Students are enrolled at higher levels on University of Alaska campuses overall The chancellors reported to members of the Board of Regents in their meeting on Thursday.
The overall 4.7 percent growth across the board follows the beginning of a five-year trend of decline in the number of students enrolled. The number of college students has decreased nationally over the past 10 years especially during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The Regent Karen Purdue said the growth has been a positive reflection on President Pat Pitney’s leadership. She acknowledged that there is still work to be done.
“These expansions come from an area of decline,” she said. “What’s shown in this case is the confidence of the general public in the capability of the institution that we did not have in the last few years.”
The state has cut the funding for the University by $55 million from 2019 until 2022. State spending increased by $47 million during the year’s budget which was completed in June.
More than half of college-bound Alaska teenagers went to college in the state over the past two years, according to a study conducted by the Alaska Commission of Postsecondary Education.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Daniel White said the budget cuts shook Alaskans’ trust about UA education.
“It was the case that the majority of Alaskans went to at least one university in Alaska. When the budget was cut drastically it was evident that there was a shift,” he said. “More than half of the budget is going out, and was previously over half of the people stayed inside.”
However, UA chancellors boasted about busy campuses during the opening days of the school year. They urged regents to invest in continuing expansion by modernizing campuses and giving educators the tools they need.
University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor and former Governor. Sean Parnell asked the regents to set tuition at a flat rate to encourage students to enroll because more students are coming to the university who don’t be able to rely on their families to pay for tuition.
“UAA is more affordable and accessible but the financial needs for our college students is more demanding,” he said.
He claimed that financial incentives were effective in the case of a university that wanted to fill up its housing for students So affordability could help increase enrollment, as well.
The story first appeared in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.
