King Abdulaziz University

aid: kau
name: King Abdulaziz University
x-type: university
x-category: Public Research University
description: 'King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is a large public research university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, serving over
  100,000 students across 30 faculties and institutes including a branch campus at Rabigh. Its programmable footprint is small
  but, unusually for this cohort, partly its own. KAU operates a genuine institution-run Open Data API at opendata.kau.edu.sa
  returning aggregate student enrollment and graduation statistics as JSON over eight documented, unauthenticated GET invocations,
  and it operates its own SAML 2.0 identity provider at iam.kau.edu.sa/oamfed/idp/samlv20 on Oracle Access Manager Federation,
  self-hosted in KAU''s own 192.162.72.0/24 address block with no managed-IdP vendor underneath it.

  Everything else that looks like a KAU API belongs to somebody else. The best machine-readable surface associated with the
  university — a complete OAI-PMH 2.0 data provider carrying its journals back to 2000 — is Elsevier''s Digital Commons at
  kauj.researchcommons.org, administered from dc-support@elsevier.com. Its learning platform is a Blackboard Learn SaaS tenancy
  on lms.kau.edu.sa, and its scientific platform at libsp.kau.edu.sa is an Al Manhal tenancy. All three are recorded here
  as tenant relationships and none of their contracts is claimed as KAU''s.

  KAU is a Crossref member in its own right under DOI prefix 10.4197 and is registered in ROR. It holds no DataCite account,
  publishes no SAML metadata, and belongs to neither the Maeen national identity federation nor eduGAIN although thirty-eight
  Saudi entities do. There is no developer portal, no API key or client registration of any kind, no official GitHub organisation,
  and no OpenAPI — the specification in this repository is derived by API Evangelist from KAU''s published endpoints and a
  real response body, not published by KAU.'
type: Index
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: false
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - openapi
  generated: '2026-09-01'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: none
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: true
  label: Free · no credential required
  confidence: high
  source:
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-09-01'
  method: probed
position: Producing
access: 1st-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/kau.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/kau/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
tags:
- University
- Higher Education
- Education
- Research
- Open Data
- Research Repository
- Identity Federation
- LMS
- Saudi Arabia
- Middle East
tags_raw:
- University
- Higher Education
- Education
- Research
- Open Data
- Research Repository
- Identity Federation
- Learning Management
- Saudi Arabia
- Middle East
created: '2026-06-03'
modified: '2026-10-06'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
apis:
- aid: kau:identity-federation
  name: KAU SAML 2.0 Identity Provider
  x-operator: institution
  x-operator-basis: iam.kau.edu.sa is under kau.edu.sa and resolves to 192.162.72.96 in KAU's own self-hosted block, with
    no CNAME to any managed identity platform — the pattern that correctly demotes other institutions' IdPs to tenant. The
    Oracle Access Manager software is a vendor's; the deployment is KAU's.
  description: 'King Abdulaziz University''s institutional SAML 2.0 identity provider, running Oracle Access Manager Federation
    at /oamfed/idp/samlv20. The IdP itself is unreachable from outside Saudi Arabia, so it was evidenced indirectly and conclusively:
    KAU''s Blackboard service provider generated a freshly signed, freshly timestamped SAML AuthnRequest addressed to it during
    this run (IssueInstant 2026-09-01T17:11:59.020Z, RSA-SHA256), which is archived in this repository. The 2026-06-03 profile
    recorded the federation endpoint as /oamsso-bin/login-fed.pl; the actual SAML 2.0 protocol endpoint is /oamfed/idp/samlv20,
    corrected here from live evidence.

