The following document is intended to foster discussion within the study group. It is largely a compendium of thoughts offered during the sessions to date. It is not conceived as anything close to final, rather as a tool to help focus and stimulate discussion.

1. Statewide vision for the University of Alaska

1. Help Alaska and its citizens improve our quality of life and economic circumstances.
2. Become an innovative, leading institution serving Alaska.

2. Steps to achieve this vision

1. Build world-class competencies based on natural statewide and regional strengths.
2. Work cooperatively and creatively, both internally and externally, to achieve maximum total post-educational opportunities in Alaska.
3. Be an economic engine to propel the state into self-sustaining prosperity with opportunity for all Alaskans.
4. Provide a unique combination of quality post-secondary teaching, research, service and intellectual leadership needs to all Alaskans:
   1. Liberal arts and sciences
   2. Community college
   3. Vocational and technical
5. Be accountable, cost effective and efficient.
6. Enhance the intellectual and cultural environment of communities.

3. Potential speakers/sources of information

1. Faculty (From each campus? From the community colleges?)
2. Students
3. Regents
4. Legislators
5. Governor(s)
6. Representatives of the rural campuses
7. Community college representatives
8. Community members (those without a vested interest)
9. Other post-secondary institutions (APU, Charter, Sheldon Jackson)
10. Vocational and technical representatives (faculty, AVTEC, unions?)
11. Employers
12. Federal and state agencies
13. Human resource organizations
14. Administrators (Wendy Redman for outreach, basic economic overview with Joe Beedle, Pat Pitney for internal visioning, etc)
15. Outside experts with a non-Alaskan perspective.
16. Panel discussion on accreditation and hiring needs

4. Questions to follow-up

1. Is there a paragon university elsewhere from which we can learn?
2. Can we partner with other institutions?
3. Does existing research meet Alaska’s needs?
4. To what extent should research focus on local needs? On known versus potential needs?
5. How are needs currently determined?
6. How can we capitalize on our high part time student ratio?
7. Does the money go where students are?
8. How does the Fairbanks-Juneau connection work in relationship to funding?
9. What is the university not capable of? What are the outer boundaries?
10. What does it take to change an institution?
11. How do decisions get made in a university?
12. Survey: why do professors come to Alaska? Why have they stayed or left? What benefits would enhance their job experience? Are there existing comparative studies?

5. Challenges

1. Need to transition from congressional grants to more competitive grants; e.g. NSF and NIH
2. Need to develop more income sources
3. The connection with secondary education and huge need for remedial learning
4. Identify centers of excellence
5. Under-funding
6. We lose top student to Outside
7. Disconnect between university and communities
8. No clear goal articulation
9. No clear niches
10. Overall Alaska disconnect: no goals, economic or fiscal plan. Chicken and egg relationship with the university
11. Need to match incremental funding and programs to gaps between needs and current abilities

6. “Myths” or common beliefs to explore (and de-bunk?)

1. The U of A is (is not) resource constrained.
2. Resources may not be fairly distributed
3. The U of A is arrogant and not responsive to the community
4. The cost/benefit ratio of rural education doesn’t pay off
5. Staff is overpaid and not productive

7. Possible sub groups

1. Comparison benchmarking, ideas and future concepts from other comparable land grant or paragon institutions Outside
2. Task force to generate questions to submit to UA

8. Missions and Goals

The following list can be applied to each of the three major campuses and the rural campuses, as well as to statewide.

1. University of Alaska System
   1. Stated mission
   2. Stated goals
      1. Teaching
      2. Research
      3. Service
   3. Strengths
      1. Teaching
      2. Research
      3. Service
   4. Weaknesses
      1. Teaching
      2. Research
      3. Service
   5. Opportunities
      1. Teaching
      2. Research
      3. Service
   6. Threats
      1. Teaching
      2. Research
      3. Service
   7. Key strategies
   8. Policy Recommendations