UL Postpones 2026 Graduation, Has No Date to Reopen as Faculty Go-Slow Drags On

Published: October 23, 2026

MONROVIA — University of Liberia students have no date to return to class or to graduate after President Layli Maparyan postponed the university’s 2026 commencement Wednesday and said the administration is still reviewing a new draft agreement from faculty and staff whose go-slow has halted academic activities for months.

Maparyan announced the postponement at a news conference in Monrovia but gave no new graduation date and, when pressed by journalists, no date for reopening.

The faculty and staff association, ULFASA, has said its members will not return to work until the administration signs a written commitment setting out how and when their grievances will be addressed. Those grievances include salary disparities, pension and retirement benefits, outstanding payments, working conditions and teaching facilities.

Maparyan said ULFASA presented the administration this week with a new draft quadripartite memorandum of understanding involving the UL administration, the University of Liberia Faculty Association, the University of Liberia Staff Association and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. She said the document is under review.

She acknowledged that months of negotiations among the administration, the Board of Trustees and ULFASA have produced no final settlement.

“We are aware that it has been painfully slow,” Maparyan said, adding that the administration had worked to resolve issues including NASSCORP contributions, retirement, pay disparities, increments and arrears “within the parameters of the law.”

ULFASA’s response to Maparyan’s account could not be included in this report.

Maparyan said the administration is preparing for an eventual reopening built largely around online instruction, because the university’s renovation, modernization and beautification program is not expected to be finished until March 2027. Essential face-to-face classes will continue, she said, and the university is looking to acquire space off campus for courses that require a classroom.

“So, in a word, we are getting ready so that the lead time is short once we do resume,” she said.

Returning faculty will be invited to a two-week online teaching workshop organized by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, headed by Agnes Reeves Taylor, Maparyan said. She said the university would draw on its experience with online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheduling office is revising course timetables for online and off-campus classes, and the Office of Student Affairs, headed by Vice President and Dean of Students Saydah Williamson Taylor, has developed a new student orientation program, she said.

Maparyan said Chief Information Officer Darren Wilkins is working to secure affordable internet data packages for students, and the administration wants to expand on-campus computer access for students without smartphones, laptops or other devices at home.

She said the administration has met several times with students about the disruption and changes to graduation schedules.

“If there has been one thing inspiring about this challenging period, indeed, if it has had one silver lining, it is the degree to which it has mobilized UL’s student population to demand the education it deserves and advocate for its own educational advancement,” Maparyan said.

She described the renovation program as an effort to restore safe existing buildings, upgrade electrical systems for digital teaching, add laboratories, improve disability access, introduce renewable energy and remove mold and debris across the campuses.