In its meeting on October 27, 2025, the Management Committee discussed the following:1. Approval of the revised membership in:

• Academic Committee, where the Student Representative was replaced
• Research Committee, where a new composition was proposed in light of the changes of the Head of Research. The new compositions are published on the AUS website under the corresponding governance section.

2. Approval of the amended Staffing Policy; references to functions which are no longer present on the AUS Organisational Chart were removed.

In its meeting on September 29, 2025, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Approval of the changes in the Management Committee Terms of Reference, where the membership was updated to reflect a more senior, lean composition of the Committee.
2. Approval of the governance nominal composition for the 2025 - 2026 academic year for the Management Committee and its sub-structures, all of which are published on the AUS website under the corresponding governance section.
3. Approval of the 2025 - 2026 Academic Calendar and the Course Schedule for the Fall Term of 2025.
4. Approval of the Administrative Timelines for the 2025 - 2026 academic year, a tool which provides support for the planning of activities of AUS teams, mostly QA, academics and student affairs.
5. Approval of the following revised policies:
6. Quality Assurance Strategy. The operated changes reflect the references to functions which are no longer present on the AUS Organisational Chart.
7. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework. The references to CPD development tracks was removed as we currently do not have capacity for implementation. This was removed in order to ensure consistency between what we say we do and what we can actually do.
8. Student Finance Policy. The provisions regarding non-payment consequences were amended.
9. Policy and Procedures for Admissions. The Committee approved limiting the time for deferrals in the commencement of studies of candidates who were successfully accepted at AUS, to one year, after which the terms included in the Offer Letter are no longer applicable.
10. Review and discuss the Comparative Analysis of Learning Experience Survey for the 2024-2025 academic year.
11. Approval of the list of graduates for the 2025 Commencement Ceremony.

In its meeting on April 07, 2025, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. The Management Committee took note of the latest Organisation Chart approved by the AUS President.

2. Approval of the revised Staff Code of Conduct where the provisions regarding freedom of teaching and research were amended to better reflect the Constitutional rights in this regard. This will come into effect immediately.

3. Approval of the revised Admissions Policy where the entry requirements were aligned to the legal admissions criteria for a university of applied sciences institute. These will come into effect as from the September 2025 intake.

In its meeting on February 24, 2025, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Approval of Annex 1 to the Data Protection Policy - Rubric for Levels of Access - determining who and what type of data can access at AUS and for what purposes. The document is based on the principle of "need to know" and ensuring operational efficiency while maintaining confidentiality. The Annex is part of the current institutional actions of alignment to the new federal provisions for data protection.2. Approval of policy changes that were made in light of new the data protection and admissions provisions, as well as the recent establishment of the academic probation procedures, reflected in the following documents:

• Student Agreement
• Assessment Policy and Regulations
• Regulations for Student Enrollment, Registration, Suspension of Studies, Withdrawal, Dismissal and Graduation
• Credit Transfer Policy and Procedures
• Policy and Procedures for Admissions

The revised documents were approved by all members.

1. Approve the amended Strategic Plan 2022 - 2027According to the strategic planning process at AUS, the institution revisits its Strategic Plan every academic year and operates minor adjustmentsin light of changing circumstances. Given its progress on previous goals, as well as the two new team additions on academic support and career services,

AUS has revisited some of its aspirations and made a few amendments to the document. The Quality Assurance Director presented the changes that were made and the document was approved. The newly amended Strategic Plan will be published pending graphic design works.

2. Discuss and approve the Institutional Self-Evaluation Report 2023 - 2024In line with its Quality Assurance Strategy, AUS conducts annual self-evaluation reports which we use as an opportunity to reflect critically and analytically on the academic year just concluded, both on the successes, as well as the areas where we could have done better. Even if this is a reasonable new practice, this being only the second time this is conducted, AUS is committed to its regularity. The report is used for internal purposes only and is not connected to any external quality assurance process, such as accreditations or audits by external parties. The Quality Assurance Director presented the report and the Committee proceeded to approve it.

3. Approve the Research Ethics ProcedureThe procedure outlines the ethical principles and guidelines to help ensure the responsible conduct of research at AUS, with the aim to protect the rights, welfare, and dignity of research participants or subjects. The document regulates the ethical clearance which should be sought from AUS for all research in which human or animal subjects will be involved as subjects of the research. There was no question or clarification requested, the document was approved.

