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Article

Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah: A Report on Stakeholder’s Opinions

by
Fahed A. Aloufi
1,
Md. Abu Taleb
1,*,
Riyadh F. Halawani
1,
Abdurazag Tammar
1,
Shreef Mahmood
2 and
Khan Rubayet Rahaman
3
1
Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2
Department of Horticulture, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
3
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2432; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032432
Submission received: 11 December 2022 / Revised: 16 January 2023 / Accepted: 27 January 2023 / Published: 30 January 2023
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
The devastating effect of COVID-19 has impacted global citizens for the past three years. More than six hundred and forty-six million people have been infected and there have been almost seven million casualties. Consequently, new variants have been discovered in quick succession around the world. Global communities have witnessed cruel fatalities and lost properties and businesses, and experienced the usual activities of service sectors being hampered, including those of post-secondary educational institutions, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately damaged family life and society in general. Emergency management strategies were adopted by educational institutions around the world, including in the Middle East, in order to manage the ongoing pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the emergency response mechanisms to COVID-19 at the King Abdulaziz University (KAU) by interviewing major stakeholders to ascertain their opinions through a cross-sectional survey. A total of 350 responses were recorded from students (64.28%), faculty members (21.42), and staff (14.28). The collected data were analyzed using statistical methods and illustrated using different schemes, graphs, and diagrams. Interestingly, the KAU emergency response plan for COVID-19 was appreciated by the respondents and it has emerged as a success story at a post-secondary educational institution in the KSA.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 global pandemic has been identified as originating in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019 [1]. According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 27 November 2022, globally, 646.05 million people have already been affected, with approximately 6.636 million deaths (3% mortality rate) as a causal effect of this deadly pandemic [2]. In order to combat this devastating pandemic, world administrations have been embracing critical public health actions due to the absence of a proven vaccine at the prime time of infection. Moreover, measures taken by the organizations included recommendations of prescribed sanitizations, promoting safety measures and social distancing, closing of national and international borders among territories, and halting economic activities, excluding those services that were deemed essential [3]. The hierarchical top-ranked countries according to the total identified cases as of 23 September 2021 were USA < India < France < Germany < Brazil < South Korea [4]. Saudi Arabia is one of the important countries in the Middle East, and it has remained in the eighth cohort, considering the total number of reported cases of COVID-19 since it was first identified on 2 March 2020 [5].
Among several economic and social services, the education sector has been globally confronted by the pandemic and the recommended COVID-19 restrictions endorsed by the WHO. Most of the educational institutions (i.e., universities in particular) throughout the world have been responding in diverse ways to tackle health risks. However, due to the lack of available resources and immediate expertise in the aforementioned field, educational institutions globally are experiencing challenges in terms of both academic and health issues [6]. Consequently, most of the institutions have undergone a transition to introduce an online curriculum in very little time to assist students in completing their courses on time.
From the first case being identified in China, followed by the rapid expansion of the virus, COVID-19 has forced the breakdown of the rhythm of ordinary lifestyles around the world due to its rapid transmission [6,7,8]. Additionally, countries have instigated a high level of public health awareness [9]. The outbreak of the pandemic exerted pressure on the mental and physical health of people, while a high rate of fatalities has been documented in China as well as throughout the world. At the very beginning of the pandemic, as of the first week of March 2020, the confirmed cases in China were recorded as being 80,000 with 3013 deaths. Interestingly, out of the 96,000 cases of total infections and 3310 deaths globally, 20% of cases were reported as critical. In late March of 2020, the number of new cases had reduced in China, but confirmed cases had substantially increased in other parts of the world, including Italy, Iran, South Korea, etc. [10]. The unceasing outbreaks of the pandemic, firm quarantine actions, and isolation measures negatively influenced the educational institutions, including those at primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. This included standardized tests (i.e., the graduate research examination (GRE)) for students who were interested in obtaining higher degrees from abroad [10,11,12]. China’s economic activities, including tertiary service sectors, struggled to adjust to the pandemic situation. The higher education sector faced a critical stage to respond to the changing environment in terms of the burden on Chinese students, self-isolation guidance from countrywide governments, and supporting personnel and students who were unable to travel internationally or even to their neighborhood campuses [13,14].
As of 27 November 2022, the number of reported cases of COVID-19 was 100,458,989 and the number of reported deaths was 1,104,751 across the world [15]. The USA had adopted vigorous safety measures to be applied to usual activities, which had never been encountered before. Educational institutions were physically shut down for an undetermined amount of time and students’ regular evaluation processes were annulled [16]. The U.S. higher education institutions, including MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Stanford, decided to introduce remote learning systems as a response to federal and state government protocols, in addition to circumstantial indications suggesting that most other universities had also made this alteration [6]. Canada observed the radical COVID-19 pandemic unfolding in China, Iran, and Western Europe and witnessed the large scale of the disruption it hosted. All Canadian jurisdictions were very active, with government and frontline fighters rolling out remarkable public health and monetary stabilization and restoration measures and showcasing an unusually excessive degree of interjurisdictional cooperation. A similar policy of using remote learning systems was adopted for education sectors in various countries [17].
