Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saudi Islamic University

Vision

Al-Imam University is the global exemplar of learning, teaching and research excellence and community service based on a foundation of Islamic values and teachings.

Mission

To tutorship knowledge, giftedness and ethical values of female and male students to be able of leadership skills and to serve the homeland, throughout providing qualitative and distinct activities in learning, teaching, academic research and community service in light of the Islamic values. Al-Imam University has often incorporating and applying principles of Islam, academic and research excellence, knowledge exchange and international communication to contribute largely in create and produce and disseminate knowledge in accordance with the national and international quality standards.

Objectives

1. Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University is a sharia and cultural high institution run according to Sharia (the Islamic Law).

2. Carrying out the academic policies through providing undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

3. Upgrading the academic researches throughout writing, translation, and publishing.

4. Serving the community within its competence.

Establishment & History:

Teaching Sharia knowledge prevailed most regions in Saudi Arabia before opening up government-run schools and Sharia institutes. Teaching has conducted at mosques and houses of ulmea (scholars), who taught many judges. His eminence Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Sheikh – May Allah show mercy to him - and his brothers played a major role in disseminating knowledge of Sharia in Riyadh and the neighboring areas.

With the start of the overall Sharia knowledge rise in 1370 H (1949 G) and thanks to turnout by the youth to learn Sharia knowledge, the administration-led King Abdulaziz - May Allah show mercy to him - opened up Riyadh Sharia Institute. The by-then king assigned Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, the by-then mufti of Saudi Arabia, to run the institute. It was the first foundation of Sharia institutes in various regions of the kingdom.

In 1951, college of Sharia was open in Riyadh, and in 1952, the college of Arabic language was also open. Then, a series of Sharia institutes was open under the umbrella of the General Presidency of Sharia Colleges and Institutes.

On September 10th 1974, a royal decree No. 50/m - based upon the cabinet resolution No. 1100 on September 4th 1974 - was issued to approve of the policy of Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University. As such, it deemed a higher academic institution, comprising the higher institutes, colleges, and Sharia institutes in Saudi Arabia.

Since the university was established, it has been enlarging continually. It comprises 11 colleges, five of which are in Riyadh and six are out of Riyadh in regions of Al-Qassim, Al-Ehsa, and Medina, in addition to the southern region. Also, it comprises two institutes in Riyadh: one for Jurisdiction and one for teaching Arabic language for non-Arabic native speakers. It comprises six institutes abroad for teaching Islamic, Arab knowledge in Ras Al-Khaima, UAE, Mauritania, Djibouti, Indonesia, USA, and Japan, in addition to sixty Sharia institutes kingdom-wide.

Thanks to the grand expansion of the university, the second five-year plan was approved of to establish a university city. The project site was selected to be north of Riyadh city. Late King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, laid down the foundation stone of the project on January 5, 1982 G. The university has been carrying it out.

The following phases have already been executed:

1. The first phase: Student housing area.

2. The second phase: the first part of academic area.

3. The third phase: first part of services.

4. The fourth phase: the medical center and the sport area.

5. The fifth phase: the first part of faculty member housing area.

Everything has shifted to the University Campus in the beginning of academic year 1411 H (1990 G). The shift affected positively and largely the academic process on campus. The jump brought up qualitative and quantitative results on campus, institutes, supporting deanships, and other units.

Educational Charitable Fund

Reference to the Saudi Cabinet resolution No 94 dated 29/03/1431 H, which stipulates the rules and regulations for the non-Saudi scholarship students, that clearly codifies the creation of charitable funds within the educational institutions. And as article (9-E) specifying that: “Establishing a charitable fund at every educational institution to support scholarship programs, that financing by donations, contributions, gifts, wills and endowments as well as allocated funds within budgets”.

To underscore the university responsibility to discharge its pioneering role within the educational process in the community, it was proposed the founding of the educational charitable fund with separate powers to regulate the scholarship programs and help scholarship students to enroll at the specified academic programs. The fund will work on collecting resources and financial mounts generated from donations, contributions, gifts, wills and endowments, and administer and direct them towards backing scholarship programs.

