Approximately one hundred and twenty faculty, staff and students gave their time to compile and assess the information found in the 2008 Institutional Self-Study and to make meaningful recommendations for improvement. Many more members of the AUB community assisted in this process by providing data, participating in focus groups and completing the institutional survey. The introduction to the Self-Study describes all of the steps taken to complete the final draft.

In January 2009, two years after work commenced, the Self-Study Steering Committee approved the final document. It was submitted to MSCHE and a designated team of experts who visited Beirut to verify the contents before writing their own report. The visiting team’s report made numerous suggestions and two recommendations that reinforced the findings of the 2008 Institutional Self-Study. It was therefore in complete accord with AUB’s own understanding of the next steps that it must take to meet its strategic goal of institutional renewal.

On 25 June 2009, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education voted to reaffirm AUB’s accreditation. In a letter announcing its decision, MSCHE requested that the University submit two documents over the next five years: first, a monitoring report documenting its actions in response to the visiting team’s recommendations (due 1 April 2011; 25 pages); and, second, a periodic review report indicating its overall progress in meeting its goals and objectives (due 1 June 2014; 50 pages). AUB’s next full accreditation cycle will take place in 2018-19.