Establishing a co-located high school within King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Case Study Sample)

Establishing a co-located high school within King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Name
Institution
Introduction
Many institutions across the globe have thrived through establishing beside them affiliate projects which create a synergy of operations and a potent network of fundamental services offered to the interested or targeted community. This paper has been drafted in response to the most recent proposal by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to establish a co-located High School within its close environs. The essence of this essay thus, is to analyse the feasibility of the proposed project, its economic implications to the institution and the general viability of such a venture in Saudi Arabia. The paper will also point out the potential impediments to full realization of goals of the project then finally recommend possible alternative approaches that can be resorted to in order to get the best outcome possible.
Background Information
The Government of Saudi Arabia holds higher education in high esteem and treats it as one of the pillars for the nation’s success. Owing to this, a decree was issued mandating the Ministry of Higher Education to both formulate and oversee all policies that further University education (Abd, 1970). Resultantly, many universities and tertiary institutions have been empowered. The Ministry has also established the Nation Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment which is tasked with evaluating and accrediting educational programs and policies established by Universities. It is therefore imperative that for any project that King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals wants to pursue, there has to be unfettered liaison and synergy with the Ministry of Higher Education.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is a relatively old institution having been established in 1964. It is a key entity for the prosperity of the nation because Minerals and petroleum are the backbone of Saudi Arabia’s economy. Therefore, scientific research, study and education offered by the university offers a direct contribution to the Country’s economy. In that case, any action pursued to enhance stability of the University equally boosts the interests of the nation (Alamri, 2011). From the foregoing, it is thus critical to concisely analyse financial decisions made by this University and ensure that all ends well; such decisions include the proposition that a co-located high school be built within or around the precincts of the University.
Other Co-located Schools within Saudi Arabia
The practice of having co-located high schools built within the compound of universities is strange in Saudi Arabia. Of all the twenty one universities in the country, none of them has embraced such a practice. In fact, the Dhahran High School is the only school which is very closely located near a university; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Alshehri, 2011). However, the high school is a lot of miles away from the university and it only offers an American based curriculum which only serves the interests of international students from grades 9-12. Therefore, having a high school within the university will be a unique venture which is likely to be embraced by the community because the school will major in the local curriculum with an assurance of direct transition to university for students who merit.
Purpose of the Project Business Case
This project business case is geared towards first identifying the financial hurdles that the University will have to jump in a bid to successfully establish a co-located high school within its compound. Then, the case will delve deeper to analyse the viability of the whole project by first weighing the financial expenses vis-à-vis the projected benefits. This analysis will greatly help influence the making of an informed decision about whether to still pursue the proposition or not and the consequences of either choice. The first is that the university might decide to build only tuition and dormitory structures within its compound with a target of serving 1000 students. Alternatively, the school might decide to build a fully-fledged high school around Shairu square with all amenities including the field and dormitories.
If the university chooses the first option, and sets up only the most necessary buildings for the purpose of learning, this choice will have a number of positive implications. The first one is that the initiative will significantly slash the budget on expenditure by more than half. This is because there will be extensive sharing of resources between the university and the high school. For instance, the dining room, library and fields will all be shared by both levels of education. Therefore, the first options is overly cost friendly to the pockets of the University. However, the danger in fully pursuing this line of thinking is that there is huge possibility that one level of education will at one stage or another be viewed by the other level as a nuisance. Especially, the university students may not be comfortable hanging around high school students. Also, the decision might result in overcrowding in certain areas of the institution which are subject to sharing.
The second option that is open to the university suggests that the high school will always operate as a totally different entity from the university. This, in as much as it ensures utmost autonomy between the university and the high school, it in itself defeats the whole purpose of having the school co-located within the university premises. From this perspective, there will be very little or insignificant contact between the two entities and therefore high school students can only draw little inspiration from the university environment. The positive thing with this model is that it reduces chances of overcrowding in common facilities shared by the two institutions and it places both organs at the right distance from each other.
Approach to the Feasibility Study
Given that no structured investigation has been formally launched by both the Ministry of Higher Education and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, this serves as a preliminary study into the possibility of such a development. As such the figures indicated in this segment may well not be so accurate but are clearly indicative of the possible outcome of establishing a co-located high school within the premises of the University. The research however takes into account the current trends in the education sector, cost of running educational institutions and the management complexities associated with having two institutions within one compound. Various factors will thus be considered with respect to the two available alternatives.
Feasibility Report
Capital Expenditure
If the university decides to share with the high school its fundamental amenities, then the only new infrastructure that will be set up from scratch will be class rooms, laboratories and dormitories or hostels. This accounts for half the total cost of establishing a new high school from scratch in which case the cost will be around $14 million. In fact, some of these high school facilities can still be utilized by the University by university students pursuing short courses especially if high school students go on holiday. Therefore, existence of this infrastructure in an unrestricted manner will always be cost friendly to the University.
The second alternative of establishing a totally new high school establishment within the compound of the University also has its financial implications. To start with, the university will have to put up with the full financial burden of building new structures fit for a school. A deeper look into it indicates that such a direction cannot be taken if the high school will not have utmost autonomy of its facilities and resources. Therefore, there is little or no room for close interaction between the high school students and their university compatriots. Also, there will be no chance of these two entities sharing resources especially from the side of the high school.
Operating Expenditure
The cost of running the high school may not witness a big variation considering the two models that are projected to establish the school. One constant factor across the two models is the operating cost in relation to the cost of maintaining each student in the school. The requirements of students remain the same regardless of which model is employed. The current statistics indicate that the average cost of maintaining one high school student in Saudi Arabia per year is $800. Therefore for the 1000 students that the school will house, it will be approximately $800,000.
The parting point however, comes with the cost of staffing. With the first alternative, the high school might considerably afford to borrow some services from the staff of the University especially if high school students use facilities like the university library and IT establishments. But this may not be the case if the institution has been designed to be autonomous from the university. Research indicates that a new school needs a lot of staff than an existing school and thus, if the institution is portrayed as an existing unit, this could be more cost friendly.
Economic Feasibility Check and Cost Benefits Analysis
The essence of a University establishing a co-located high school within its premises is not only to nurture the young brains but also to make revenue out of it (Bastedo&Jaquette, 2011). For a school within a university, the community and all people across the country will have high hopes in it. Therefore, in pursuit of excellence for their children, they are more likely to pay a relatively higher sum of money in terms of fees. At the end of the day, the investment has to make economic sense. That is why the capital exp...