King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has approved the establishment of Fahd Bin Sultan National University in Tabuk. Dr. Khaled Bin Mohammed Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, said the Higher Education Council received a request from the founders of the institution to transform it into a national university. Al-Anqari expressed his appreciation for the King's support for public and private educational institutions in the service of the homeland and its citizens. Fahd Bin Sultan University was established with one college – the College of Computing. At the beginning of the academic year 1427–28 H a branch for girls was added. It was followed by the addition of the colleges of Engineering and Business and Management in the next academic year. The university is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz. The university gets technical support from the American University of Beirut which offers consulting services on the design of curricula, selection of faculty and the development of university bylaws. Based on the principle of integration between private and public sectors in the Kingdom in offering higher education services, the Ministry of Higher Education encourages private higher education in all academic specialties. As such, Prince Fahd Bin Sultan encouraged investors to start a private university to spread culture and education in the city of Tabuk, which has a distinguished geographical location that serves the entire region.
