Building a better path for student success

Dear UAA Community,

As guided by UAA 2020, we are committed to removing barriers to student success so more Seawolves persist and complete their educational goals.

The Community & Technical College (CTC) has worked to create a "front door" for UAA with its recent reorganization around student success, to include the Learning Commons, Writing Center and Math Emporium, and its student-centered alternative delivery models. The innovative ways CTC is meeting students where they are in their academic development provides UAA an opportunity to overcome major obstacles to student success.

It is well known that Tier 1 GER courses are the foundation for student success. Recent research shows that student difficulties in these courses are often tied with institutional barriers, among other reasons. Effectively managing these barriers requires us to rethink how we are organized and how we operate.

To capitalize on CTC's recent developments and to allow for better integration of developmental programming, the Tier 1 GER courses will shift from the College of Arts and Sciences to CTC. Along with this change, CTC will take on a new name: the University and Technical College (UTC), which reflects our commitment to being an open-access university with a renewed focus on student success.

Provost Hrncir, Dean Runge and Dean Stalvey are forming a working group to review this organizational change and develop an implementation plan. It is expected that Tier 1 GER classes offered in fall 2018 will be provided under the auspices of UTC.

I invite you to attend a special Chat with the Chancellor on this topic, Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 10-11 a.m., in the Learning Commons, Sally Monserud Hall. I also encourage you to go online to review more details, receive updates on the process and share your comments.

Sincerely, Samuel B. Gingerich Interim Chancellor

September Archive