African Union Day Foundation

The Position Paper

This position paper is intended for Policy-makers, labor market specialists, employers’ and workers’ organizations, economists, statisticians, professors of economics and labor market policy, anyone interested in African Union economic development issues.

The goal of the African Union Day Foundation is to develop African leadership through the creation of a new school, The African Star, to change the conditions of living in that region of the continent and other parts of the world. In this position paper, the Foundation, analyzes the outstanding features and characteristics of the poverty challenge in Africa and the relationship among growth, employment and poverty to demonstrate that education and employment are major factors out of poverty.

Introduction

The African Union Day Foundation consists of a core of African Leaders in the Diaspora who shares a common mission of promoting an integrated Africa. They are determined to promote Africa’s economic development, with competitive global markets, improvement of health, a more cohesive social structure, better standards of living, a better educational system that would bridge the digital divide, and the political advancement of the United States of Africa. They are "dreaming of a real African union," “in which all the peoples of Africa could work together to recreate their continent in their own image.”

The AUDF supports the vision that “Another real Africa is possible," as it was declared by

Africans in the civil society groups who gathered in Mali. A strong desire for change is spurring new visions of Africa's political and economic future. The ultimate goal is to create a more efficient and effective African Union.

The African Union (AU) is an organization consisting of fifty-three African States. Established in 2001, the AU was formed as a successor to the amalgamated African Economic Community (AEC) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The purpose of the union is to help secure Africa's democracy, human rights, and a sustainable economy, especially by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market.

Although, Africa is a continent rich in natural resources the country is afflicted and pounded by domestic hunger, genocides, wars, corruption, massive underdevelopment and all sorts of afflictions. Judging this magnificent continent from its natural resources, one would expect to see people enjoying the highest standard of living in the world. Instead, Africa is full of people still struggling with their take-off process. Much of the population lies in poverty, because the unemployment rate in African Union is one of the highest in the world, 36% to 42% since the year 2000 using the broad definition, hopelessness and underdevelopment that have remained a constant even in a 21st century experiencing huge technological advancements and globalization. (Geeta Kingdon and John Knight)

Tunde Obadina director of Africa Business Information Services rightfully asserted: “Africa's plight, especially its failure to curb endemic poverty and disease inflicting its long-suffering peoples, is widely seen as one of the global challenges of the 21st century. In an age when all other regions of the world are making progress in building their capacity to meet the basic material needs of their people, Africa stands out as the exception where stagnation or even regression is the order of the day.” (March 2007)

The countries stretching from Senegal to Nigeria are wracked by some of the worst problems facing the developing world: Pervasive inter-group conflict; borders that fail to reflect the cultural landscape; weak national cohesion; corrupt officials and impotent institutions; a dearth of skilled workers exacerbated by lack of education; poor investment climates; and AIDS. Seventy-five percent of the area's people live under governments that cannot deliver many of the most basic services including, in many cases, security. More than 25,000 peacekeepers are needed to maintain a fragile peace in the region's war zones. Conflicts spill easily across borders, as do refugees, arms, and instability. Under dictatorship, as under democracy, Africans have failed to tap their natural resources for the benefit of the general public. African governments have failed to come up with constructive reform powerful enough to shape a better and prosperous future for Africans. (U.S. Department of State background notes on African Union)

Geeta Kingdon and John Knight (2004) found in their research that unemployment is very inequitably distributed in African Union and certain groups are much more likely to enter it, and to stay in it, than others. Young uneducated Africans living in homelands and remote areas are most vulnerable to unemployment. There are two particularly striking features of

African Union unemployment: firstly, the fact that rural unemployment rates are higher than urban rates is atypical among countries and is explained by historical policies restricting mobility. Secondly, the majority (62%) of the unemployed have never held a job before, i.e., they entered unemployment from the time of entering the labor force. The very long duration of unemployment (>1 year) among a high proportion (68%) of the unemployed suggests that the demand-side of the labor market is responsible for a good part of the unemployment.