4. Discuss the notes and observations of the Learning Visits of Fall 2024At AUS, learning visits led by the institutional leadership or academic team consist of observing the classes for a brief period of time with the aims to observe alignment of institutional-wide teaching to the strategic goals of the institution, provide an opportunity for best practices to be recognized and shared, as well as an opportunity to promote consistency, enable particular themes to be explored, allow academic managers to observe teaching practice and student reactions first-hand, and identify possible institutional-wide needs for the faculty's continuous professional development and to support faculty in their own development activities. During the Fall term, a series of learning visits were conducted by the Quality Assurance Director with the following theme: cultural sensitivity, inclusive language, student and faculty attitudes, student body cohesion and integration. The summary notes of the observer were presented and the committee discussed the immediate actions recommended.

5. Discuss the following survey reports:

- Learning Experience Survey Report of Fall 2024;

- Student Entry Survey Report of Fall 2024

- Survey on learning environment, administration, and student support for the 2023 - 2024 academic year

- Staff/Faculty Satisfaction Survey Report for the 2023 - 2024 academic year

The Committee discussed the areas where we fall short on the 75% satisfaction rate internal benchmark and the most immediate courses of action to work on improvements. From a procedural point of view, the Committee discussed that, in addition to the You said, We did posters, we also included a section where we explain why we have not acted on a particular concern. This will be integrated accordingly.

6. Under Any Other Business the topic of QS Rankings was discussed and AUS decided to continue its listing for the current academic year.

In its meeting on October 28, 2024, the Management Committee had the following agenda:

1.  Discuss and approve the Risk Management Policy
‍The policy forms part of the internal quality management and the governance arrangements at AUS. It explains our underlying approach to risk management. It documents the roles and responsibilities of the Management Committee, the President and other key parties. It also outlines key aspects of the risk management process, and identifies the main reporting procedures.

2.  Discuss and approve the Equality and Diversity Policy
The primary goal of this policy is to promote an inclusive and equitable environment, where diversity is valued, discrimination is eliminated, and all individuals are provided with equal opportunities to thrive academically, professionally, and socially. The policy also underlines AUS commitment to promoting equality and providing an environment where all members of its community are treated with respect and dignity; it also restates the AUS effort to educate a student body that reflects the diverse community that we serve and are part of.

3.  Discuss and approve the Policy for Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
This policy outlines the ways in which AUS addresses the needs of students with learning difficulties or disabilities. Central to this policy is the intention to take account of individual needs and to work with students with learning difficulties or disabilities to find appropriate and practical solutions to problems that might arise. Through this document, AUS recognises its responsibility to make anticipatory and reasonable adjustments to all policies, procedures and provision of services, including teaching and learning, and actively seeks to widen the participation of disabled people in education. In addition, AUS recognises its responsibility to raise aspirations for students with learning difficulties or disabilities, and will use its best endeavors to enable students to achieve good life outcomes.

4.  Note the newly adopted Staff Leave Policy
This policy approved by the Presidency sets out the principles and procedures relating to staff leave at AUS and it reflects the institutional commitment to supporting a healthy balance of work and personal life, to ensure that AUS team members thrive as we work to attain our mission.

5.  Approve the governance composition for 2024 – 2025
The composition of the Management Committee, Academic Committee and Research Committee for the 2024 – 2025 academic year were approved. The Research Committee composition is still pending a few changes to incorporate representatives of the Visiting Researcher Fellows recently co-opted by AUS.

6.  Discuss the Academic Performance Reports of the 2023-2024 academic year
The reports, produced by the Head of Student Affairs, reflect the performance of the institution during the previous academic year in terms of attendance, assessment, new students and exiting students, among others.

7.  Discuss the Comparative Analysis Learning Experience Survey 2023 - 2024
The analysis points out a positive trend in student satisfaction. The presentation was sent to students and faculty, and it also includes a few of the actions taken to address the student feedback.

In its meeting on August 28, 2024, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. The new AUS Research Incentive Policy. In order to support the implementation of the AUS Research Strategy, a new policy was proposed by the Head of Research aiming at incentivising those who can produce research to do so with the AUS institutional affiliation, supporting with capacity building those who have an interest in publishing but might not necessarily know how to do it and, finally, targeting new faculty that have an already built research profile and will be actively delivering research outputs.

