Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/03/2021 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Presentation: Update on the University of Alaska System | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 3, 2021
9:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Roger Holland, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Shelley Hughes
Senator Tom Begich
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Peter Micciche
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: UPDATE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA SYSTEM
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
PAT PITNEY, Interim President
University of Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an update on the university system.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:03:23 AM
CHAIR ROGER HOLLAND called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Begich, Hughes, Stevens, and Chair Holland.
^PRESENTATION: Update on the University of Alaska System
PRESENTATION: Update on the University of Alaska System
9:04:01 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the committee will hear an overview from
Interim President Pat Pitney, University of Alaska (UA), on
current UA operations, how the university is managing though the
pandemic, and her vision for the university system going
forward.
9:04:27 AM
PAT PITNEY, Interim President, University of Alaska, Anchorage,
Alaska, referenced slide 2 from her presentation, Alaska's
System of Higher Education. She said one of the key messages she
wants to get across is UA is not a university, UA is Alaska's
system for higher education with three distinct universities.
She detailed the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is a
research university, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is
a comprehensive urban university, and the University of Alaska
Southeast (UAS) is a small regional [inaudible] university.
She said unlike any universities in the nation, each UA
university also has the responsibility for the community campus
and the vocational education responsibility for their region. UA
has campuses and extension sites throughout the state and takes
serving Alaska seriously.
She noted UA has a breadth of programs from the short-term
vocational certificate all the way through doctoral degrees. UA
has bachelorette degrees primarily at the three main campuses,
but through the university's community campuses and through
distance delivery programs, those bachelorette degrees are
available statewide, and several master's degrees are available
statewide as well.
9:08:10 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted the governor's proposed budget incorporates
part of the agreement between the [UA Board of Regents (board)]
and the governor in terms of cuts to the budget. He asked her if
the budget cuts presently proposed in the governor's submitted
budget threatens any of the UA campuses.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered the budget cuts do not threaten the
campuses. The campuses are thinner, and UA is working very hard
to adjust its footprint.
She referenced slide 3 and said her primary goal in conjunction
with the board is to bring stability to the system. There is no
doubt the reductions have been significant; however, UA has a
path forward.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA is managing down to its new footprint
while bringing stability, confidence, and trust back to the
institution. UA went through program reductions and those
programs are not going to be at the university, but the programs
the university has are here to stay. That confidence allows
students to know when they walk on to UA campuses, those
programs are there for them through their graduation.
She added the programs also provides confidence within the
institution that as people are working to build back their
programs, as they are working across the system to fill in the
gaps created by the budget reduction, that their program is here
to stay. Also, to [the confidence to Alaska's] employers that
yes, UA has those workforce programs that create qualified
individuals to go to work in one's industry.
9:10:59 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY said COVID-19 has dramatically impacted all
states. Alaska has a recovery period to go, some jobs lost
during the pandemic will come back but not all will come back.
UA is in the business of creating the opportunities for upward
mobility. Focusing on those unemployed or under-employed and
having those programs available is the university's focus and
that is going to make a big difference for Alaska's economy
going forward.
She added another piece that is going to make a big difference
in Alaska's economy is maintaining the university's competitive
external research, which has done remarkably well during the
pandemic.
PRESIDENT PITNEY stated that UA must always focus on operating
more cost effectively. She said her focus is very much on the
university doing as much as it can administratively in terms of
reductions to preserve its program access. UA's programs are the
business the university is in. Having the available engineering
programs, process technology programs, teacher education
programs, nursing, and certified nurse heath is the university's
business.
9:12:38 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 4 and noted UA has recently
gone through an analysis and partnership with the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) on the nine industry
sectors listed on the slide:
• Administration & Finance
• Aviation
• Construction
• Fish & Marine Science
• Health
• Information Technology
• Mining
• Oil & Gas
• Teacher Education
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA has tracked its programs against the
jobs in Alaska. Seventy to ninety percent of UA graduates out of
its programs are going to work in the state. That is what
employers are telling UA they want. Employers want people who
are graduates from Alaska because they know what the state is
like, they have stayed here and want to stay here versus when
employers have to hire somebody from outside, they get a two-
year timeline, something that she hears from oil and gas
companies, school districts, and hospitals. UA wants Alaska
graduates because they are here to stay and invested in their
community.
9:14:00 AM
She noted UA graduates' jobs examples and referenced the
aviation area. Within the university's aviation maintenance, out
of 400 graduates across a 10-year period, 300 are working in the
state and in the first 5 years their wage growth is 40 percent.
