The College of Pharmacy in Al-Kharj has a broad educational mission: to develop the "whole student." On college campus, extracurricular involvement is a key tool in this personal development. For the majority of college students, involvement in extracurricular activities plays an integral role in the collegiate experience. Our students are involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. A wide and diversified range of extracurricular activities exists on our campus, meeting a variety of student interests.

The primary goals of extracurricular activities focus on the individual student level, the institutional level, and the broader community level. These activities exist to complement the college's academic curriculum and to augment the student's educational experience. Extracurricular activities provide a setting to become involved and to interact with other students, thus leading to increased learning and enhanced development.

As the development of the well-rounded individual is a principal goal of extracurricular activities on college campus, the numerous experiences these activities afford positively impact students' emotional, intellectual, social, and inter-personal development. By working together with other individuals, students learn to negotiate, communicate, manage conflict, and lead others. Taking part in these out-of-the-classroom activities helps students to understand the importance of critical thinking skills, time management, and academic and intellectual competence. Involvement in activities helps students mature socially by providing a setting for student interaction, relationship formation, and discussion. Working outside of the classroom with diverse groups of individuals allows for students to gain more self-confidence, autonomy, and appreciation for others' differences and similarities.

Students also develop skills specific to their career path and imperative for future job success. Students have opportunities to improve their leadership and interpersonal skills while also increasing their self-confidence. Extracurricular involvement allows students to link academic knowledge with practical experience, thereby leading to a better understanding of their own abilities, talents, and career goals. Future employers seek individuals with these increased skill levels, making these involved students more viable in the job market. Specifically, participation in extracurricular activities and leadership roles in these activities are positively linked to attainment of one's first job and to managerial potential.

The following activities are found on our college campus:

• The involvement with academic and professional organizations such as the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society.

• Multicultural activities pertaining to Saudi Arabia in general and Al-Kharj area in particular.

• Volunteer and service-related activities.

• Art activities including plays that offer a chance for students to demonstrate their dramatic abilities.

• Social activities.

• Sports activities such as soccer, basketball, handball, tennis, etc.

• Special interest groups.