Technology System Support

Foundation Year

Cambridge PET Certificate

IT Certificate

Vocational Years

Associate Diploma Business

Diploma in Business (Small

Business Management)

Associate Diploma in Events

Operations and Planning

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Quality Assurance

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A new Quality Management Framework has been designed to provide relevant information and data to support Wintec KSA in achieving its strategic objectives, goals and in the continuous development of its operations, as well as ensure that the colleges perform efficiently. The Framework was adopted in January 2018 and, whilst still in its inception, made a positive impact on college operations.

The quality framework covers the following functions:

Strategic planning – considering its role in the monitoring of and reporting on the achievement of

strategic objectives, the framework provides an effective early warning system that has the capacity

to detect and signal irregularities, provide potential sources of the problem and support the solution

finding. Also, the framework includes a quality cycle which correlates objectives, operations, and

results in order to enable a continuous quality improvement by closing the quality circle and

ensuring that steps are taken to match the quality of the achievements with the strategic objectives.

Policymaking – coordination of development and revision of the policies and procedures for all areas

of the organisation so that to ensure all elements of the governance, leadership, and administration

communicate to each other, all roles and responsibilities are known to those involved and that there

is no overlap in the functions of central administration. The recent developments that have taken

place during the 2017/18 academic year in terms of policymaking across Wintec KSA are reflected

in the corresponding sections below.

Academic performance – the framework operates in conjunction with the arrangements,

procedures, and instruments for internal verification of assessment, teaching and learning

observations, and staff performance management, with the scope of improving the quality of

training and students’ achievements. Of key importance, considering their impact on the quality of

the college operations is that there has been a substantial revision in the policies and procedures

for teaching and learning observation, as well as assessment and internal verification. Discussions

on an incoming staff performance management system have been ongoing through the academic

year, and the system is now pending adoption by the start of the 2018/19 academic year.

Data collection – a series of instruments designed to

collect data later on used to improve the quality of

training and learning outcomes, as part of the

monitoring and feedback segment of the quality

cycle. The framework includes a comprehensive

system of surveys that ensure the college includes all

internal and external stakeholders in the

development of its operations: students, academic

and administrative staff, graduates,

parents/guardians and employers/external

stakeholders.

During the 17-18 academic year, the following surveys were conducted: Graduating student survey

(S1), Student teaching and learning survey (S1), Student entry survey (S2), Staff survey on working

conditions and environment (S2), Student learning experience survey (S2) and Student survey on

learning environment, administration and student support (S2). The results of these surveys have

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been extracted as data reports, made available to the Deans and integrated in the Quality

Improvement Plan of each college. A snapshot of the surveys’ outcomes is presented in the

corresponding areas below.

In terms of external quality assurance, the college underwent through the following processes and the

results of these evaluations, where available, are included below:

1. CoE Education Advisor

CoE has nominated one Education Advisor from the central office in Riyadh to visit each college once or

twice per semester. Education visits to the colleges are conducted to evaluate the continued progress of

each ITC’s education performance.

The Education Advisors undertake visits to capture ITC performance in relation to Student outcomes,

Student affairs, Teaching, learning and assessment, and Leadership and Management.

Prior to each visit, the assigned Education Advisors request specific information from the colleges. During

the visit, the Education Advisors conduct lesson observations and meets colleges staff, both of which aim

at supporting the advisors in assessing the progress of the colleges in relation to the above-mentioned

elements. The outcome of each visit includes an Education Performance Report, as well as Quality

Improvement Recommendations.

During the 2017-2018 academic year, AWM and UML have been visited by the CoE Education Advisor 4

times, while AWF has been visited by the CoE Education Advisor 3 times; the end of the academic year

has shown the following main areas in need of immediate attention in each of the colleges:

AWF:

- implement retention strategies to prevent the loss of students; create a college-wide approach

to keeping students in learning;

- as progression has been identified as a major concern, effort should be increased to ensure

students’ progress and stay in learning;

- capture and analyse destination data to understand where students progress to on exit from the

college; use the information to inform improvements;

- take immediate action to implement rigorous attendance strategies to prevent the loss of

students.

