Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
03/08/2021 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB32 | |
| SB36 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 36 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 32 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 36-U OF A REGENTS REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
9:52:03 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 36
"An Act relating to reporting requirements of the Board of
Regents of the University of Alaska."
He called on Senator Stevens for opening comments.
9:52:21 AM
SENATOR GARY STEVENS, speaking as sponsor of SB 36, said the
bill comes from the disastrous moment in the University of
Alaska (UA) history when the University of Alaska Anchorage
(UAA) lost accreditation for its teaching program. This was
unknown by everybody. The former president was not aware that
the program was in jeopardy of losing its accreditation. There
was a lack of communication throughout the UA system. His fear
is that it could happen in other areas. Universities do not just
lose accreditation. A team is sent to campus and makes
recommendations months and months in advance. Months later the
team comes back to see if the changes have been made to improve
the program. The team makes every effort to make sure changes
are made so as not to lose accreditation. That is why it was so
shocking to him that in 2019 the UAA School of Education lost
its accreditation.
SENATOR STEVENS said he believes the university has made changes
so this will not happen again, but the legislature needs to
know. The bill establishes reporting to the legislature about
how accreditation is going on throughout the UA system.
Specifically, he thinks there should be a joint House and Senate
Education Committee meeting with the university to make sure
there are no accreditation issues.
CHAIR HOLLAND called on Mr. Lamkin.
9:54:14 AM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, said that the first section of the
bill is the result of an unintended consequence. AS 14.41.090(a)
reads that these reports be submitted to the education
committees. The last time the report was due there was no
Education Committee organized in the other body. To avoid that,
the first section of the bill has been changed, consistent with
other reporting requirements throughout the blue books, so that
the report is submitted to the senate secretary/house clerk.
Previous language said the report would be presented in person
to the education committees, and for obvious practice reasons
that has been struck from the reporting requirement.
MR. LAMKIN said the new reporting requirement that is the thrust
of this bill is about the status of the university's numerous
accredited programs. The committee packet has a summary of the
2019 accreditations. This morning he received an updated list
from August and that is also in the committee packet. The bill
is intended to align with what the university is currently doing
with reporting components with particular attention to
accreditation. The goal is to be preemptive and not be reactive.
9:56:22 AM
MR. LAMKIN presented the sectional analysis for SB 36:
Sec. 1: AS 14.40.190(b) Amends existing University of
Alaska reporting requirements regarding teacher
training and retention, to specify the report is
required to be submitted to the Legislature (Senate
Secretary / House Chief Clerk) biennially, by the 30th
legislative day of the first regular session of each
new Legislature.
Sec. 2: AS 14.40.190(c) is a new subsection
establishing a requirement for the University of
Alaska to issue a semiannual report on the status of
all of its accreditations within the UA system. The
reports must be submitted to the Legislature (Senate
Secretary / House Chief Clerk):
a. by the 30th legislative day of each regular
session of the legislature; and
b. on or by July 1st of each year.
The accreditation reports are subsequently to be
presented in a formal hearing setting to the education
committees of the legislature, the scheduling for
which are intended to be at the discretion of the
chairs of the committees.
MR. LAMKIN said that in fairness, some time has gone by since
the unfortunate loss of accreditation in 2019. It is the sponsor
intent to amend the bill to change the reporting to make part of
the biennial report every other year.
CHAIR HOLLAND called on Dr. Paul Layer.
9:57:16 AM
PAUL LAYER, Ph.D., Vice President, Academics, Students and
Research, Fairbanks, Alaska, said SB 36 will add additional
accreditation reporting by all three institutions. Accreditation
is obviously the gold standard for all three universities. Each
of the three universities is a separately accredited
institution. Accreditation ensures students and external
stakeholders that the university programs are of high quality
and meet or exceed national or industry standards. There are
institutional or regional accreditations. UA has accreditation
through the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities.
It is a seven-year cycle of accreditation. UAA and University of
Alaska Southeast (UAS) had accreditations reconfirmed in 2017
and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) underwent its
seven-year review last fall and received a letter in February
reaffirming its accreditation with commendations for the quality
of its accreditation visit and report.
9:59:32 AM
DR. LAYER said institutional accreditation is an ongoing
process. This year UAA and UAS revisited their mission
statements as part of that process and started strategic
planning. Northwest requires periodic program assessment in
five-year cycles to see whether they are meeting student
learning outcomes. Professional groups also have program
accreditation, and the university has over 90 programs and
majors that receive special accreditation. The 2019 report has a
list of all the different programs across the institutions and
their status. This morning he provided a report on the status of
accreditation to Mr. Lamkin that the university is required to
provide to the Board of Regents before its September meeting. As
a result of the UAA School of Education situation, the board
stepped up its expectations of reporting on the status of
accreditation and any red flags. The accreditation loss of
initial licensure programs at UAA in his mind was unprecedented.
As far as he knows it had never happened in the history of the
university, which has been accredited since 1934. He expects it
to be a one-time event, and the board has taken steps to hold
the universities accountable for their accreditation. In
addition to the annual report, the university provides quarterly
reports. The board looks at this very seriously.
10:02:43 AM
DR. LAYER said the university provides annual updates to the
board. Those are public documents and are on the board's website
as part of the meeting minutes. The university is happy to
provide those to the legislature if those would fulfill the
legislature's expectations for oversight. The university if
proud of its accreditations. They factor into national rankings
and recruiting.
10:03:23 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE observed that four or five programs were
revoked in early child education, early childhood special
education, secondary English, math, science, social studies,
elementary ed, and special education. He noted that the report
says that advanced preparation tracks were not affected. He
asked what that means.
DR. LAYER said that in 2018 the Council for the Accreditation of
Educator Preparation (CAEP) reviewed half of the UAA programs,
only those involved in initial licensure. That would be the
bachelor's in elementary ed and secondary ed, etc. The other
programs intended for secondary licensure were not affected by
accreditation review. Those programs now are undergoing review
by CAEP. The university is getting positive feedback from CAEP
about those programs.
10:05:47 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked about the status of the loss of
accreditation and what process leads to a return to
accreditation.
DR. LAYER answered that the university is working with each of
the three universities and the board to look at the prospects
for bringing back those programs. The big challenge is that the
State Board of Education was requiring that to get licensure in
the state of Alaska, students were required to graduate from
CAEP-approved programs. With the loss of that accreditation,
students graduating from a nonaccredited program could not meet
that standard. The university has been working with the state
board to relax that requirement, especially during the emergency
time of COVID. The university is looking at abilities to
redevelop those programs. The university is working with UAA
faculty to look at the early childhood program. UAA still has an
associate degree in early childhood education. The three
universities are working together to develop pathways for
students in the Southcentral region to get a CAEP-accredited
degree from UAS or UAF as a method to get licensure in the state
of Alaska.
10:07:31 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said the university has done a great job of
finding these pathways. The students are not badly affected.
They have been able to move forward, but as Dr. Layer said, it
is unprecedented. It is important that the legislature learn
what the red flags are and be part of what is going on. The
regents are the most important of the process. Whoever the chair
of the Education Committee is will need to have a face-to-face
meeting with the regents on a biennial basis to learn about the
process.
10:08:31 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 36 in committee.