A Brandeis professor is serving as a facilitator in the process of consolidating the three University of Alaska (UA) schools to fall under one accreditation.
Dr. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, a professor in The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, facilitated discussion groups regarding the consolidation of academic programs and other academic areas during the week of Aug. 19, according to the University of Alaska website.
The University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau currently each have their own individual accreditation. UA President Jim Johnsen’s plan would bring the universities under one accreditation with multiple campus locations.
“You’d use technology and people to provide academic programs and other services based on enrollments and based on where those people are, where the demand actually is,” said Johnsen. According to Johnsen, University of Washington and the Kent State University system have similar models.
Johnsen said that consolidation would save money after deep state government funding cuts. Under an agreement signed with the governor, university officials are looking at a $70 million cut over a three year period. This cut would occur in three stages: $25 million during the 2020 fiscal year, $25 million during the 2021 fiscal year and $20 million during the 2022 fiscal year. These budget cuts would reduce the state’s funding to the university by 20 percent, according to The Washington Post.
UA said that eight academic areas were reviewed during Cutcher-Gershenfeld’s workshops. These areas included health, science/arts/humanities, management and business, eLearning, engineering, education, research and career and technical education for community campuses. These meetings were to “explore options for academic organization and structure in the context of reductions in state support to the University of Alaska,” said UA’s website.
“For each area, we convened two sessions, the first in Fairbanks and the second in Anchorage,” said the university’s website. “Participants were selected by provosts, deans, directors and faculty leadership and represent a wide spectrum of interests across the University of Alaska system.”
During a Sept. 12 meeting at the Anchorage campus, the public gave testimonies on the possibility of consolidation, and the overwhelming majority were against single accreditation, according to KTUU-TV. The public expressed concerns about the potential loss of faculty, academic programs and the university’s reputation.
However, when Cutcher-Gershenfeld conducted a survey of students, staff, administrators and Alaskan tribal leaders he found that 52 percent of people believed it was important to have all of higher education operate as a single, integrated system with programs and courses available at campuses statewide, according to KTUU-TV.
The Hoot reached out to Cutcher-Gershenfeld who said that he was unable to comment on the process until after it is resolved.
The UA’s Board of Regents voted 9-2 on Sept. 12 in favor of receiving an expedited report on university programs to contribute to the research for statewide consolidation. The next meeting will happen Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 in Fairbanks.
This is a developing story, and The Hoot will keep you up to date as it evolves.