Civil engineering graduates, 85 percent stay in state and their
average wage after 5 years employment is $100,000. Marine
biology graduates from UAS, 51 out of 58 are working in state.
Some of the higher percentages are in UA's health fields,
certified nurse assistants at 93 percent, nursing at 89 percent
one of UA's largest workforce programs with 2,300 in-state
nurses within the last 10 years.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA creates that workforce. There are many
more [examples] out there and she invites committee members to
look at the university's job reports. She stated, "To me, this
more than anything highlights the business we are in. Allowing
individuals to invest in themselves and be ready for the jobs
that our employers and our industry needs."
9:15:52 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted his comments from the previous week about
the university's education school, pointing out she has done a
lot of work to stabilize that sector. The committee saw some
dramatic declines noted in presentations made the previous year
by the university's prior president.
SENATOR BEGICH said in terms of the number of education students
who stay in state, he asked her if the department is tracking
that as it does with nursing.
He commended her work to stabilize a fairly rough sector,
especially given the accreditation issue.
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied education is one of the more direct for
employment [degrees]. Ninety percent of students that seek their
teaching credentials are working in state, and 78 percent are in
the local school districts. She noted the 90 percent are working
in the state, some potentially in [private schools]. The
university actually sees some of its teachers going into the
healthcare area, which is a similar fit whereby they help people
manage their health.
She said she has additional information on teacher education in
her presentation and will go much more in-depth with what the
university is trying to accomplish in stabilizing and growing
its teacher education.
9:18:05 AM
SENATOR BEGICH disclosed that he runs a scholarship fund that
provides scholarships for those pursuing education degrees or
public service degrees. He said his inquiries about the
education system have nothing to do with the scholarship he
runs, and he makes no monetary gain from that.
SENATOR HUGHES stated she loves when President Pitney talks
about the higher education system being a way for upward
mobility for Alaskans. She related that she experienced that as
a UA graduate. As a young mother without a degree, she was below
the poverty level, but she received a degree and here she is in
the legislature. She said she loves the fact that UA provides
that opportunity.
She noted last week the governor gave his State of the State
Address and talked about the need to diversify the state's
economy, and to look for new industries and innovative things.
She asked her if UA is having any conversations with the
administration about things that perhaps the university could do
to expand opportunities and open the gateway for new industry
development in Alaska.
SENATOR HUGHES said the governor mentioned unmanned aircraft
systemsnoting she was one of the champions of that early on
when people were skeptical about it. She inquired if the
university's aviation program is doing that because that is an
innovative technology with possible opportunities.
She referenced Dr. Helena WisniewskiUAA faculty member, Fellow
of the National Academy of Inventors, and founding director for
the Arctic Domain Awareness Centeras an individual for
consideration in the conversation for diversifying the economy.
9:21:20 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered yes, UA is having that conversation.
She detailed the university recently had a conversation on the
unmanned aerial systems, noting she will provide additional
information in her overview.
She pointed out another area of significant opportunity [for
unmanned aerial systems] is in the mining arena for strategic
minerals. She explained the mining of strategic minerals in much
more discreet and less like coal or gold mining. She stated UA
is in the mining business which involves a lot of innovation and
science opportunity to make the industry more profitable.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said regarding the unmanned aerial vehicles,
UAF has the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aerial Systems
Integration (ACUASI). She noted [Dr. Cathy Cahill] runs ACUASI,
a program that has been around for about 10 years. She added UAF
is part of a consortium of universities that are partnering with
the [Federal Aviation Administration] (FAA) to create the
policies and regulations to make unmanned aerial vehicle flight
possible, policies that will open the whole transportation
sector for Alaska.
She noted ACUASI has the largest university fleet of unmanned
aerial vehicles and because ACUASI is in Alaska, the center has
a lot of airspace freedom. Unmanned aerial vehicles could make a
huge difference in fisheries counting, fire management,
etcetera. The center is also building systems which involves
cameras, engines, and the interface between people.
PRESIDENT PITNEY added ACUASI is working with the University of
Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Business Enterprise Institute (BEI),
which Dr. Wisniewski is involved with. She noted ACUASI works
with business owners or entrepreneurs via BEI.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said regarding space and the Alaska aerospace
industry, the State no longer supports the aerospace industry in
an operating way. However, the industry is now being very
successful at attracting private space launches due to more
affordable and profitable rockets that launch smaller
satellites. The space sector is another key area where UA is
looking forward to, and the university is working with the
Alaska Space Corporation. She referenced a UAF graduate who
worked with SpaceX and has now started a company in Alaska to
build space module equipment.
