University Scholarship Program II: YEAR ONE ANNUAL REPORT

The program was funded by USAID/Lebanon and aimed to support Lebanon's democratic and economic development by empowering students from different Lebanese districts to maximize their potential. The USP II committee was established on October 13, 2011, comprising the Program Director, Academic Monitor, Program Coordinator, Associate Director of Admissions, and Director of the Office of Grants and Contracts. The committee worked with Mercy Corps to develop a recruitment and selection process for the program. Mercy Corps was chosen for its experience in leadership, social, and civic activities, dating back to 1993. Promotional and outreach materials were developed to advertise the program, including English and Arabic brochures, an application form, and a website. The application emphasized the condition that the majority of students must come from rural areas to be chosen for the program. The website, www.aub.edu.lb/usp/, was designed to provide applicants with information about the program, eligibility criteria, and required documents. USAID approved the format of English and Arabic ads to be published in local newspapers, and 17 ads were posted during the second quarter. Recruitment of students for USP II started in early February 2012, with AUB and Mercy Corps visiting 251 public schools across Lebanon. The recruitment team distributed 5,800 brochures and 4,000 applications, and held 9 district meetings to inform students about the scholarship. However, attendance was low at some meetings, and the recruitment team decided to reduce the number of fairs to 9 and visit all public schools instead. By March 31, 2012, AUB's Admissions Office had received 860 applications, and USAID approved an extension of the application deadline to mid-April. The applications were received either by regular mail or in person, and admissions data was entered into the BANNER Student Information System. By mid-April 2012, AUB received 871 applications, with 784 complete applications, 67 disqualified applications from private schools, 3 incomplete applications, 4 applications received after the deadline, 12 disqualified applications from students who graduated in 2011, and 1 cancelled application. The recruitment officers worked for a month and a half to finalize the data entry of the received applications, including weekends. The data entry process involved entering the applications into the BANNER system, detecting financially needy students with high grades, and contacting applicants with missing data or documents to complete the information.