2. Changes in existing in the Credit Transfer Policy and Procedure, Assessment Policy and Regulations, Admissions Policy, and Regulations for Student Enrollment, Registration, Suspension of Studies, Withdrawal and Graduation.

In its meeting on April 29, 2024, the Management Committee discussed the amended academic agreement with Tiffin University, the updates referring to the IACBE accreditation of the AUS study programs, and the new QS rankings outcomes.

In its meeting on January 29, 2024, the Management Committee discussed the response to be submitted by AUS to the IACBE Report of Findings, and the Student Learning Experience Survey consolidated report. Finally, the members have presented their Strategic Progress reports.

In its meeting on December 20, 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. The Committee discussed and approved the Policy and procedure for staff performance management (published on the AUS website), differentiated between probation period and annual performance review, as well as between academic and administrative staff, where the latter is also divided between student-facing and non-student-facing. The document is to be operated in conjunction with the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework regulates the AUS approach to staff growth in areas in need of development. Finally, the document provides arrangements in case of unsatisfactory performance, and the timeline given to staff for remediation in case of poor performance.

2. The Committee revisited the employment regulatory framework for its Adjunct Lecturers, which has been separated for greater clarity between the Contract, the Job description and the Code of Conduct. In this regard, a new Code of Conduct for AUS academic and administrative was discussed and approved by the Committee and has also been published on the institutional website.

In its meeting on December 5, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:
1. Approval of the governance structures composition for the 2023 — 2024 academic year.The committee discussed and formally approved the new compositions, which are also posted on the institutional website. However, it was decided that the members will work in the upcoming months to increase the representation, on the AUS Academic Committee, of labor market representatives, as well as external academics.

2. Approval of the revised Terms of Reference for all governance structures. Changes made refer to the frequency of meetings, duration of mandate and mandate renewals, formal reporting responsibilities of sub-structures to the Management Committee, and other operational aspects in light of the actual functioning in practice for the past academic year.The ToRs were approved.

3. Approval of the revised Policy and Procedures for Admissions and the Credit Transfer Policy and Procedures. Changes were made so that the policies explicitly refer to International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas, courses, and credit transfers, in alignment with the AUS’s recent initiatives to encourage applications from IB candidates.The changes were approved.

In its meeting on October 30, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Operational Plan 2023 — 2024
The Quality Assurance team presented the final Operational Plan for the upcoming academic year, which has received input from all teams. Some of the KPIs, actions, and ownership were revised. This action is in response to both a regulatory/accreditation requirement for the institution to be strategically driven and also monitor its progress, as well as an institutional need to increase the accountability of all staff in relation to advancing the institutional strategic priorities. During the Management Committee meeting at the end of every month, all AUS staff will be invited to report on progress using a template made available by the QA team.The Operational Plan is approved.

2. Data Protection Policy
A new Data Protection Policy was drafted in the context of Switzerland adopting a new Data Protection Law. The policy is part of a larger series of actions required in order to support the AUS alignment with the new legislative framework. The Policy will replace the old Data Protection statement published on the AUS website.The Policy has been approved.

3. Policy and Procedures for Health, Safety, and Wellbeing
The QA team introduces a new policy for health, safety and wellbeing, drafted in response to regulatory compliance requirements. The document is approved.

In its meeting on September 25, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Program Review Report
According to the AUS Policy and Procedure for Program Management, the study programs delivered at AUS undergo two types of reviews aimed at reflecting over their overall quality: annual reviews for minor modifications and periodic reviews (every five years) for major modifications. During the academic break, the Dean of Academics led the periodic program review of the BSBA, MIBA, and DBA as reflected in the Program Review Outline, which determines the scope, calendar, and questions to be answered during the process. The Committee appointed for this purpose has concluded their work and gathered their conclusions in the Program Review Report. The Dean of Academics will be working on the action plan and ensure that the recommendations derived from this process will be implemented in a timely manner.The Report is approved.

2. Learning Experience Survey Comparative Analysis 2022−2023
The Student Affairs Team, with support from QA, elaborated a Comparative Analysis of the Learning Experience Surveys conducted during the 2022−2023 academic year. The members of the committee discussed the areas of growth and those in need of improvement; the Dean of Academics will monitor closely the action-taking in the areas in need of improvement.