In the United Kingdom (UK), how the virus spread in the earlier phases was observed by the University of York [6]. The UK government enforced social distancing, and measures introduced included the closure of national educational institutions, banning of public gatherings, self-isolation for symptomatic people, and complete lockdown in specific areas, with some restrictions involving (i) public gatherings and activities; (ii) assemblies; (iii) educational and public establishments; and (iv) stay at home orders, besides other important responsibilities and exercises. The governmental response was guided by predictive modeling, which showed that those measures may slow the unfolding of COVID-19 so that it affected only the very vulnerable populations and maintained a viable caseload for the National Health Service (NHS) [18]. Moreover, other European countries, including Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, faced this pandemic and they also adopted strict safety actions, including the closure of probable points to stop the spread of COVID-19 [6]. Furthermore, the pandemic wave spread out in Arab countries and territories, with the first case being confirmed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 29 January 2020 [6]. Among the countries in the Middle East, Iran was one of the most affected countries, with 7,559,526 confirmed cases and 144,633 deaths [2], followed by Iraq, Jordan, and Morocco (Table 1). Some other less-affected Arab countries were Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, where approximately 11,000–60,000 confirmed cases were reported [2]. From the beginning of the pandemic, most Arab countries adopted preventive measures including, but not limited to, the termination of the flights and closure of international borders for a certain time, reduction in economic and commercial activities, prohibition of public gatherings, and the temporary suspension of physical attendance in all types of educational institutions [19].
Ultimately, the global pandemic situation was realized and subsequently shifted the paradigm of the university management system. The e-learning systems were incorporated with virtual attendance monitoring, learning material distribution, and student admission and registration, but this made the overall management difficult [20]. The global responses to and immediate management of the pandemic by different education institutions were introduced based on the resources, capacity/capabilities, and financial budget of the respective countries. The developed and technologically advanced countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada, France, and Australia, rapidly adopted e-learning systems, while underdeveloped nations, including Argentina, Nepal, Chile, Brazil, and most of the African countries, experienced insufficient staff and tools for virtual classrooms; hence, customary/traditional instruments such as television and radio were used for a smooth continuation of learning [21]. Global educational institutions and universities quickly formed designated committees to manage the crisis [22], made momentous budgetary allocations for e-learning staff [23], and provided essential support to the students, including food, accommodation, healthcare facilities, and e-learning accessories such as Internet modems and laptops [24]. Among other Arab countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) formed a national committee with the synchronization of different ministries and other stakeholders of the kingdom for monitoring daily updates of COVID-19 and adopting subsequent control, preventive measures, and implementing action plans related to the precautionary strategies of the pandemic. The KSA adopted few noteworthy actions and subsequently implemented some strategies to prevent COVID-19 infection, as follows.
Similar to other parts of world, the educational institutions and universities of Saudi Arabia, including the King Saud University (KSU), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah, have faced numerous challenges during this pandemic. The universities of Saudi Arabia attempted to adopt efficient strategies and policies to respond to COVID-19 in line with government plans. The universities aimed to provide quality education using their efforts, amenities, and resources for coping with emergencies such as a pandemic [25].
The King Abdulaziz University (KAU) has more than a hundred thousand students enrolled. As one of the leading universities of the kingdom, it has implemented new policies related to COVID-19 emergency responses and subsequently introduced necessary measures for versatile stakeholders [25]. In addition, a remote learning environment was introduced in order to continue academic integrity. After the declaration of emergency and distance learning imposed by the Ministry of Higher Education in the KSA, the KAU immediately implemented strategies in accordance with the recently introduced policy on 8 March 2020. Considering both the safety and probable infection of stockholders with COVID-19, as well as the need for the efficient handling of scheduled academic activities, the KAU formulated emergency management plans within its own jurisdiction to effectively respond to the pandemic. To adapt to a new crisis and sustain quality education as well as social responsibilities, the integrative actions and strategies were evaluated in detail in order to develop further strategies inside and outside the KAU campus [25,26]. Several studies reported on the emergency pandemic management; most of the studies were related to learning systems rather than overall university management and ultimate stakeholder satisfaction. One such study was conducted to evaluated the prospects and challenges of e-learning during the pandemic. The study illustrated the transitional problems associated with shifting from traditional learning to a distance-based system, and one of the main challenges proposed was the unpreparedness of stakeholders, including students and instructors, to utilize e-learning systems [27]. Recommendations were made to improve the efficiency of the system, combining in-person and virtual systems due to the lack of instrumental and digital operation of all types of stakeholders [28]. Another study aimed to examine the merits, demerits, salient features, and characteristics of e-learning, as reported by the authors in [29]. Unfortunately, research regarding the overall satisfaction of stakeholders with the emergency pandemic response at a university level has not been carried out, and there were few studies related to the overall management of university education systems reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this study evaluated the success of management mechanisms in the emergency responses to COVID-19 at the King Abdulaziz University (KAU).
The emergency response of the KAU to the COVID-19 pandemic is grouped into three corresponding research objectives, as follows:
(1)
To investigate the necessity of the emergency management of the KAU for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2)
To evaluate the academic affairs and facilities provided to stakeholders.
(3)
To determine the local community involvement in the integrated management approach.
In addition, this study aimed to explore additional supports including vaccination offered by the university administration to the students, faculty members, and officials.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area

