The American College of Greece has expressed its intention to apply for membership in the University Legal Entity (ULE) framework. According to an announcement, it is expected to file an application in the fall of 2025 to establish a ULE.

The announcement said the new law represents an excellent opportunity to: expand its undergraduate and graduate programs (currently offered by Deree College and Alba Graduate Business School) to make them available to students from Greece (5.158 in 2024-25) and abroad (2,084 from 93 countries in 2024-25). In 2025, the American College of Greece celebrates 150 years since its founding in Smyrna and in 2023 it celebrates 100 years of presence in Greece after the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

The announcement of the American College

The American College of Greece warmly supports the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports for the establishment of Legal Entities of University Education (LAE). We believe that both public and private institutions of higher education can function simultaneously and complementarily, offering remarkable academic opportunities to Greek and foreign students, making Greece an international educational center and strengthening the Greek economy.

For the American College of Greece, the new law represents an excellent opportunity to: expand its undergraduate and graduate programs (currently offered by Deree College and Alba Graduate Business School) to students from Greece (5,158 in 2024-25) and abroad (2.084 from 93 countries in 2024-25), the strengthening of the international network of universities with which it cooperates (in 2024-25, students from 245 international institutions from 15 countries studied at the American College of Greece, while the College sent students to 40 international institutions in 13 countries), the strengthening of the academic contribution of its teaching staff (1.415 scientific publications in the last academic year), the impact of its research work and its collaborations with public and private institutions.

In 2025, the American College of Greece celebrates 150 years since its founding in Smyrna, while in 2023 it celebrated 100 years of presence in Greece after the Asia Minor Catastrophe. For the College, its inclusion in the NPE framework is of pivotal importance and coincides with the milestone of 150 years of its educational – non-profit – mission and offering of the best of American education.

The American College of Greece is the first educational organization with American accreditation abroad (since 1981) and it is important to maintain its high academic standing among the accrediting, degree-granting and federal accrediting bodies of the United States – the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the U.S. Department of Education.

With this in mind, we plan to file an application in the fall of 2025 to establish a NPE, in partnership with a U.S. educational institution, with a start date of 2026. In addition, several prominent American universities have expressed a desire to offer one or more of their academic programs in Greece, taking advantage of the extensive facilities of the American College of Greece. We hope to include, in our own NRP, one or more of these university partnerships.

We look forward with optimism to the beginning of this new chapter in the course of the American College of Greece, for the benefit of all our students, Greece and the wider international community.