3. Student Handbook 2023−2024
The Committee discussed the Student Handbook for the 2023−2024 academic year; the document merges the old Student Manual, the revamped policies developed during the past academic year, as well as the New Student Guide, into what will become a one-stop-shop for all the information old and new students alike will be referring to while at AUS. QA will be responsible for overseeing, with the Student Affairs Team, its actualization every summer prior to the start of a new academic year.The Handbook is approved.

4. Administrative Calendar 2023−2024
The members of the committee discussed the Administrative Calendar for the upcoming academic year, which determines the most important milestones and timelines for the academic, student affairs, and QA teams. QA underlines the importance of predictability in the implementation of these processes.

The Administrative Assistant will be accountable for overseeing the adherence to the calendar by reverting back to responsible teams and ensuring reminders are given in a timely manner.

In its meeting on July 17, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Staff Disciplinary Policy regulates the breaches in the Staff Code of Conduct, therefore referring to non-academic expectations, as well as the sanctions applicable in case of breaches. This document would become more necessary as our academic community expands and we want to ensure consistency in how we treat disciplinary cases. The Quality Assurance Director worked with the legal team to ensure that the policy is aligned with the Swiss labor law legislation.The Policy was approved.

2. Scholarship Policy. The AUS definition of need-based scholarship was proven to be not sufficiently inclusive for students that really can demonstrate a need as we had a very restrictive definition referring to orphans, veterans, disabilities, etc. Therefore, the policy has been amended to cover a wider definition of needs-based scholarships.The changes were approved.

3. Admissions Policy was amended to create a funnel for transfer students who come from other HEIs with more than 60 ECTS credits transferred. In this case, it is not their secondary study records that are considered for entry to AUS, but their previous higher education records.The changes were approved.

4. Credit Transfer Policy. was also amended to create an exception regarding the percentage of credits to be acquired at AUS. Previously, the number of credits students could transfer and still graduate with a degree from AUS was capped at 50%. However, in order to accommodate the new profile of transfer students that carry at least 60 ECTS, this needed to be amended.The changes were approved.

5. Alumni Survey Report results provide a few insights into the profiles of the AUS graduates. Some of the data can simply be used for institutional learning considering that it is the first time we collect this kind of data, other data can be put to use for marketing purposes as we had graduates that have shown an interest to have their story used for publicity purposes and finally, other data has to feed into the program review as it gives an indication of what were the training needs of our graduates after completing their studies when they entered the labor market.

In its meeting on June 5, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. The Staffing Policy introduces the AUS provisions for recruitment and workload allocation of all staff. The Policy was discussed and approved by the two main hiring managers/line managers for the academic/non-academic areas of the institution. Basically, the contents of the document reflect the arrangements currently in place at AUS, processes that are already happening in practice, with one exception: the policy is proposing a mock session to be organized as part of the recruitment process for all incoming academic staff in the form of a guest speech. This will on one hand expose our students to Guest Speakers, an area we are working on improving, as well as give us the chance to observe the candidate's pedagogical skills and dynamics while in the classroom.
The Policy is approved.

2. Changes in the Admissions Policy. The requirements for entry into the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) have been added. The program will be advertised after we have secured its accreditation by IACBE.The updates are approved.

In its meeting on May 22, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Student Attendance Policy. The revised AUS Attendance Policy includes a number of changes:this document regulates the notion of lateness (15 mins) and the threshold for accepted absences (5);

• we will no longer issue attendance reports to all students every three weeks, but only to students that are flagged at risk;
• we have started implementing this provision already as a transition to the new Policy;
• we will no longer issue half absences, but full absences. For this reason, the absence threshold has been modified from 3 to 5 absences;
• attendance will no longer constitute a percentage of the grade, however, students will be administratively withdrawn and not allowed to sit in assessments if they reach their threshold. This is aligned with the ECTS User Guide. The new syllabus templates will need to be aligned to reflect this for the upcoming Fall Term. A percentage of the grade can still be allocated for class participation;
• attendance will need to be recorded both at the beginning and end of the class. Faculty should be informed accordingly.

The new Policy was approved.

2. Procedure for Recognition of Informal Prior Learning. The document aims at recognizing skills and competencies that our students have gained outside of the formal education system and provides evidence of acquiring certain skills and competencies that are mapped by the intended learning outcomes defined for some courses. AUS will now be able to document that informal prior learning and recognize it in terms of credits so that very exceptional experienced students do not have to sit through those courses again. A documented process for the mapping will be led by the Dean of Academics, which will analyze which courses can be recognized.The new Procedure is approved.