Saudi Arabia emphasizes the importance of the education sector and is home to more than 90 educational institutions, including public and private universities and colleges. Saudi Arabia spends approximately 30% of its budgetary allocation for the education sector on tertiary education, with a particular focus on the field of science and technology. Saudi Arabian universities provide an international standard of education with excellent scholarship packages for the purpose of encouraging international students. The US News Education website reported, on 8 July 2016, that there were 71,773 international students studying in Saudi Arabia’s universities during the 2012–2013 academic session and they came mainly from other Arab countries [30].
As the largest country in the gulf region [31], Saudi Arabia has four distinctive regions, each with their own particular natural, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic distinctive features. The Jeddah, with an approximate area of 1600 square km, is a significant city within the western region of the KSA in terms of socioeconomic and religious aspects, due to the location of the sea port and it being the only entry point by air to the holy mosque [32]. Moreover, the city is home to a number of renowned universities within the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, and specifically Jeddah city, is already a popular study terminus for undergraduate and graduate students, including international students from different locations across the world [33,34]. This region is famed among prospective students as it offers numerous opportunities for students enrolled in legendary world-ranked universities, including the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Umm Al-Qura University, and King Abdulaziz University (KAU) [35]. The world-prominent top-budget and research-based university KAUST is ranked 50th in the world as a research output university, and it has enrolled 69% of the brilliant international students among 3000 existing graduate students from more than 60 countries.
The King Abdulaziz University (KAU), founded in 1967, is situated beside the Red Sea in Jeddah at 21°29′38″ N, 39°15′1″ E (Figure 1). Internationally, the KAU is a prestigious university, and it has consistently stood among the top five universities in the Middle East, as well as approximately the top 200 institutions across the world in over four major ranking categories for the last 10 years. As per the latest QS world university ranking (2022), the KAU stood at 109 for its continuous research contributions and academic reputation. The KAU has 28 colleges, 185 departments, 28 research centers, 5 distinct institutions for specialized education, and 24 affiliated centers for supporting research and educational accomplishments in different premises/campuses [36]. It is the largest university in Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of students and area. More than 120,000 students, including a substantial number of international students, were enrolled in different programs that included postdoctoral research, Ph.D., master’s, bachelor’s and diploma courses, among others [37]. The KAU management membership consists of a Presidency, vice presidencies, and deanships, along with more than 5000 regular faculty members and 4000 administrative staff [38].
The KAU has more than 50 distinct research groups conducting their research in collaboration with top-ranked universities across the world, along with active participation from a substantial number of foreign faculty members. Every year, the KAU offers graduate student scholarship for international students and they provide free accommodation facilities for 3500 male and 1500 female students, in their dispersed dormitories, on and off campus, for single and married students [39,40]. All features of the KAU were considered in order to carry out this study to evaluate the emergency pandemic responses of post-secondary educational institutions. Therefore, this study is important to investigate the satisfaction of stakeholders as well as the overall emergency capacity of such a large-scale university. In addition, the study findings will provide useful information to be used in preparation for a future crisis to enable quality education to be sustained, as well as defining the overall responsibilities of stakeholders.

2.2. Methods

A mixed-method approach was employed in order to conduct this research. From the very beginning of this study, similar previous studies were reviewed to collect the formulated methods and research findings, along with the limitations and strengths of emergency responses to COVID-19, both in a local and global arena. A pragmatic questionnaire was formulated comprising 21 dedicated questions for students, faculty members, and officials with regard to the institution’s emergency response to the pandemic. A semi-structured mixed-type (open and closed) questionnaire was presented to three categories of stakeholders of the King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The sample size was calculated by applying the methods used in previous cross-sectional studies [25]. The opinions of two experts were considered in relation to the content validity and the design of the supplied automated, electronic, self-administered Google Form as the data collection sheet. Details of the method can be found in the following sections, including Figure 2.

2.2.1. Quantitative Data Collection

The cross-sectional survey was conducted among students, faculty members, and staff at the KAU during May 2020 until the end of January 2021 (first phase), 2 November 2022 to 15 November 2022 (second phase) and 12 January 2023 to 15 January 2023 (third phase). Recently published academic research was considered in the design and structuring of the questionnaire; subsequently, a short pilot survey was formulated and the questionnaire was finalized in accordance with scientific methods. To obtain the answers to these research questions, the semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 21 research questions/items, including the basic information of respondents, was devised and administered to three categories of stakeholders: (i) university officials, (ii) faculty members across the campus in diverse departments, and (iii) students of graduate and undergraduate studies. The questionnaire was prepared using a Google Form and distributed electronically. The targeted population was reached through personal/group emails and social media groups including, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn, that were attached with the KAU. During a 6-month period, approximately 350 responses were received. Among these responses, those received from students, faculty members, and officials accounted for 64.28%, 21.42%, and 14.28%, respectively. The Google Form was sent to respondents, giving them full freedom over their choice of responses. The respondents who were not willing to respond and/or did not provide responses to any particular questions of the survey were removed from the survey.

