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UA president proposes major restructure of system
By Matt Buxton, mbuxton@newsminer.com
FAIRBANKS—Facing a massive budget cut from the Legislature, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced on Thursday that he will push to combine the system's three campuses into a single combined university, ending the independent administration and accreditation of each.
Johnsen announced the potential for the broad restructuring of the UA system in a systemwide email on Thursday.
Potential advantages to single accreditation include greater flexibility in structuring and coordinating academic programs and administrative services across the system, fewer top-level administrators, greater responsiveness to student interests, and lower operating costs," he wrote.
Currently each campus—Fairbanks, Anchorage and Southeast—has its own accreditation and own administrative oversight.
Johnsen also proposes an accelerated review of the University of Alaska's teacher education, management and business, and engineering programs as part of a broader plan to review redundancies between the state's three campuses. On the non-academic side, Johnsen has proposed a review of research administration and intercollegiate athletics among others.
Johnsen had hoped for a more methodical review of the system, under a framework called Strategic Pathways, but the cuts legislators are considering changed that.
All of the points laid out in the email will be brought to the Board of Regents at their June meeting for approval.
The letter paints a grim picture for the University of Alaska's finances. As it stands, the Legislature is considering a $50 million cut in general funding from the $350 million the university system received for the current fiscal year. Johnsen wrote that with other increased costs, unfunded mandates and contractual obligations that the cut will effectively be about $25 million larger. In total, it amounts to a 22 percent cut in funding from the current year.
"We hope the Legislature restores some funding as it completes its work in Juneau, but the uncertainty surrounding the budget forces us to plan for the worst while we advocate for what we need," he wrote.
The state budget remains unresolved as the Legislature blew past the 90-day voter-approved session and ran into the 121-day constitutional session. The constitutional session will expire on Wednesday, though legislators can vote to extend an additional 10 days.
There's the potential for legislators to return to the budget number for the university to either increase it or cut it further.
Johnsen stressed that the decision process is pushing forward despite the uncertainty.
As part of that uncertainty, Johnsen also announced he would end the search for a new chancellor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks because a system under single accreditation would eliminate that position.
"Our greatest enemy is uncertainty. Uncertainty with respect to our budget from the state and how those (likely) cuts will affect our mission. Uncertainty about the UAF chancellor position. Uncertainty about what academic programs will be cut, maintained, or grown. Uncertainty about our administrative structure," he wrote. "By announcing these actions now, I hope to provide you some degree of certainty in an otherwise uncertain world."
More information about the potential changes and ways to offer input are available online at www.alaska.edu/pathways.
By Matt Buxton, mbuxton@newsminer.com
FAIRBANKS—Facing a massive budget cut from the Legislature, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced on Thursday that he will push to combine the system's three campuses into a single combined university, ending the independent administration and accreditation of each.
Johnsen announced the potential for the broad restructuring of the UA system in a systemwide email on Thursday.
Potential advantages to single accreditation include greater flexibility in structuring and coordinating academic programs and administrative services across the system, fewer top-level administrators, greater responsiveness to student interests, and lower operating costs," he wrote.
Currently each campus—Fairbanks, Anchorage and Southeast—has its own accreditation and own administrative oversight.
Johnsen also proposes an accelerated review of the University of Alaska's teacher education, management and business, and engineering programs as part of a broader plan to review redundancies between the state's three campuses. On the non-academic side, Johnsen has proposed a review of research administration and intercollegiate athletics among others.
Johnsen had hoped for a more methodical review of the system, under a framework called Strategic Pathways, but the cuts legislators are considering changed that.
All of the points laid out in the email will be brought to the Board of Regents at their June meeting for approval.
The letter paints a grim picture for the University of Alaska's finances. As it stands, the Legislature is considering a $50 million cut in general funding from the $350 million the university system received for the current fiscal year. Johnsen wrote that with other increased costs, unfunded mandates and contractual obligations that the cut will effectively be about $25 million larger. In total, it amounts to a 22 percent cut in funding from the current year.
"We hope the Legislature restores some funding as it completes its work in Juneau, but the uncertainty surrounding the budget forces us to plan for the worst while we advocate for what we need," he wrote.
The state budget remains unresolved as the Legislature blew past the 90-day voter-approved session and ran into the 121-day constitutional session. The constitutional session will expire on Wednesday, though legislators can vote to extend an additional 10 days.
There's the potential for legislators to return to the budget number for the university to either increase it or cut it further.
Johnsen stressed that the decision process is pushing forward despite the uncertainty.
As part of that uncertainty, Johnsen also announced he would end the search for a new chancellor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks because a system under single accreditation would eliminate that position.
"Our greatest enemy is uncertainty. Uncertainty with respect to our budget from the state and how those (likely) cuts will affect our mission. Uncertainty about the UAF chancellor position. Uncertainty about what academic programs will be cut, maintained, or grown. Uncertainty about our administrative structure," he wrote. "By announcing these actions now, I hope to provide you some degree of certainty in an otherwise uncertain world."
More information about the potential changes and ways to offer input are available online at www.alaska.edu/pathways.
