Ashesi's first decade (2002 – 2012):
Ashesi University was founded in 2002 with a set of ambitious goals. Here is a look back the goals we set for ourselves, and our progress towards achieving those goals. What a journey it has been so far!
(1) The Ashesi Education
Establish Ghana's first university built on the model of the Liberal Arts & Sciences, offering majors in technology and business. Demonstrate the power of Ashesi's educational model by achieving a strong career placement record for Ashesi graduates. Ninety percent (90%) of each graduating class must be placed in good jobs or graduate schools within six (6) months of graduation.Progress Ashesi represents one of the finest educational experiences in Ghana today, with small class sizes and an academic rigor that fosters critical thinking, problem solving, and a strong sense of mission. Over 95% of Ashesi graduates find quality placement within three months of graduating. A hundred percent (100%) have received job offers, started businesses or gained admission to graduate school within six (6) months. To date, Ashesi alumni have launched 18 ventures. Their innovative products include mobile healthcare and mobile financial services applications. Graduate school placements have been achieved in over twenty recognized universities in Ghana, Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States, including first tier institutions such as King's College, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Michigan, and the University of Virginia.
(2) Establish a residential campus
Develop a campus where students from different backgrounds live and learn together. Create a space where future leaders of Africa will come to be nurtured and inspired.
Progress: For the first eight years, the University operated in rented buildings that provided academic space for 400 students, housing for 160 students, and housing for visiting faculty and Fulbright scholars. Because student housing was subleased from third party landlords, only students who could afford to pay rent lived in university managed housing.
The University moved to its permanent campus in 2011, having completed its first capital campaign and completed construction of its permanent campus in Berekuso, a rural community north of Accra. The first phase of construction supports academic facilities for 600 students and housing for 300 students. Thanks to the generous response of our donors, Ashesi student housing is now available for both affluent and low-income students.
Funds raised for the campus project included 2.5 million in debt financing from the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and $4.5 million in grants from philanthropy. The Board of Trustees and the Executives of the University have made it a priority to continue to raise philanthropic and debt funding necessary to build more housing. Our goal is to eventually achieve a predominantly residential campus, with 75 percent of the student body living on campus.
(3) Grow to a student population of 400 students
The University's first business plan called for a minimum of 400 students in order to achieve operating sustainability.
Progress: The University exceeded its enrollment goals and currently has 570 students enrolled.
(4) Foster a diverse student body
Fifty percent (50%) of Ashesi students should be women and at least ten percent (10%) should be supported by financial aid.
Progress: The University has made great strides towards achieving a diverse student body. Forty eight percent (48%) of students are women. Every year since inception, thirty to fifty percent of the matriculating students have received financial aid from the university. Twenty percent (20%) come from extreme poverty. The university has awarded over $ 4 million in financial aid to date. Ten percent (10%) of full time students come from outside Ghana. In addition, diversity have been further enhanced through study abroad and student exchange programmes with New York University (USA), Coe College (USA), Wilfred Laurier University (Canada), and the Council for International Educational Exchange (USA).
(5) Nurture a strong spirit of ethics and purpose among the students, faculty and staff
Ashesi must model the Africa we want to see. It must be a community that values scholarship, leadership and citizenship in equal measure; where ethical behaviour and civic engagement are ways of life; and where the purpose of an African renaissance is embraced.
Progress: Ashesi's ethical bearing is visible in many ways. Significant among these is a student-run honour system that was voted into force by students in January 2008, and that has become a source of great pride for the Ashesi Community. With the adoption of a campus honour system, Ashesi students have adopted the strongest posture of ethical behavior in Ghana today. Ashesi students hold each accountable by reporting any violations of the University's code of conduct. On a few occasions students have compelled colleagues to report themselves to authorities for cheating, and on all occasions, student members of the Ashesi Judicial Committee have sanctioned without fear or favor, those of their peers who are found guilty of violations. Third, Ashesi graduates are ranked first in ethics by Corporate Ghana according to a study conducted by MBA students from UC Berkeley. Fourth, Ashesi's community service programme fosters a deep sense of purpose within our community.
(6) Achieve financial operating sustainability
Build a financially sustainable institution that will stand the test of time.
Progress: In 2008 the University achieved financial operating sustainability on the basis of tuition income. Philanthropic gifts are now directed to supporting scholarships for poor students, infrastructure development, building an endowment, and starting new academic programmes. All surplus income from tuition is also directed at the priorities described above.
(7) Raise $15,000,000 in philanthropic funding to support the strategic goals listed above
Raise philanthropic funds needed to implement a strong financial aid programme; a residential campus; startup capital expenses such as library collections and information technology; and startup operating expenses prior to operating sustainability.
Progress: During the first ten years of operation, the University raised approximately $12 million in philanthropic funds and $2.5 million in debt financing. This represents a respectable achievement considering a global economic environment characterized by sharp market declines in 2000 and 2008; major geo-political upheavals; and the fact that African higher education was not included in the Millennium Development Goals and was therefore not a priority for most funding agencies.
(8) Foster Faculty Research
Encourage faculty research to support teaching and contribute to strengthening knowledge creation in Africa. Progress: Ashesi has encouraged research by specifically allocating non-teaching time in faculty schedules in order to allow time for research and consulting. Second, the university made budgetary allocations of up to $30,000 per year to support small research projects. The university also made budgetary allocations to enable faculty to travel for academic conferences, internationally and at home. Third, the university encouraged and facilitated collaborations with other institutions to support our research agenda. These interventions have yielded results over the past ten years, enabling faculty to stay current with their respective fields.
Ashesi collaborated with the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex to secure a €300,000 grant from the European Union to fund a workshop on Qualitative Research Methods. Ashesi served as the West Africa hub for this project, which trained junior faculty on qualitative research methods. Other institutions in the partnership included Makerere University (East Africa hub) and the University of Witwatersrand (Southern Africa hub).
Ashesi faculty are involved in on-going research and development projects, including a $100,000 project on mobile medicine funded by Star-Ghana, and a project tracking the impact of Ashesi on the community of Berekuso, where Ashesi's permanent campus is situated. Ashesi faculty member, Dr. Ayorkor Korsah has been awarded the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award for her work as Co-Founder of The African Robotics Network Challenge (AFRON) in promoting the development of inexpensive robotic devices in Africa. Previous winners of this prestigious award include Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, the Stanford Office of Technology Licensing, MITx, DARPA, Kickstarter, The Metropolitan Opera, Twitter co-founder and Square founder Jack Dorsey, Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun and the U.S. State Department's Alec Ross.
>> Click here to see the strategic plan for Ashesi's second decade