Semi-Annual Progress Report: Higher Education Scholarships Program (HES) Cycle I, II, & III

The program, which started on September 30, 2018, and will last until September 29, 2027, has a total award of $23,958,010, with LAU contributing $9,897,889 as cost sharing. As of September 2021, the program has achieved significant milestones. In HES Cycle 1, between April 2021 and June 2021, 20 scholars (32.26%) were on the High Distinguished list, 17 scholars (27.42%) were on the Distinguished list, and 13 scholars (20.97%) were on the Honors list. By the end of Summer 2021, the numbers remained the same, with no scholars on probation. In HES Cycle 2, between April 2021 and June 2021, 22 scholars (33.33%) were on the High Distinguished list, 21 scholars (31.81%) were on the Distinguished list, and 12 scholars (18.18%) were on the Honors list. By the end of Summer 2021, 23 scholars (34.85%) were on the High Distinguished list, 21 scholars (31.81%) were on the Distinguished list, and 10 scholars (15.15%) were on the Honors list. The program has also made significant progress in advising and registration. In HES Cycle 1, between April 2021 and May 2021, 64 scholars registered for Spring 2021 with full-time loads, and 8 scholars pre-registered for Summer 2021 with full-time loads. Between July 2021 and September 2021, 62 scholars registered for Fall 2021 with full-time loads. In HES Cycle 2, between April 2021 and May 2021, 66 scholars registered for Spring 2021 with full-time loads, and 65 scholars pre-registered for Summer 2021 with full-time loads. Between July 2021 and September 2021, 66 scholars registered for Fall 2021 with full-time loads. In HES Cycle 3, between August 2021 and September 2021, 84 newly enrolled scholars registered for Fall 2021 with full-time loads. The program has also established a plan for monitoring scholars to ensure they maintain good academic standing and graduate on time. This plan involves multiple stakeholders, including the Outreach and Civic Engagement (OCE) at LAU, student mentors, academic coordinators, and student support/tutoring services. The OCE oversees the execution of the program, supervises orientation, enrichment activities, and media coverage, and works closely with academic coordinators on HES curricular progress. Student mentors are assigned to each scholar to ensure they are doing well academically and are not facing any problems. Academic coordinators are responsible for advising students before registration, advising students in their courses and class work, monitoring academic progress, and helping students cope with academic challenges. Student support/tutoring services are provided to scholars whenever deemed necessary. The program has also achieved significant milestones in terms of scholar enrollment and graduation. As of September 2021, the total number of scholarships disbursed to-date is 759, with 243 scholars enrolled during this reporting period. The total number of scholars who graduated during this reporting period is 61, with a total cumulative number of scholars who graduated to-date under the program being 482. The total cumulative number of graduate scholars who are employed is 368, with 34 scholars employed during this reporting period. The total cumulative number of scholars who dropped throughout the entire program duration is 1, with 0 scholars dropping during this reporting period.