3. Academic Performance Report (term). The Quality Assurance Director introduces this document that will be used for both our internal self-reflection, as well as accreditation exercises. It will be produced and presented at the end of each term and then consolidated at the end of the academic year.

4. Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Business and Technology (KSA)An MoU was signed 2 weeks ago with the University of Business and Technology (UBT, Saudi Arabia) for the delivery of Executive Education programs targeted at their staff and students.

5. Veteran Affairs Updates. The Dean of Academics submitted the application for the recognition of the MIBA program by the VA.

6. Strategic Planning updates
A consultation with the AUS External Stakeholders has been conducted last week. The feedback they provided on the Strategic Plan was integrated into the document accordingly.
With that stage completed, the Management Committee was invited to take note of the recent changes in the Strategic Plan, compared to the version preliminarily approved in November 2022, and proceed to discuss. As a next step, we will narrow down the Strategic Plan into annual Operational Plans every academic year, which will provide measurable indicators of performance for the entire team. The Management Committee will then monitor on Operational Plan progress in its meeting in the last week of each month.

In its meeting on May 8, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Presentation and discussion of the End of Program Survey ReportThe Quality Assurance Director introduces the survey filled out by our recent graduates, which gave them the opportunity to reflect on their overall program and experience with AUS. The consolidated feedback also indicates the areas that fall under the 75% institutional benchmark. Particularly, there is a notable dissatisfaction with the institutional communication and clarity of policies, both being areas we have identified and are working on addressing.

2. Strategic Planning updatesThe strategic planning process was resumed with a second round of consultations with the external stakeholders, scheduled to take place on Thursday. After that, we would be able to define our Operational Plan and targets for each individual, which will represent our starting point for both the monthly strategic reporting process, as well as the individual performance review.

In its meeting on May 1st, 2023, the Management Committee discussed the following:

1. Decided to resume the delivery of its Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). This study program will be submitted for initial accreditation with IACBE, a process expected to be completed by April 2024. Once this stage is finalized, AUS will proceed to advertise the delivery of the DBA on all its marketing channels.

2. The Student Learning Experience Survey report is now available. The Dean of Academics will use these results in the individual growth talks organized with faculty, together with the outcomes and notes of the lesson observation. The survey results will be made public for students in a consolidated form and also be sent individually to faculty to reflect on. The Quality Assurance Director will closely monitor the action taken on the commitments made to students and arrange for the promotion of the actions taken to address student concerns (You said, We did posters).

From a content perspective, we have a number of areas that do not meet our institutional benchmark in student satisfaction (above 75%), these are red-flagged. The Dean of Academics added a few commitments to areas of concern: roughly, solutions are coming from two directions - the program review and the change of practice in ensuring more consistency in the course schedule.

In its meeting on April 25, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Approved the degree awards for the students that have completed the academic obligations of their program of study as from the Winter Term of 2023 and will walk at the commencement ceremony that will take place on May 6th;

2. Approved the revised composition of the Academic Committee, following a change in the AUS administrative staff structure;

3. Announced the kick-off of its periodic program review, in line with the AUS Policy and Procedure for Program Management, which will include a self-assessment of the work to date and will propose updates to the AUS programs in order to ensure: Relevance of our educational offer to the AUS institutional mission and vision; the Alignment with industry and market trends; Curriculum quality and rigor; Student outcomes and success; Faculty qualifications and expertise; Accreditation and external benchmarking; Financial sustainability and resource allocation.
The methodology, the composition of the committee appointed for this purpose, and the timeline of the process were also approved.

4. Announced the initiation of the re-accreditation process of the AUS programs by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). While this process is of key importance for the recognition, attractiveness, and visibility of the AUS degrees, it is also an opportunity for our institution to have a critical look at its own practices and self-reflect on the areas in need of improvement. The accreditation of the BSBA and MIBA by IACBE will be therefore renewed during the 2023-2024 academic year.

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In its meeting on March 27, 2023, the Management Committee decided on the publication of the Student Finance Policy, which provides all the necessary information relating to tuition and administrative fees, payment plans, methods of payment, and refund policy, as well as the different mechanisms students have available to fund their studies with AUS.