    Not a developer API and not federated outward. KAU publishes no SAML metadata and belongs to neither Maeen, Saudi Arabia''s
    national identity federation, nor eduGAIN, although thirty-eight Saudi entities including King Saud University, KFUPM,
    KAUST and King Khalid University are registered in Maeen. KAU runs federation for itself only, so no external relying
    party can federate with it even in principle.'
  humanURL: https://www.kau.edu.sa/page/open-data
  baseURL: https://iam.kau.edu.sa/oamfed/idp/samlv20
  tags:
  - Identity Federation
  - SAML
  - Authentication
  - SSO
  properties:
  - type: IdentityFederation
    url: identity-federation/kau-identity-federation.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/kau-conformance.yml
  - type: Authentication
    url: authentication/kau-authentication.yml
- aid: kau:journals-digital-commons
  name: King Abdulaziz University Journals (Digital Commons tenancy)
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-basis: The OAI-PMH Identify response names repositoryName "King Abdulaziz University Journals" but adminEmail
    dc-support@elsevier.com and a baseURL on researchcommons.org — Elsevier's Digital Commons platform, not a KAU host. KAU's
    journals, KAU's editorial programme and KAU's Crossref prefix; Elsevier's contract.
  description: 'KAU''s Scientific Publishing Centre journals delivered on Elsevier''s Digital Commons (bepress) platform,
    with a fully working OAI-PMH 2.0 data provider carrying records back to 2000-01-19. This is the single most machine-readable
    surface associated with the university and it is deliberately NOT credited to it: the relationship is recorded, the vendor''s
    contract is not saved. KAU holds a distinct Crossref membership for this platform (member 53473, "King Abdulaziz University
    - DIGITAL COMMONS JOURNALS") alongside its own membership 2709.'
  humanURL: https://kauj.researchcommons.org/
  baseURL: https://kauj.researchcommons.org/do/oai/
  tags:
  - Research Repository
  - OAI-PMH
  - Journals
  - Open Access
  properties:
  - type: ResearchRepository
    url: https://kauj.researchcommons.org/
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/kau-conformance.yml
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/kau-journals-oai-identify-example.xml
- aid: kau:blackboard-learn
  name: KAU Blackboard Learn (LMS tenancy)
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-basis: lms.kau.edu.sa is a KAU hostname but CNAMEs to learn.685db858b7b43.euc1.prod-01.core.blackboard.com and
    terminates on Amazon CloudFront; responses carry x-blackboard-product "Blackboard Learn 4000.21.0" and x-blackboard-appserver
    naming a eu-central-1 SaaS node. KAU's students and courses, Blackboard's infrastructure and contract.
  description: King Abdulaziz University's learning management system, a Blackboard Learn SaaS tenancy. The Blackboard Learn
    REST API is genuinely provisioned here — /learn/api/public/v1/system/version returns 200 with the running build, and /learn/api/public/v1/courses
    returns a JSON 401 rather than a 404, which is what establishes the surface is deployed rather than merely routed. LTI
    management endpoints are present and gated at 401. Authentication is by SAML redirect to KAU's own identity provider,
    which is how that IdP was evidenced. Recorded as a tenant relationship; Blackboard's contract is not saved here.
  humanURL: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/
  baseURL: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/learn/api/public/v1
  tags:
  - LMS
  - LTI
  - SAML
  - Education
  tags_raw:
  - Learning Management
  - LTI
  - SAML
  - Education
  properties:
  - type: Authentication
    url: authentication/kau-authentication.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/kau-conformance.yml
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/kau-lms-system-version-example.json
- aid: kau:scientific-platform
  x-published: false
  name: King Abdulaziz Scientific Platform (Al Manhal tenancy)
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-basis: libsp.kau.edu.sa is a KAU hostname that CNAMEs to aws-prod-lb.almanhal.com, and the page it serves loads
    its assets from assets.almanhal.com and carries Al Manhal's Facebook app id. A KAU-branded tenancy on Al Manhal's discovery
    platform.
  description: KAU's library discovery and scientific content platform, branded "King Abdulaziz scientific platform" and running
    on Al Manhal. Live at HTTP 200. No public API, OAI-PMH endpoint or machine-readable contract was found on it. Recorded
    because the tenancy is a real institutional fact — the university operates a discovery service — and deleting the relationship
    to avoid crediting the vendor's engineering would destroy the fact along with the misattribution.
