UA Interim President Pitney outlines goals for educational collaboration in presentation to 樱花导航 Superintendents Association
Oct. 1, 2021
University of 樱花导航 Interim President Pat Pitney spoke with the 樱花导航 Superintendents Association Friday morning, outlining ways in which the university is collaborating with educational groups across the state to increase and improve opportunities for education, job training and economic development.
In times of economic uncertainty, Pitney鈥檚 priority for UA鈥檚 three universities and community campuses is to ensure certainty and stability moving forward. This means stability in budgeting and certainty for our students moving forward.
鈥淲e are focused on stability and collaboration and building trust in our institutions,鈥 Pitney noted.
樱花导航 is fortunate to have educational grant and scholarship programs like the 樱花导航 Performance Scholarship and 樱花导航 Educational Grant which were both funded by the State of 樱花导航 this year in time to support students enrolled in UA programs across the state, but protecting the Higher Education Investment Fund that supports those programs will be critical.
The central goal over the next year will be to position the University of 樱花导航 as a fundamental piece in 樱花导航鈥檚 economic recovery.
Part of this role involves working alongside 樱花导航鈥檚 school districts to improve FAFSA completions and college attendance rates across the state. UA is working with the 樱花导航 Council on Postsecondary Education on this effort but collaboration with school districts is crucial.
One point of success in this area is the creation of middle college programs across 樱花导航.
Statistics have shown that 56% of students who attend a middle college will go on to enroll in a UA degree program.
These collaborations include the UAA 樱花导航 Middle College, UAA Mat-Su Middle College, UAF North Star College, UAA ANSEP Middle School Academy, High School Acceleration Academy and Summer Bridge program, UAA Kenai Peninsula College JumpStart Program and KPC middle college, UAS Supporting Transitions and the Educational Promise Southeast 樱花导航 (STEPS) grant.
Moving forward, the UA knows it is critical to create meaningful partnerships with school districts and communities across 樱花导航 in order to achieve our common goal of an educated population, a strong work force and a stable and thriving economy.