In its meeting on March 13, 2023, the Management Committee approved the Audit Policy in order to provide interested parties with the opportunity to attend the AUS programs and access the information and materials shared in its courses, often for professional development or lifelong learning goals.

In its meeting on February 27, 2023, the Management Committee adopted the Policy and Procedures for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, which proposes a few changes aimed at adding new data points for the enhancement of teaching and learning. The new provisions are:

• regulating the recent adjustments in the methodology of the student course evaluations, which aim at ensuring that AUS makes better use of the student feedback and that the areas in need of improvement are identified, addressed and the actions taken by AUS are disseminated to students;
• adding more structure for the faculty observations, as from next term to be scheduled and conducted according to a published calendar, in line with rubrics communicated to faculty, and leading to developmental conversations between the Dean of Academics and individual faculty members to identify areas of improvement;
• adding the Community of Practice Observations, conducted amongst peers to promote the sharing of good practice, inter-faculty support and individual development. They are designed to contribute to the development of the AUS learning community as a whole and to creating an engaged culture of peer learning among faculty.
• adding Learning Visits led by the AUS academic management and consisting of observing the classes for a brief period of time with the aim to provide opportunity for best practice to be recognised and shared; enable particular themes to be explored e.g. Active learning, Engaged and Critical Pedagogy, Student-Centred Learning, Flipped Classroom etc; identify themes that can be focused on during community of practice observations; allow academic managers to observe teaching practice and student reactions first-hand; identify possible institutional-wide needs for faculty continuous professional development and to support faculty in their own development activities.

In its meeting on February 13, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Student survey report published for the first time

AUS has started disseminating its student survey reports to its academic community. The first report includes consolidated data from the course evaluations conducted in December, as well as the institutional commitments on several aspects that we are addressing immediately based on student feedback. Additionally, AUS has decided on a few changes in regard to the course evaluation survey:

• revising the questions included in the course evaluations;
• moving the surveys fully online;
• transparently publishing survey results across the academic community;
• discussing survey results with individual faculty members more consistently and finding opportunities for improvement;
• tailoring and implementing solutions for the areas identified by the students;
• monitoring improvements and sharing them with the students as well.

2. Approval of the Regulations for Student Enrollment, Registration, Suspension of Studies, Withdrawal, Dismissal, and Graduation
‍The documented was created to regulate the student journey from admission to graduation transparently; the document uses the provisions of the Student Manual as a starting point but expands on all areas to create a more predictable experience for the students, as well as to secure alignment with the provisions of the ECTS Users Guide and the Lisbon Convention.

3. Approval of the Policy and Procedures for Scholarships
‍The Committee approved this document in order to provide more transparency on the criteria and process for scholarships, which is beneficial for both the students and the AUS Administration.

In its meeting on February 6, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Approval of the revised Research Strategy

As a follow-up from adopting a revised Strategic Plan for 2022 - 2027 in November and in light of the recently increased human capital on the research front, AUS has adopted its revised Research Strategy, led by Giuseppe Catenazzo, the AUS Head of Research. The revised strategy is built around three main pillars:

• Knowledge: Aligned with the research priorities set in AUS Strategic Plan 2022-2027, this strategic pillar entails nurturing research knowledge and skills for students and faculty members to drive them to the forefront of business research. Knowledge, collaboration (students-faculty and external partners), integrity, innovation, and decision-making stand for the principles that inspire the AUS research endeavors;
• Impact: Promote and develop applied research with explicit implications for decision-makers within and outside businesses and organizations. Research at AUS implies cooperating with businesses, educational institutes, and governmental and not-for-profit organizations. Research efforts should impact locally or globally whilst pursuing a culture of collaboration, integrity, and research ethics;
• Visibility: Make AUS research acknowledged among local and global stakeholders. Research must become a fundamental lever to drive the Institute's credibility and popularity not only in Higher Education but also among practitioners and governmental decision-makers. Increased visibility also benefits the school from new collaboration opportunities and access to new funding opportunities. Research endeavors conducted at the Institute should inspire partners and other institutions internationally.

The Research Strategy includes specific goals and actions that operationalize these pillars, as well as KPIs attached to timelines and accountable individuals.