  humanURL: https://libsp.kau.edu.sa/
  tags:
  - Library
  - Discovery
  - Research
  properties:
  - type: LibraryCatalog
    url: https://libsp.kau.edu.sa/
- aid: kau:crossref
  name: Crossref membership
  x-operator: registry
  x-operator-basis: An identifier registry King Abdulaziz University is registered in, not a vendor platform and not a contract
    of KAU's. Crossref's own API is never saved here; the membership is.
  description: KAU holds two Crossref memberships in its own name. Member 2709, "King Abdulaziz University Scientific Publishing
    Centre", operates DOI prefix 10.4197 with 1,920 registered DOIs of which 358 are current — the university's own publishing
    programme. Member 53473, "King Abdulaziz University - DIGITAL COMMONS JOURNALS", covers the same journals as delivered
    through Elsevier's platform. KAU is also registered in the Crossref Funder Registry under Funder ID 501100004054. Both
    memberships verified live at HTTP 200 on 2026-09-01.
  humanURL: https://api.crossref.org/members/2709
  tags:
  - DOI
  - Crossref
  - Scholarly Publishing
  properties:
  - type: Registry
    url: https://api.crossref.org/members/2709
  - type: Registry
    url: https://api.crossref.org/members/53473
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/kau-conformance.yml
- aid: kau:ror
  name: ROR registration
  x-operator: registry
  x-operator-basis: The Research Organization Registry lists KAU as an organisation. A fact about the institution, recorded
    as a membership; ROR's contract is not saved here.
  description: King Abdulaziz University is registered in ROR as https://ror.org/02ma4wv74, with declared domain kau.edu.sa,
    types education and funder, and cross-references to Crossref Funder ID 501100004054, GRID grid.412125.1, ISNI 0000 0001
    0619 1117 and Wikidata Q1795928. This ROR identifier is what 1,249 DataCite DOIs use to credit KAU-affiliated authors
    — an affiliation signal, not a KAU DataCite account, which does not exist.
  humanURL: https://ror.org/02ma4wv74
  tags:
  - ROR
  - Persistent Identifier
  - Research
  properties:
  - type: Registry
    url: https://ror.org/02ma4wv74
- aid: kau:kau-studentsdata-api
  name: King Abdulaziz University Students Data API
  description: Aggregate student enrollment and graduation statistics.
  humanURL: https://www.kau.edu.sa/page/open-data
  baseURL: https://opendata.kau.edu.sa/api/StudentsData
  tags:
  - StudentsData
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/kau-studentsdata-api-openapi.yml
  - type: OpenAPIOriginal
    url: openapi/_original/kau-open-data-api-openapi.yml
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/kau-students-data-schema.json
  - type: Examples
    url: examples/index.yml
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/kau-open-data-vocabulary.yml
  - type: Authentication
    url: authentication/kau-authentication.yml
  - type: OpenData
    url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/page/open-data
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://kau.edu.sa/ar/page/open-data
common:
- url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/en/news
  type: Blog
- type: Website
  url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/en
- type: OpenData
  url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/page/open-data
- type: ResearchRepository
  url: https://kauj.researchcommons.org/
- type: LibraryCatalog
  url: https://libsp.kau.edu.sa/
- type: IdentityFederation
  url: identity-federation/kau-identity-federation.yml
- type: Conformance
  url: conformance/kau-conformance.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/kau-authentication.yml
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/school/king-abdulaziz-university
- type: Twitter
  url: https://x.com/kauedu_sa
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/kau-domain-security.yml
- type: Plans
  url: plans/kau-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/kau-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/kau-finops.yml
- type: Review
  url: review.yml
x-coverage:
  state: covered
  reason: covered
  generated: '2026-09-01'
  detail: 'Re-profiled 2026-09-01 against the university pipeline''s operator axis, replacing a 2026-06-03 profile that recorded
    a single gated SSO entry and described KAU''s Open Data page as an empty beta placeholder. Both findings were wrong. KAU
    operates two real institution-run surfaces: an unauthenticated Open Data API at opendata.kau.edu.sa with eight endpoints
    KAU itself publishes, and a self-hosted SAML 2.0 identity provider at iam.kau.edu.sa/oamfed/idp/samlv20. Three tenant
    relationships (Elsevier Digital Commons journals, Blackboard Learn, Al Manhal) and two registry memberships (Crossref,
    ROR) are recorded without saving any vendor contract.