2.2.2. Qualitative Data Collection

The emergency management team included two key personalities, and they were interviewed to understand the dynamics of the emergency responses to COVID-19. Moreover, the discussion was aimed at attempting to understand the operational management of the pandemic at the KAU and relevant short-term and long-term coping mechanisms. Additionally, discussions were carried out with student union representatives and members of the pandemic mitigation committee over the telephone in order to summarize information in a scientific fashion. Consequently, the emergency management leaflets and pamphlets that were widely circulated during the COVID pandemic were collected on campus. It is important to note that some of these initiatives taken from the campus may have originated from the city authority.
Objective 1: The nature of the pandemic as well as the WHO restrictions demanded the integrated emergency management of COVID-19 around the world, especially by educational institutions, including universities. In this study, the KAU emergency management was investigated using a dedicated section of six questions included in a quantitative questionnaire survey (Q. no. 1–6). In addition, key individuals involved in the emergency management of the KAU were interviewed for qualitative exploration.
Objective 2: Academic affairs are the main focus of academic institutions; therefore, academic stakeholders of the KAU should mainly be concerned with evaluating the academic impact in terms of emergency pandemic management. In the questionnaires distributed to respondents, questions (Q. no. 7–20) were included that related to the faculty members and students of the KAU. These questions aimed to evaluate the learning method, provided facilities, and satisfactions and dissatisfactions of services, as well as the evaluation of performances from both the faculty members and students.
Objective 3: The local community involvement is one of the vital components of an integrated approach in any social management situation, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the students were asked to indicate their involvement in community support through prescribed questions in the supplied questionnaire (Supplementary Materials).
Aside from the three main objectives of the study, the additional support and precautions including the vaccination program against COVID-19 in the KAU was reported in this study.

2.2.3. Summarizing the Data

The data were summarized using simple statistical methods. Firstly, the emergency response plans in place at the KAU to manage the pandemic were investigated. Secondly, the emergency management plans of the city of Jeddah were analyzed. In doing so, a comparison was conducted to determine whether the pandemic response plans had similarities and whether the plans were aligned according to need at the diverse jurisdictions. Thirdly, the data obtained through the online questionnaire survey were summarized.
The electronic data sheets were collected with autogenerated graphs. General contact information, including name, position, gender, living status, citizenship, etc., of the respondents was requested to generalize the status of the respondents. In this section, some important information, such as position and living status, is represented using a simple percentage of respondents and illustrated at a glance in a table and chart. In addition, emergency actions of officials, including those at the top level of management, were ascertained from Q.1 to Q.6 and the opinions were calculated and presented in simple tables and graphs. In Q.7 to Q.20, satisfaction with the emergency services/facilities including academic, health care, and other supports from the university and city authority were ascertained from both students and faculty members. Data are summarized in simple tables, charts, and diagrams. Finally, further recommendations were pursued via an open section in Q.21 for all respondents. The collected recommendations were listed one by one.

3. Results

Interesting results were obtained after summarizing the collected information. Moreover, the emergency response plans of the KAU for extending assistance to its communities inside and outside the campus were summarized. Accordingly, the KAU adopted all precautionary measures from the very beginning of the pandemic. A precautionary announcement from the Saudi Arabian government on 8 March 2020 restricted physical attendance in all types of educational institutions, including universities. Eventually, the learning schemes at post-secondary educational institutions were turned into virtual classrooms. Subsequently, KAU postponed on-campus classes and remotely followed the regular semester schedules. A committee was formed and headed by the Vice President for Projects under the direction of His Excellency, the University President of the KAU. The committee was empowered to take any precautionary actions in terms of emergency responses to COVID-19. In addition, another facilities and services committee was formed to implement the emergency facilities and preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
The committee unanimously agreed on the following precautionary actions in its meeting:
(i)
Closing all classrooms and training rooms and using digital media technology;
(ii)
Forming a committee to determine the conditions of the quarantine buildings;
(iii)
Asking the health promotion center to make leaflets to raise awareness of COVID-19;
(iv)
Recommending the establishment of an annex building to the university hospital for respiratory diseases;
(v)
Sending educational messages via mobile phones to all university stakeholders.
Besides the university decisions, the Jeddah city authority adopted strict precautionary announcements under the direction of Saudi Arabian government including royal decree and other emergency rules. Social gatherings/events were postponed from 12 March 2020. Games and sports, workplace attendance, and even the five daily prayers in Mosques were temporarily suspended. All types of conferences, including the scheduled Arab–African summit, were postponed. Digital health services were set in place via the “My health” app to advise patients of necessary treatments/prescriptions without having to attend medical centers. A countrywide curfew with a significant financial penalty for offenders was issued in the last week of March 2020. In addition, a lockdown was imposed for the major cities including Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah, and Makkah; subsequently, all kinds of traveling among the cities was banned. Finally, the Saudi Arabian government imposed a 24 h lockdown from April 2020. All precautionary decisions taken by the KAU were supported and followed by the university community. These rules were mostly aligned with the guidelines provided by the central government under the emergency management of the pandemic.
The emergency management plan of the KAU was evaluated by stakeholders via an online survey. The overall satisfaction with emergency responses including preventive measures, off-campus teaching and learning performances, health care facilities, and other services was assessed and results were summarized in accordance with the three main objectives of this research. The following five salient areas of respondent’s feedback were summarized as follows: (i) respondent’s profile; (ii) emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the KAU administration; (iii) performance of academic affairs of the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic; (iv) student’s satisfaction with learning and facilities from the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (v) community involvement of the said emergency management.

