The American University of Beirut (AUB) just announced that “it has become necessary for
AUB to collect tuition fees in the same currency in which it must pay its expenses.”
According to AUB’s Office of the President, Fadlo R. Khuri, the transition of collecting the tuition in fresh dollars (or their equivalent) will be gradual.
Adding that “for a large majority of students, this will mean a 40 percent financial aid grant for this coming academic year (2022-23), and then 20 percent the following year (2023-24), on top of other financial assistance that may have been granted individually.”
Additionally, the university will also continue helping old and newly admitted students with financial aid, graduate student tuition fellowships, undergraduate merit, and early admissions scholarships.
The transition for a more “dollarized” tuition comes at the time when “AUB has been operating at a loss, totaling over $134 million in fresh dollars over the past three years.”
“The American University of Beirut must long endure, to pursue excellence for the greater good, create opportunities for generations, and hold fast to the values that empower and
transform individuals and societies alike,” the press release concluded.
Lebanese university students, including those enrolled at AUB, have previously taken the streets against the dollarization of the tuition fees, which leads to many students not being able to continue with their educations.
In February 2021, AUB students took legal action against their university to be able to pay their tuition fees at the 1,500 LBP rate without facing any repercussions from their university.
University students in Lebanon are paying “full price” for Lebanon’s economic crisis, left threatened with an uncertain future regarding their education and their careers, hence their future.
Related: AUB Delivers Severe Ultimatum To Students At Risk Of Losing Their Education.