Many uneducated Africans suffer catastrophically high unemployment rates. Human capital characteristics such as education and employment experience dramatically reduce the chances of employment. It is possible that expanding education and skills will reduce overall unemployment. The mechanism might be to increase the supply of skilled labor, for which there is market clearing, and to decrease the supply of unskilled labor, for which the market fails to clear and there be a surplus of workers. Geeta Kingdon and John Knight (2004)

It is evident that Africa is a rich continent made poor by rapacious and corruptive practices from other countries. This is the right time and the right moment to deliver justice to a Nation that for centuries have been victimized by nations with super power domination. It is universally known that Africa is a major source of some of the world's most utilized minerals and precious metals, such as gold, copper, diamonds, Colton and bauxite (used in computer chips and electronics), as well as oil, natural gas, timber, and coal. “Revenues from their extraction should provide funds for badly needed development, but instead have fuelled state corruption, environmental degradation, poverty and violence. Rather than being a blessing, Africa's natural resources have largely been a curse.” (Mandy Turner May 2007)

The management and sustainable usage of these resources has been a struggle for the African continent, and control over this environmental wealth has in part propagated and funded civil wars, government corruption, and industrial exploitation.

Chen Chimutengwende an environmental and health minister in Zimbabwe and who previously directed the School of Journalism at the University in Nairobi, Kenya laments that African nations have become marginalized in the world economy. Following Africa’s successful struggles for independence from colonial rule in the 1960s, he contends, the developed nations of Europe and the United States have since endeavored to keep African countries economically dependent on them. For Africans, the results of continued foreign exploitation have included poverty, hunger and despair.

In June 2003, he asserted “If Africa succeeds in consolidating and developing the African Union (AU), it will make the continent more cohesive than ever before. Africa will be able to speak with one powerful voice in protecting and advancing its own interests. The existence of a strong, independent, self-reliant and democratic AU leading to a United New Africa, which is sometimes referred to as the United States of Africa, will make it impossible for outside forces to continue to divide, manipulate, marginalize and exploit Africa.”

Africa provides telling examples of how dreadful or how good the resources have been managed or exploited. According to Amnesty International “Natural resources from a nation are morally neutral. As such they can be a source of great benefit for a country. An orderly mining regime, operating within a transparent and predictable legislative and fiscal framework, can be a major source of prosperity for governments and people. Without it, mineral wealth - especially, but not exclusively in its more accessible forms - will be a magnet for the greedy and corrupt to line their own pockets at the expense of the people. Once the rot has set in, it is virtually unstoppable, until the entire fabric of economic and social development has been completely eroded. (Ravinder Rena)

During the last few years, political relations between countries around the world have undergone a series of challenges. What are the tasks that face the United Nations of Africa and all the regions of the world at the global level, after September 11? The problem of terrorism stands out, alongside with mistrust among nations, wars, genocide, and many other problems afflicting mankind today. The African Union Day Foundation, therefore believe that Africa must be an integral part of solving the existing conflicts. They agreed that in a globalize world characterized by international links and intercultural connections, linguistic skills, and international experience in business and economics are crucial for employment and career in Africa and other impoverished nations of the world.

The Creation of a NEW School

The AFRICAN Union Star

The AUDF feels that the dormant international community cannot be left out of the responsibility for Africa's underdevelopment and suffering. Despite all the beautiful tagged roadmaps, all development plans that have been drawn to drag Africa out of its net of poverty have failed. They have turned out to be sterile plans both in conception and implementation. (G8 Africa Action Plan)

James D. Wolfensohn, the President of the World Bank said: “Poor people have the same aspirations we do. They want the same things for their kids, they want peace, they want opportunity, they want a voice, they want a chance, and they do not want charity. . . . We will not solve the problem of poverty or global peace or stability unless we change our perception of poor people from objects of charity to the assets on which you build a better world. I am absolutely convinced of that.”