She said part of an education is providing the opportunity for
people to have that broad education from which their enthusiasm
builds the next business that we have not talked about, an
exciting aspect that she gets to work with at the university.
9:27:05 AM
SENATOR HUGHES replied that she has worked with ACUASI and [Dr.
Cahill] a lot, noting that is very much resource based in
working with the FAA.
She asked her if UA offers actual courses on unmanned aerial
vehicle systems where students can work on a certification in
preparation for being a part of an industry if the state were
able to develop to a greater degree.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered she believes UA likely integrates
unmanned aerial vehicle systems in a class, but there may not be
a single class that does that. She said she will get back to the
committee with more information.
She addressed slide 5 on reduced budget and reduced footprint.
She said the Compact was a $70 million reduction on top of a $50
million reduction prior to the Compact. Since 2014, UA has seen
a reduction in its State funding by $120 million which
represents 30 percent of the university's base funding. The
general fund is the base on which UA can earn other revenues.
PRESIDENT PITNEY stated the 30 percent reduction in its core
foundation has been difficult to manage. She said she is
impressed that the universities and the UA System Office have
worked through that and preserved as much program as possible.
She reiterated that UA wants to focus on its programs and
quality research.
9:29:27 AM
SENATOR HUGHES referenced the first bullet point on slide 5 as
follows:
• At the end of the Compact in FY22, UA will be down
$120 million UGF from FY14
She asked her if the $120 million reduction is from overall
funding, all revenue sources.
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied when looking at just the general fund
and earned revenue, it is about 17 percent. She said she will
get back to the senator on the exact percentage.
She explained there are three pieces of the budget: general
fund, earned revenue, and intra-agency receipts. Intra-agency
receipts is the money paid within the university. For example,
UA charges for human resources. Also, the UAF heat and power
plant is a utility charge, but that is not new revenue. It is
money paid inside.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said the general fund plus the earned revenue
is $120 million from an approximate $750 million base. UA's
tuition and fee revenues has also begun to decline because the
university has had enrollment decreases.
9:31:37 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked her to clarify that her reference to
"earned revenue" refers to tuition and fees.
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied tuition and fees, and the competitive
research grants and contracts, but the grants and contracts are
restrictive. When UA competes in the research world, that money
comes in for a specific purpose and there is no flexibility in
being able to use that money for anything else.
She continued with slide 5 and noted UA reduced its facilities,
sold them, and had lease reductions.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said a big part of UA's reduction comes through
the reduction of faculty and staff. UA has 2,500 fewer employees
than it did in FY2014, that is almost 900 regular faculty and
staff, and the rest were adjunct and temporary workers, student
workers, and graduate assistants.
PRESIDENT PITNEY added that UA has experience more than a 20
percent reduction in personnel in administration.
9:33:08 AM
SENATOR BEGICH asked her if the reduction in facilities, leases,
and operating facilities has reduced UA's reported $1 billion in
deferred maintenance.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered the university's deferred maintenance
is now $1.27 billion, and the average age of its facilities is
35 years. Fairbanks, Kodiak, and Kotzebue have facilities with
an average age over 40 years.
She explained the university reduces its backlog when
demolishing an older facility. However, in the past seven years
there has been only small components of deferred maintenance
funding and the deferred maintenance backlog has continued to
grow. The university's capital budget request includes $50
million towards its deferred maintenance backlog. Under a $50
million deferred maintenance approach on an annual basis, the
university could maintain its facilities and slowly tick down
their backlog, just based on the size of its facilities
footprint.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA is taking down its older facilities
that are less usable and leaving facilities like engineering
buildings, libraries, and core campus facilities that are here
to stay.
She detailed UA has sold a lot of its outlying facilities,
anything not on its campuses. UAA used the University Center
Mall for student services and several programs. However, UAA has
consolidated all that on campus and leased the facility to the
Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Department of Health
and Social Services (DHSS). Both have better lease arrangements
plus there is lease revenue. UAA has reduced its footprint by
putting its programs back into their core campus facilities.
9:36:49 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 6 and noted last year there
was a lot of angst and tension between faculty and
administration. One of the things she did, at the direction of
the board, was to open the books on administration.
