In an effort to develop communication paths between senior administrators and students the Provost Coffee Break event was launched at Alfaisal University by the Provost Dr. Faisal Al Mubarak and the Marketing & Public Relations department on Saturday 6th April for Male students and Wednesday 17th April for female students. Some of the other avenues active to develop this communication include the Provost Corner on the Alfaisal Web site which is active, and is updated on a monthly basis by the Provost. All of these interactive offerings are geared to improve communication, promote community community building, and provide meaningful listening opportunities to ensure the University’s continual improvement.
Provost Faisal Al Mubarak, hosted The Provost’s Coffee Break for the first time on Saturday 6th April for male students and students came to talk with him on academic issues. Various topics that were discussed included scheduling, student activities, students outreach experiences, financial aid and student representation, while he also received many positive comments about students’ academic experiences. “Some students made strong, concrete suggestions that I shared at our meeting, which gave a lot of insight…there is value in students seeing administration as accessible and available” said Dr. Faisal Al Mubarak.
An opportunity for the female students to discuss issues was made available with the presence of Director for External Affairs, Dr. Maha al Saud, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Dr. Hend Al Sudairy, Asst. Professor of English; Dr. Lubna Almunawar; and Associate Dean for female students in the College of Medicine, Dr. Dana Bakheet. As a student centered university it is imperative that the voices of students be heard and senior management have a mechanism in place to show the Board of Trustees that opportunities to develop communication paths between university administrators and students are being being made available on a consistent basis. This year, we want to build on the opportunities being made available for students and administrators to informally interact with one another the goal of these opportunities for discussion to direct the University towards a community-based reflection upon its most central values and to guarantee an enjoyable, affordable and quality academic experience for all at Alfaisal. “I’m trying to be approachable and someone [students] can come to if they have a concern or idea,” Dr. Faisal said. Coffee with the Deans is another venue that serves to connect College faculty with students and the Deans, timely discussion opportunities similar to The Provost’s Coffee Break. Dr. Faisal plans to continue the discussion opportunities into the New academic year and throughout his time as Provost. The next Provost Coffee Breaks for new academic year will be announced shortly.