3.1. Respondent’s Profile

The three categories of stakeholders of the KAU, including staff, faculty members, and students, were surveyed. A total of 350 samples were collected. Among the 350 responses, the majority of the respondents were students, followed by faculty members and staff (see Table 2 for details).

3.2. Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic by the KAU Administration

The COVID-19 pandemic restricted all types of human activities, including the education sector and, in particular, the standard of on-campus teaching and learning experienced at the educational institutions. From the very beginning of the pandemic, the education administrators faced challenges with running institutions across the world. Similar to other universities in Saudi Arabia, the KAU made a quick decision and developed a specialized committee dedicated to the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His Excellency, the University President of the KAU, formulated a committee and empowered it to take any action relating to academic, healthcare, and other emergency needs for the stakeholders of the KAU. The committee included the following members, headed by the Vice President for projects:
(1)
Vice President for Projects;
(2)
Dean of Information Technology;
(3)
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University Hospital;
(4)
Director of the University Medical Services Center;
(5)
Director of the Health Promotion Center;
(6)
General Supervisor of Project Management at the University;
(7)
General Supervisor of the General Administration of Studies and Designs;
(8)
Supervisor of the Operation and Maintenance Sector;
(9)
Director of the Security Department;
(10)
Director of the University’s Emergency and Disaster Center.
Two key personalities, the Director of the University Medical Services Center and another special committee member, namely, Dr. Ahmed Saleh Summan, were interviewed to provide information relating to the jurisdiction of the special committee as well as the safety procedures implemented by the KAU as part of its emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Ahmed Saleh Summan provided details of some safety procedures implemented by the special committee, as follows:
(i)
Onsite monitoring of personnel temperature entering the facility at any time. If the thermometer alarm beeped due to a high temperature, these personnel had to return home and were not allowed to enter until they were tested and showed negative results for COVID-19;
(ii)
Employees/personnel with any COVID-19 symptoms were encouraged to stay home and not come into contact with others;
(iii)
Safety signs were everywhere at the facility;
(iv)
An awareness campaign was conducted through announcements, text messages, emails, etc.;
(v)
The KAU stakeholders were required to wear masks at all times.
(vi)
After resumption of the campuses under the “new normal” situation, the university was assured of the availability of vaccines for all stakeholders of the KAU, and no one was allowed to attend without receiving their first dose of a recognized vaccine.
(vii)
The university launched a dedicated vaccination center for the staff, students, and faculty members of the KAU.
The Director of the University Medical Services Center was asked about the aforementioned special committee and their jurisdiction as well as the implementation procedures. He said the committee had been highly empowered by the president of the KAU to implement any precautionary measures without delay. The committee decisions were implemented by extrinsic management from the top to operations, such as the vice presidency to officers, and the deanships to faculty members and students. The committee decisions were disseminated via the proper channels (official email, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms) of the university in the presence of the vice presidency, deanships, and directors.
Saudi Arabia was among the first nations across the world to undertake vaccination, and subsequently, Saudi Arabian universities, including the KAU, initiated a dedicated vaccine center to roll out the vaccination program using the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines [41]. The KAU declared that all stakeholders should take the vaccine and no one was allowed to enter campus without receiving a vaccine. As a result, 100% of students, officials, and faculty members were vaccinated. The security personnel of the KAU campuses strictly monitored people’s vaccination status by checking the Tawakkalna App.
In this study, information relating to the emergency management policies of the KAU was requested from officials, and the results are discussed as follows.
The responses from officials/management of the KAU regarding the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic are presented in Table 3. Fifty samples from a total of three hundred and fifty samples were from officials, and analysis of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic was carried out. Most of the officials (98%) were cognizant about the emergency management committee of the KAU. Furthermore, 66% of officials were informed about the changed study plan due to the impact of COVID-19; however, 28% of respondents felt it was only partially changed. The distance learning methods of the KAU were accepted among 64% of the management personnel of the KAU because they had adequate logistics for remote learning, as reported during their personal interviews. A total of 14% of officials physically attended the university premises during the pandemic. A substantial number of officials (56%) were of the view that emergency management should be continued even post-pandemic.

