LEARNING TO THRIVE IN A TIME OF GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY

It seems as though we’ve run out of descriptors for Spring 2020! We’ve all experienced a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic . . . and we’ve quickly learned to adapt and redefine what “thriving” looks like. At LCC International University, like everywhere, we finished the spring semester in a remote format. Unlike most other places, we still have over 100 students living on campus – students for whom the borders had closed or there was nowhere else to go.

At an international university, where over 70% of our students come from “somewhere else,” the biggest threat is the possibility that international travel will become the enemy. We believe that LCC has a unique role in helping shape a generation of young leaders who are able to communicate across cultures, and who have learned to negotiate and work together across dividing lines that artificially separate so many in our world.

In everything, LCC remains committed to our mission of “providing Christian liberal arts education within a diverse learning community that transforms people for servant leadership.” And we are working hard to remain agile. I believe we likely need to remove the phrase “back to normal” from our vocabulary. I believe that we will never truly return to the way it was, because we will have learned how to do things better as we also learn to let go.

FIVE STEPS IN PLANNING FOR THE FALL

1. Supporting our Students: Knowing that many of our students have lost their summer employment opportunities, we are granting all students a 10% tuition discount for 2020-2021 (in addition to any other financial aid/scholarship that they are entitled to).

2. Creative Student Recruitment: With no ability to travel to other countries for recruitment purposes, we have seamlessly moved to a “webinar” format – which has been very successful to date.

3. Loan Fund: We have established an Emergency Loan Fund, which will be available to students for tuition support in the fall. The concepts of loans and debt are rather new to this part of the world, so we are looking at generous forgiveness plans for prompt repayment.

4. Increased Annual Fund Goals: In order to offset lost tuition revenue, and in order to support our students’ return in the fall, we are increasing our Annual Fund goal by 200,000 EUR for the next fiscal year. This brings the total Annual Fund goal to 950,000 EUR.

5. Managing Expenses: In anticipation of the potential for decreased student numbers in Fall, we are already working to manage our expenses (including not filling current vacancies).

120

Number of students who had planned to work in the US or Greece this summer, and have now lost employment opportunities

400

Number of current students who have registered for the fall (which represents a 96% retention rate)

237

Number of prospective students who have been accepted for fall, compared to 210 last year and 183 the year before (YTD)

200,000 EUR

The cost of the 10% tuition discount for all BA students

100,000 EUR

The amount of the new Emergency Loan Fund to offer students an additional option for funding their tuition

PLEASE PRAY!

• Pray with us for the continued safety and health of our students – whether in their home countries, or here on campus.

• Pray with us as we seek God’s wisdom in how to begin the fall semester. We have developed multiple budget models, and academic models, and residence hall models. We need wisdom to know which versions to adopt and when – based on the environment and the context.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!

• Support for our students means that support from our donors and friends is especially critical at this time.

• Help us finish this fiscal year well. Please give by July 31. Without our large summer programs, our revenue stream is shrinking. Help us bridge the gap! (We still need approximately 290,000 EUR to finish well.)

• Consider supporting us financially in unique ways for the 2020-2021 academic year.

• If you are a regular donor, would you consider increasing your gift to support the emergency needs of our students?

• If you are a new donor, would you consider supporting a student? Or more than one? Tuition for one year is 3180 EUR.

Thank you in advance! We appreciate our strong global community, and we remain agile in our planning. May God bless you and your family . . . as you navigate this global crisis with us.

Marlene Wall, PhD
President

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