Academic writing needs and writing-support accessibility in a Saudi university

This study examines academic writing needs and writing-support accessibility at a large public Saudi university comprising more than 30 colleges. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods secondary analysis of routinely collected institutional datasets, institutional service-usage records covering all of the university's colleges (2,673 workshop attendance events; 248 consultation appointments; 61 research-seminar attendances) were triangulated with a key-informant faculty needs survey covering 32 respondents across humanities, STEM, health, and professional disciplines, a parallel student needs assessment (n = 23), and beneficiary evidence from an annual service-evaluation survey (n = 203). Findings show that faculty across disciplines identify higher-order academic writing skills, particularly literature-review writing, summarising and paraphrasing, and critical analysis, as the areas in which students continue to face the most persistent challenges. However, engagement with writing-support services varies substantially by discipline. Engineering, computing and health colleges report high writing demands but show the lowest levels of service uptake, suggesting structural and institutional barriers to access rather than lack of need. Interpreted through Academic Literacies and Sociocultural Theory, the results show that writing support operates as an institutional mechanism that shapes who can take part in valued academic practices. The study contributes institution-wide evidence from an under-represented higher-education context and offers a data-informed framework for evaluating equity, alignment, and accessibility in academic writing-support provision.