AWM:

- the college management team should develop a tracking system to establish the destinations of

the student leavers at various exit points;

- future planning to be defined to establish a feasible growth in student numbers.

UML:

- there is a positive destination in the area of student outcomes, but it is too early at this stage to

form a realistic assessment of the impact of the new training provider and newly formed College

Management Team. Therefore, the college’s development in this area should be closely

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monitored through college visits, SAR and QIP;

- identify and implement more effective intervention methods to improve the attendance rate;

- improve the recruitment rate;

- monitor the Wintec Investment Plan and the effectiveness of the proposed Cross-College

management of the “shared services".

2. External verifier (EV)

As the awarding body responsible for the assessment across CoE colleges for the 2014-2018 academic

years, Saudi Skills Standards delegates every semester, as part of its policies to confirm the quality of the

assessments, an external verifier for each college.

The findings of the EV in all three colleges concluded that there were an assessment and internal

verification policy, as well as sampling plans and that the assignment briefs are in place and in line with

SSS assessment methodology. However, the external verifiers also identified areas in need of

improvement, as follows:

In AWF, the EV found that feedback on all assignments is sought and it is recommended that this

is updated in the students' online records. Also, in order to promote ownership and authenticity

from trainees, the EV suggested that a robust system of IVing is to be continued with sufficient

time at hand;

In AWM, the EV noted that there is no meaningful feedback for most of the cases checked and

that the sampled evidence across skill assessments (capstone and e-portfolio) does not show

adherence to grading criteria;

For UML, the EV recommended that in cases of grade B and below the assessors and verifiers

should elaborate more in their feedback, which can be useful for the students to improve their

work, and the instructors should provide constructive, formative and summative feedback on

answer sheets since this has been observed as missing.

3. QA and CCV (KPMG)

CoE undertakes Data Quality Assurance (DQA) and Contract Compliance Validation (CCV) reviews in each

college under the International Technical College (ITC) program. For the purpose of these visits, CoE is

appointing specialist expert independent contractors, such as KPMG, Deloitte-Touche, etc. For 2018, the

independent contractor responsible for DQA and CCV was KPMG, which has delegated teams to visit the

colleges in April.

The Data Quality Assurance (DQA) review provides assurance over the completeness and accuracy of the

monthly data returns submitted by the colleges to CoE. The Contract Compliance Validation (CCV) checks

that the Provider and its college are operating in accordance with all of the terms of their contract(s) with

CoE.

The outcomes of the QA and CCV as reflected after the 2018 KPMG audits is summarised in the table

below:

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College DQA compliance CCV compliance Areas in need of immediate attention

AWF 67% 78% compliance with admission and eligibility of

students;

attendance record maintenance and accuracy;

reporting accuracy;

compliance with OMA.

AWM 68% 76% compliance with admission and eligibility of

students;

attendance record maintenance and accuracy;

quality of staff and their eligibility in terms of

contract provisions;

compliance with OMA.

UML 52% 80% compliance with admission and eligibility of

students;

attendance record maintenance and accuracy;

reporting accuracy;

quality of staff and their eligibility in terms of

contract provisions;

compliance with OMA.

Each college has therefore submitted to CoE an individual action plan providing details on it will address the areas that need immediate and particular attention.

4. Institutional Review (SSS)

In line with the Operation and Maintenance Agreement (OMA) between Wintec KSA and CoE, the colleges undergo an annual institutional review, conducted by an independent organisation; during 2014/18 this organisation has been Saudi Skills Standards (SSS).

The scope of the Institutional Review is firstly to evaluate the colleges' performance against indicators relating to Student outcomes, Student support, Teaching and learning, and Leadership and Management. This evaluation is done through the analysis of the documentation submitted by the colleges prior to the visit (Self-Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan), through the support evidence provided by the colleges during the visits of the review teams, as well as through the impressions and observations recorded by the review teams during the site visits. The second scope of the Institutional Review is to evaluate the progress the colleges have made since the previous external evaluations.

The colleges have been individually visited by a SSS team in April. The outcome of the IR is represented by the Institutional Review Report, which impacts on colleges funding by CoE. The IR reports produced by the team have not been made available by the time of the publication of this report.