3.3. Performance of Academic Affairs of the KAU during COVID-19

Educational institutions have faced severe challenging times across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To cope up with this devastating situation, globally, universities are remotely running their academic affairs including teaching, student evaluation, and other academic performances. Adequate logistics and digital infrastructure should be facilitated to conduct remote learning during a dangerous pandemic. In this study, the KAU emergency response to academic affairs was evaluated using statements from both students and faculty members. The faculty members were asked if they were assisted by the availability of services and/or logistics, including (1) special training for e-learning, (2) necessary instructions and professional support, and (3) ICT tools, or whether the university did not provide any of these supports. The results showed that 80% of the faculty members recognized that all essential supports were provided by the KAU management for smooth functioning of distance learning using a dedicated platform (Figure 3). Moreover, 100% of faculty respondents reported that the university had extended the academic semester beyond the usual duration of the academic semester. In addition, 56% of faculty members also recognized that >75% students were present in the online classes, which is quite satisfactory for tertiary-level education (Table 4).
Concerning the supporting facilities provided by the KAU, 94.66% of the faculty members were satisfied with the logistics for the smooth running of the academic affairs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, almost 43% of faculty members believed that the students were satisfied with the lectures in the online classes (Figure 4).

3.4. Students’ Satisfaction with Learning and Facilities from the KAU during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The students are the main stakeholders of academic institutions, including universities. The success of any management of a university mostly depends on student satisfaction in all aspects. Besides the COVID-19 restrictions, the academic performance and emergency facilities provided by the KAU should be evaluated in terms of the students’ opinions. In this study, the majority of research questions (11 out of 20) were targeted towards the students of the KAU. All kinds of facilities provided by the university were collated from the students’ responses, the results of which are tabulated in Table 5. As can be seen, 69.77% of students responded in favor of all types of necessary facilities mentioned in the questionnaire. Moreover, besides the academic purposes, 62% of student respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the facilities provided in the emergency response by the KAU management (Figure 5).
In this research, the students of the KAU were asked about their interest with respect to online classes. A total of 78% of students were satisfied with online classes and they were interested in continuing their studies using the online platform. The respondents’ opinions about online classes of the KAU are presented in Figure 6.
On the other hand, students were asked about maintaining COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 66.66% of student respondents indicated that the social distancing and other restrictions imposed by the university and city authority were fully followed during all kinds of operations by the KAU. However, 28.88% of student respondents disagreed with this opinion and they felt that the university partially followed the COVID-19 restrictions during their services (Table 6).

3.5. Community Involvement and Assistance for the Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 infections have been spreading via social and community transmission and this requires community involvement to control the infection rate as well as to support the facilities and information among the people in the community. Different governmental, nongovernmental, and municipal authorities in Saudi Arabia participated in the devastation of the global crisis. In terms of their social responsibility, their support included information dissemination, promoting precautionary measures, and providing food, medicine, and disinfectant appliances.
In this study, students of the KAU were asked about receiving facilities from organizations other than the university including the government, NGOs, businesses, and other local and international charitable organizations. The percentages of community support received are illustrated in Figure 7 from the student respondents of the KAU.

