Sean Parnell speaks at the Chancellors Q&A in October. Photo by Justin Cox
UAA hosted the final University of Alaska Board of Regents meetings for the year on Nov. 9 and 10. Though the Nov. 9 committee meeting was held online because of weather, the Nov. 10 meeting took place in-person at the Gorsuch Commons.
As part of the board meeting, UAA Chancellor Sean Parnell gave his report on the state of UAA.
“It is a great day to be a seawolf, and we are having an amazing fall semester here at UAA,” began Parnell.
In his report, Parnell asked the board to keep tuition the same for the 2024-25 academic year.
“We are committed to making affordable high quality education accessible to all and that's why we're asking the Board to maintain the same level of tuition for the 24-25 academic year,” said Parnell.
The board did vote to keep tuition flat for the next academic year.
According to a press release from the University of Alaska, even with tuition staying the same, “tuition revenues are projected to grow by roughly $3 million thanks to increased enrollment.”
Parnell also highlighted the recent collaboration between UAA and the Anchorage School District, where every fifth grader in Anchorage was invited to come watch the first game of the men’s basketball season.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, over 2,600 fifth graders attended. The Board of Regents watched a video created by the men’s basketball team for the event. Basketball players encouraged fifth graders to stay in school and work hard toward their goals.
“This sort of memory is powerful for our youth and helps UAA connect with the next generation of Alaskan students. It's just one example of how we engage with our community and create success and opportunity for them,” said Parnell.
Parnell also highlighted high attendance for volleyball games and hockey games in his report.
Since the last Board of Regents meeting in August, Parnell reported that UAA has signed two new agreements with universities in nordic countries for “collaboration, cooperation and exchange.”
In October, High North News reported that UAA and Nord University signed a cooperation agreement at the Arctic Circle Assembly.
Parnell also reported that UAA and LG Electronics created a new research consortium.
According to an LG press release, “Addressing the growing worldwide interest in cold-climate heat pump technologies, the Consortium will leverage the complementary expertise of technologists at LG Electronics, a global heat pump leader, and the College of Engineering at UAA and its highly regarded HVAC Lab.”
Parnell also said that UAA has been at more than 100 in-person recruiting events, and that student enrollment is up 5% overall.
“First year enrollment is up 15%, and we've grown our incoming class now four semesters in a row,” said Parnell.
The Alaska Beacon reported that while enrollment is up, it comes after a five-year decrease in student enrollment – a common trend across the US after the pandemic.
“UAA has doubled the number of students living in residence halls in two years, and that's without a bunch of additional staff. So a special thanks to Ryan Hill and the Residence Life staff who've taken on this additional burden without the benefit of additional resources,” said Parnell.
According to the UAA Residence Life website, student housing is at capacity for both the fall and spring semesters, and they have moved to a waitlist for students who wish to live on-campus.
Parnell also spoke on UAA’s textbook affordability program.
“More than 52% of UAA’s courses now have zero cost textbooks,” he said, “953 courses had no … textbook cost.”
Parnell completed his report by saying that UAA has now automated its application process, and said that 95% of UAA students are admitted within 3 hours of applying.
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