Responding to the needs of the people from Africa, the African Union Day Foundation is working to design a school of higher learning in New York City. The African Union Star is the new school that is represented by a Star/Shield with Africa, pointing to Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, America, and the space. Just like the heart is at the center of the circulatory system, Africa is at the heart of the world delivering its blood to every region of the world.

The purpose of the AUS is to view Africa through different lenses, to study the richness of earlier civilizations and to learn how much the world humanity has in common with the past. Africa is a place that has been misunderstood. Its history largely ignored and distorted. There is a need to study the continent with all its beauty, splendor and diversity.

It is imperative to change the image of Africa and to have control of what is being taught about the continent.

The AUDF is advocating for Africa’s increased participation in the international global market. This can be achieved through the creation of the AUS to cultivate policy makers, academics and business leaders, focusing on the need for Africa to lead the world in providing its students with strong international studies, economics, business, foreign language education, the conservation of natural resources and world peace. The AUDF is proposing to develop an institution of higher education in New York City and other parts of the World with the purpose of developing a talented and well-qualified and professional workforce, with skills that will evolve in line with the demands of the country’s international integration including improvements in economics, educational standards and a greater incorporation of technology to bridge the digital divide that exist among low-income groups in the African Union. The AUDF proposes to name the school the African Union Star.

Need for the African Union Star University

The AUDF feels that this new school is needed because there has been a marked rise in interest in Africa’s oil and culture that has been expressed by other countries in recent years and it has become necessary to strive for an increased understanding of Africa overseas. International opinion holds that Africa's status in the US diplomatic chessboard has witnessed a marked rise whether in terms of political or economic consideration.

The United States is the largest oil consumption country in today's world, its average daily oil consumption accounts for almost one-third of the world total consumption. US oil consumption is estimated to increase around 36 percent in the coming 20 years. Two-thirds of American oil consumption depends on imports, 60 percent of which come from the Gulf region.

Owing to the situation of the Gulf region's long-term territorial disputes, national contradictions and unending conflicts of religious sects, particularly counter-terrorist war and US preparations for military attacks on Iraq, the United States is worried that its normal energy supply would be affected, therefore, opening up a new channel for secure, reliable and stable oil/gas reserves has become the country's priority strategic consideration. (The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM, February 6, 2007)

Africa's oil/gas resources are concentrated in the area of the Gulf of Guinea, the main oil-producing area of this region is located on the continental shelf and is far removed from the center of tribal and other conflicts, and oil production is relatively safe, this, plus high-quality, less sulfur content as well as low transport cost compared to the Caspian Sea and the Middle East, so this region is regarded as an ideal "reserved oil depot" by the United States. The assistant US secretary of state recently said that African oil is the strategic goal of the United States.

Africa is one of the important oil-producing regions in the world. Reports say that 7 billion barrels of the globe's newly proven deposit of 8 billion barrels of crude oil in 2001 are produced in the region of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa, currently; the daily oil production in the region has topped 4.5 million barrels. ("Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil" Thursday, May 17th, 2007)

The US recent shuttle diplomatic activities in African oil-producing countries have been especially noticeable: US Secretary of State Colin Powell and other high-ranking officials visited Angola, Gabon and other countries one after another in early September; Powell cut the ribbon for the new buildings of US embassy in Angola. (From the February 2003 issue of World Press Review) (VOL. 50, No. 2)

President George W. Bush met, in New York in mid-August, with heads of state of 10 African oil-producing countries, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, the Congo (B), Sao Tome & Principe. (ENERGY INDUSTRY Organization: Anglo Coal, Ingwe Coal, Eyesizwe Coal, Energy Africa, Kumba Resources, Sasol Mining, Xstrata Coal South Africa (XCSA) - major private coal producers; Eskom - parastatal electric power company; Sasol - coal-to-liquid synthetic fuels & chemicals group (privatized in 1979); Petronet - petroleum pipelines and tank farm; Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) - gas-to-synthetic fuels plant; oil and gas exploration/development; Strategic Fuels Fund - strategic oil storage facility and state oil imports) (Energy Information Administration, 7/10/07)

US assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter Kansteiner visited Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire and other Mid-west oil-producing countries in October following his tours of Nigeria and other countries in July. The US government has also announced that President Bush would visit five-African nations next year. (CSIS African, china the United Stats Oil) This series of diplomatic activities indicate US enhanced evaluation of the strategic status of Africa, especially the region of the Gulf of Guinea in its effort to contend for the world oil resources. (African oil politics, June 11, 2004)

In recent years, US oil companies have vied with one another to enter Africa's petroleum exploration and recovering fields, Exxon, Chevron and other companies have invested US$3.7 billion (the largest US investment in Africa) in building an oil pipeline leading from Chad to Cameroon. US daily oil imports from Nigeria has reached 900,000 barrels on average, ranking Nigeria fifth in American oil imports; Angola's current daily oil production approaches 1 million barrels, 70 percent of which are recovered and exported by American firms to the United States, making Angola the ninth largest oil source for the United States. . ("Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil" Thursday, May 17th, 2007)

According to a report of the US National Security Committee, the oil imported by the United States from African countries south of the Sahara makes up around 16 percent of US total oil imports, and this figure will rise to 25 percent in 2015.

US investment in African oil-producing countries has increased remarkably in recent years, and its trade volume there has risen annually. It is predicted that US trade volume will exceed US$45 billion by 2005, an 18 percent increase over the current level, of which oil is imported mainly from Africa. According to the plan recently mapped out by the US Energy Department, the United States will invest US$10 billion in Africa's oil industry. . ("Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil" Thursday, May 17th, 2007)

At the moment when the United States has launched large-scale counter-terrorist activities, the country declares that it will put in huge investments in Africa's oil, strive to improve and enhance its relations with African oil producers and encourage domestic oil companies to race to seize African oil-producing areas, thereby reducing its dependence on the Gulf for oil.

At the same time, it is also important for Africa to actively promote international cultural, historical, philosophical and economic exchange in order to make a contribution to the world in these areas. These communities may be based on geography, on faith, on language, or on a shared interest such as sport, music, and art. The African Union Star University will stimulate debate within and between the communities of the World and will encourage people to get involve with the movement for world peace, conservation of the Earth natural resources.

The AUS is unique because it will be the first to develop a program of studies gear to improve the economic development in Africa and to change the negative image that have been portrayed regarding the continent and its people. The AUS will encourage students to examine the wonders of a myriad of ancient cultures, from the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, to the grand emperors of Abyssinia and the legendary kings of Ghana. By looking at the past, students will discover what Africa has been, what Africa is, and what the future holds for this majestic land.

The school will cooperate with other schools, institutes, and faculties in New York and others world-wide with whom it will share complementary mission and vision. The AUS is committed to produce graduates who are both agents and managers of change in Africa and other regions of the world. Students will be expected to have a critical perspective and understanding of the potentials and challenges of a globalize economy which will enable them to effectively participate in the business world of the 21st century and beyond.

AUS Vision

The vision for the Africa Union Day Foundation is to develop a school of economics, business languages and technology in which young Africans and other students from other continents will learn leadership, skills, enterprise opportunities and strategies for the advancement of Africa and other countries’ economies. The vision is to educate young students from all over the world to make recommendations that will guide and inform the direction of Africa and other participating countries in policy development and interventions during this century. It is essential that the students learn the driving and implementation process, programs and policy coordination across the different departments and agencies in New York City, that influence the environment for doing business with Africa and the entire world. The operational focus of the AUS will aim to provide the students with the capacity to strategically respond to emerging threats to business in Africa, and other participating countries, to exploit new opportunities presented by technological developments and business internationalization.

Academic programs will be designed to enhance the existing enterprise base by identifying current firm level capability gaps and acting to deliver the environment and skill set necessary for sustainable success in specific markets.

