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Policy Statement

This policy establishes a structured, supportive environment for student researchers, promoting educational enhancement and responsible conduct in research.

Background and Justification

This policy benefits the individual students involved and enhances the university's broader academic and research objectives, contributing to a dynamic and productive educational environment.

Scope and Purpose

Scope: University students (both postgraduate and undergraduate).

Purpose: The Research and Initiatives Center (RIC) submits this proposal to develop a system to involve university students (both postgraduate and undergraduate) in the work and research production in order to achieve the following objectives:
• Contribute to achieving the goals of Prince Sultan University in research excellence, where scientific research is one of the most important pillars of excellence in university education.
• Achieve the requirements of academic accreditation in developing effective strategies to support the research work of students and increase their involvement in the research production of the university.
• Keep up with the university’s tendency to increase the research output of its employees—including students—in quality and quantity.

Principles of the Policy

• Equity and accessibility to ensure all students have opportunities to engage in research.
• Ethical integrity to uphold rigorous standards.
• Safety and well-being of participants.
• Effective mentorship and educational alignment to enhance learning.
• Recognition and skill development to reward achievements and build capabilities.
• Transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement to keep the policy effective and relevant.

Definitions

Student: a registered student at PSU at the undergraduate or graduate levels.

Responsibilities and Implementation Strategies

• First: Payment of publishing fees in refereed scientific journals
  • Full payment of the publication fee if the student is the first author of the published research.
  • Payment of a percentage of the publishing fee if the student’s research is shared with other researchers outside the university. The percentage is determined by dividing the amount of fees by the number of authors and paying the percentage of the employees of Prince Sultan University.
  • To pay the publishing fee, the student must have listed the name of Prince Sultan University as his affiliation.
  • The payment of publication fees is required to be a scientific journal from a recognized scientific journal.
• Second: Reward of outstanding scientific publishing for students
  • Students can apply for the outstanding scientific publishing awards and will be awarded as the process for PSU faculty members, which provides payments of financial rewards for publication in journals classified in the Web of Science (ISI) or Scopus databases.
• Third: Involvement of students in research work as research assistants
  • The College Research Committee receives applications from students who wish to work as research assistants.
  • The Committee coordinates between the students and those interested in recruiting research assistants to implement their research projects.
  • The student has the right to choose to work voluntarily or financially; financial compensation is determined according to the university’s student payment mechanisms or according to the offers provided by the beneficiaries.
• Forth: Conference Participation

  Students are allowed to participate in conferences in their related areas to present their accepted research papers, considering that their submitted research is either supervised by a PSU faculty member or one of the research labs at PSU. The students can submit their request to their department chair to take the same process as for faculty members’ requests for attending a conference, but the associated required funds for the conference for students requests will be processed by the RIC through the Rector office based on the availability of the funds and the recommendation of the concerned College Council.

Procedures for Handling Policy Violation

Any violation of this policy may be reported to the respective college of the faculty member or researcher, which will then forward the case to the Research and Initiative Center (RIC). Alternatively, it can be reported directly to the RIC. The RIC may then escalate the case to higher management for further action.

References & Appendices

• https://ric.psu.edu.sa/