The Community College was established in Bisha according to Ministerial Resolution No. 73 dated 5/3/1422 AH based on the approval of the High Commissioner, and work began in the college in the middle of the academic year 1425/1424 AH
The Community College is an educational institution that has a number of academic programs and specializations for a period ranging from two to two and a half years, at the intermediate level between high school and university level, and the programs of this institution are characterized by comprehensiveness and flexibility to suit the needs of individuals and society and the needs of development plans of human cadres. It is most common for study programs in them to end with degrees without a bachelor’s degree called the associate’s degree, which is equivalent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to an associate degree.
As a result of higher education’s inability to accommodate all those who desire higher education, the need arose to search for ways to develop higher education that would enable it to accommodate many student segments who wish to complete higher education programs but are unable to do so due to multiple factors, including low academic rates at the stage. Pre-university. In this context, new types of distance education appeared in Britain in 1887 AD, community colleges in the United States of America in 1896 AD, the Open University in Britain in 1969, and so on. The establishment of the first community college in the United States of America in 1896 AD at the University of Chicago.
However, community colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia according to this name and what it means in terms of the diversity of intermediate university majors have not been established recently, as Cabinet Resolution No. 33 / dated 2/18/1418 AH was issued, including approval of the establishment of three community colleges. The numbers of community colleges developed with the development of the numbers of their students, graduates, and specializations, to reach in 1432/1431 AH (41) colleges - boys and girls - distributed in all regions of the Kingdom, and affiliated with the universities in which these colleges are based.
Almost all community colleges participate - at the international and local levels - in a set of general goals. However, there are goals specific to each country according to its requirements and prevailing development plans. Among the general goals that community colleges seek to achieve:
Providing comprehensive and varied programs that include qualification for a specific profession, preparation for the transition to university education, adult education, continuing education, remedial and reform programs, and special programs for elementary levels.
Achieving the open-door policy of providing the opportunity for everyone who desires to study without regard to his age, intelligence, academic averages, gender, social or economic background, and without any obstacles to acceptance.
Serving the local community by providing the various specializations required by the labor market, touching its needs, problems and interests, and directing its programs towards it.