The AUS Mission

The mission for the African Union Star is to cultivate a cadre of young Africans and other students from other continents to develop a growth-orientated economy, concentrating on new markets and technology based products. This will be achieved by a re-focused approach to policy development and implementation in the African Union and other poor countries. The high incidence of poverty in the African Union is the most significant challenge facing the continent today. The African Union Day Foundation mission is to provide opportunities for people in economic distress in Africa and other impoverished regions of the world to help them to come out of the circle of poverty providing young men and women with opportunities to participle in the world’s global economy. The strategy is to create a school to develop leadership that will promote the African Union’s economic growth. The purpose is to create jobs, stimulate small businesses, and to strengthen communities among the poor.

The over all mission of the AUDF is to provide the highest quality business and economic education to develop the leaders of tomorrow in Africa and other regions of the world. The African Union Star seeks to develop programs that are competitive and comparable internationally. The Programs will be demand-driven and multidisciplinary and will concentrate on the needs to improve the economic conditions in Africa and other regions of the world. The AUS aims to increase its financial latitude through exports of training, sales of services, cooperation with business, and donations and sponsoring.

AUS Goals

AUS primarily goal is to research the many factors that will contribute to change Africa’s image in the world. To achieve economic development the African Union Day Foundation seeks to change Africa’s image in the world by starting an educational program that will train students to attract and increase trading, business and investments to the African Union. By combining traditional economic development and entrepreneurship, the program will offer students a complete understanding of the economic development process. The end result is to internalize the concept that globalization of markets and operations place a tremendous pressure on productive management of information systems and operations. Teaching the students suitable and training strategies, techniques and tools for effective learning of information systems and operations management is of paramount importance in 21st century organizational competitiveness. Innovation in learning is the key to success in the education for information systems.

Another goal is to study factors that contribute towards the formation of an overall image to the United States of Africa. The goal of the AUDF is to help Africa to become a continent which is economically well developed, is technologically advanced, has a high wealth index, and that has stringent regulatory mechanisms. To develop a very strong positive country of origin image and thus the products of African Union would enjoy a positive country of origin effect AUS will prepare the students to research and learn the following factors:

· Economy – One of the main factors that influence customers’ perceptions towards a country is the level of the country’s economy. Level of economic growth acts as a main proxy for the country’s other activities.

· Technology – Given the extent to which technology and technological innovations impact consumers’ lives in today’s world, it is not surprising that the extent of technological advancement of a country bears heavily on consumers’ perception of the country. This factor is usually related to the level of economic development of the country.

· Wealth index – This refers to the perceived/actual overall wealth of a country as measured through levels of consumption, number of millionaires, number of billionaires, the size of the luxury goods industry, the sophistication of leisure industry, the proportion of individual income spent of leisure and self enhancing activities and so on. Wealth index offers customers a cue to infer the level of product quality, variety, and perceived credibility of the products/brands.

· Regulatory mechanisms – With heightened globalization, the existence and effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms have become a major factor in creating country images. Regulatory mechanisms such as Intellectual Property Rights law (IPR), online piracy laws, anti-fraud regulations and others create a sense of perceived security in the minds of businesses and customers about a specific country.

· Government – The success of capitalism and the resulting market economy around the world has created inherent perceptions (often negative) about countries that do not follow capitalism. Similarly, democracy has become the form of governance in most countries of the world. As such, other forms of government such as monarchy, communist regimes and dictatorships tend to be viewed negatively. As such, the form of government feeds into the generation of country images. A related aspect is the reputation of the government and its corporate governance – how bureaucratic, transparent, corrupt or efficient is a country’s government?

· Business history – This refers to the evolution of business in a country and what a country has specifically been known for historically. Even though countries evolve through time to specialize in successively high-value industries, it takes a long time to shrug off any negative associations of the past. As such, the business history of the country contributes to the overall image of the country.

