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When a decision must be made, a tool called multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is used to assess and select alternatives among numerous criteria. For a wide variety of complex problems, MCDM methods have demonstrated usefulness in finding the optimal solutions. Despite the abundance of MCDM methods available today, there has been slow progress in developing new methodologies in MCDM in the past decade. In this context, this paper presents new MCDM tools which ranks alternatives based on median similarity (RAMS) between optimal alternatives and other alternatives. RAMS is an extension to the most recently developed technique that used perimeter similarity (RAPS). This paper also introduces a further tool that combines the RAMS method with the multiple criteria ranking by alternative trace (MCRAT) methodology using a majority index and the concept of the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method. This tool is ranking the alternatives based on the trace to median index (RATMI). An illustration of the use of RAMS and RATMI is given through a case study of ranking different materials for the selection of break booster valve body in a vehicle. The validity of the new two techniques was tested against seven well-known MCDM techniques (ARAS, SAW, TOPSIS, COPRAS, VIKOR, WASPAS, and MOORA) using fifteen real problems data taken from the literature. The RATMI technique was more promising than RAPS and RAMS for 87% and 93% of the fifteen difficulties, respectively, according to the results of the correlation coefficient tests between the developed techniques and the selected seven techniques.

Financing education has recently been a big concern since educational expenditure continues to rise. As a result, there will be a gradual shift away from the “unilateral approach” to funding and toward the “diversification of financing resources”. The aim of this paper is to propose an innovative strategy plan to optimize universities’ investment sources and maintain their financial sustainability. This approach was known as the Green Ocean Strategy for Financial Sustainability (GOSFS). To effectively implement GOSFS in higher education institutions, a roadmap of 18 steps is constructed around three primary key performance areas (resource development, good governance, and regulations and legislation). The GOSFS was applied within four successive stages at King Abdulaziz University as a case study. With 18 pillars found under these three key performance areas, a long-term target for 2045 and an overall goal for 2025 were defined. In addition, the paper created novel versions of the Business Model Canvas to meet the GOSFS plan concept. To effectively employ GOSFS, four recommendations are offered to accelerate business growth and engage the university investment ecosystem, including whether to invest in highly qualified human capital, expand financial resources, or leverage technical resources. Future directions are also provided.

Universities worldwide strive to achieve excellence in research, learning, teaching, and community services, which are the pillars of their strategic plans. However, satisfying international ranking criteria might not directly result in achieving their strategic objectives. This paper proposes a new approach to rank university colleges by evaluating their educational quality. Standard sets of criteria from multiple international university ranking systems and a university’s strategic plan’s Balanced Scorecard perspectives were cross-mapped for the evaluation. A new multi-criteria decision-making-based framework was applied to six colleges of a non-profit university in the Middle East. It revealed their performance rankings and contributions to the university’s educational quality objectives. This paper offers a novel approach for universities to develop strategies that satisfy multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals concurrently and as per their priorities. Implications include informing university leaders on the most contributing colleges and assisting in pinpointing quality shortcomings and their causes. This helps universities design better performance indicators and allocate resources to achieve educational excellence. This paper puts forward a new approach for universities to unify their efforts in satisfying the requirements of multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals.