Campus Conversation: An Open Discussion with AUC Leaders

AUC’s senior leadership took to Al Waleed Hall for the first Campus Conversation of the semester on March 7 to discuss the university’s current concerns and future plans.

Campus Conversations are discussion-based gatherings that are conducted routinely, where all segments of the AUC community get to voice their concerns to the senior administration while receiving updates on recent initiatives.

President Ahmed Dallal and Provost Ehab Abdel-Rahman kicked off the conversation by addressing the university’s most recent interventions regarding the latest devaluation, which had happened a day before the event.

Dallal highlighted how the university will be following the same principles they had used during previous devaluations while also continuously assessing whether or not these principles have been successful in making the necessary adjustments this time around. 

“The first community we are concerned about is the students and their ability to pay their tuition, followed by staff who are paid in EGP,” he commented.

The first step taken earlier this year was allowing for early tuition payment at the exchange rate present before the devaluation, which has now changed from around EGP 30 per dollar to EGP 47 after the Central Bank of Egypt announced the flotation of the pound on March 6. 

Dallal highlighted how, given the recent circumstances, AUC will be opening an emergency fund to support students who are facing financial challenges regarding their tuition.

“Another source of concern is new students. Last year we did not reach the target of new students we were expecting, so we are concerned about that,” he further explained.

With regards to AUC staff and employees, a bonus payment was introduced last week to help alleviate the effects of the devaluation.

“This intervention was regardless of whether or not there was going to be a devaluation. Inflation was skyrocketing, and people were panicking; we had to intervene,” said Dallal.

Although he assured the community that the necessary steps would be taken to overcome the devaluation fully, he announced that the exact modalities still need to be settled and that the budgeting is still under work.

The conversation then shifted to a discussion regarding AUC’s future initiatives, the first of which is the AUC honor code.

Abdel-Rahman announced the launching of the AUC Honor Code, which has recently been sent out to the community following the Campus Conversation. He highlighted how this has been in the works for over a year, with its foundations being built by contributions from the Student Union, Student Senate, and the Dean of Students.

It will include all critical policies relevant to the community, such as anti-bullying, anti-harassment, and the academic integrity code.

“It is taking existing policies and combining them together to make each one of us commit to being part of this community and contribute to it,” said Senior Director of Academic Affairs Rachel Awad.

This discussion was followed by an in-depth presentation on Campus 2026 by Khaled Tarabieh, AUC’s architect and associate professor of Sustainable Design. Tarabieh explained how this development project will merge new technologies with sustainable structures, encompassing a Technology, Research, and Innovation Lab, Extended Education Hub, and NextGen Student Living and Learning Spaces.

He highlighted how the Extended Education Hub, which will be built on the further end of the campus with a new entrance gate, will cater to professionals such as those from the School of Continuing Education and the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s (GAPP) Executive Education program.

“It will allow them to be immersed in the AUC community, with common spaces opportunities to learn, train, cook, and make new friends. Also, adding more shaded areas,” Tarabieh commented when presenting the drawings for the NextGen Student Living Spaces.

He also explained how the design guidelines will keep the AUC community’s diverse needs in mind, referring to how they will use textile signs for unassisted communication with the university’s landscape for students with visual impairments and disabilities.

“We aim for a sense of sustainability that isn’t just focusing on the environmental dimension, but inclusion as well,” he commented.

Tarabieh also announced that these plans aim to increase parking spots by 20 to 25 percent, noting that mass transit, bus utilization, and carpooling efforts will also help close this gap.

The Dean of Students, Yorgun Marcel, also contributed to the conversation, revealing that AUC is working on building padel and tennis courts within the following year.

As for audience questions, the floor was open to questions received via the online form or from those attending in person.

One of the attending students described AUC’s policies in navigating the devaluation as a degrading experience for students. Dallal replied that there’s no roadmap to dealing with the dollar rate. He then referred to how a huge bulk of AUC expenses are paid in dollars, explaining how this results in no more surplus to pay for the costs of the university. 

Abdel-Rahman also addressed this concern, revealing that the number of students leaving the university is consistent with previous years, debunking recent claims that students have been transferring to other universities due to financial challenges.

“We have the data, we have the information. The data says otherwise,” he replied.

He also urged all students considering leaving the university due to the inability to pay to come forward to the administration with all proof and documentation to receive instant assistance. 

Abdel-Rahman also acknowledged students’ interest in allowing for gap semesters to receive real-work experience, to which he replied they are looking towards expanding the CO-OP program. This is an experiential learning program currently operating exclusively in the School of Business, where students get to work at host entities for six months.