Dear IC Parents,
I am writing to inform you that the IC Board of Trustees has confirmed that there will be no increase in tuition fees for the upcoming school year. The ZERO tuition increase for the current year and another ZERO increase for next school year means that the college will likely experience operating budget deficits for two consecutive years.
This decision has been taken in recognition of the continuing uncertain economic circumstances in Lebanon and the region, as well as, acknowledging the significant tuition increase in 2017 required to implement Law 46, the government approved new teacher salary scale. A specially appointed Board of Trustees budget and expense review task force has spent months meticulously reviewing school expenses with two primary purposes. The first was a commitment to keep any potential tuition fee increase to the absolute minimum. The second was to conduct a cost/benefit review of all operating expenses to determine which, if any, could be made without unduly compromising the breadth and quality of current programs and services offered.
It is important to note that in recent years, IC has initiated a number of program and service improvements, including but not limited to, increased the number of specialist teachers and expanded the level of support for students with special learning needs, added college and career guidance counseling services, employed school psychologists in all schools to provide social and emotional health and wellness programs for students, added AEFE certified, native speaking French Assistant Directors at each school to strengthen IC's French language and French section academic programs to ensure compliance with French Baccalaureate and French Ministry of Education requirements, expanded after school activities that involves nearly 1,000 students on 40 different sports teams and 1,500 students in a host of clubs and activities to meet the special interests and talents of students from elementary, middle and secondary schools, reorganized the pre-school and elementary PYP (Primary Years Program) curriculum by the addition of specific content to ensure foundational skills and strengthen student's preparation for middle and secondary school, and substantially upgraded campus security. In addition, IC has made significant investments in upgrading technology including campus-wide internet/wifi access. Finally, the new elementary, middle and pre-school buildings associated with IC's school-wide facility improvement plan represents additional insurance, cleaning, security and utility costs.
When reviewing the school's operating expenses, it is important to note that approximately 75% of total expenditures are directly related to salary and benefits for faculty and staff. At IC, this includes nearly 700 employees. The 75% expenditure for salary and benefits is consistent with comparable international schools offering similar programs and services, although few, if any schools, offer the breadth and diversity of programs that IC does (e.g. the IB, Lebanese, and French Baccalaureate Diploma programs, the pre- and elementary PYP program, and pre-school through secondary French and English language tracks).
Dr. Don Bergman,
IC President