4. Discussion

This study was aimed at evaluating the emergency management of the King Abdulaziz University during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scope of this study included some issues such as the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic taken by the KAU, the performance of academic affairs, students’ satisfaction with learning and facilities from the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing support received from outside of the university, etc. Globally, educational institutions found it challenging to adapt to the new situations presented by the COVID-19 pandemic response, especially post-secondary educational institutions. This challenge included continuing to ensure the smooth running of their teaching and research, as well as protecting their students and teachers during the pandemic. Now it is time to evaluate the performance of the management approach taken by the educational institutions during the peak times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education (MoE) immediately took the decision to move to remote learning at the beginning of March 2020. The Arabian MoE provided supporting logistics and appliances as well as required trainings and workshops to facilitate the smooth running of e-learning systems of the universities. The MoE used different committees to collect the feedback on this system. Being a leading university and the largest university in Saudi Arabia, the KAU subsequently deferred face-to-face classes and declared that e-learning would be implemented for the following semester. Moreover, an influential committee was formed to implement emergency facilities and preventive measures against COVID-19. The countrywide curfew, associated with significant financial penalty for offenders, was imposed by the Saudi Arabian government and forced students to stay at their residences. The student accommodations at the KAU were under the threat of COVID-19 due to the common facilities of toilets/washrooms and bathrooms. Consequently, this study was conducted to evaluate all types of support among students and teachers of the KAU as part of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic of a post-secondary educational institution. The study showed that the facilities given by the KAU management were adequate; the decisions taken by the dedicated committee were prompt and involved state-of-the-art planning. The measures taken by the city authority assisted the university action plans, and community involvement was supportive to the emergency management of the university.
The university management disseminated their COVID-19 actions through dedicated offices, using official email, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms to maintain emergency restrictions under the direction of special committee. The officials were well-informed about the emergency committee and sometimes required employees were present to perform emergency duties. The academic plan was slightly rearranged due to the pandemic crisis. The major findings of this study are as follows.
To cope up with the devastating situation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the KAU adopted virtual learning systems for academic affairs including teaching, student evaluation, and other academic performances. The adequate logistics and digital infrastructures were facilitated to perform remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. To teach the huge number of online classes, sufficient logistics and training of the faculty members were ensured. The study found that 80% of the faculty members recognized that all essential support was provided by the KAU management for the smooth functioning of distance learning using a dedicated platform. Furthermore, 100% of faculty respondents reported that the university extended the academic semester beyond the usual duration. Furthermore, 56% of faculty members also recognized that >75% students were present in the online classes, which is quite satisfactory for tertiary/post-secondary-level educational institutions. The laboratory-based research works were postponed due to pandemic restrictions.
The study found that the students coped with remote learning and were quite satisfied with the logistics and facilities provided by the KAU. Besides the academic purposes, 62% of student respondents reported that they were satisfied with the facilities provided as part of the emergency response by the KAU management. This research found that almost 78% of students were satisfied with the online delivery of lectures by the faculty members and they were interested in continuing the studies using extended online classes. More than 44% of students responded that they completed their studies prior to the end of the normal study period. The students also confirmed that the KAU strictly maintained COVID-19 restrictions whilst their emergency services and other activities were in place.
The synchronized KAU actions, coupled with parallel community support from NGO businesses and other local and international charitable organizations, and support from the municipal authority of Jeddah, contributed to the smooth emergency management during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the students’ feedback in this study, 91.11% of respondents reported that they received support from the local community alongside university support.
This study found that the overall emergency management during the COVID-19 pandemic period was quite satisfactory for the stakeholders. Academic reputation and research outputs were also successfully maintained with proper and prompt strategic planning taken by the KAU management along with the Saudi Arabian government and local community assistance. International academic recognition was also upheld in terms of the image of the KAU management. In the QS world of university ranking, the KAU was ranked 109 in 2022, which was progressive in comparison to its position of 143 in 2021 by the same organization. It is soundly proven that the King Abdulaziz University successfully passed the peak time of the COVID-19 pandemic without compromising its international academic and research reputation.

5. Recommendations

It is proven that education sectors have faced big challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and overcoming such a crisis requires combined efforts from governments, local communities, educators, and associated administration. The satisfaction, feedback, and student–teacher interactions are highly dependent on an equipped environment including a stable Internet supply, computers/laptops, and other accessories [42]. The proper training and familiarity with tools are the most important factors to stakeholders for successive crisis management using artificial intelligence [42]. Private sectors and local communities should collaborate to achieve better management of emergency social crises such as during a pandemic [43]. The use of digital platforms also raises concerns regarding cyberattacks, cybersecurity, cyberbullying, and sexual exploitation [44].
Evaluation of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia constitutes novel research. The findings of this study will provide useful information for readers as well as the university management for further study and for future planning. Therefore, these findings will provide a good secondary data source for further research.
According to the findings of this research, based on the collected open comments of respondents, the following recommendations are made:
(i)
Community involvement in the management system is essential for a community-spreading pandemic such as COVID-19.
(ii)
Uninterrupted and smooth Internet supply is most important in ensuring virtual communication including academic and precautionary action information.
(iii)
The King Abdulaziz University should continue to provide support to students and faculty members.
(iv)
Online medical service/clinical booking should be continued.
(v)
The Tawakkalna App supplied by the Saudi Arabian government for tracking the information and location of citizens is very useful for controlling people’s movement.

6. Limitations

This study was confronted with some constraints/challenges. For example, the questionnaire was distributed among the students, faculty members, and officials of the KAU, but the questionnaires were not proportionately answered. The main difficulties experienced were in collecting the questionnaire feedback.

7. Conclusions

The King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is the leading post-secondary education institution of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted to evaluate the emergency management response of the KAU to the distressing COVID-19 pandemic. The research mainly included questionnaire-based opinions from the students, faculty members, and officials regarding the emergency support provided by the university, as well as Jeddah city and the surrounding community. The collected responses were analyzed using simple statistical methods and the results were illustrated with simple graphs, charts, and diagrams. The overall satisfaction with the emergency response including preventive measures, off-campus teaching and learning performances, health care facilities, and other services was assessed, and the results were summarized in terms of the major points, including the performance of the academic affairs of the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ satisfaction with learning and facilities of the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the community involvement with said emergency management. A good satisfaction level of stakeholders was found, and the vibrant management capacity was also proven by the KAU authority, without compromising the academic and research reputation of the university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The KAU is the foremost tertiary education institution of Saudi Arabia, and its emergency responses to COVID-19 were cherished and successfully handled during a severely devastating period of the pandemic. The findings of this study will serve as a valuable source of data and information for further research as well as for future planning to overcome any emergency situation in an educational institution.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/su15032432/s1.

