Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
03/14/2022 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB312 | |
| SB36 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 36 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 48 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 350 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 312 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 36-U OF A REGENTS REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
9:30:31 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the final order of business would
be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 36(EDC), "An Act relating to reporting
requirements of the Board of Regents of the University of
Alaska."
9:30:52 AM
SENATOR GARY STEVENS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented CSSB 36(EDC). He stated that in 2019 the
University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) lost accreditation in its
education program. He stated that the "embarrassing situation"
resulted from a lack of communication "between the university,
various arms of the university, the department, the president
and all involved." He explained that the proposed bill would
specify that the University of Alaska (UA) include accreditation
plans in its biannual report to the legislature. He stated that
the legislation would align with the existing requirement that
the university administration report components to the UA Board
of Regents, drawing attention to any program that may be
compromised. He offered that the bill would not be intended as
punitive and assured everything at the university is functioning
properly. He offered his respect to the UA's current
administration and expressed confidence that the legislation is
a priority of the president and the UA Board of Regents. He
asserted that the goal would be preemptive by keeping the
legislature informed on accreditations and avoid the
communication errors that occurred in the past.
SENATOR STEVENS stated that after the education accreditation at
UAA was lost, UA brought in faculty from the University of
Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and the University of Alaska Southeast
(UAS) to provide the needed degrees. He added that Alaska has a
great need for teachers, and it is a "shame" the biggest campus
in Alaska does not have accreditation for an education program.
He acknowledged that the accreditation process is complicated.
He stated that the Northwest Commission for Colleges and
Universities (NWCCU) offers accreditation to universities in the
western part of the country. He outlined the process in that an
accreditation team, made up of professors, department chairs,
presidents, and deans, would be sent to a campus to review
programs and make recommendations. The university would then be
given time to make any changes, and the team would return to
check progress. He stated that the process is long and involved
but achieves high quality programs. He stated that when the
education program lost its accreditation, the president of UA
was blindsided, which exemplifies that there was a lack of
communication. He expressed hope that the proposed legislation
would make sure this type of mistake does not reoccur.
9:34:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK offered his understanding that, despite the
loss of accreditation, no one lost his/her job at the
university. He deduced that if there were no jobs lost over
this issue, there is zero accountability. He stated concern
about [the lack of] accountability and expressed that [without
any] accountability, it would be difficult for him to support
the proposed legislation.
SENATOR STEVENS stated that the bill would improve
accountability, as it requires the university to report to the
legislature. He stated that it is not up to him to report the
details on the loss of accreditation, and who was at fault, but
that question should be asked of the university.
9:36:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX stated that the situation needs to be
addressed. He expressed the opinion that no one at the
university would sabotage the accreditation process, insisting
there has to be standards. He questioned whether the proposed
legislation would provide guidelines or requirements that the
university relay meaningful information [to the legislature].
He agreed with Representative Cronk that there needs to be
accountability.
SENATOR STEVENS responded that it was "disastrous" to lose the
accreditation, and he is not aware of this ever occurring in
another university. He stated that the NWCCU's accreditation
guidelines are very clear, aligning with the goal to provide the
best possible education to students. He stated that the bill
would not change the process but directs the university to
follow the advice of the accrediting organization. He stated
that the bill would not need to be more prescriptive, as this
part comes from the accrediting organization.
9:40:20 AM
PAUL LAYER, PhD, Vice President, Academics, Students, and
Research, University of Alaska System, answered questions on
CSSB 36(EDC). He indicated that there are different types of
accreditations. Institutional accreditation indorses the entire
institution and the Board of Regents, and the U.S. Department of
Education sanctions this type of accreditation. He stated that
NWCCU has given each of the three universities within the UA
system institutional accreditation. In example, he stated that
UAA went through a midcycle review last fall and received high
marks in all areas, with no recommendations, but several
accommodations. He stated that UA has had strong evaluations
from NWCCU for as long as the university has existed, and the
university is proud of its record with NWCCU from an
institutional standpoint. He continued that, in addition to the
institutional accreditation, the UA system has over 100
individual programs that hold specialized accreditations.
Different organizations offer specialized accreditation for each
program, such as engineering, nursing, and education. Each of
these accrediting organizations has its own set of standards.
