Results of the 2014-2016 Environmental

Scan of AUC

Seniors Administrators Group and Senate

Members’ Responses

Office of Institutional ResearchFebruary 25, 2013

Purpose

• OIR developed survey in coordination with AUC Assessment Committee and Integrated Planning Committee.

• Designed to solicit input to identify AUC’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in 2014-2016 planning period

• Results used as input into strategic plan, academic plan, MSCHE Periodic Review

Methodology

• Online survey sent to Senate and SAG members, with duplications removed (n=120)

• Invitation sent out on Feb. 4, 2013. Reminders sent on Feb. 10, 14, 17 and 19. Survey closed on Feb. 21.

• Response rate = 82%. Completion rate = 81%.• Content analysis performed on results.• Examine results in terms of:

– Frequency– Impact– Probability– Criticality

Demographics

Alumna/us

Faculty member

Graduate student

Parent of a current or past AUC student

Staff member

Undergraduate student

31.6%

50.0%

4.1%

11.2%

52.0%

0.0%

Member o

f the U

niversi

ty Se

nate

Member o

f the Se

nior Administ

rators

Group

53.1%63.3%

AUC’s Core Strengths(Internal to AUC)

• Facilities/Campus/Resources– New campus, state of the art classrooms and facilities, technology, labs,

library, sports, research facilities; student life; financial resources; resources of US/Egypt; speakers; campus services; healthier atmosphere; safe and secure environment; “best campus in Egypt”

• Reputation/History– National, regional, international reputation for excellence; branded as leader

in higher education in Egypt and region; specific programs

• Liberal arts/System of education/Core values– Grounding in liberal arts; diverse range of programs and courses; freedom of

expression in and out of the classroom; learning outcomes, including critical thinking; AUC’s core values, including professional ethics and integrity; blend of professional education and liberal arts; core curriculum; small class size; teaching pedagogies; diversity, strength of faculty

AUC’s Core Strengths(Internal to AUC)

• Administration/Staff/Governance– Quality, dedication of administration, faculty, staff; large pool of talent; strong

senior administration; collegiality; management support for and culture of innovation and continuous improvement; well-developed systems; stimulating working environment; support for faculty research and teaching improvement; willingness to change and adapt; commitment to teaching, research, and service

• Faculty– Strength, diversity, quality of faculty

• Other– Location in the region and context; quality of programs, faculty, students, and

staff; high standards for performance; co-curricular and exchange programs; community engagement and linkages with local communities and international organizations; strong outreach; diversity of students and faculty; specific programs; specialized accreditation; alumni; talented students

AUC’s Core Strengths(Internal to AUC)

English as language of instruction

Students

Other

Alumni

Accreditation

Specific programs

Diversity

Community engagement

Student life

Quality

Location in the region

Faculty

Administration/Staff/Governance

Liberal arts/System of education/Core values

Reputation/History

Facilities/Campus/Resources

3

8

9

9

11

14

14

14

15

17

26

35

37

53

56

99

No. of Responses

Areas Needing Improvement (Internal to AUC)

• Governance/Administration– General governance and administration issues: the need to reduce bureaucracy and

redundancy, streamline inefficient business processes, increase accountability and transparency

– Academic governance and administration issues: concern about efforts to streamline processes, failure to hold students accountable, lack of enforcement of policies, inefficiencies in class scheduling as well as registration and advising, need for increased transparency

• Quality– Overall quality concerns: need to demand excellence and hold high standards for all aspects

of administration and teaching, research, and service.– Academic programs: grade inflation, the need to update the curriculum, academic integrity,

overall quality, need to emphasize teaching excellence, overcrowded classrooms– Faculty: the use of Arabic in classrooms, ability to recruit top faculty, inadequately prepared

adjunct faculty, the need for faculty to hold students accountable for performance and classroom behavior.

– Students: admissions standards, quality, preparedness

Areas Needing Improvement (Internal to AUC)

• Campus culture– Resistance to change, behavior and attitudes of both faculty and staff that hinder the

development of a student-centered environment, disharmony, lack of respect for rules and policies, decline in student behavior and ethics, absence of school spirit, lack of community

• Mission/Planning– Mission creep, expanding too rapidly, developing too many new programs rather than focusing on

core strengths and quality, lack of alignment between mission and strategic objectives , need to integrate plans at area and unit level, need to slow enrollment growth, need to update curricula and revise programs

• Finance/Budgets– Budget constraints, economy, effect that budget cuts and the economy will have on program

quality, salaries, the ability to recruit quality faculty and faculty, pressure on tuition, and the ability to fund research.