Author Contributions

This research was conducted as a collaboration among all the authors. F.A.A. was responsible for fund acquisition and edited the manuscript. M.A.T. designed the study, formulated the questionnaire, and wrote the manuscript. Author R.F.H. was responsible for fund acquisition, questionnaire survey, and key person interview. A.T. designed the methodology and was responsible for fund acquisition. S.M. edited the manuscript. Author K.R.R. designed the study and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (KSA) has funded this research under grant no. (G:393-155-1443).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) of KAU for necessary financial support. The authors express their appreciation to Abdulhaleem Labban, Head, Department of Meteorology of KAU and Ahmed Saleh Summan, Department of Environmental Sciences for their valuable information and support advice.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Location of study area, King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (Source: Google Earth).
Figure 1. Location of study area, King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (Source: Google Earth).
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Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the study.
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the study.
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Figure 3. Facilities provided to the faculty members by the KAU for remote learning.
Figure 3. Facilities provided to the faculty members by the KAU for remote learning.
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Figure 4. Faculty members’ assumption of students’ satisfaction with online classes.
Figure 4. Faculty members’ assumption of students’ satisfaction with online classes.
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Figure 5. Students’ satisfaction with the provided facilities by the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 5. Students’ satisfaction with the provided facilities by the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Figure 6. Students’ interest in online classes.
Figure 6. Students’ interest in online classes.
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Figure 7. Percentages of community support given to the students of the KAU.
Figure 7. Percentages of community support given to the students of the KAU.
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Table
Table 1. COVID-19 situation in the Middle East up until 27 November 2022 [2].
Table 1. COVID-19 situation in the Middle East up until 27 November 2022 [2].
Sl. No.Name of the CountryTotal CasesTotal DeathsDate of First
Confirmed Case
1Iran7,559,526144,63319 February
2Iraq2,463,02125,36324 February
3Jordan1,746,99714,1222 March
4Morocco1,268,29516,2843 March
5Lebanon1,220,38510,73422 February
6Tunisia1,146,99129,2682 March
7UAE1,043,798234829 January
8Saudi Arabia825,40294572 March
9Kuwait662,672257026 February
10Palestine620,81654045 March
11Libya507,078643725 March
12Oman399,027426024 February
13Egypt515,64524,61314 February
14Bahrain695,766153629 January
15Qatar477,42068529 February
16Algeria271,061688125 February
17Sudan63,637499013 March
18Syria57,393316323 March
19Somalia27,254136116 March
20Yemen11,945215910 April
Table
Table 2. Respondent profile.
Table 2. Respondent profile.
Respondent ProfileLiving Status
OfficialsFaculty MembersStudentsFamily Single
Frequency50752252151350
% Frequency14.2821.4264.2861.4238.57
Total sample (n)350
Table
Table 3. Emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 3. Emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
QuestionYes
n (%)		No
n (%)		Partial n (%)
Q1. Has emergency management been assigned to respond to COVID-1949 (98)2 (1)-
Q2. Has COVID-19 impacted university study in the KAU?33 (66)23 (6)10 (20)
Q3. Did you change university study plans for the KAU due to COVID-19?30 (60)2 (4)18 (36)
Q4. Would you be interested in continuing studies using an online platform?32 (64)7 (14)21 (22)
Q5. Have you physically attended the university premises during the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to emergency services?7 (14)36 (72)7 (14)
Q6. Are you likely to continue with the emergency management plan in place right now after the pandemic is over?28 (56)8 (16)14 (28)
Table
Table 4. Student participation in the online classes of the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 4. Student participation in the online classes of the KAU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Percentage of Students in AttendanceNo. of
Respondents (n)		%
Frequency
<50%810.67
>75%4256
50%2533.33
Table
Table 5. Facilities provided to the students by the KAU as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 5. Facilities provided to the students by the KAU as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FacilitiesTotal No. of
Responses (n)		%
Frequency
Emergency health/medical services30.88
Free food and other supplies156.66
Online study177.55
Option to postpone semester104.44
Awareness program2511.11
Option to go back home country for international students30.88
Financial support--
All of the above15769.77
Table
Table 6. Maintaining social distance and other restrictions during all kinds of operations by the KAU.
Table 6. Maintaining social distance and other restrictions during all kinds of operations by the KAU.
ResponsesYesNoPartial
No. of respondents1501065
%66.664.4428.88
Total respondents179
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Aloufi, F.A.; Taleb, M.A.; Halawani, R.F.; Tammar, A.; Mahmood, S.; Rahaman, K.R. Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah: A Report on Stakeholder’s Opinions. Sustainability 2023, 15, 2432. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032432

AMA Style

Aloufi FA, Taleb MA, Halawani RF, Tammar A, Mahmood S, Rahaman KR. Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah: A Report on Stakeholder’s Opinions. Sustainability. 2023; 15(3):2432. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032432

Chicago/Turabian Style

Aloufi, Fahed A., Md. Abu Taleb, Riyadh F. Halawani, Abdurazag Tammar, Shreef Mahmood, and Khan Rubayet Rahaman. 2023. "Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah: A Report on Stakeholder’s Opinions" Sustainability 15, no. 3: 2432. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032432

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