Two higher education concepts have received growing emphasis over the past few years, namely productivity and efficiency. Universities worldwide are now concerned with the smart allocation of their resources to maximize the outputs in the form of community services and skilled graduates who are suitable for practice, research, and development to advance local industries. Efficiency signifies a peak level of performance that uses the least amount of inputs to achieve the highest amount of output. Academic efficiency can be external or internal. External efficiency is related to the private and social benefits derived from investment in education, while internal efficiency is concerned with achieving the institutional goals set by academic leaders, within the allocated resources. There is a growing need in higher education programs to achieve the intended program outcomes and prepare graduate professionals with marketable skills in their field of specialization. This article proposes a four-dimensional model for efficiency in academic institutions, with a focus on measures to improve academic efficiency in different dimensions.
Alotaibi et al. (Tue,) studied this question.