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Marketing and Business

Development

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The Wintec KSA Colleges have developed partnerships and are further developing contacts and agreements with organisations within the community in order to define an appropriate set of job opportunities for our graduates. We continue to foster positive relationships with local businesses and organisations. Despite the remote and conservative locations of the colleges, we possess a good number of opportunities for students though we are exploring new options that will provide more places for our growing numbers of vocational students.

At UML, stakeholder engagement has been one of the successes of the year. The partnership with the Department of Social Development and Community is a strong relationship giving the college considerable exposure. The other growing relationships with Government departments such as Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Water, Tourism and Development, General Hospital, Police, Coastguard and Defence Forces not only increase the college’s community penetration and recognition but add further opportunities for IAG as part of an active participation in a Career Guidance programme and the Employment Fair.

In AWM, The College has improving links with the local community and has hosted a number of events that have included parents, local business leaders, the

municipality and council members. The aim of these activities is to ensure that we involve these important stakeholders in our strategic development activity. The College Advisory board has been a useful forum to progress this aspect; the nature of Al-Wajh provides a challenge as many companies are very small and have limited time to fully and fruitfully engage with the college. The Hospital, Desalination Plant, Naval base, Al-Wajh University, and the Coast Guard continue to be useful partners in this respect, and more formal partnership agreements are being scoped.

AWF continues to foster positive relationships for future placements with other local businesses such as boutiques, shops, and training centres. The community advisor has secured OJT placements for all

graduating vocational students from Municipality and the University. The College Advisory Board meetings are resulting in key actions to take forward to support the community, businesses and the college. The Student Counsellor and lead teacher have visited the Small Business Support Center for women and have secured OJT placements for all vocational students from Health Care Clinics and schools.

Each of the colleges has conducted a number of 4 Open Days throughout the year – 2 each semester. Also, this year has marketed the launching of new websites – for the individual colleges, as well as one of Wintec KSA. The visibility of the provider in the region has been further enhanced through new road signs, promotional materials and online advertising through social media activities (twitter, snapchat, etc.). Besides these, the colleges have organised a number of events meant to further improve and increase the image of the college within the community, as well as to enhance the relationships with local stakeholders. In AWF these included:

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Diabetes awareness day;

School visits;

Education Department visit;

College Advisory board;

Business visit to the municipality;

Community engagement – Prophet’s birthday; Islamic studies; first aid - civil defence;

information technology day for community; first aid training for community; young people’s

festival; fashion show for schools and community; kindergarten graduation ceremony;

community English classes

Student trip to business – Sharma;

Agreement between the college and the Department of Social Development;

Saudi national day;

Al-Janidrea;

Healthy lifestyle event;

Graduation ceremony;

In AWM, such events included:

A Community Quality in Education Event;

Certificate ceremonies in conjunction with local schools and colleges;

College Advisory Board and Celebration days;

Inputs from the Local Hospital regarding first aid, dental hygiene, influenza, and healthy living;

An agreement and subsequent inputs from Red Crescent re first aid and general health issues;

Inputs from the Civil Defence on Fire Safety;

On the Job Training placements and visits;

Regular discussion with CoE regarding future strategic opportunities;

Continual Twitter and snap chat messaging to the local community;

Attendance at local exhibition events to market the college offer;

School visits both locally and around the region including institutional presentations.

In UML, similar events included:

Graduation Ceremony;

Community Leaders Lunch;

Partnerships with the Department of Social and Community Development, Ministry of

Environment, Water and Agriculture;

Proposed agreement with Umluj General Hospital;

Number of OJT providers increased from 4 to 17;

Recruitment of native English speakers for Semester 1 2018/19;

Community exposure through involvement in community activities;

Formation of Rangers Unit.

As a result of the increased PR, marketing, community engagement and partnership development, as

well as considerable efforts of staff within all three colleges, the following numbers of students were

recruited during the 2017/18 academic year:

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College Semester 1 Semester 2

AWF 125 101

AWM 77 66

UML 155 64

TOTAL 357 231

In terms of student feedback on marketing and PR, the Entry student survey conducted in Semester 2 revealed the following:

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Human Resources

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The area of Human Resources also saw substantial developments in terms of policy making, considering that all staff related provisions are now either revised or new. Specifically, there are new provisions in place for recruitment, selection, and appointment, leave and absence, maternity, code of conduct, iqama and visa issue, run and renewal, as well as disciplinary regulations. Additionally, a new Staff Handbook has been developed and is now welcoming new staff into the Wintec community. Lastly, there has been an ongoing discussion about the implementation of a new staff performance management system, which is pending adoption before the start of the 2018-2019 academic year.

