By: Alexandra Fitts, Vice Provost, Accreditation Liaison Officer & Dean of General Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks
When COVID-19 caused institutions across the country to shift the way they were providing education to students, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) faced some unique challenges. UAF serves 21 locations around the state, from full-fledged campuses to learning centers, research stations and outreach sites.
Alaska’s population is spread thinly across America’s largest state. And while Alaskans are served by a world-class university, they are supported by an unevenly developed infrastructure. Four of UAF’s campuses have no road access at all. Approximately 400 miles of roadless land separates Fairbanks from the campuses in Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham and Bethel.
Many of the communities that UAF serves do not have reliable internet service. In Fairbanks, roughly two-thirds of UAF’s Fairbanks-based staff reported not being able to access adequate internet to conduct a Zoom meeting. UAF has responded by loaning equipment, including wireless hotspots, and creating low-bandwidth distance course options.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, like most universities, UAF flipped classes to distance delivery within a week and sent most residential students home. But UAF serves many students, including rural and international students who could not go home because of travel restrictions, as well as students who are homeless or come from a home that is not safe. UAF learned early on in the pandemic that it would need to remain residential so that its students would have electricity, water, sewer, internet and safety.
UAF Principles of Marketing instructor Tammy Tragis-McCook introduces herself to her new students during the first day of instruction Aug. 24, 2020, on the Troth Yeddha’ campus. Students in the class had the option of taking the class fully online or attending in person. UAF photo by JR Ancheta.
The university also made a number of academic adjustments to allow students to complete their disrupted semester in the most successful way possible. Among these, the use of Deferred grades (similar to Incompletes) was expanded and the withdrawal deadline was extended. Students who withdrew due to COVID-19 were able to request a credit on their tuition to apply to the following semester.
UAF faculty immediately worked to move more than 1,000 courses to an array of modalities that would allow students to start the fall semester and create equity with inclusive course offerings. Summer 2020 was busy, as the eCampus’ iTeachU program trained 92 faculty over four to six weeks in a cohort-based workshop to help them get started building their courses.
UAF eCampus, in collaboration with the Provost Faculty Development Team and the Faculty Development and Improvement Committee, also launched the Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that brought faculty together from across UAF to study and create shareable resources for distance delivery.
Some classes are not easily adapted to online learning, so in-person classes like this one in pottery are adapted with lower enrollment, mask-wearing and physical distancing. UAF photo by JR Ancheta.
UAF includes the Community and Technical College (CTC), which has many courses that require hands-on training such as the welding program, firefighter academy, aviation maintenance, certified nurse aide and dental assisting program. To keep all of these programs running smoothly, UAF offered parts of these courses via Zoom or videoconferencing, and also set up protocols to allow in-person instruction with hands-on learning that maintained the safety of students, faculty and staff. Some of this was done through staggered schedules, physical distancing, additional personal protective equipment and regular health checks.
As fall registration approached, UAF created a matrix to guide students as they navigated their way through courses and the options that best fit their needs. In developing our modality range of face-to-face, online, blended, hybrid, distance and “high-flex,” courses the university focused on equity and student access.
With mental health and student equity in mind, UAF began providing additional student health and counseling support through virtual appointment services, virtual health and counseling programs, and for those students who test positive for COVID-19, delivering care baskets and providing regular check-ins to students requiring isolation. The university awarded more than $300,000 in COVID-19-related emergency scholarships for students affected by the pandemic. These scholarships helped to cover everything from upgraded internet to a plane ticket home.
The focus on students’ mental health continues into fall. The Associated Students of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (ASUAF) has made it a priority, according to President Riley von Borstel. “The mental health of our students here at UAF is already a topic of interest due to the challenging environment in which we are living and learning, but now with the pandemic, it is even more so… That is why one of my missions for this school year is to put students’ mental health first and think of creative ways to give them the college experience we are longing for.”
Like everyone, UAF was unsure what to expect for fall 2020 enrollment, but was pleased to see that its efforts to support students and stay flexible were paying off. Enrollment data shows an increase of about 3.4% in new undergraduate students and 4.1% in new first-year students at the Fairbanks campus and a jump of more than 21% in new graduate students. In fall 2020 UAF also saw its highest fall-to-fall retention percentage in over a decade.
About 700 students chose to live on campus, all in single rooms or family housing. UAF’s testing and safety protocols have worked well: a total of 89 faculty, staff, contractors working on campus, or students have tested positive since March. The university set aside a residence hall for isolation of COVID-19-positive students, but at present only 1% of the isolation space is in use.
