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Distance learning in Saudi Arabia is undergoing constant changes. Given the huge investment by the Saudi government in the development of an educational system that embraces the technological advancement, the Saudi universities have begun to compete in utilising their granted financial budget to exploit the available technological advances. According to MOHE (2014), Saudi universities‟ investments were directed towards the implementation of enhanced technical infrastructure and the use of technology in all aspects of their offered programmes, most importantly, the development of a DL system that is designed to attract students from outside the area of its conventional face-to-face programmes.

Since the introduction of the DL system in Saudi Arabia in 2002, many universities in Saudi Arabia have begun to use the system to deliver education to their students. Up until now, 11 universities in Saudi Arabia have been utilising the DL system and the number is still growing. However, most of their efforts were focused on using the DL system as a

complementary system in the so called “Intesab” system- where students are receiving only

the same traditional courses‟ content and have to attend for a final examination - to provide

learning materials using the technological advances. The NCEDL (2013) has identified four Saudi universities that have an independent DL system and the ability to provide certified DL degrees and training courses. Thus, a review of these four Saudi DL universities‟ achievements and characteristics can provide a clear picture of the current DL situation in the country. Detailed descriptions of the characteristics and features of four Saudi DL universities are presented below:

 King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU)

According to a King Abdul-Aziz University report (KAU, 2014a), the first university that applied DL is King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah. KAU centre is the headquarters of DL in Saudi Arabia. Its main division of authority is represented by the Deanship of Distance Learning (DDL) which was established in 2004. Now, KAU has more than 1200 registered students in four colleges. The university grants DL bachelor degrees in eight subjects and postgraduate degrees in two other majors. The first DL students‟ group graduated in 2012 to mark the first DL students granted a degree through a complete DL delivery system in Saudi Arabia. The DDL in KAU represents the centre for DL regulation and the hub for the collaborative work of other DL services departments.

As reported in KAU (2014b), the university technological infrastructure is equipped to host more than 50,000 DL students and a designated technological department works under the umbrella of the DDL to recognise DL needs and supervise the design process of DL materials.

The technological department has developed many applications to facilitate the DL process. Two DL applications were patented by the technology department at KAU to deliver DL classes and materials. The first application is called “CENTRA” and delivers DL synchronous/virtual classes that have many features, including live assessment, chat, and applications and photos exchange. The other application developed by the technological department at KAU, and called “EMES” as an abbreviation for the Electronic Management Education System, is used to provide access to DL learning materials, communication between student and faculty members, quizzes, assignments and grading. Technical support for DL recipients at KAU is provided by the University Technical Support Centre. Another initiative introduced by KAU is the use of mobile learning where students can attend online streaming, log in to their accounts and have access to their course materials though their mobile devices.

According to KAU (2014c) the DDL at KAU has two educational affairs departments (male and female educational departments) which are committed to identifying educational needs for faculty members and students and ensuring the equivalency of content and outcome of DL to TL which are conducted through cooperation with the related university colleges. Those departments also communicate the training needed for faculty members and students to the technological department to initiate training programmes based on coordinated efforts with DL connected colleges. Students‟ services and support are part of the educational affairs department‟s responsibilities. The department is committed to respond to DL students‟ needs and facilitate their registration process through its collaborative work with the university

students‟ service.

Support for faculty members is also deemed part of the educational affairs department mission. The evaluation for the DL programme at the university is performed by the DL development department in the DDL, which is responsible for setting out an evaluation scheme for the current implementation of DL and for future needs.

 Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU)

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University is located in the capital, Riyadh. Similar to KAU, the Deanship of Distance Learning in the IMSIU represents the centre for DL regulations and its main role is to organise operations and services conducted by DL concerned departments (IMSIU, 2013a). The DDL at IMSIU was established in 2007 and has an estimated 1000 DL bachelor‟s degree students studying in 10 different majors. In a leading initiative in the country, IMSIU runs its own TV channel on satellite and the internet to stream its DL learning materials. The DDL at IMSIU has 13 units of work under its umbrella (IMSIU, 2013a).

According to IMSIU (2013b) the e-learning unit and the Information Technology unit are responsible for providing accessibility to DL materials. DL courses are delivered through a Blackboard collaboration system. The university technical support is provided through a notification system and call centre during work hours. The technical support takes two different forms: staff notifications and inquiries and a student inquiry system. The Academic Affairs unit is responsible for providing academic and training support for students and the Training and Development unit is designed to provide support for faculty members and staff

regarding teaching aspects of DL. Students‟ registration and course scheduling schemes and

assessments are controlled by the unit of Vice Deanship for Admission and Registration and Student affairs. Evaluation of the DL programme policies, instructional methods and technology are conducted by the Dean for Graduate Studies and Quality unit. Through a collaborative work led by the DDL, the other seven units are concerned with the financial and administrative affairs and public relations.