AUS Objectives

· Strengthen the competitiveness of Africa’s enterprise environment by teaching foreign languages, Arabic, English, French and Spanish,

· To form a search committee to recruit educators from all over the world that represents the pinnacle of achievement and recognition in the academic world,

· Promote the emergence of an innovative and knowledge-driven economy,

· Sustain those industries already providing employment ,

· Underpin the industries of the future where AU is, or can become, a substantial player,

· Encourage business start-ups and companies with potential for growth in Africa,

· Examine the scope for increasing the value of sectors to the African economy as a whole,

· Developing economies in the African Union offering a low costs base, which are now firmly part of the global competition for markets and mobile investment, while AU's cost base has increased substantially,

· To teach students on how to design efficient transport and communications services and world-class seaport, airport and logistical infrastructure –all keystones of the country’s export-driven development strategy- which are crucial to bridge the geographic distance that exists between Africa and other business centers throughout the world. And, within Africa, these services are equally important to ensure that all the country’s inhabitants share in the benefits of economic growth.

· To teach students on how to build sound macroeconomic fundamentals and strong institutions, promoting competition and international integration, and creating a fairer society in which all citizens benefit from economic development,

· To teach how to develop the African Union’s greater competitiveness, lower tariffs, increasing levels of foreign trade and rapid integration into world markets,

· To teach students how to develop the country’s telecommunications system, to be internationally competitive and solid banking sector, high-standard public infrastructure, excellent quality of services and ample availability of qualified workers as key factors that also favorably impress foreign investors,

· To research methods that will help the African Union to sustain economic growth and to improve social conditions implementing active social investment policies, accelerating progress in education, healthcare, housing and other fields,

· To study the potential for regional political and economic integration in the African region.

The African Union Star will develop a new strategy which emphasizes a more distinct profile, high quality internationally, program-based teaching and research, and a reward system for quality. The AUS vision is to become a world-class international school of business, foreign languages, economy and technology.

The AUS will concentrate its efforts and resources on chosen areas of priority. In research, four multidisciplinary areas of priority have been chosen for 2008-2009: globalization and competitiveness, financial markets and services, the information economy and business networks. Other areas will be designated in response to demand and success, investing in direct economic research to offer significant scientific contributions, and practical relevance to the economic development in Africa. These goals can be achieved by rewarding top performance, developing career paths for researchers, and establishing an active programme of international exchange.

AUS will work to become an international university and to offer the best quality of teaching, research, and services. The aim of the schemes is to help African countries put in place structures and reforms that will strengthen the rule of law, support democracy and promote greater accountability and transparency.

The ultimate goal is for the AUDF to undertake the education of young students from Africa and from other countries of the world to educate them on how to design a complete re-engineering of the African Union’s overseas network and marketing supports, both in terms of business process and organization structure with a clear focus on improving the life conditions in that region and other regions of the world. This will benefit the economy of Africa and the other participating countries. The AUS is intended to bring the people of the world in unison with the people of Africa to provide quality education for all the world's children. The AUDF strongly believes that an investment in education in the world's poorest countries will produce impressive benefits and higher economic returns. It has been proven that education improves family income, resulting in healthier families by lowering infant and maternal mortality and improving child nutrition. (Gene B.Sperling, “Toward Universal Education: Making a Promise, and Keeping It” 2000)

The AUS will be the university that will embrace the entire world, inviting different nations, and communities of every region on the earth to share their wealth of knowledge and experience with the United States of Africa, in a mutual exchange of language, culture and philosophy. The African continent represents several worlds. The African Union Star will attract students from all over the world, thus, connecting the world to Africa’s rich culture and diversity. International cultural exchange will not only contribute to the development of Africa’s culture, but is also very important to the improvement of mutual understanding between Africa and other countries. As the cultures include the arts and the letters, as well as the ways of life, the systems of values, the traditions and the beliefs, the United States of Africa feels that it is needed to protect and promote their cultural diversity defending their creative capacity through educational exchange and pacific coexistence. African needs to share their story, according to their own experience and knowledge because …Very often, the historian works with facts but it's the question of interpretation that leads to different layers of truth." (Dr Wilhelmina Donkoh, Kwame Nkrumah University, Kumasi, Ghana.)