Variety Achievements

• Active participation at 1st International Saudi Conference of Medical Education, King Fahd Medical City, 12-24, 4, 1429 H.

• Inking of a consulting agreement with Tebsa Spanish Inc. to perform architectural designs of College of Medicine and the University Medical Hospital.

• Conduct some research, investigation, publishing and translation plans and projects thru researches which are published or still pending.

• A staunch effort has been carried out by the university on the university year of 1429-1430 H on refereeing masters and PhDs thesis and dissertations and thru the researches prepared by the faculty staff members for the purpose of promotion.

• Bold cooperation with many higher institutes and universities all around the world as well as many internal and external Islamic research centres.

• Founding a number of research chairs at the university such as Prince Naif Chair for Narcotics Prevention, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Research Chair for Academic Endowments Projects, and Saudi Social Affairs Ministry Research Chair for Caring Orphans and Special Needs Persons.

• Subscribe at many Arabic and foreign e-information data.

• Continuous updating in academic dissertations database until it exceeds seven thousand and one hundred dissertations.

• The university center for Community Service and Continuing Education has initialized many training courses in different specifications in order to serve the community and leverage the educational and functional capabilities for people. The university center has also participated in different cultural and social ceremonies inside the homeland, and many were joined and benefited from those training courses.

• Al-Imam University have contributed largely, based upon its experiences, in serving the educational institutions when the faculty staff members were take part in some military and non-military colleges and were recruited as part time consultants in many governmental agencies.

• Prince Naif Institute for Research and Consulting Services, attributed with the university, has cementing its scientific bonds with many institutions at the public and private sectors through conducting researches and studies financed by those institutions. It likewise has provided programs of academic guidance for a number of the educational institutions.

• Crafting a timeline plan to develop and hope-up capabilities of faculty staff members inside the university.

• Enhancing the human recourses cadres thru training programs and ascending faculty staff members and employees inside and outside Saudi Arabia.   

• Leveraging the medical services of the university by equipping modernized medical tools and machines along with expanding emergency and ambulance department.

• Designing the organizational structure of the medical services with its job description, beside crafting work policies and regulations.

• Finalizing many phases of the female educational area of the university campus.

• Signing an agreement with Al-Tayyar Travel Company to establishing a travelling agency inside the university to handle the bookings and tickets matters to all employees and students of the university.

• Founding a new deanship replacing the current Assessment and Quality Unit dealing with development, quality and academic accreditation at all colleges and departments.

• Inking a MOU with QS institution to strengthening the quality of the education and scientific research of the university as well as enhancing the strategies of quality and assessment applications.

Student Fund

Student fund was founded during the academic year of 1397/1398 H when the deanship of student affairs has considered it’s important to found a service to serve students whom their social conditions requires support or others whom emergency circumstances facing them. With a view to let necessitous student feel a spirit of Islamic social solidarity and then help him/her to more academic and study efforts as the university officials are always keenness to provide a stability for them.

The first cornerstone of the fund was the issuance of the university supreme council’s decision No 18 during the second regular meeting in 18/03/1397 H that approved the establishment of the fund. The said decision was clearly crafted the fund and its objectives as it for the charitable student purposes which not covered by the university annual budget as well as supporting needy students. The financing of the fund would be from the contributions of the students themselves and donations. Additional rules for the perfect works of the fund have also been identified by the decision.

A series of decisions issued by the university council had been followed for the rearrangement of the student’s contributions rate and the fund allocated for each college and Sharia institute, the undergraduate student contribution mounted-up from two Saudi Riyals to ten and the contribution of the Sharia institute’s student also increased from two Saudi Riyals to five.

Campus Dormitory:

A) University Student Dormitory:

It is one of the major factors positively affecting the lives of university student. And that is due to the major role played by the Deanship of Student Affairs represented in the Department of Housing, which sought to create and provide a regulatory social, educational, cultural and sporty environment, providing students plenty of opportunities to develop their abilities and demonstrate their skills and meet the needs in the presence of specialists in the field of social and psychological care and education throughout the day.