She said she firmly believes UA is in the business of programs
and the university must have programs. However, there is an
administration cost that exists, but providing clarity allows
people to see into that.
PRESIDENT PITNEY noted UA invited its faculty and governance
group to come in and do an administrative review and analyze
roles and responsibilities of each of the university's leaders
both in the UA System Office and at the university level. She
said that process is ongoing, and she looks forward to it.
However, she is also not waiting for recommendations and is
taking action.
She detailed she has made three distinct actions that reduces
their executive footprint. When Miles Baker was working at the
university, he was an associate vice president and now that is
not an executive position. UA had an associate vice president of
student affairs in the UA System Office and that position no
longer exists since. UA had another associate vice president in
the institutional research and planning area and that has become
a director position. She said she is reducing the rest of the
executive roles every chance she gets.
9:39:01 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY said in terms of the long-term sustainability,
UA has done two major administrative changes: centralization of
procurement and human resources. However, the changes have not
come without pain points, but both actions have saved money and
now the university is working on that service model. UA will
continue to look at other things like accounts payable, accounts
receivable, grants, contracts, and maintenance to find more
streamlining in those areas. Again, similar to its [building
backlog], those [changes] are on the margins and the university
is looking every day for the next savings.
She noted another kind of administrative pain point is at the UA
System Office. She reiterated UA is not a university, it is the
state's system for higher education. The UA System Office serves
as both the policy role for the board and as the corporate role.
UA is a single employer with one [Employer Identification
Number] (EIN). UA has one set of policy in terms of finance and
human resources; however, its accreditation lies with the three
universities, each of those have a level of independence.
9:41:08 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 7 and said there is an
internal and external criticism or push on the UA System Office.
The first column in the slide shows the systemwide policy role
that UA does on behalf of the board. For instance, in the
president's office there is herself, an assistant, the board's
secretary with an assistant, and a Title IX officer that is in
direct service to the board. Also, within the program corethe
policy function for what UA doesincludes academic affairs,
university relation, strategy and budget-Vice President Rizk's
areageneral counsel, finance, human resources, and technology.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said the second column is corporate function.
Because UA is a single legal entity, the university has an
academic affairs function, and this is largely data oriented.
The university relations and strategy includes: the university's
land management office; corporate functions; communications
function; budget function; general counsel; finance; auditor;
human resources; and information technology.
She noted the third column shows shared or central services,
things that the UA System Office does for the entire system. For
instance, finance in FY2014, there was 13 people in that shared
service functionthis is largely the university's enterprise
systemthe Division of Finance is an example where they run the
finance system for the State of Alaska and that is what the
university is doing there. Personnel for finance grew from 13 to
20 in FY2020. Finance centralized procurement systemwide and
that resulted in saving three positions, but now they are all
reporting into the "Statewide" and serving the procurement
operations for all the campuses. In all respects, UA has
reduced.
PRESIDENT PITNEY addressed the bottom line on slide 7, "other
programs." Statewide used to run programs, but not anymore.
Statewide programs included: K-12 mentoring, that is now at UAF;
the mining training system is through the cooperative extension
at UAF; and UA corporate programs just went away.
9:44:54 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY addressed the Education Trust of Alaska on
slide 7; this is the [Alaska 529], a completely self-funded
programa national programthat is a tax plan for college and
education savings. There are about 20,000 Alaskans with an
account in Alaska 529 with roughly $1 million in management;
these are nationwide, very competitive plans with over $10
billion under management. The Alaska 529 started in the early
2000s via a legislative change that allows the university to
offer the plan. However, the plan does not draw on any State
funds and is completely self-funded.
SENATOR BEGICH commended President Pitney for doing something
that the committee has been asking for long before he was a
member. The committee has asked UA to reduce its overhead, get
rid of redundancies, and to provide more autonomy to the local
campuses. He said her overview shows a reduction in raw
positions that makes him believethat she has done the job.
9:46:58 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 8 that showed a comparison of
funding for FY2014 vs. FY2022. In FY2014, the UA System Office
had $29 million of general funds. The budget the legislature
will be reviewing has a proposed a FY2022 budget of $12.8
million, a 56-percent reduction. In total fundsnoting the
Education Trust of Alaska is completely self-funded$65 million
is down to $45 million, a 30-percent reduction.
She said one of the significant changes the university is
makingnoted in the previous slide under the University of
Alaska Foundation and in this slide under the UA Receipts
categoryis the University of Alaska Foundation is a separate
nonprofit organization that works on behalf of UA universities
that they operate through the funds they raise, and a portion of
the funds that they raise also helps the UA Foundation operate.