The end of the academic year 2017/18 saw the staffing numbers across Wintec KSA as follows:

College Current Staffing Numbers Retention

AWF 22 20 (91%)

AWM 14 12 (86%)

UML 26 22 (85%)

Central administration 14 14 (100%)

TOTAL 76 68 (90%)

In order to increase its attractiveness for prospective employees, as well as to increase the retention of current staff members, Wintec KSA started conducting the staff survey on working conditions and environment among the staff members in the colleges, as well as central administration. A summary of the results is presented below:

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Additionally, between 70-80% of staff are satisfied with their contractual arrangements, job description, provisions for vacation days and leaves, daily working hours, cleanness of the accommodation facility and college premises, believe that college provides a safe and hazard free learning environment, find the laboratory facilities adequate, believe that the management is aware of the current issues and doing its best to solve them, find the policies and regulations of Wintec KSA, including the Staff Handbook, clear and adequate.

However, the following areas have been identified as in need of improvement:

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Further shortcomings have been identified in the following areas:

- 32% of staff believe that the company is not providing sufficient social activities and networking

opportunities outside working hours;

- 49% of staff find the accommodation conditions inadequate; 37% of staff find the security in the

accommodation facility and college premises inadequate;

- 35% of staff consider that the health insurance arrangements respond to their needs;

- there is a generalised dissatisfaction towards the cafeteria: 88% of staff believe that the cafeteria

does not provide a wide range of food options they can choose from and 90% of staff believe

that the food available in the cafeteria does not support a healthy lifestyle.

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Student Affairs

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Substantial developments have been recorded in terms of policymaking in the student affairs area as well, with all student-related provisions were either revised or new. Specifically, there are new provisions in place for enrolment, admission, and induction, transfer, deferral, withdrawal and dismissal, student attendance and punctuality, academic appeals and complaints, Code of Conduct, disciplinary regulations, as well as a policy for students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Additionally, a new Student Handbook has been developed and is serving the purpose of introducing the college to prospective students, as well as welcoming new students into the Wintec community. The handbook ensures that students have a thorough understanding of the rules, regulations, and services available to them whilst at the College. This includes the code of conduct, dress code, stipend information, and signposts where to go for help, support and advice. This is reinforced by posters and flyers on notice boards placed around the college.

New student Management Information System

A new MIS system was introduced at the beginning of semester 2 which is based on an SQL database

system - the Student Administration Manager (SAM).

The Student Administration Manager has been designed with the purpose of providing the college with

full access and control over students’ data some examples of current reports are as follows:

• Student Total Status Count;

• Student Enrolled by Class;

• Student Missing Admission Documents;

• Student Reporting;

• Students Grading System;

• Student Attendance System;

• Importing Reports;

In preparing accurate performance data, the SAM System is importing exact details and performance of

students by individual or by group and is providing Excel sheets with complete and accurate student

details and numbers as an evidence. The SAM system automatically reads, computes and provides

graphing; after importing documents, the MIS manager is making all reports available on Google drive

using excel sheets, accessible by the CEO, HR Manager, Head of Quality, Dean, all Student Administrators,

and all students. The recruitment, retention, achievement and progression data are the main reports

readily accessible.

The new system is still evolving and has the flexibility take additional functions where required. The wide-

ranging functionality and capacity to produce reports that will be essential in informing management

interventions. The system also has the functionality to allow student access in order that they can check

their results and progress. Going forward the Individual Learning Plan will be uploaded to allow real-time

progress to be seen and monitored by all stakeholders. Staff and managers also have access to this

database.

This system will provide data as evidence which will assist and lead reporting to stakeholders and decision

making regarding all aspects of the College. The data is collected locally and stored within a centralised

system. Trainee attendance is monitored on a session by session system which enables full disclosure as

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to learner attendance. Reports can be produced as required at daily, weekly, monthly, or by semester or

academic year.