The  Dean of Student Affairs ensured to find workers who specialize in this area, and that is due to the major role they play towards the student helping in solving the problems that he suffered, especially the social, psychological, and to create the right atmosphere for him and other students for the betterment of them to the highest level of educational attainment and that is due to the direct supervision of the units of residential buildings through the offices of social control available in each housing unit within the housing, which is one of the most prestigious residential units in the world in terms of quality, implementation and integration of services available to them. Moreover, each unit consisting of four residential floors of complete services and equipment.

Objectives:-

The objective of the university housing is to create the right atmosphere for students to enable the student from full-time study and research and collection, under the supervision of Dean of Student Affairs, that offer these services under the general policy of our country, which is interesting to find the student the right place, so that he can produce and be a good building block of this nation.

 The creation of this scientific edifice came to avoid the drawbacks resulting from scattered places of students housing and the dispersion of the efforts of its employees due to divergence, in addition to their location in dual, noisy and crowded places,  making the student seeking for  what is more quiet, especially when he wish to search or studies. One of the main objectives:

• Provide an opportunity for the seeker of knowledge to benefit from what provided by the country - endorsed by God - of facilities and services.

• Realization of the principle of Islamic brotherhood between the student and his fellow residents in the area of housing.

• Creating the right atmosphere for the student to devote himself to study, research, collection, and to be scientifically superior to be a good member in society.

• Assist the student and care about him, solving what may become of economic or social problems.

• Investment of leisure-time of the student in the purposeful programs and a variety of activities (cultural, social, art, sports) to develop his personality and highlight his talents.

Features:

• Its position in the University City, and close to the educational modules and Deanships Central Library.

• Sitting lounges to sit, rest and hospitality in all buildings and floors. 

• Kitchens with ovens and additional refrigerators in all the buildings and floors.

• Elevators and stairs leading to all floors.

•  The University presents religious and worldly awareness to students through preachers and scholars committed in their faith and dedication.

•  Students' stay in university housing helps the university to oversee the student's health, where there are medical services available in the University City, which conducts medical tests for housing students each semester.

•  The housing student benefits from the student club which is in the center of the housing area in exercising all cultural, social, sport and artistic activities.

•  Students benefit from the main restaurant that offers low prices meals under the supervision of supervisors and specialists in nutrition.

• The students take advantage of all the facilities in the housing area (food supply, laundry, barber, business center, a photography center and mobile card phones).

•  The Students benefit from the major pathways and shaded pedestrian that link all the residential blocks with other facilities.

•  Students benefit from sports facilities, which contain all specialized facilities :- the main stadium, indoor sports hall, volleyball courts, basketball courts, tennis courts, covered swimming pool, open swimming pool; this to practice all activities free of charge.

• Adjusting housing for people with special needs.

•  The return of the housing system helped to modify the behavior of students and helped them in not mixing with bad friends because of the regulatory environment supervised by specialists in this field.

Components:

The students' housing area consists of 81 residential buildings, which are divided into three categories:-

First class: - single accommodation (rooms).

This type of housing has been allocated 50 buildings; each building is composed of 80-90 rooms.

Each building has the following:

      • Office for the administrator with interior room and a bathroom.

      • A lounge serving 20 rooms, each lounge (unit) contains four halls; each hall has a telephone line to serve the students.

      • Equipped kitchen to prepare coffee and tea in each hall.

      • There is a depot in each lounge (unit) that has a washing machine in addition to a service room.

      • There is an electric elevator in each unit that serves all floors.

      • Billboards that contain administrative decisions, the announcement of lectures, seminars, scientific lessons and student activities.

Each room contains:

      • Private bathroom.

      • Wardrobe.

      • Refrigerator.

      • Library shelves.

      • Desk, chair for reading and study.

      • Single bed and mattress.

      • Clothes hanger.