Approximately 75% of the fall student credit hours are being taken by distance in fall 2020. These courses are everything from asynchronous distance, to synchronous video delivery, or hybrid and high-flex delivery. Students and faculty in face-to-face classes maintain safe distances and masks are mandatory in all UAF buildings.
UAF’s eCampus personnel were instrumental in helping transform most of the university’s in-person classes to online education in a matter of days.
UAF also stayed engaged in research being conducted around the globe. For example, with recommended COVID-19 safety measures in place to provide students, faculty and staff with the guidance required during the pandemic, the university was able to continue research on the Sikuliaq, a 261-foot, ice-capable ship owned by NSF and operated by UAF. The Sikuliaq was the only ship in the UNOLS fleet that was allowed to sail during the initial months of the pandemic.
UAF’s response to COVID-19 was based on its strategic goal of respect, diversity, inclusion and caring. Providing equity among students required an early commitment to mitigate risk and keep open the educational space that students need. While the future of the pandemic remains unpredictable, UAF remains committed to safety and success for all students.
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Dr. Leonard Taylor is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs and Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at Indiana University. Leonard has taught in college contexts for nearly a decade in various teaching roles, working with undergraduate and graduate students. His scholarship is focused on investigating and improving how student success commitments are enacted at higher education institutions. Through research, teaching, and consulting he works to understand, interrogate, and inform how administrators, faculty and staff members, and other post-secondary stakeholders use research, data, and promising practices to enhance post-secondary outcomes.
His research is deeply informed by his previous experiences facilitating High Impact Practices as a practitioner, and his ongoing research projects related to the implementation of student success practices in various institutional and disciplinary contexts. His work has been funded through the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, College Student Educators International (ACPA), as well as other national and local entities. Recent examples of his scholarship can be found in the Review of Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education, and in a recently published volume of New Directions for Higher Education titled, Enacting Student Success: Critical and alternative approaches for practice.
Charag Krishnan is a Partner with McKinsey & Company’s Education Practice. He supports institutions on improving student outcomes, developing sustainable business models, operational turnarounds, capability building, advanced analytics applications, M&A as well as international expansion. He primarily works with universities in the US but has also served institutions across the spectrum of education – impact investors, non-profits, governments, and philanthropic foundations in India, Europe. Middle East and Australia.
Charag is a founding cohort Teach for India fellow where he taught grades 2 and 3 at a low-income municipal school, and was involved with setting and scaling up India operations of Generation, a non-profit focused on youth employment founded by McKinsey Social Initiative. He has also been a UNICEF Innovation Unit Fellow and currently serves on the Boards of Teach for India U.S. and Mantra4Change US. He graduated with an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management as a Youn Scholar, Tata scholar and Dean’s Award recipient and holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics from National Institute of Technology, India.
Dr. Nasser Paydar currently serves as the Assistant Secretary of Education for Postsecondary Education.
Dr. Paydar is chancellor emeritus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and executive vice president of Indiana University (IU). An IU faculty member for more than 36 years, he has held various administrative and executive leadership positions at the university. Paydar joined IUPUI in 1985 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. From 1989 to 2003, he held a number of positions in the school, including chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, associate dean for graduate programs, associate dean for academic programs, and executive associate dean. From 2004 to 2007, he served as vice chancellor and dean of Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus. Paydar was appointed chancellor of Indiana University East in 2007, serving in that role until he returned to IUPUI in 2012, when he was named the campus’s executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer. He became IUPUI’s fifth chancellor in 2015.
As an IUPUI faculty member, he has served as principal and co-principal investigator on research grants from federal and state agencies and private companies, including Cummins Electronics, DePuy, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center. His research in the area of solid mechanics, with applications in biomechanics and electronic packaging, has been published widely in scientific journals. Paydar earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University.
Anthony Salcito works to help empower educators and inspire students to achieve more. He aims to transform the way we learn with the support of the best technology to help build critical skills for the modern, global workplace.
In his role as Chief Institution Business Officer at Nerdy, Anthony works to support institutions and educators with solutions for high-dosage tutoring, homework help, test prep, and enrichment all with the goal of driving student outcomes and helping transform education.
Anthony is a recognized leader in driving education transformation and has worked globally with education leaders and organizations to support new approaches to delivering student impact and supporting learners. Prior to joining to Varsity Tutors, Anthony served at Vice President of Worldwide Education for Microsoft, leading the worldwide execution of the company’s vision for education, and pioneering many core programs and education offerings including Live@EDU which evolved to be Office 365, Partners in Learning, Microsoft Innovative Educator program, and Showcase Schools.
