Retention Efforts & Rallying Support
1. Retaining our people
During the past two years, LAU’s approach has been a constant balancing act to ensure that:
- All students remain enrolled at LAU, and no student leaves due to financial considerations
- All talented faculty and staff are retained and motivated to serve and support their students and the institution
The retention efforts have required a large financial component:
- For students, financial aid was introduced in a timely manner, and the budget kept increasing from $43 million to $100 million to date.
- For the families of students, we held off on tuition fees’ adjustment for the longest time possible, and this was done as the last resort only when financial sustainability became a clear threat.
- For faculty and students, compensation adjustments were gradually introduced with fresh dollar components to minimize the impact on financial sustainability and our efforts to retain our students.
2. Rallying support
No institution can face the convergence of crises on its own. In our case, we were thankfully supported by generous donors, granting agencies (USAID, MEPI-TL), and our network of alumni.
The university launched several initiatives to rally support:
LAU Solidarity Fund
Launched with the inauguration of LAU’s ninth president, Dr. Michel E. Mawad, the fund aims to support LAU students as well as patients at the LAU medical centers who are unable to cover the full cost of healthcare.
With the unrelenting financial, economic and banking crises, LAU’s efforts will alleviate students’ urgent need for financial assistance with tuition fees, especially as some face the grave risk of forfeiting their education.
Through this fund, LAU aims to bolster its record annual financial aid budget – the biggest financial aid safety net in Lebanon – currently at $100 million.
https://giving.lau.edu.lb/donate
LAU Talent Retention and Attraction Fund
Much like the rest of the Lebanese population, LAU faculty and staff are facing immense difficulties in the country, and are therefore pushed to consider emigration.
But we understand that the university and its medical centers are only as strong as their human capital.
Therefore, we have set up the Talent Retention and Attraction Fund to rally support for our people, and attract more, so together we can weather the multifaceted crises and maintain high educational standards in the country.
Learn more: https://www.lau.edu.lb/talent-fund/