UAA Native Student Services serves as a stepping-stone for college-bound students

The University of Alaska Anchorage's Native Student Services (NSS) provides outreach and college transition programs to encourage and support Native and rural students coming to UAA. This past year, UAA NSS launched its "Off-campus Outreach and Orientation" (Triple-O) project.

In partnership with the Bering Straits School District (BSSD) and the Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center (NACTEC), NSS hosted monthly interactive video-teleconferences from September 2007 through March 2008 with the juniors and seniors in the 15 village high schools in the Bering Straits Region. During these monthly sessions, UAA NSS director Willy Templeton exposed these high school students to various postsecondary education options and opportunities available to them. In addition, students signed up for NSS's e-mail listserv to maintain an "electronic" connection with UAA and to create an information pipeline for various postings regarding scholarships and other college-related information.

In February 2008, UAA advisors flew to Nome to assist high school seniors get ready for college. UAA advisors from NSS and Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing (RRANN) first met with 12 BSSD students from outlying villages who came into Nome to participate in a Career Exploration session at NACTEC. UAA advisors assisted these students with applying for admissions, financial aid, and housing at UAA. The UAA advisors also met with the 22 high school seniors from the Nome Public Schools at Nome/Beltz High School to talk about getting ready for college and set up individual sessions to help students complete applications for federal financial aid, UAA admissions and on-campus housing.

UAA went back to Nome in May 2008 for part two of the UAA Triple-O project. The UAA team consisted of Ted Malone, Director of Student Financial Assistance and Information, Linda Morgan, Director of the Advising and Testing Center, NSS staff and recent UAA alumna Cheryl Johnson who was a valedictorian from Nome/Beltz High School. The UAA team provided 19 income first-time UAA freshmen from the Bering Straits Region with a skill assessment in English and Math (Accuplacer), course placement advising and registration for fall 2008 UAA courses.

In February 2008, UAA NSS advisors attended the World of Work job and career fair in Sitka. NSS made contact with Mt. Edgecumbe High School about offering a UAA Triple-O project in Sitka. UAA staff and UAA student Barbara Franks--who is from Southeast Alaska--returned to Sitka in April 2008 to provide 14 Mt. Edgecumbe high school seniors with the same assessment, advising and registration support that was provided earlier in the year in Nome.

The UAA NSS Native Early Transition (NET) program has been designed to complement the UAA Triple-O project. The NET program is open to Triple-O students and all other incoming Native and rural UAA students. UAA NET is four-day program that will be held August 19-22, 2008, which is just prior to the beginning of UAA's fall 2008 semester. NET offers activities designed especially for students coming from rural Alaska to familiarize them with life in a large urban setting. In addition to being exposed to a wide variety of student support services offered at UAA, students will learn how to access services in Anchorage--from setting up bank accounts to riding the People Mover bus system. NET students will also be able to attend the UAA New Student Orientation for out-of-area students on Friday, August 22, and UAA's Freshman Convocation and Campus Kick-Off on Saturday, August 23.

University of Alaska Anchorage Native Student Services strives to serve as a stepping-stone into UAA for Native and rural students. For more information, please call UAA NSS staff at (907) 786-4000 in Anchorage or toll free at 1-866-786-4804.