PRESIDENT PITNEY explained that all foundation fundingwith the
exception of two joint leadership-level positions that the
university shares with the foundationis through the foundation.
UA is proposing to move the foundation and its operations into
the nonprofit. Right now, the nonprofit raises all its funding,
but UA is moving the foundation operations off the university's
budget into a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity.
She said UA is working through the foundation change and that is
one of its proposed budget differences that makes a difference.
There were 22 people in the foundation in FY2014 and there are
about 29 people in the foundation today. She reiterated UA is
proposing in FY2022 that the foundation is not within the
university budget but accounted for within the existing
foundation 501(c)(3).
PRESIDENT PITNEY explained that UA is going to continue to focus
on fund raising. However, the change provides the foundation the
flexibility to advance in that area as well. UA is working
through the details and will provide the committee with more
information on that transition.
9:50:28 AM
She referenced slide 9, Asset Monetization. She detailed UA has
sold a number of facilities, demolished 13 facilities, and
leased 95,000 gross square feet (GSF) at the University Center
Mall to third parties. UA has been leasing the Alaska Airlines
Center to aid in community COVID-19 response. Hopefully, UA will
capture that back and have its athletic teams back up and
rolling for next season.
PRESIDENT PITNEY noted UA is also looking at public-private
partnerships. The University of Alaska Anchorage College of
Health "innovation hub" would be a major health stimulation
facility in connection with Providence Health and Services
Alaska (Providence) and the Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium (ANTHC).
She said UAF is also looking at a public-private partnership
around childcare. UAF does not have childcare on campus due to
COVID-19 and UA is looking at that, but COVID-19 has stopped
that.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA is looking at a power sales agreement
for the excess power out of the recently built heat and power
plant at UAF. The plant is built for future energy use, but the
excess capacity is sufficiently large for Golden Valley Electric
Association to utilize now.
She explained that because of the cost of the UAF heat and power
plant and the $120 million reduction in State funding during the
project, UA is exploring monetizing the new asset. UA is working
with Bruce Tangeman to explore what other universities have done
in terms of selling or doing a concession on the power plant
where somebody else operates it and the campus gets stable
power. UA is asking for two years of debt relief to work through
that process.
9:53:58 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY addressed Senator Hughes and said UA is
continuing to understand the value of the [Matanuska Experiment
Farm and Extension Center] and has not evaluated alternatives,
but there are no projects pending. The board looks at that every
meeting as an information item.
SENATOR HUGHES thanked her for the update, noting there is a lot
of community concern. She noted a proposal for a task force to
come up with alternative revenue ideas for the land. She asked
her if there is any conversation about a task force for revenue
proposals.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered conversations are happening with good
dialogue. She noted [UAF Vice Chancellor Julie Queen] met with
[Amy Pettit, Executive Director, Alaska Farmland Trust] last
week.
SENATOR BEGICH said on the exploring public-private partnership
opportunities, one of the things that the State has done is to
partner with companies like Siemens on an energy audit and
retrofit for buildings of 10,000 feet or greater. The audit
reveals things to do to significantly reduce costs. There is no
net cost because the State used the accrued savings to pay the
private company to retrofit the building. The State retrofitted
buildings in 2010, the process escalated, and work completed
ahead of schedule.
He noted there is legislation that extended retrofitting to
5,000 square feet, legislation that he introduced. He asked her
if the university is aware of the retrofit program to reduce
energy costs without costing the State.
9:57:37 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered prior to her work with the Office of
Management and Budget, she was the Vice Chancellor for
Administration. UA entered into a public-private partnership to
do just that but decided the university's financial status and
bonding capacity was less expensive to go through with the
program.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said before leaving slide 9, she wanted to
mention UA's land grant status, which is that it is land granted
without the land. The university has 110,000 acres from a
federal land grant. In terms of land under management, the
university has about 150,000 acres. Recently, the Alaska
congressional delegation introduced a bill to allow the federal
government to grant the university another 350,000 acres from 5
million acres left for conveyance to the state. The governor
supports the bill and UA is working with the Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) to identify the acreage.
She detailed UA annually receives $7 million in revenue
generated via a 4.5 percent market valuation of assets from the
land grant trust fund. Approximately $150 million is in the fund
from land sales. For comparison, the Mental Health Trust has 1
million acres, and their annual revenue is about $10.6 million.