Specifically the primary characteristics of the African Union Star will be its emphasis on multi- and inter-disciplinary perspectives in problem-solving and Africa’s participation in the global economy. The problems in today's and tomorrow's worlds are increasingly complex, and to make appropriate choices students must be able to approach decisions from wide and multiple perspectives. Students also must be able to analyze information and alternatives critically, often working collaboratively with others who may differ from them in background and experiences implementing their diplomatic skills.

Strategies

1. Quality to offer programs in teaching, research and support of such quality as to place us in the upper 20% of a national set of comparable programs as judged by peer evaluation.

2. Community to establish a school as a recognized cornerstone of the community, committed to the social, cultural and economic development of the African Union.

3. Resources to generate the resources necessary from both public and private sources to allow us to achieve our objectives and to steward those resources in a sustainable fashion.

People:

1. People to recruit and retain a diverse group of exceptionally talented students, faculty and staff and to support them in ways that allow them to achieve their highest potential.

Recruit exceptional people—students, faculty, staff and supporters—are the underpinning

a) Students

Attracting the best undergraduate and graduate students to the African Union Star is critical to our mission (and to our financial sustainability). Key initiatives are as follows:

a) Develop a comprehensive strategic enrolment plan to continue to be successful in the increasingly competitive environment

b) Develop a student financial aid plan and continue to provide incremental funds to student financial aid. In the past, the incremental allocation to student financial aid has come from grant and tuition revenue. In light of constrained grant funding and re-regulated tuition, this approach is not sustainable. For this year, incremental investment will come from both recurring and non-recurring funds pending the development of new external resources. An incremental investment in the

c) Development Office (see Resources) will be made with a specific goal of increasing both the endowment and annual giving in support of student financial support. A new strategic plan will be developed for student financial aid and will continue to fund scholarships with a focus on recruitment and retention of excellent students. The plan will include provision for undergraduate recruitment, graduate recruitment, and community engagement.

d) Provide incremental investment for graduate student recruitment and financial support in anticipation of the expansion of graduate enrolments

e) Establish and provide related support for new recruiting officers for national and international recruiting

f) Develop communication tools, advertising, web development, information technology tools and other initiatives to enhance recruitment

e) Complete further planning within student services to develop a vision and action items consistent with the goals set out in the strategic plan, as student services play a key role in the area of student recruitment and retention. Develop a financial plan for residence expansion.

h) Enhance and grow our student population through enhanced recruiting strategies and the investment in the African Union Star University.

B. Faculty and Staff

b) The quality of our work is determined by the quality of the university’s faculty and staff.

c) The environment for recruiting and retaining faculty and staff is becoming increasingly competitive. The ageing of the population, a strong economy, and low population growth result in greater competition for highly skilled personnel at entry-level and mid-career. The AUS attraction to job-seekers will significantly increase and the natural geographic advantage will serve the university well. However, increases in the cost of living (especially housing) have substantially eroded any economic advantage that was once enjoyed in comparison to some of other larger urban centers. This economic change will erode the competitiveness of AUS salaries in some areas. And, while the economy of AUS is diversifying somewhat, there continues to be challenges in providing employment. Key initiatives for recruiting and retaining quality faculty and staff include:

· Develop new; economical approaches to faculty and staff relocation in response to high housing prices enhance the current program of market and retention salary adjustments for both recruitment and retention of staff.

· Develop and resource a strategy to communicate the attractions of the University of AUS and of the AUS region as a place to work and live

· Monitor the success of the university’s equity and diversity initiatives and continue to integrate these values into all planning;

· Implement employee engagement/satisfaction surveys or other measures to guide employment practices

· Develop and pilot new programs for faculty and staff development

Key initiatives specifically for recruiting and retaining quality faculty include:

Develop funded chairs and professorships through enhanced fund development.