1. Approval of the Credit transfer policy and procedure

Building on its existing procedures for academic credit transfer, AUS adopted a policy that ensures transparency and consistency in how the arrangements for credit transfer are organised at AUS. The main features of the document are:

• alignment to the ECTS User Guide and Lisbon Convention;
• the assessment of the comparability of courses and credits lies with the Academic Committee;
• in order to be transferred, a course must have been assigned a passing grade;
• students cannot transfer more than 50% of the total number of credits required for the graduation of a program;
• AUS does not accept transfer credits for internships.

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In its meeting on January 30, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:

The Committee discussed and approved the following documents:

1. Student Agreement - Describes the terms and conditions for all students at AUS and it represents the relationship between the student and the institution from admission to graduation. The document will be rolled out to be acknowledged and signed by both new students entering AUS, as well as existing students.

2. Student Code of Conduct - Defines the behavior expectations AUS has from its students, and it also provides an extensive list of rights and obligations students have during their studies at AUS.

3. Student Disciplinary Procedures - Determines the procedures for the investigation and sanctioning of all breaches in the behavior expectations, as defined by the Code of Conduct. The document will standardize the institutional approaches to disciplinary breaches.

In its meeting on January 23, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:The Committee discussed and approved a new section in its Strategic Plan 2022 - 2027 to encompass its Sustainable Development commitments. As part of this new chapter, AUS will:

1. Use the European sustainability competence framework (GreenComp) for initial teacher training and as a reference for continued professional development providers when preparing teachers and educators to teach such sustainability competencies;

2. Review course and program learning objectives on a regular basis to ensure they are inclusive of sustainability competencies at multiple points in the curriculum;

3. Engage the Student Affairs team and other AUS departments to ensure sustainability values are incorporated into the culture of our campus community;

4. Integrate sustainability into the institutional operations, research, and teaching;

5. Prioritize environmentally conscious and sustainable practices in new construction and maintenance of existing buildings.

With this additional chapter completed, AUS will now progress to conducting the consultation processes that will collect input and feedback from its students, faculty and external stakeholders, before proceeding to drafting its Annual Operational Plans.

In its meeting on January 16, 2023, the Management Committee decided the following:

The Committee discussed and approved the Policy and Procedures for Admissions; the document has been expanded on so that it presents the admission requirements and the admissions process in a more comprehensive and structured way. More importantly, the admissions decision-making process has been expanded to include the Admissions Committee, which allows for a more comprehensive and collective assessment of applications by its membership - the Head of Student Affairs, the Dean of Academics, the Quality Assurance Director, and Heads of Programs. Finally, the policy expands on the process of recognition and equivalency of foreign qualifications; AUS has also detailed its provisions for credit transfer and scholarships in order to ensure more transparency and predictability, but these have been separated into new policies that will be completed and adopted in the upcoming weeks.

The policy has been published on the AUS website in the Policies section and will also be used to align all admissions details from the website accordingly.

In its meeting on January 2nd, 2023, the Management Committee welcomed to AUS Dr. Gaidi Faraj as the new Dean of Academics.

Dr. Gaidi Faraj’s professional career spans three decades and includes a variety of leadership and management roles in higher education and international business. As a global citizen, Dr. Faraj has lived and worked on four continents. His academic approach and interests are in the intersection of global challenges and future thinking. He is focused on building sustainable institutions and evolving higher education to meet the needs of a diverse, rapidly changing world.

Most recently, Dr. Faraj served as Head of College at African Leadership University (ALU) in Kigali, Rwanda, where he led a dynamic team of 100+ staff members from over 15 countries and oversaw a campus of 1,000 students from 35 countries. While at ALU, Dr. Faraj pioneered the first Global Challenges degree program on the African continent. Prior to joining ALU, Dr. Faraj managed multiple lines of business, including construction, hospitality, and financial services, as the Vice-President of Operations for a transatlantic investment firm. He is also the founder of a business development consultancy.Dr. Faraj holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s degree in Teaching from Troy State University in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a past research fellow at Harvard University and a former University of Massachusetts Amherst W.E.B. DuBois Scholar.

In its meeting on December 6, 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Strategic planning updates

According to the Strategic Planning Timeline, AUS will be commencing the stakeholder consultations engaging students, faculty and external stakeholders, collecting inputs on the drafting of the Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027.

