1- What kind of activities that could fall under the name of social responsibility?
There is a drop-down list in the description card. You can identify the appropriate type of activity you want to introduce.
2- What is "beneficiary group/s"?
Beneficiary group/s mean individuals (men, women and children) who are benefited from the activities/services/research/studies/ and/or community sustainable projects.
3- Is providing a community activity to college students by faculty members a community service?
No
4- What are the channels that are financially supported by the Bank of social responsibility?
Please look at the following table to know which channels, the Social Responsibility Bank support financially.
5- Is the provision of community activity by faculty members to university employees from the same college or another college a community service?
When the services are devoted to the university of Dammam employees including faculty members and administration staff who are affiliated with the same college that organize the activity or not, is not considered a community service. Community service must be focus on outsider to the university.
6- Does the social responsibility bank send a notice to immediate supervisor to alert him/her about his staff request for approval of the activity after filling the description card?
When you complete and send the description card, at once, the social responsibility Bank system directly will notify your immediate supervisor through his/her account in the social responsibility platform. In his/her account, your request will show under the "Staff Requests" tab (whether he or she is a head of the department or the Vice-Dean or the Dean, according to what has been introduced "active" into the Electronic Service System of the Deanship of faculty and Personnel Affairs of the university data.
7- I attempt to login to my account at the social responsibility Bank, but I can't, what do I have to do?
You must update your personal profile at the Electronic Services System and alert your immediate supervisor to accept and confirm your up to date information. Later, you will receive an e-mail inform you that your update has been effectively took place.
8- What is the method in the bank for having more than one site (colleges/ faculty) that have participated in an activity/service/project to provide social responsibility?
There should be an agreement among themselves for the inclusion of a single site of name in the description card, in the " Service Executing Organization" box and the inclusion of the third-party names in "the names of those involved" box from within the university and then introduce each participant's hours from all executing sites under the quantitative report tab in the report card.
9- Will the social responsibility points be calculated for the one who registered in description card and completed the report card only or for persons participating equally?
Points are calculated for the one who registered the activity/service/project/in description card, and the participants will be credited their participation hours of in their own file. Therefore, it is imperative to agree in advance on whom shall introduce data in the social responsibility bank because this associates with the highest record number of hours spent in community responsibility recognition award.
10- Is it possible for outsider patterners/non-UOD affiliated organizations to document community service in the social responsibility Bank?
There are other platforms in the interactive electronic portal at the University of Dammam which aim to serve the community. " Community Partnership" and "Community Services" are among these platforms; which provide opportunities for different firms to request services from the university of Dammam as per the available resources.
11- Can a faculty member who holds a leading position in a college but simultaneously, assign to perform different tasks in the other site within the university, participate in activity/ service/research/study or sustainable project that entrusted to it,
Yes, he/she can. However, he/she needs to ask for another email account associated with his/her assignment as per the authority in charge in that site. Furthermore, if he/she experiences a problem due to lack of administrative reference within the Electronic Services System for the faculty and staff affairs, then he/she needs to update personal information in the Electronic Services System, including data for direct supervisor.
12- Is it possible for the employees of the university (faculty and administrative staff) to document their Activities/services/researches/projects data in the Social Responsibility Bank after the Al-Hasad Meeting?
Yes, but data entered will appear in the statistics which will be displayed next Al-Hasad Meeting for the coming academic year.
13- Can we document students' participation in the Social Responsibility Bank?
Yes, it can be entered through Report Card in the quantitative report tab where the responsible person will record the total number of hours for each student. Students' hours will be recorded as volunteer hours and will be included in the Al-Atta National Bank platform, providing that these students have registered at the Al-Atta National Bank.
14- When calculating, the hours spent in community responsibility, are you calculating the implementation hours only for the activity/service/project or taking into consideration the hours spent in the planning, coordination and processing?
The implementation hours are calculated only and then introduced into the Social Responsibility Bank's.
15- What is the difference between social responsibility and volunteering?
There is often a confusion between Social Responsibility and volunteering. However, the differentiation between social responsibility and volunteer work are rooted from what were stated in the Holy Quran: البقرة 158" وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ" "And if any one obeyeth his own impulse to good, be sure that Allah is He Who recogniseth and knoweth" and what the messenger peace be upon him has said"All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock" . Therefore, the university of Dammam assumed responsibilities to develop and disseminate the concept of social responsibility with full commitment to its values and principles to achieve the social, economic and environmental dimensions that benefit the community. the University institutionalized the concept of social responsibility based on the universities three functions, teaching and Learning, Scientific Research, and Community Service. The university also reinforced the general framework to activate the social responsibility through flexible and efficient ways according to deliberate plans to incorporate as much as possible of community- based projects and activities, seeking to shift from the traditional pedagogy and education to the modern and progressive methods of teaching and learning that adopts new concepts and encourage the involvement of the university staff within the community, aiming to reach a knowledge based society. The Social Responsibility concept at the University of Dammam is framed as zakat of university knowledge toward the community (zakat is an obligatory payment made annually under Islamic law) to exercise sustained set of principles and values that serve society and achieve social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development; to develop the general framework of sustainability via the main functions of the universities, within the available resources. Therefore, Social Responsibility is a community activity that are prepaid within the monthly salary of the employee, and carrying it out satisfies the demand of obtaining academic accreditation from the national Authority for assessment and accreditation. As for the concept of volunteer work at the University of Dammam, it is more like Sadaqa of the university which is a charitable giving from the university to the community. Volunteer work is a positive value for the construction of a good citizen and protruding signs of community development. Volunteerism crystallizes its concept about voluntary practices for a set of values and principles that serve the community by motivated personal and non-mandatory output from the internal sense of responsibility, altruism initiative, scarification of time, effort and money to third parties. Volunteer work is often a community activity without charge.
16- Can you provide an example for community social responsibility and another for volunteer work?
Example of community responsibility: is to provide "learning difficulties" lecture for primary schools after having the formal correspondences taken place between the two sides. Also, this lecture must have registered and included completed information of it in the Social Responsibility Bank and make sure that it has been approved by the immediate supervisor. It should be noted that this community service has been prepaid within the monthly salary because community service is one of the three functions that Staff were employed to carry out for the university. Thus, staff has no right to ask for the fees for his/her community service. Example to volunteer work: Work on a survey study of mosques to come up with a report about the needs of the mosques and suggestion on how to secure a support to meet these needs. It should be noted that this service is offered free of charge through personal commitment and it is not institutionalized i.e., it is not an official commissioned by the university, but it stems from the person internal sense of responsibility.