Careful collaboration in planning, identifying opportunities and matching opportunities with strategic priorities will be critical. Recruit, develop and support academic leadership, including chairs, deans and centre directors. This is critical to the success of the university. The university will need to continue to examine incentives and supports provided to academic leaders.

Key initiatives specifically for recruiting and retaining quality staff include:

a) Identify and actively recruit population groups that have potential and that will be under-represented at the university.

b) Review career paths and identify opportunities for staff to grow within the university.

c) Quality the University of AUS’s success is dependent on the quality of the activities in which we will engage and the resulting accomplishments of our students and faculty.

d) AUS’s goal is to offer programs of teaching, research and support of such quality as to place it in the upper 20% of a national and international set of comparable programs. In the upcoming years, the university plans to grow at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. Before making any strategic investments, sufficient resources need to be allocated to faculties and units such that the growth can be accommodated without impairing quality.

e) At the undergraduate level, the plan is to grow by an actual increase between 170 to 200 a year. An incremental allocation will be provided to academic and on academic areas. The allocation to academic areas is based upon the academic planning of the faculties and support areas. Specific new/expanded programs will be funded (e.g. business expansion), along with the growth planned for by various academic units. The process will be informed by faculty and unit strategic plans; information from the regular academic program reviews; and enrolment performance as n indicator of student demand. The academic faculties will be asked to develop three o five-year plans that will inform the allocation of funding for undergraduate and adequate expansion in addition, Student Services and other support areas ill develop strategic plans (and associated resource plans) to accommodate growth no maintain/enhance levels of service and support.

Planning processes will be underway to develop:

(1) A short term plan to increase enrolments, and which will require resources for student recruiting and support in order to release that capacity;

(2) A long-term plan to determine the need for new or substantially expanded programs, including instructional and other resources. The academic faculties will be developing three to five year plans that will inform this process.

C) Key initiatives to maintain quality in our education and research programs include:

a) Implementing a cascading planning process from the new strategic plan

b) Making incremental investments in the Learning Teaching Center to deliver

programs including enhanced English Language support, enhanced Math support and intervention in large high-impact first year courses.

C) regularizing/enhancing the quality of summer programming internationalizing and integrating of learning and research to enhance quality. A fund will be established, on a one-time basis, to provide top-up funding for visiting scholars to promote internationalization and the integration of teaching and research. The success of this program will be monitored with a view to establishing it on a permanent basis.

d) Maintaining the level of investment in library acquisitions as this is critical to maintaining the quality of research and learning. The library acquisitions budget will be increased to provide some protection against inflation. The increased purchasing power of the US dollar has somewhat decreased the impact of inflation and this was considered in determining the 2008/09 investment. This area is an also a priority for fundraising in order to secure. External sources to aid in the ongoing need to maintain investment in library Acquisitions despite inflation.

e) Focusing new resources on established or emerging areas of research and educational excellence.

Expanding AUS’s involvement in interdisciplinary research areas of high priority for society. There is currently a significant amount of activity in health teaching and research. While this is the case, in light of the highly distributed nature of health research and education within AUS, we perceive that we are not reaching our full potential in this area, especially in relation to interdisciplinary endeavors and graduate education. The university will enhance the governance structure and administrative infrastructure for health research and education and will also grow health programs through the use of a portion of academic growth funds.

g) Ensuring that over the next few years the focus will be for major research platforms to be sustainable. AUS will be the site of national research platforms in oceans science, proteomics, sub-atomic physics and high performance computing. These major research platforms will contribute greatly to AUS’s goal for quality.

h) Continuing to support of the Community-based Research and Education initiative in order to enhance the quality of the student experience, and to increase the quality of all the educational components.

§ Economy – One of the main factors that influence customers’ perceptions towards a country is the level of the country’s economy. Level of economic growth acts as a main proxy for the country’s other activities.