      • Each Student takes: 2 blankets, 2 bed sheets, pillow and pillow bag.

      • Air conditioning (old and hot).

Category 2:

 Double Accommodation (apartments):

This type of housing has been allocated 13 buildings; each building is composed of 20 rooms. This category divided into two parts:

The first part, which consists of eight building blocks, has dedicated to grants' students.

The second part, which consists of four building blocks, has dedicated for Saudi students and inner scholarships students that wish to live in a sharing housing.

Each apartment of these two sections contains:

      • Private bathroom.

      • Kitchen equipped with refrigerator, electric stove and so on.

      • Bedroom is equipped with three beds.

      • Cupboards for clothing and personal items.

Category 3:

 Professor-assistants and lecturers residence at the university (apartments) :-

This type of housing has been allocated 10 building blocks; each building is composed of 20 rooms.

 Each room contains:

      • A private bathroom.

      • A bedroom that is equipped with a double bed.

      • A hall that contains western style decor.

      • A desk for the student.

      • A telephone line for each apartment.

Housing Fees:

First category:

The rental value of this class is 1125 riyal per semester, in addition to a payment of 500 Riyals deposit on the room that will be returned to the student after his evacuation of the room.

Second Category:

      Section (1): grants students live free, as stated in the Regulations of the housing from the ministry.

      Section (2): the rental value per semester is 675 riyal, in addition to a payment of 500 riyals deposit on the apartment that will be returned to the student after his evacuation of the housing.

Third Category:

Anyone wants to dwell in the university housing has to pay 6000  riyals for the apartment each year Or he can pay 3000 riyals for half a year, with paying also 500 riyals in the form of insurance that will be returned when he evacuates the housing without damages. Also he has to pay the estimated value for services rendered to him like water, electricity, telephone and other services that are determined by the university.

B. Housing for married students:

These homes are allocated to house married students in order to create the right atmosphere for them and to inspire the spirit of peace of mind at them through the presence of their families, which leads them to achieve the goal that they came for which is the educational attainment of religious Sciences, Arabic and other sciences, also to be a Goodwill Ambassador and a facade to his country.

 Among the goals of these houses also is to achieve understanding and harmony among the students and families from different nationalities and countries.

Management of Student Club

Student Club is one of the most important social and cultural facilities inside the university campus, whereas it is a platform for cultural, social and sport activities, beside the hobbies of all university students in general. A number of occasions and events were taking place there such as lectures, symposiums, cultural competitions, poetry and literature nights, as well as training courses, which develop the talents of students and expand their knowledge, such as: Computer Courses, Calligraphy, Electronics, Automobiles, Electricity, and English, as well as specialized courses in Sharia.  

The Club, likewise, holds in cooperation with some governmental departments and NGOs, many exhibitions in computers and electronics, books, and weeks for blood donation. It also has included a Sports Hall equipped with the latest devices, and a snack bar with service to broadcast several useful scientific, cultural, religious movies for students, as well as some films about the activities at the university

Conventional Education

The conventional education adopted at Al-Imam University is that type of traditional education, approved in the majority of academic programs at the university. Student must personally attend lectures according to the timetable crafted by the college or the authority supervising the program. At the end of each and every academic semester, exams would be launching to assess students as to the curricula that they have been taught during the semester.

University Year: 

Two main semesters and one extracurricular program, if any

Academic Semester: 

Period of time of not less than fifteen-weeks studying during it a wide-range of academic courses, including no periods of registration and final exams.

Extracurricular Program: 

Period of time not to exceed eight weeks per term, and including no periods of registration and final exams. Duration of each course might be doubled.

Academic level:

It is an indicative average of the academic stage, and the number of required levels of graduation is almost eight or more, according to the approved study plans.

Curriculum: 

An academic module learned at the level specified within the approved plan of study in each program.  Each curriculum has a code number and name and a detailed description that characterized it in terms of content and level distinguishing it amongst the other curricula, in addition to a special file maintained by the department for the purpose of monitoring, evaluation and development. It could be possible that, some of the academic curricula may need some requirements or some previous or simultaneous requirements. 

