At its Annual Meeting on June 20, 2003, the Board of AFUE approved several changes to the way AFUE would operate in future. New Board members were elected, with Dr Roualeyn Fenton-May as president.

The major result of the changes is that AFUE is no longer an independent organization. The University of Edinburgh is the sole member of AFUE, and the intent is to strengthen ties with alumni and others. Future plans include the establishment of chapters in many areas of the USA, and the role of AFUE will be to help the University to provide support to strengthen and develop these chapters. In addition to providing opportunities for social interaction, the chapters would help with recruitment.

The University is also exploring cost-effective ways of setting up an office to support alumni activity.

It is hoped that the AFUE Scholarships will continue to be offered. The University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust is being asked to provide funding for the scholarships, which have been extremely important in helping American postgraduates to study at Edinburgh.