Anthony has served as an active board member at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and Teach.org. He has also helped author a book on Education Transformation which serves as a reference guide for schools looking to drive innovation to enhance student outcomes. You can engage with Anthony Salcito at @AnthonySalcito.
Dr. Bridget Burns – Named one of the “Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly magazine, Dr. Bridget Burns is the founding CEO of the award winning University Innovation Alliance (UIA), a multi-campus national laboratory for student success innovation that helps university leaders dramatically accelerate the implementation of scalable solutions to increase the number and diversity of college graduates across the country. Dr. Burns is a frequent keynote speaker, and her work has been highlighted in national outlets like The New York Times, Fast Company, 60 Minutes, and she was featured in the documentary “Unlikely.” She received her Doctorate of Education in Higher Education Leadership & Policy from Vanderbilt University.
Paul N. Friga, PhD, is one of the foremost higher education thought leaders and strategists. With 20 years of experience as a professor, researcher and consultant at UNC CH and Indiana University, Friga understands how public education really works and how it should change. His former experience as a consultant with PwC (earned CPA and CMA designations) and McKinsey (including projects in public higher education) round out additional relevant experience. He has also served as a Trustee at Saint Francis University and the Board Chair at Saints Francis and Clare Church in Greenwood, Indiana. He has an MBA and Ph.D. from UNC Chapel Hill.
Chris Moloney, PhD, serves as AGB Consulting’s Associate Vice President and Associate Managing Principal. In that supervisory role, he manages strategy development offerings for colleges, universities, and their governing boards and leads business development efforts with private institutions, while providing internal connectivity among consulting team and other AGB units. Moloney previously held the roles of Senior Director, Consulting, and Director of Strategy and Transformation Consulting within AGB, where he led the development of external engagement and business development strategies, digital initiatives, and oversaw operations. Moloney began his tenure with AGB in a business and partnership development role under the affiliated entity AGB Institutional Strategies, with significant responsibility for the operations and business development of that unit. Prior to joining AGB, Moloney served as the associate director of the College Division at Global Maximum Educational Opportunities (GMEO), an international education company, where he led a team engaged in building international education partnerships with colleges and universities across the United States.
Stephen P. Hundley, PhD, is Senior Advisor to the Chancellor for Planning and Institutional Improvement at IUPUI, where he is also a Professor of Organizational Leadership. Stephen provides strategic advice and consultation to the Chancellor, the Chancellor’s Cabinet, and the Council of Deans on a range of matters pertaining to IUPUI’s strategy, effectiveness, and future directions. He leads the Office of Planning and Institutional Improvement, including facilitating the administrative and program review processes; directing campus-level strategic planning activities; handling the executive search function for the campus; promoting various improvement-oriented initiatives; and serving as executive sponsor of IUPUI’s Program Review and Assessment Committee.
Stephen chairs the annual Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, which is the oldest and largest U.S. event focused on assessing and improving higher education. He is executive editor of Assessment Update, an award-winning bimonthly periodical from Wiley with a national readership, and he serves as host of Leading Improvements in Higher Education, an award-winning podcast profiling people, initiatives, institutions, and organizations improving conditions in higher education.
Stephen has addressed a variety of audiences in more than 30 countries on six continents and throughout the United States. He has been recognized for his accomplishments through teaching, publication, and service awards and has received competitive funding from private foundations and state and federal agencies to support his work, including continuous funding from the National Science Foundation for more than a decade. Stephen earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and a doctorate from American University in Washington, D.C.
Louisa Hunkerstorm joined NCHEMS in April 2022 as a Research Associate. She has particular interests in translating data into actionable insights for decision makers and in fostering climates of improvement and growth. She previously served as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Central Wyoming College where she was responsible for institutional research, served as the institution’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, and oversaw multiple accreditation-related visits and reviews. She has degrees from the University of Washington and Dartmouth College.
Brian Prescott is President at NCHEMS, where he sets the organization’s strategic direction and leads a team of accomplished and committed policy experts, information analysts, and creative thinkers working to improve how postsecondary education serves the nation’s needs. He also leads and supports projects on behalf of states, state agencies and systems, and institutions related to state strategic planning, postsecondary finance and affordability, governance and organization, demographics, and student success and workforce outcomes. Before joining NCHEMS in 2016, he served as Director of Policy Research at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. He is a current board member of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and a past board member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling. He has degrees from the University of Virginia, the University of Iowa, and the College of William and Mary.