Also, the University of Texas has 2.1 million acresaccessed in
1876and their annual revenue is $21 billion.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA's land grant process eventually could
rise to the $20 million range, but it is going to take time to
receive the land, sell the land, and get the market-value
proceeds from the fund. The land fund is an important piece of
stability, but not a replacement like the $21 billion a year is
at the University of Texas.
10:02:11 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked her to confirm that the federal government
is supposed to grant Alaska five million acres from federal
lands.
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied the state has roughly 100 million acres
of land from the federal government at statehood, but the
federal government has yet to convey another 5 million acres to
the state. The university would receive 350,000 acres from the
federal government's 5-million-acre conveyance to the state.
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the 350,000-acre conveyance is all that
is coming to the university.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered that is all that the university would
have. A series of events during statehood left the university
out and it will never see a land grant like the two million
acres that the University of Texas received. UA is excited about
the 350,000-acres, but the university will not have the
dependency level that other states have had, largely due to
timing during statehood and other land issues during that time.
10:04:35 AM
SENATOR HUGHES commented that a land grant is supposed to help
with the university's autonomy and its budget. She asked what it
would take to get more than 350,000 acres out of the 5 million
acres that the state is supposed to receive.
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied the 350,000 acres was kind of a
negotiated agreement supported by the governor and DNR. However,
because the acreage is coming straight from the federal
government, it is not subject to what happened in the early
2000s when the Supreme Court overrode the legislature's 250,000
land grant to the university.
10:06:08 AM
She explained slide 10 references the university's COVID-19
response and some of the things outside of its instructional
area, but she wanted to talk about how the university managed
through the pandemic.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said all of UA's universities pivoted to the
online environment when the pandemic struck, but there are still
a lot of hands-on-dependent classes. For example, welding class
has 12 welding machines, but only 6 people could attend to
assure social distancing. UA anticipated a 20 percent enrollment
impact from COVID-19, but the university felt fortunate to be
down just 10 percent.
She said UA still has about 30 percent of its class sections
offering face to face with social distancing such as: welding,
process technology, certified nurse assistants, med-tech, dental
hygiene, chemistry labs, and mechanical labs for engineering,
etcetera; all of those are still onsite.
PRESIDENT PITNEY noted all the universities are trying to ease
back, but what UA found was the programs that were more used to
distance had less impact. For example, the Ketchikan and Sitka
campuses were stable because they have been in the distance mode
for a long time due to their course sharing with the Juneau
campus. The School of Management has several distance programs
and actually saw an increase in enrollment. The School of
Fisheries and Ocean Sciences has been offering classes in just
three to five different locations within the state, they saw an
increase in enrollment.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said those places that had to pivot had a
bigger impact. However, UA felt it did reasonably well in
holding enrollment through the COVID-19 period.
10:09:08 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY said UA allowed for on-campus housing because
there are places people did not have internet access, so the
universities had their dorms operating. However, some dorms were
at 25 percent capacity to assure social distancing and that,
along with auxiliary services, had a significant budget impact.
She pointed out UA's foundation of programs allowed for the
university to contribute to the State's response to COVID-19.
The College of Health provided training and employed more than
400 contact tracers. [Dr. Tom Hennessey] has been a tremendous
advisor to many entities throughout the state. The [Alaska Small
Business Center-University of Alaska Anchorage Enterprise
Institute] helped in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan
process and in the State's distribution process. UA had a mental
health assistant for responding to mental health assistance,
manufactured personal protection equipment, and allowed its
nurses to graduate early to get them into the workforce.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said the [National Science Foundation] (NSF)
helped UA with following up and studying the spread of the
disease. UA was significantly involved in the COVID-19 response
as well as dealing with the COVID-19 response.
10:11:13 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 11 and addressed enrollment at
the UAA Mat-Su campus, noting they had an increase in the number
of people taking classes, but the enrollees took fewer classes.
She said UA thinks students taking fewer courses was due to
flexibility related to kids being home or not having a job to
afford paying for more than one class. However, the Mat-Su
enrollment was an interesting dynamic.
She noted UA's retention rate for freshmen coming from last year
into this year was better than the year before. UA is seeing
good signs in terms of program applications for spring 2021, but
UA's spring enrollment continues to be down about the same as
the fall.
10:12:29 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced edX courses, [Massive Open Online
Course] (MOOC) learning via a national portal of course content
available worldwide. UAF went into the edX process of putting
some of their specialized courses online: climate change, Arctic
security, and a couple of others. UAF has five sections up on
edX and over 5,000 people have viewed those courses. UAF is only
monetized when somebody desires to get a certificate of
completion and 200 people have asked for a certificate. However,
over 5,000 people in 120 countries have viewed the courses and
edX is a new way to showcase those things that are unique at
UAF.
She said committee members will hear more in the future about
the UAF Center for One Health Research online program, a
holistic approach to an interdisciplinary approach to health.
She noted people from Pennsylvania have applied to the One
Health program. Online learning allows UA to get the word out
about courses via UAF's edX and other universities throughout
the system putting their course content up as well.
10:14:26 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if UA has explored using the Khan Academy
which has a huge online, worldwide audience, typically with free
content.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered UA will get back to the committee with
an answer, but everyone is aware of the Khan Academy.
CHAIR HOLLAND asked if UA received CARES Act funding and if so,
were the funds directed towards personal protective equipment
(PPE), enrollment loss, or were the funds restricted.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered UA received different sources of
COVID-19 funding. In the first CARES Act in March/April 2020,
there was a formulaic-driven amount of funds that went to each
university: 50 percent to students' aid and emergency aid, and
50 percent to the institution. Additionally, through DHSS for
those things that were additional expenseslike any other state
agencyUA received money through the public health COVID-19
amount. In the recent COVID-19 Act that just passed, there is a
smaller amount of funding, but it is formulaic based with some
going to students for emergency aid and some going to the
institution. UA also had some campuses receive local
contributions from the community CARES Act.
PRESIDENT PITNEY noted UA has an accounting of its cost and lost
revenue, and all revenue that came in from various sources. Last
estimate there was a $15 million delta, which is also one of
UA's capital budget requests for COVID-19 relief, which is on
top of the state's budget reductionsthen UA had the COVID-19
impactthat was significant.
She said as UA gets final numbers on the new COVID-19 bill, the
university is going refine that as well as refine its capital
budget request.
10:17:53 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 12 and noted UA's enrollment
efforta significant three-to-five-year effortis really paying
off. UA has seen increases both in the onsite middle college and
dual enrollment. Also, UA recently offered the Alaska Advantage
Program and its package of distance education courses has been
timely during the current COVID-19 environment.
She said many of UA's on-campus middle colleges remained face to
face, but some did not. The feedback UA is getting from school
districts is, "Everybody is all in." UA is seeing much better
college-going rates out of the middle college cohort, and UA is
getting a much better in-state-college-going rate. More
importantly, the time to degree and their preparation is
stellar.
PRESIDENT PITNEY stated UA's dual credit middle college approach
is something the university will continue to grow organically in
time. She said, "UA is meeting districts where the districts'
needs need to be met."
10:19:46 AM
She addressed slide 13 regarding UA's focus on teacher
education. She noted day three into her tenure, the board
announced big initiatives due to the accreditation loss at UAA.
UAF and UAS immediately began to offer their education programs
onsite in Anchorage, but the turmoil of that left uncertainty.
UA pulled all three of its education programs together with the
focus of increasing enrollment with the resources it has,
understanding that its budget constraint exists. The challenge
was determining how UA maximizes its resources while providing a
place at the table for UAA without their programs.
PRESIDENT PITNEY detailed UAA is starting a 2+2 Education Degree
Program and is in discussion on pre-kindergarten (pre-K)
education. UA has associate degrees in early childhood, but
currently does not offer a bachelorette. However, the 2+2
program will be a pre-education program at UAA focused on the
southcentral market, and then there are pathways into elementary
or secondary education, depending on the program modality a
person wants. Prior to COVID-19, teacher education at UAF is
much more face to face and UAS is much more distant. However,
with the accreditation issue, UA's teacher education enrollment
and number of graduates are down.
She referenced elementary licensure at UA versus the state of
Montana. UA only has two elementary and secondary licensure
programs since UAA lost accreditation. By comparison, Montana
has 13 different universities teaching elementary education.
PRESIDENT PITNEY said she believes UA can significantly come up
with its existing programs and the 2+2 program, but in the
future, there is going to be a demand for teachers. However, UA
must get through its budget timeframe, get to stability, and
then proceed with evaluation. Currently, UA want to get as many
teachers as possible into its existing programs.
She noted UA is placing a big effort into advertising its
aligned education programs to students throughout the state so
they find the program they want. The advertising program will
start in April or May 2021, with a corresponding website
finished in March.
