Governance Practices in Saudi Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study aims to provide a systematic review of Saudi literature on governance in higher education institutions during 2000–2025, focusing on the extent of implementation of governance principles and the research methodologies used to examine them. The study adopted a structured literature review approach based on explicit selection criteria, including direct relevance to the Saudi higher education sector, publication in recognized scholarly databases, and publication recency. Applying these criteria identified 10 studies that investigated governance in higher education from organizational, administrative, and academic perspectives.The findings indicate that the overall level of governance implementation in Saudi higher education remains moderate across universities, colleges, and academic departments. A relatively stronger implementation was observed in dimensions related to fairness, performance improvement, and participatory decision-making, whereas transparency, accountability, and institutional autonomy were the least operationalized and weakest. The review further reveals that most studies relied on descriptive survey designs and questionnaire-based measurement tools to capture the perceptions of academic leaders and faculty members, with a notable scarcity of qualitative, longitudinal, or comparative research capable of interpreting governance dynamics at a deeper institutional level. The study concludes that advancing the understanding and practice of governance requires methodological diversification and stronger operational implementation within the Saudi university environment.