    One honest limitation. Every host in KAU''s self-hosted 192.162.72.0/24 block — opendata, sso, iam, research, journals,
    marz — refused connections on 443 from two independent network egresses, while KAU''s CloudFront-fronted www host and
    all three vendor tenancies answered normally throughout. This is a geographic restriction on KAU''s own estate, not a
    block on us and not a dead service: the SAML IdP was proven live during the run by a signed AuthnRequest from KAU''s own
    Blackboard tenancy, and the Open Data API''s last verified 200 is an Internet Archive capture of 2025-04-17 returning
    1,886 records, corroborated by seven further 200 captures across 2024. The OpenAPI, JSON Schema and vocabulary in this
    repository are consequently marked derived rather than probed-live. State is recorded as covered because the surfaces
    were found, attributed and evidenced — not because everything answered.

    Evidenced negatives worth keeping: no DataCite account, no ORCID member organisation, no Shibboleth, no membership of
    the Maeen national identity federation or eduGAIN despite thirty-eight Saudi peers being registered, no official GitHub
    organisation, no developer portal, no API key or client registration anywhere, and no KAU-published OpenAPI. The dataset
    download links on KAU''s own Open Data page are also broken: every GetFile.aspx URL returns 404 after the site''s migration
    to Next.js, so the spreadsheet half of the programme is dead while the API half is not.'
  evidence:
  - url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/en
    status: 200
  - url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/page/open-data
    status: 200
  - url: https://kau.edu.sa/ar/page/open-data
    status: 200
  - url: https://opendata.kau.edu.sa/api/StudentsData?type=u&year=2023&semester=1
    status: 0
    note: Connection refused/timeout on 443 from two egresses; DNS resolves to 192.162.72.12. Last verified 200 via Internet
      Archive capture 2025-04-17 (application/json, 1,886 records).
  - url: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/
    status: 200
  - url: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/learn/api/public/v1/system/version
    status: 200
  - url: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/learn/api/public/v1/courses
    status: 401
  - url: https://lms.kau.edu.sa/auth-saml/saml/metadata?apId=_7123_1
    status: 200
    note: Returns signed SAML AuthnRequest addressed to https://iam.kau.edu.sa/oamfed/idp/samlv20.
  - url: https://kauj.researchcommons.org/do/oai/?verb=Identify
    status: 200
  - url: https://libsp.kau.edu.sa/
    status: 200
  - url: https://api.crossref.org/members/2709
    status: 200
  - url: https://api.crossref.org/members/53473
    status: 200
  - url: https://ror.org/02ma4wv74
    status: 200
  - url: https://api.datacite.org/clients?query=abdulaziz
    status: 200
    note: meta.total = 0 — no DataCite membership.
  - url: https://technical.edugain.org/api.php?action=list_entities&format=json
    status: 200
    note: 13,200 entities; 0 matches for kau.edu.sa. 38 entities registered by maeen.sa.
  - url: https://sso.kau.edu.sa/
    status: 0
    note: Unreachable from this run; DNS resolves to 192.162.72.15. Linked from KAU's own live page.
  - url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/GetFile.aspx?id=273063&fn=g2013.xls
    status: 404
    note: Dataset download linked from KAU's own Open Data page; dead after the Next.js migration.
  - url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/robots.txt
    status: 404
  - url: https://www.kau.edu.sa/.well-known/security.txt
    status: 404
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com