Evaluating Universities’ Readiness in Qualifying Graduates to Achieve Saudi Vision 2030: A Constructive Analysis of Baldrige Scale

Abstract

The study sought to measure the Saudi universities’ capabilities and readiness for qualifying graduates to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030 to overcome the gap between the readiness of the university and the national goal if exist to help decision makers to explore actual achievements against the national goals. To assess the performance, this study adopted the Baldrige Scale for excellence in education as a measurement tool which was modified by adding the scientific research requirements and collaboration among universities and university investments as a modern domain of the scale’s entities based on Saudi Vision demands 2030. A Baldrige-based survey has been conducted on a study group of (n = 540) academics from the Northern Border University. Following a statistical test of Relative Importance Index (RII) and the Contractual Pathway Analysis, the study revealed that the university’s readiness to outcome a qualified graduate is relatively moderate, with a clear decline in the university investment and research publication consultants. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the measurement entities used in the readiness test.