Academic Unit: 

A theoretical weekly lecture, which lasts for not less than fifty minutes, or clinical session, which lasts for not less than fifty minutes, or practical or survey lesson which lasts for not less than 100 minutes.

Academic Warning: 

Notice addresses to a student because of his low cumulative GPA which is below the minimum limit set out in these Regulations.

Quarterly business degree: the degree to which the collection of student during classroom tests, research and educational activities related to the curriculum.

Quarterly Class Degree: 

A degree granted as to the works of a student during university semester including his/her exams, researches and educational activities relating to the academic curriculum.

The Final Exam: 

Exam on the academic curriculum held once at the end of the university semester.

Degree of the Final Exam: 

Degree obtained by the student in each curriculum in the final exam of the semester.

Final Grade:

                                                           

Total quarterly class marks plus the degree of the final exam for each curriculum, all calculated out of one hundred degree.

Assessment:

Description of the percentage or the symbol of the alphabetical final mark obtained by the student in any academic curriculum.

Incomplete Assessment:

A temporary estimation recorded in name of student who failed to fulfil the requirements of the curriculum on time. In such event the student's academic record will be symbolized with the symbol (IC).

Continuous Assessment: 

Estimation recorded temporarily for each course that its nature requires studying period of more than a semester to be completed, and that will have the symbol (IP).

GPA: 

Calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted for all courses taught in any term, and the points are calculated by multiplying the weight of the unit established in the esteem in which he received in each course the student will study, see Appendix (B).

CGPA: 

Calculated by dividing the total points earned by the student in all courses taught since joining the university by the total units prescribed for those course subjects, see Appendix (B).

Overall Assessment: 

Describe the level of educational achievement for the student during the whole period of study at the university.

Minimum Academic Load: 

The slightest number of modules that students should be record as to his/her cumulative average, as determined by the University Council. 

Study system

System of studying at the university follows the systematic levels.

The undergraduate studying period is of at least eight levels.

The duration of studying level is one full studying term.

Student continuity and success in university levels and course subjects should be in accordance with the provisions of the transition from one level to another.

Study may be in some colleges on the basis of full academic year according to the rules and procedures approved by the University Council, and the school year is calculated at two levels.

System of levels 

It is a university system divides the course of the academic year into two semesters, and there may be a summer semester, that calculated half-year term of the semester, and the distribution of the graduation's requirements for the degree of scientific levels is according to the studying plan approved by the University Council.

Detailed rules for the transition from one level to another

The Council of the university establishes the detailed rules that governing the transition from one level to another, taking into account the following:SDF

Distribution of courses for each discipline levels, and identifies the number of units for each level of study as required by study plans approved.

Students who have not passed due to failure in the courses are registered in the course subjects of the level gradually, starting from the lower levels, according to the approved study plans.

Students who have not passed the course subjects will be enrolled in courses that guarantees them a minimum academic load in each chapter taking into account the following points:

Non-contradiction in the course timetable.

Meeting the previous requirements of the course or courses to be recorded.

Not allowing chooses the courses from the following levels only to complete the minimum academic load.

Delay and Interruption of Study: 

Restrictions of delay 

A student may apply for postponement of study for a reason accepted by a concerned party determined by the Council of the University for a period not to exceed two consecutive semesters postponement or three non-consecutive semesters for a maximum stay in the university and then folded his recorded after that, and may the University Council. If necessary, exempt the student from this provision and it will not be counted as a delay within the time needed to complete graduation requirements.

Interruption of Study: 

If a student interrupted the regular university for a semester without requesting postponement; his registration at the university will be folded. The University Council may fold the student registration if cut off from the study for less than a semester, also the university council may fold the affiliated student's registration if he is absent of all the final exams and failed to submit an acceptable excuse.

Delay in the case of other university visit: 

The student who is on visiting to another university during his studying of classes is not considered as a cut off.