Applied Colleges (formerly Community Colleges) were established in the Kingdom as a step to meet the growing demand for higher education from high school graduates and included one specialization when they were established, which is the Computer Diploma, and in the Eastern Province, the Applied College was established in Qatif in the year 1423 AH.
The college continued to teach this specialization until the year 1434 AH where the college's programs were developed to meet the labor market's need for sub-specialties. Now the college has many programs in the disciplines of finance, administrative sciences, and computer. The college before had one headquarters to teach female students in Qatif, however, the college now has three campuses in Qatif and Dammam for female students, and one for male students in the university city in Rakah.
In 1442 AH, the Council of Universities’s Affairs issued a decision to transform community colleges into applied colleges in disciplines and programs that contribute to the achievement of Vision 2030, by qualifying national cadres with diploma degrees linked to professional certificates compatible with the objectives of development, where the strategic objectives of the project are as follows:
- Raising the admission rates of high school graduates in Applied Colleges.
- Linking colleges to strategic partnerships with the private sector.
- Bridging the gap in the labor market and reducing occupational exposure in applied disciplines.
- Aligning the outputs of the Applied Colleges with the objectives of development.
This project also focused on linking with the objectives of development and the private sector, including directing students to the labor market faster and expanding the target groups, namely: high school graduates, job seekers, and those on the job. In addition, the strategy of the project adopted the concept of transformation from theoretical education to applied education, and one of the most important steps for this was through cooperative relations and cooperative partnership agreements with many external parties in the private and non-profit sectors.
Through its developed programs, the college has sought to prepare well-equipped and trained human cadres with high competencies that serve the labor market. Therefore, qualitative programs have been adopted that grant the degree of intermediate diploma, and the study for two years is taught in English. The college also tends to involve male and female students during the study years in various extracurricular and voluntary activities.
Vision
A distinguished college in applied education locally, regionally, and globally.
Mission
Building qualified academic and professional cadres that meet the requirements of the labor market with diverse partnerships and distinguished education.
Strategic Goals
- Develop policies and procedures to ensure the realization of the concept of applied education.
- Providing modern and diverse diploma programs in their specializations and time scales that drive the national economy.
- Expand admission to different segments of society.
- Attract distinct high school graduates by adjusting admission policies.
- Filling the need of the public and private sector and professional exposure through the distinguished vocational training outputs of the college.
- The multiplicity of opportunities for the college's outputs between employment and entrepreneurship.
- Linking the college with multiple strategic partnerships with the public and private sectors in the field of employment, training, admission seats, support, consulting, applied research, professional certifications, entrepreneurship, and startups.
- Adopting a marketing program for the college's programs and courses for the purpose of improving the mental image.
- Providing modern professional courses in support of applied academic programs.