• Other:– Commute, isolation from downtown Cairo and its impact on field work and graduate studies,

competitiveness of relocated staff salaries and incentives, improve English language proficiency, insufficient financial aid, more vibrant campus life, improve communication, silo mentality, sense of community, and an absence of unified purpose or ownership of institutional priorities, inequities in salaries and benefits, heavy teaching loads, balance between teaching, research, and service requirements

Areas Needing Improvement (Internal to AUC)

Student/ Staff unrest

Security

Balance between teaching, research, service

Inequities

Research

Organizational integration/ Unity

Communication

Campus life

Tuition/ Financial aid

Other

Staff issues

Location/ Transportation/ Commute

Finance/ Budgets

Mission/ Planning

Campus culture

Quality

Governance/ Administration

4

5

8

9

10

11

11

12

13

17

18

19

25

26

30

51

79

No. of Responses

AUC’s Challenges(External to AUC)

• Political issues/Security– Political unrest and impact on ability to attract and retain international

students and qualified faculty, ability to negotiate a difficult political climate and maintain its strategic vision, security, changes in laws and regulations, increased censorship, safety, student and alumni “brain drain”

• Economic issues– Overall state of the economy, rising inflation, devaluation of the

Egyptian pound, loss of international students, pressure on tuition, impact on investment in academics and research, rise in tuition and impact on admissions

• Increased competition– Local, regional competition for students and faculty from universities

comparable to AUC, universities in Canada and the US more cost competitive

AUC’s Challenges(External to AUC)

• Cultural change– Impact of Revolution on student attitudes and behavior, need to help students’

understand how to express themselves in appropriate ways, have successful protests provided students with examples to emulate, need to be relevant in a new Egypt, possibility for increased conservatism in society

• Technological changes– Need to adapt teaching strategies to reflect the development of instructional

technology and the changes in higher education, need to keep pace with rapid changes, need for funding and assistance in training faculty

• Other– Changes in higher education, rise of distance learning, ability to continue to recruit

quality staff and faculty, increasing traffic, problems with road safety, ability to raise funds, ability to fund research, decreasing quality of AUC’s feeder schools in Egypt’s primary and secondary educational system, need to improve AUC’s visibility in international rankings, need to stay ahead of changing market demands, environmental stresses, general lack of an adequate national infrastructure

AUC’s Challenges(External to AUC)

Lack of infrastructure/ Environmental concerns

Changing market demands

Visibility/ Rankings

Quality of Egyptian primary/secondary schools

Limited funds for research

Ability to raise funds

Traffic, location, and road safety

Recruitment of quality faculty and staff

Changes in higher education

Technological changes

Other

Cultural change

Increased competition

Economic issues

Political issues/ Security

6

6

6

7

8

8

11

15

15

17

26

28

35

77

89

No. of Responses

AUC’s Opportunities

• Expand linkages and collaboration– More collaboration with national, regional, US, international

universities; global research networks; library linkages; faculty exchange; joint degrees; student exchange; partnerships with companies and NGOs; interdisciplinary programs and research

• Leverage role as catalyst for change– Play role in shaping Egypt’s future: research, training, outreach,

service, learning outcomes; leverage new freedoms; impact US foreign policy; teach students how to be citizens

• Expand outreach– More involvement in service, community development; use downtown

facilities for more interaction; serve disadvantaged communities; CBL; engage all the community (alumni, friends, parents, corporations, etc.); collaborate with NGOs; expand base, including Africa

AUC’s Opportunities• Focus on quality

– Increase selectivity; create centers of excellence; increase merit scholarships; improve student recruitment; assess quality; build on strengths of specific programs; size ourselves smaller

• Increase efficiency– Eliminate redundancy (admin., programs); integrate; streamline; target research

funding; use campus resources better; increase role of community/internal campaign; consolidate; eliminate 2x2; become leaner and more productive

• Other– Revise curriculum; introduce new majors and degrees; new non-traditional

majors; professional schools (medicine/pharmacy); re-define AUC’s role; assess programs; expand use of instructional technology; distance/blended learning; ebooks; increase diversity of students and faculty; expand recruitment; increase international visibility; enhance fundraising; increase and refocus research; enhance student life; build on alumni networks

AUC’s Opportunities

Build on strong alumni networks

Enhance student life

Increase/ Refocus reseach

Enhance fundraising

Increase visibility

Expand recruitment efforts/ Increase diversity

Explore distance learning

Expand use of instructional and other technologies

Other

Revise curriculum/introduce new programs

Increase efficiency

Focus on quality

Expand outreach

Leverage role as catalyst for change

Expand linkages and collaboration

4

7

8

9

10

16

17

17

19

22

23

26

26

32

36

No. of Responses

AUC’s Strengths, from the Senate and SAG: