UNIVERSITY of ALASKA ANCHORAGE
MEMORANDUM

DATE: October 13, 2002

TO: Duane, Steve, and John

FROM: Lee

SUBJECT: University of Alaska Draft 13

With all the appropriate disclaimers, conflicts of interest, abstentions from voting, etc… I offer the following set of findings and recommendations. I think they reflect the discussions and positions of the study group and could easily be incorporated within the draft report and could form the focus of an executive summary which is needed. Importantly, the recommendations bring focus to the policy issues and recommendation of the study group which is CWN’s tradition.

I hope you, John and Steve find this constructive, even if it is late. The only finding /recommendation not fully discussed is number eight. It could be either deleted or discussed. Please share this with members of the study group

ALASKA’S BRAIN DRAIN

Finding No. 1: Far too few Alaska high school students go on to attend college or a post secondary program of study and of those who do, far too many leave Alaska to attend college and few of them return.

Recommendation No. 1: The Alaska Legislature should help the University of Alaska and other in-state higher education institutions reverse Alaska’s “brain drain” by enacting legislation and appropriations to support both merit and needs based scholarships for Alaska’s promising students and create financial incentives for students to enter and remain in professional and vocational fields where Alaska is experiencing critical workforce shortages. The Legislature should also discontinue the practice of creating loan incentives for students to study outside of Alaska unless the area of study is not available within the state.

ALASKA’S CRITICAL WORKFORCE SHORTAGES

Finding No. 2: Alaska is experiencing an increasingly serious shortage of qualified workers, particularly in the fields of health, education, engineering, and technology causing industry to incur extraordinary expenses to recruit out of state workers to come to Alaska. This influx of workers exacerbates Alaska’s fiscal woes.

Recommendation No. 2: The Alaska Legislature should create financial incentives for students to enter and remain in professional and vocational fields in high demand and create a matching appropriation process to create incentives for industry to become a financial partner in helping the university expand and develop needed programs of study.

THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHING

Finding No. 3: The liberal arts are the basis, both in two year and four year degree programs, for creating an educated society. Similarly, teaching is the pre-eminent function of a university faculty to whom students are entrusted.

Recommendation No. 3: The University of Alaska should give high priority to sustaining the liberal arts and integrating its study into all vocational, professional, and scientific study. It should also strive to create a culture that nurtures and rewards good teaching as much, and indeed more, than it currently does for research.

THE DIFFERENT ROLES OF THE UNIVERSITY

Finding No. 4: Because Alaska’s former community colleges were merged with the University of Alaska System’s three accredited universities, the mission of the University of Alaska is broader than that of most universities. This merger created admirable opportunities for students to seamlessly progression from one level of study to another. However, it also created a confusing image of what the university does, when it is uncommon for most other universities to be engaged in community college programs.

Recommendation No. 4: While preserving the virtue of seamless integration of two and four year degrees, the university should better differentiate its diverse missions and ensure appropriate high standards of quality are preserved for each of its differentiated missions.

ALASKA HAS SPECIAL NEEDS FOR KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING

Finding No. 5: Alaska is unlike any other state in its size, sparse settlements, climate, geography, location, indigenous peoples, and extensive coastline and has special needs for knowledge and technologies associated with its uniqueness. Most of the University of Alaska research agenda is driven by the availability of federal funds that are dedicated to meet federal needs or to the general advancement of science. Some research is the product of generous federal “earmarks”.

Recommendation No. 5: To address Alaska’s unique needs, the Alaska Legislature and the University of Alaska should work together to craft and finance a research agenda that truly addresses Alaska’s unique and, in some instances, urgent needs. The University should also embark on a deliberate strategy to wean itself from a potential over reliance on congressional earmarks unless they are meeting Alaska’s unique needs.

ALASKA HAS AN INVESTMENT GAP IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Finding No. 6: The University of Alaska offers one third fewer programs of study than does its counterpart universities in Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho which in turn contributes to why many students leave the state to pursue studies the University of Alaska does not offer. Coincidently state appropriations to the University of Alaska last year are, in real dollar terms, one third of what they were in 1986.

Recommendation No. 6: The Alaska Legislature should continue to increase its appropriations to the University of Alaska and close this investment gap in order for the University to play and fulfill the vital role of creating a bright future for current and coming generations of Alaskans.

STUDENT TUITION

Finding No. 7: Given the absence of state personal taxes, generous Permanent Fund Dividends, relatively high personal incomes, and generous increases in federal student aid, tuition at the University of Alaska is low, particularly for baccalaureate and graduate seeking students.

Recommendation No. 7: The University of Alaska should increase student tuition to levels comparable to that of other western states, while at the same time ensure capable students of modest financial means are not denied access to a university education.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Finding No. 8: Nationally communities that enjoy the services and responsiveness of programs offered by community colleges, generally support the colleges with public funds. Except for Valdez which has an extraordinary property valuation as the terminus for the Trans Alaska oil pipeline, Alaska’s communities contribute a very small proportion of the community campuses operating expenses, and some, as in the case of Anchorage, make no contribution to the community college functions and benefits they enjoy.

Recommendation No.8: Alaska communities that have particular job training and education or service needs should contribute to their community campuses’ capacity to expand or develop the programs that are needed.

THE TOWN/GOWN DIVIDE

Finding No.9: Despite recent improvements and the announcement of promising partnerships with industry groups, many businesses and organizations continue to feel the University of Alaska is not sufficiently knowledgeable of their requirements and opportunities nor are they knowledgeable of what all the university does and can offer them.

Recommendation No. 9: The University of Alaska should devise a plan for establishing a closer communication with industry and organizations’ needs. The University should design and pursue funding to create a program like that of agricultural extension wherein the university is actively engaged in reaching out to groups and to working with them in getting the information and/or training groups need and the university has or could develop.

THE NEED FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

Finding No. 10: The pace of change in the workplace and world is so rapid, that both workers and citizens need to continuously keep their skills and knowledge current and themselves marketable. They look to the university to provide this opportunity to do so.

Recommendation No. 10: The University of Alaska should develop more programs that are tailored to the continuing educational needs of current professionals or of professionals who are looking to a career change but already have a college degree and are not interesting in getting another one. The University will need to design and deliver programs of study in modules and at times other than that of the conventional degree or the normal academic semester.

SETTING PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATING SCARCE RESOURCES

Finding No. 11: The financial resources the University of Alaska has at its command are far fewer what are needed to fulfill its broad mission.

Recommendation No. 11: The University of Alaska should articulate and provide opportunity for public comment on the policies and priorities that allocate scarce resources across its various missions and locations throughout Alaska.