Institutional efficiency helping QU students, says official

Implementing institutional efficiency at Qatar University has a positive impact on students as it establishes a developed academic environment which helps them to better participate in the learning experience and be engaged in student issues and concerns, a senior official said yesterday.“Institutional efficiency requires enriching students’ experience, harmonising resources and priorities towards academic and research excellence, and building global recognition,” QU’s vice president for Institutional Planning and Development, Dr Saif al-Sowaidi, said.Defining institutional efficiency as an ongoing process, and a tool to plan, assess, and develop efficiency throughout the organisation, he asserted that QU works hard to ensure that its institutional efficiency is implemented within a framework of integration and comprehension based on facts and evidence.“In the administrative aspect, institutional planning permits the leadership and administrative units to achieve important goals such as assessing and offering resources and services in keeping with the needs of the QU community in general and students in particular,” Dr al-Sowaidi said. The official pointed out that institutional development can be achieved through strategic planning, assessing academic programmes, budget planning, reviewing non-academic units, and assisting students’ development.   “A culture of institutional efficiency positively impacts the whole organisation – the administration, faculty, staff, and students. It helps in the exercise of developing curricula and programmes in harmonisation with the goals of QU, its colleges, departments, research centres, and administrative units.  It also assists in identifying and strengthening weakness points in students’ performance and programme-related issues”. According to Dr al-Sowaidi, institutional efficiency comes from successfully executing plans holistically, identifying major challenges and obstacles, and effectively aligning services, resources, and programmes.Regarding QU’s strategic plan, Dr al-Sowaidi noted that the new three-year cycle went into effect this academic year. The plan’s focus is on providing an optimal student experience, consolidating academic and research excellence, building international reputation, and implementing best solutions for institutional efficiency. “Institutional efficiency is a crucial tool for effective executive administration and self-assessment, and an important component for institutional accreditation,” he concluded.