International Colleges and Universities
LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
The President and Board of Lebanese American
University (with campuses in Byblos and Beirut) engaged the Pappas
Consulting Group to facilitate a strategic planning process and craft a
plan in six months. This timeframe was dictated by the President’s
commitment to secure its first accreditation by a United States agency,
NEASC. Throughout this process, we worked with NEASC’s Higher Education
Commission and coordinated our efforts with those of Harvard Medical
International who had been engaged to conduct a medical school
feasibility study on behalf of the University. The strategic and
operating ramifications of the Medical School are an integral part of
the University Strategic Plan.
Strategic Planning
The strategic planning effort the President
initiated was a new experience for the institution and its
constituents. Further, the President’s years of successful,
hands-on strategic planning experience helped shape his expectations of
the conduct of a methodical and intentional process at LAU.
The President’s objective was to complete a financially sound and
meticulously articulated strategic plan that incorporated thoughtful
decision making and action for presentation and approval to the Board
of Trustees. Among the priorities to be addressed were:
- Academic excellence
- Enrollment management
- Governance
- Public relations/marketing
- Development
- Finances
The planning process started in February 2005 and
was completed in July 2005. The LAU Board unanimously approved the Plan
in September 2005. The plan has been implemented and is being monitored
on a quarterly basis. A new Dean of the Medical School was named a year ago.
In follow-up to the successful process and outcomes of the strategic
planning project, the Pappas Consulting Group was selected to provide
additional consulting services with respect to implementing two key
aspects of the Strategic Plan Action Steps. These follow-on
activities are described next.
NEASC Accreditation
Lebanese American University is in the final
throes of its efforts to secure accreditation from the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Achieving NEASC
accreditation is a major component of the University’s
five-year strategic plan.
While the accreditation self-study necessarily had to be completed by
University personnel, the University asked the Pappas
Consulting Group to work with the University’s self-study leadership to
set in motion appropriate worksteps to obtain the required University
input. Meetings were conducted with each of the twelve self-study teams
to assess and advise on accreditation-related processes and work steps.
A number of consistent themes emerged from these discussions. We then provided a number of key recommendations for
further institutional action. During the NEASC Visiting Team’s
exit interview in Byblos, positive feedback was provided
the institution concerning its possible accreditation. The strategic
plan was cited as one of the “best” by the Visiting Team’s Chair.
Human Resources
Within the adopted Strategic Plan, a key component
was the redesign and enhancement of the human resources functions
within the University. LAU subsequently requested that we:
provide an analysis of the University’s human resource organizational
structure and processing environment; review the compensation and
classification structures, policies and strategies that will guide the
human resource function for LAU personnel; and conduct a performance
management diagnostic.
The analysis has been conducted in parallel for both the Beirut and
Byblos campuses. Upon completion of the detailed analysis of the
current processes, we developed recommended changes that will impact
the roles and responsibilities of the two existing human resource
offices as well as personnel in the various academic and administrative
units of the campuses. We also recommended an appropriate
organizational structure for providing human resource services to the
University. The proposed new structure will reflect the new roles and
responsibilities as required under the redesigned processes and
services of the Department, as well as enhanced efficiencies in
providing services within and across the two campus locations. A
new compensation and classification system along with a new performance
management system will be designed and recommended as well.
ZAYED UNIVERSITY
Zayed University (ZU) located in the United Arab
Emirates, was established in 1998 and is named in honor of Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan al Nahyan, the country's first president.
Its vision is to “become the leading university in the region,
embodying the same rigorous standards and intellectual elements found
in major universities throughout the world.”
Its mission is to “prepare Emirati students for a meaningful and
successful twenty-first century personal and professional life; to
graduate students who will help shape the future of the UAE; to support
the economic and social advancement of the UAE; to lead innovation in
higher education in the UAE through teaching, learning, research, and
outreach; and to do so in a culturally diverse, humane, technologically
advanced, and increasingly global environment.”
Zayed University has two campuses in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and
Dubai, serving approximately 3,000 female students. The Dubai Campus
moved to a new purpose-built location in September 2006.
In September 2007, a third campus opened in Dubai's Knowledge Village, for male and female students of all nationalities.
We are proud that the Vice Chair of our Firm, Dr. Stephen Portch, was invited by His Highness to deliver the
Keynote Address at the 2007 Convocation in Dubai's Knowledge Village.