The sponsorship of students in pre-university and university programmes: suggestions for international organizations

For decades, international organisations have sponsored prospective employees in pre-university and university programs. This sponsorship through preparatory programs and then universities abroad adds questionable value to the investment by these organisations when students do not finish their programs. Unless changes are made to sponsorship programs, high attrition trends are likely to continue. Based on a recent case study at the College Preparatory Programme of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, this paper outlines three suggestions for organisations which sponsor employees in pre-university and university programs. The first suggestion addresses specific areas in the sponsorship program. The second suggests the use of a systems approach in the sponsorship program and, borrowing from the work of Billson and Terry (1987), offers a model of training for sponsoring organisations. The last recommendation mentions alternatives to sponsorship programs. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for sponsoring organisations and calls for further research.

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