He stated that it was one of these specialized accreditors that
did not [renew UAA's education program in 2019]. He stated
that, in reviewing records, he found that UA has never before
had any issue with specialized accreditation. He stated that
accreditations are valuable to assure students and employers
that UA has quality programs. He added that in the NWCCU's
review there were no questions about the quality of the
graduates from UAA's education program. He explained that the
denial of accreditation had to do with how the program was
"using input, feedback, improving the program, tracking the
students, et cetera." He reiterated that graduates from that
program have continued to receive high marks from school
districts and their employers. He stated that the 2019 denial
of accreditation was an "unfortunate event," and none of those
interim leaders remain at the university. He expressed the
belief that the quality of the programs now reflects the new
leadership.
9:43:27 AM
DR. LAYER stated that the programs that were not renewed for
accreditation are called initial licensure programs. Since that
time, the State Board of Education and Early Development has
given approval to reestablish the initial licensure program in
early education and admit students to the program while
accreditation is being pursued. He said, "It is sort of a
chicken and egg thing: you have to have students to get
accreditation, but we have to have our graduates be licensed in
the state of Alaska." He stated that, as Senator Stevens
mentioned, UAF and UAS are providing education programs in the
Anchorage area, so the needs of students seeking teaching
degrees are being meet. He stated that last fall the UA Board
of Regents approved modifications to its accreditation policy to
incorporate some of the reporting language from AS 14.40.190.
The proposed legislation would reflect this language while
representing board requirements. He stated that the UA Board of
Regents has now formalized reporting, making it a requirement
that each chancellor inform the president and the board if there
are concerns, even if the concerns are emerging and early in the
status of accreditation. He emphasized that lessons learned
from the 2019 incident have been taken seriously, and the
university has identified responsibility and established clear
reporting policies. He stated that UA provides an annual report
on accreditation to the UA Board of Regents, and the proposed
legislation would incorporate this reporting. He stated that
the UA Board of Regents is ultimately responsible for the
university and takes that responsibility seriously, especially
in the realm of accreditation, as the Alaska State Constitution
has provided that the UA Board of Regents is the governing body
of UA, and accreditation is a key part of its responsibility.
9:46:34 AM
DR. LAYER, in response to Co-Chair Drummond, stated that when
the UAA's School of Education lost its accreditation, the dean,
the provost, and the chancellor were all interim. He stated
that those individuals are no longer with the university. He
stated that UAA hired a new chancellor in the middle of the
accreditation crisis, and the new chancellor tried to alleviate
concerns, but the decision had been made.
DR. LAYER, in response to Representative Prax, stated that the
guidelines for certification and accreditation are very explicit
and easy to follow. He stated that when UAA was undergoing the
review with the education accrediting organization, UAF was also
going through the same process with the same organization. He
stated that accreditation is a major undertaking, and UAF was
able to move through the process with no problem. He added that
UAS also underwent the same review with the same organization
the following year. He stated that each university approaches
the process differently, and some of the other schools of
education at UAA came through the process with no problem. He
pointed out that UAA lost its accreditation for the initial
licensure programs, but last year gained the accreditations of
specialized degree programs for returning graduates within the
School of Education. He stated that UAA is trying to
reestablish the initial licensure programs through the
accreditation process.
DR. LAYER, responding to a follow-up question, stated that the
university reviewed the circumstances surrounding the loss of
accreditation and identified the issues. He pointed out there
was a failure to consult experts at the university for guidance
due to "the feeling that one group could do it on their own."
He stated that the "failure of communication up the chain to
discuss the severity of the problem" was a factor. He stated
that, because this was unprecedented, there was the idea that
the university may only get a warning, but the accrediting
organization chose to go in a different direction with its
review. He witnessed the unprecedented process unfold and
expressed that the university never wants it to happen again.
In response to a follow-up question, he stated that he would be
able to provide the report on the investigation to the
committee.
9:52:28 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY opened public testimony on CSSB 36(EDC). After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, she
closed public testimony.
9:53:20 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that CSSB 36(EDC) was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 36 Bill Packet.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 36 |
| SB0036B.PDF |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 36 |
| SB036_UA_Accred_Reporting_SponsorStatement.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 36 |
| SB036_UA-Accreditation_Sectional_Version B.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 36 |
| SB036_UnivAK_Accreditation_Research_UA Accred Report_25August2020.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 36 |
| HB 108 Invited Testimony 030422.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
HB 108 |
| HB 48 Support 031022.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
HB 48 |
| HB 350 Oppose 031022.pdf |
HEDC 3/14/2022 8:00:00 AM |
HB 350 |