Reporting has been a combination of electronic mining and manual accumulation of data until now;

however, the new database will automatically generate reports identifying recruitment, retention,

achievement and progression pathways held in a centralised source with multiple accessibilities. This will

support ownership and trigger interventions which will facilitate effective student progression. The

system will, therefore, provide good tracking and baseline data for monitoring progress and providing

evidence for changes in the delivery of learning and other changes that are made within the college

systems.

As part of the implementation of the MIS system, targets will be able to be set for all measurable aspects

of the College and will be used to measure efficiency and effectiveness of college processes.

Student outcomes

The student outcomes for Foundation and Vocational studies during the 2017/18 academic year are

reflected in the charts below.

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Semester 1

Semester 2

Foundation results detailed above are based on students attending and passing the Cambridge PET

English qualification.

The Vocational Studies outcomes are detailed below. It is important to note that Business (UML), IT

(AWM) and Event Management (AWF) were introduced in Semester 1, therefore, the first set of results

would appear in semester 2.

14%

53%

70%

33%

86% 87%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UML AWM AWF

Pass rate foundation Pass rate vocational

48%

N/A

68%

53%

97%

79%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UML AWM AWF

Pass rate foundation Pass rate vocational

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15%

81%

47%

67%

0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Semester 2 Diploma

Semester 2 Associate diploma

Semester 1 Diploma

Semester 1 Associate diploma

UML

Pass rate Electrical Pass rate Business

100%

100%

92%

100%

60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Semester 2 Diploma

Semester 2 Associate diploma

Semester 1 Diploma

Semester 1 Associate diploma

AWM

Pass rate Electrical Pass rate IT

100%

67%

83%

92%

33%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Semester 2 Diploma

Semester 2 Associate diploma

Semester 1 Diploma

Semester 1 Associate diploma

AWF

Pass rate Events Pass rate Business

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Student attendance Student attendance saw a substantial decrease between semesters owed on one hand due to the switch from a paper-based system of recording attendance used in Semester 1 to the Student Administration Manager (SAM) used in Semester 2 (which came with difficulties in adapting the staff with the new system and with internet connection challenges in Umluj), but also raised serious concerns about the reliability of the paper-based system used initially. The attendance throughout the 2017/18 is reflected in the graphic below. The SAM attendance system is now in full operation and will provide accurate and timely students attendance data. In addition, the long academic year with very few breaks for students affected attendance in the second semester, with attendance across the Kingdom dropping drastically toward the latter part of the second semester.

Extra-Curricular Activities and Student Engagement Wintec KSA is increasing its efforts not only to make the student life attractive to keep students more motivated and attracted to our colleges, but also to enhance student engagement, both with the purpose of increasing student participation and keep them closer to the community, eventually contributing to better attendance, achievement and a better sense of belonging. In this sense, an extra-curricular activity plan is put in place in AWM for each Semester which outlines the focus of the periods internal and external activity, this is usually organised via the student services team with help and support from the lead teachers. These plans support the marketing and publicity of AWM in terms of academic offer, stakeholder expectations, and other enrichment activities.

The activities organised for this purpose include:

Inter College Football matches;

Community Football League - Evenings;

Student competition awards – attendance;

First Aid training – Red Crescent;

85%

64%

93%

68%

94%

56%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Semester 1 Semester2

Student attendance

AWM AWF UML

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Traffic safety/traffic law – Police department;

Movie session – English;

Student Council Meetings;

Student Breakfast club events;

Narcotics Awareness;

Dental Health and Hygiene – Al Wajh Hospital;

Healthy Eating – Al Wajh Hospital;

Fire Safety – Civil Defense;

Table Tennis tournament;

Majlis re-wiring – Tent.

In UML, Student Services are coordinating a series of extra-curricular activities ranging from Quran

recitation to Football in an attempt to provide increased opportunities for trainee engagement. All

academic staff have volunteered to participate in some

form of activity. The Club, the LRC and a rejuvenated

Cafeteria are steps to improve the trainee experience.

The Umluj Wintec F.C., The Duke of Edinburgh Award, the

staff adoption of trainee activities, the Fun days are all

attempts to improve the engagement in a positive sense.