10:24:11 AM
SENATOR BEGICH thanked her for providing a level of detail that
helps in showing UA has a plan in place to meet the teacher
education need. He asked what the legislature can do to help UA
with its effort in building the College of Education and
ensuring Alaska grows its own teachers.
PRESIDENT PITNEY answered that one challenge UA faces is the
number of people that choose to be teachers. She suggested loan
forgiveness, grant funding for the mentor program, and efforts
to elevate the profession. She added funding for reading
specialist would provide more of an impact as well.
10:29:01 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether UA has or is open to adding a
revised reading component for each teacher because the state's
grade schools are not doing so well on a national or global
scale regarding reading achievement. UA is training a lot of
teachers who are going into the schools and yet there are
problems in successfully teaching children to read. She
mentioned reading specialists, but every teacher needs to know
how to teach reading at the primary level in a way that is
successful. Based on the scores, there is tremendous room for
improvement at the university.
She noted the governor, Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED), Senator Begich, and she want to work on the
"read by nine" concept. She said she believes the university and
the teacher education program needs to step up and do a better
job training teachers in how to teach children to read.
SENATOR HUGHES pointed out President Pitney mentioned that
during COVID-19 campuses familiar with distance learning were
more versatile and did better than campuses not trained with
that. She noted K-12 level schools had the same issue where some
teachers did well, and others struggled. Also, some families had
a bad experience with virtual learning and others had a good
experience. She suggested a virtual delivery training component
for K-12 teachers so they know how to do it and do it well.
She said her hope is that virtual delivery training could become
a required component of the teacher education program as well as
a better reading component in how to teach a child to read. She
asked President Pitney if she is open to adding any of the
suggested components.
10:32:17 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY replied the university's technology training is
robust for its new teachers and is a significant component in
what they are doing. She suggested UA experts address Senator
Hughes' question to explain what the university is doing.
However, there is a breadth of teachers who do virtual teaching.
PRESIDENT PITNEY noted Senator Hughes' comment on campuses that
were impacted more and said the issue was not distance education
agility. The issue was their programs were site-based like
welding, auto mechanic, and diesel.
She said she would be excited to put some of the education
program leaders in front of the group at some point to talk
about the specializations and the expectations. She noted
finding encouragement with the quality of UA's program because
school districts are saying the university's graduates were good
teachers. However, UA just needs more teachers.
PRESIDENT PITNEY added she missed one thing to ask from the
legislature, which is that the salary compression for teachers
relative to other states has been significant in Alaska over the
last 15 years.
10:35:11 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 14 and said research has held
strong for UA, which is good news for Alaska. Research funding
comes from corporate and federal government grants. If UA is not
nationally competitive, that funding would go to other
universities. UA currently has about $160 million in external
funding for research. UA has been able to hold that and grow it
slightly over this period, so research is a strength that UA
has. For example, unmanned aerial vehicle research contributes
directly to new industry in the state and aerospace is another
area. She said she cannot understate the value of UA research to
Alaska's economy and would love to go into greater detail at a
future time.
She reiterated research is one thing the state should celebrate
about UA's strength and its position now with the new
administration and the university's strength in the Arctic and
climate. UAF is the number-one cited university for climate
research with its International Arctic Research Center, a
strategic strength in Alaska that dovetails with the Department
of Defense. UA has a lot of partnerships, including health, one
of the university's big workforce areas. UA's opportunities are
huge, a strength for celebration.
10:37:29 AM
PRESIDENT PITNEY referenced slide 15 and said UA is looking for
financial stability to a level of detail that does not probably
resonate at the education table, but a single appropriation is
an important thing.
She referenced slide 17 and said the technical vocational
program has a sunset date this year. Programs reauthorization is
important not only for UA, but for every vocational technical
provider in the state.
PRESIDENT PITNEY addressed slide 18 and said the Higher
Education Investment Fund is important to students throughout
the state and for access to affordable education. Providing long
term stability in terms of action on the fund is a huge
priority.
CHAIR HOLLAND stated the committee recognizes the importance of
the University of Alaska system and all that President Pitney is
doing to strengthen it during these difficult times. He
expressed appreciation for the many proactive actions the
university has been working on.
10:39:37 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Holland adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting at 10:39 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Senate Education 2-3-21.pdf |
SEDC 2/3/2021 9:00:00 AM |
|
| UA Responses to SEDC questions from 2.3.21.pdf |
SEDC 2/3/2021 9:00:00 AM |