1. Approval of changes in the Quality Assurance Strategy

The Quality Assurance Strategy has been amended for better alignment with the SwissAccreditation Ordinance; new amendments were made in formalizing the role of the QAsystem in ensuring that:

• the organizational structure and governance bodies are designed in a way that meets basic conditions to operate independently, is fit for purpose and supports AUS in fulfilling its mission and strategic objectives;
• all internal and external stakeholders including students, administration, faculty and representatives of the labor market are appropriately represented in institutional governance;
• the administrative and academic staff are qualified to fulfill their roles and, to this end, it contributes to processes relating to recruitment, periodic performance assessment and career development of staff;
• the AUS activities correspond to its type, specific features and strategic objectives, and are carried out in accordance with the principle of freedom and independence. To this extent, periodic evaluations of teaching, research and the results achieved in these areas are conducted;
• AUS complies with the criteria for admission, for the assessment of the student performance and for issuing final diplomas.

1. Academic integrity provisions

The Committee has decided to expand on and formalize the Grammarly similarity detection features to all of its graduation thesis, Capstone projects and, where applicable, student assessments in order to promote and safeguard academic integrity. The Assessment Policy and Regulations will formalize the division of responsibilities and accountabilities of all involved.

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In its meeting on November 29, 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

The AUS activities around the winter holidays will be scheduled as follows:

1. Last academic activity day for students - December 9th

2. Last working day for staff - December 22nd

3. Campus building closed - December 23rd to January 1st

4. First day administrative staff and new students resume activity - January 2nd

5. First day faculty and old students resume academic activity - January 9th

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In its meeting on November 22 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Establishment of a Policy Inventory as a tool for quality assurance aimed at supporting a better understanding and track-keeping of the policies at AUS for better dissemination amongst internal stakeholders.

2. Approval of the Procedure for Policy Development, developed to support the processes for policy making and review, the process, chain of approval as well as division of responsibilities, increasing the accountability of policy owners under the oversight of the Quality Assurance Portfolio.

3. Approval of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Framework which determines all types of opportunities for growth and development available at AUS for both academic and administrative staff. The Framework operates in conjunction with the Policy for staff performance management which evaluates the staff contribution to the implementation of the Strategic and Operational Plans and identifies areas in need of improvement.

In its meeting on November 7, 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Approved of Terms of Reference for all AUS Committees: Management, Academic, Research and Admissions, based on the proposals received from the Committees themselves.The Terms of Reference are published on the AUS website.

2. Approved the program title change from Master of International Business Administration program title change to Master of Science in International Business Administration, based on the proposal of the Academic Committee. This change will apply to all students graduating from the program as from the date of decision.

3. Approved the Policy and Procedure for Program Management, based on the proposal of the Academic Committee. The policy sets out the provisions for the development, validation, approval, monitoring, review and closure of academic programs at the American University of Applied Sciences Institute in Switzerland.

4. Preliminarily approved the AUS Strategic Plan 2022-2027. The AUS Strategic Plan 2022-2027has been restructured into four main categories each with its own goals and objectives: Capacity Building through quality assurance, Institutional Growth, Teaching, Learning and Research, and Community Engagement.  Key new objectives include the transition to a shared governance model and increasing the impact of the strategic management on leading institutional operations, diversifying funding sources to ensure greeted financial stability, increase in student numbers, and internationalization strategy. The Management Committee has agreed that AUS will now commence extensive consultations with all relevant internal and external stakeholders, including representatives of the world of work, that could bring valuable inputs into the Strategic Plan.

In its meeting on November 3, 2022, the Management Committee decided the following:

1. Approved the new AUS Organization Chart. The new structure moves into an approach based on shared governance, consultation and dialogue, and also adds more structure and clarity on the division of responsibilities across the organization. AUS has also restructured its committees and defined a new approach to student engagement and representation. A new Quality Assurance Director has also joined the institution, and reflected in a position that allows it to operate independently. The chart also reflects a few changes in the titles of administrative staff, in alignment with their job descriptions.

The Chart is published on the AUS website.

2. Approved the new composition for all AUS Committees: Management, Academic, Research and Admissions, and welcomed their new members wishing them good luck in their proceedings.The membership of all AUS Committees are published on the AUS website.

3. Approved the AUS Quality Assurance Strategy which encompasses components such as the role of the quality assurance system in supporting strategic planning, governance, policy making, academic management, accreditations, data collection and evidence-based decision making, among others.