However, an increase in trainee centred activities and

teaching and learning leading to enjoyment and visible

learning success will go a long way to positively engage

trainees.

Trainees are being offered the opportunity to take a more active role in decision making in the college

with the Student Council and representation on the CAB and Health and Safety committees.

In AWF, extracurricular activities, such as project days, celebrating success days, national days, have been

introduced to enrich the curriculum, and investment

has been made in an independent learnings space and

simulated office environments that can be used by

teachers to enrich student learning in an original and

innovative manner. An active student council, which

has elected representatives from each class, meets

regularly to discuss student concerns. These inputs are

being monitored in order to guarantee proper

teaching and learning experience.

A games room, learning centre and simulated offices

have been established to provide relaxation areas and

independent learning spaces for students outside of

class times. It is hoped that this will support improved attendance by providing student interest during

their down times. A series of “club/project” type activities are undertaken throughout the semester to

further extend this experience and it is planned that the local community will be given access to these

social areas out of college hours.

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However, according to the student survey conducted at the end of Semester 2, this area of extracurricular

activities could be further improved.

Lastly in regard to student engagement, as part of the Quality Management Framework, Wintec KSA

actively collects feedback from its students in order to ensure that all college practices are fit for and

contribute to a successful experience. Surveys for students and graduates have been conducted during

the 17/18 academic year covering topics related not only to their learning experience at our colleges but

also about the learning environment, administration and student support. A summary of the results is

presented below:

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Additionally, students are appreciative of the following:

- Between 80-90% of the students are satisfied with the readings and assignments being useful in

reinforcing the content and extending their understanding, assessments, and examinations being

fair and properly testing the skills and knowledge that students have gained, the objectives and

organisation of the course being clearly defined and organised in a good manner;

- Between 70-90% of the students are satisfied with the teachers; in particular, with how they

explain the objectives and the organisation of the course from the start, how they manage the

class well and in an organised manner, how knowledgeable they are about the subject and course

material, how they show passion for the topic and was enthusiastic in his teaching, how they

provide materials that help students understand the lesson (scripts, hand-outs, etc.), how they

use a variety of teaching methods (discussion, group work, presentation, practical example, etc.)

and how they make the lessons interesting.

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However, there seems to be a recurrent pattern of decreased confidence of some students:

In regards to the learning environment, support and administration, students are generally positive:

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Also, over 80% of the students find both the Student Administrator, as well as the Student Counsellor

always available and supportive. The same percentage agrees that the college provides for a safe and

hazard free learning environment and 89% of the students agree that the college premises, facilities,

classrooms, and laboratories are clean.

Areas in need of improvement are reflected by the following. While the negative percentages are still low

compared to the average response rates, Wintec KSA is committed to not leaving any student behind.

Therefore, these challenges will be addressed.

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Also, 21% of the students declare that they are not aware of their rights and responsibilities and 25% of

the students disagree that “the college management is aware of the current issues and doing its best to

solve them”.

There is also quite a broad dissatisfaction about the cafeterias in the colleges: 40% of the students

disagree that the prices of items in the cafeteria are accessible, 32% of the students disagree that the

food available in the cafeteria supports a healthy lifestyle, 19% disagree that there is a wide range of food

options I can choose from.

As previously mentioned, the results of these surveys have been extracted as data reports, made

available to the deans and integrated into the Quality Improvement Plan of each college.

Concluding remarks – taking stock and looking forward

It has definitely been a challenging year at Wintec KSA, with many achievements recorded in all the

sections included in the present report. Each and every one of our staff members has contributed, from

their classes and offices, to the progress of Wintec KSA: with the commitment to take students forward,

the eagerness to convince them to come to the college more often, the determination to improve our

administrative processes, the aspiration of changing the education paradigm in the region – different

levels of engagement and commitment to our quality values, and common aspirations.

With an optimistic look towards the future, Wintec KSA is looking forward to stepping into a new year,

understanding its enormous responsibility of contributing to educating respectful, engaged, responsible,

confident and empowered citizens.

Wintec KSA Limited Branch Office Corporate Head Office Umluj Road, Al Wajh City PO Box 141 Tabuk Province 7192 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia