The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Saudi Higher Education Administration

Abstract

This study examines how the Saudi higher education administration is affected by the digital transformation, with a particular emphasis on student services management, data management, communication, administrative effectiveness, and decision-making. A representative sample of 930 administrative staff and information technology (IT) personnel from (6) public and private universities including; (Hail, Majmaah, Prince Satam bin Abdel- Aziz, Prince Sultan, Prince Meqren, and El-Faisal) universities, were given structured surveys as part of the research's quantitative, cross-sectional design, which was informed by the Technology-Organization-Environment paradigm. The results showed that digital transformation greatly improves decision-making and administrative efficiency, especially for administrative staff and in public universities. There are significant distinctions in staff positions and institutional types, meanwhile, with leadership seeing larger transformation advantages and public institutions benefiting more from government-backed efforts than IT professionals. Resistance to change, cybersecurity concerns, and a lack of technical skills are some of the main obstacles that have been found; these difficulties differ depending on the type of institution and personnel role. Improvements in data management, communication approaches, and student services were consistently indicated by respondents working across university departments and university contexts. The findings of the study indicated that although digitization has encouraged significant organizational improvements within Saudi higher education, it is necessary for organizational leaders and policymakers to encourage greater internal cohesion and growth opportunities to build more sustainable, competitive institutions in line with the goals of Vision 2030.