 King Saud University (KSU)

King Saud University in the capital, Riyadh, has made its mark by disseminating DL training courses to a great number of its consumers in Saudi Arabia. KSU (2013a) cited that, although KSU is not considered one of the universities that deliver certificated DL degrees, its outreach and efforts in delivering DL training courses to more than 60,000 students enrolling in more than 6000 training courses, make it one of the leading examples of the Saudi DL universities.

The Deanship of Distance learning (DDL) at KSU was established in 2008 to lead the university‟s three other vice deanships in setting out the DL strategic scheme and organising DL operations in the university. The university Vice Deanship of Academic Affairs (VDAA) is the core deanship that controls most of the DL operations and processes. The VDAA is committed to providing accessibility to DL learning materials, activities and support for faculty members and students. Through cooperation with the Vice Deanship of Technical Affairs, the VDAA works in enhancing the available technical infrastructure to accommodate the offered DL courses.

As reported in KSU (2013b), the university uses the Blackboard system to deliver its courses and the technical support is provided through the Service Management System and the unified call number which is operated by the VDAA. Through collaboration with the Vice Deanship of Quality and Development, the VDAA develop DL courses, related assessment methods for DL students and provide support training regarding the technological aspects of DL.

The Vice Deanship of Quality and Development, on the other hand, is responsible for the evaluation and the future development of the offered courses which include, but are not limited to, the quality of the courses‟ instructional support, policies, technology and support for students and faculty.

 The Saudi Electronic University (SEU)

A recently established university in Saudi Arabia, that is designated to provide only DL certified degrees and training courses, is the Saudi Electronic University. SEU (2014a) reported that the SEU was recently established at the end of 2011 in the capital, Riyadh, and has started by enrolling 7000 DL bachelor‟s degree students in four DL colleges and 100 DL master‟s degree students in Business Administration. The university is still developing and is expected to be the leading DL university in the Middle East and Arab countries. Its strategic plan estimates that, in the next four years, it will open nine branches with DL centres and have more than 100,000 registered DL students.

According to SEU (2014b), the university has a promising technological infrastructure that utilises the services of the “MOBILY” telecommunication company (one of the two largest telecommunication companies in Saudi Arabia) to provide accessibility to its DL delivery system, which takes advantage of the “Malaga-1” system (a data backup system that is considered very sophisticated). It has an internet speed of 150 Mega Bytes/second and 400 beelines with the Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC). The university technological infrastructure demonstrates a unique initiative of investment in the DL technological infrastructure in the country and in the Middle East.

The technical support at SEU is planned to utilise eight forms that vary from live chat, email to a 24/7 call centre. A DL student at the university is expected to reap the benefit of the use

of three DL applications/systems: the “Blackboard” system to provide access to DL learning

materials and the required communication in the teaching and learning process, the “Banner”

system to facilitate course scheduling for DL enrolled students and the “BrightWare” system for providing smoothly a full online registration procedure for DL students.

The university has a different structural authority compared to all the previous reviewed universities. SEU (2014c) indicated that the university has its independent authority represented in its rector followed by four vice deans and the female colleges‟ supervisor. The university has seven deanships and 10 administrative divisions that work under the university authority to provide support for the faculty members, students and the instructional processes.

All matters concerning DL programmes offered by the university are reviewed and evaluated by the Vice Deanship of Planning, Development and Quality which is responsible for the preparation of future strategic plans and developments at the university.

In light of the features of the reviewed four Saudi DL universities, it can be concluded that the reviewed DL universities in the country show similarities in their characteristics regarding their structure of authority and their approach to providing DL services to their consumers. Although the SEU showed a more sophisticated structural authority and technological infrastructure, it is still undergoing development and features of its authority and services structure are not clearly defined. Thus, it can be suggested that investigating the quality of the implemented DL in one of the aforementioned universities can reveal a valid status of the current quality of DL programmes in the country, given that they are all working under the umbrella of the Ministry of Higher Education and that their funds, regulations and policies are controlled by it. Accordingly, evaluating the current quality in KAU (the case studied university) can reveal a valid status of the current quality of DL in the country and the development of strategic approaches to implement quality DL in KAU (the study aim) provides a transferrable strategic approach that could be adopted by other universities in the country.