Listening Sessions

The Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) has conducted listening sessions across the University of Alaska system to better understand how students, faculty, and staff experience the university, and how institutional practices shape student persistence, confidence, and long-term success.

These sessions are designed to create space for candid conversation, surface shared challenges, and identify practical opportunities for improvement. They are one part of a broader, ongoing effort to move from listening to action, and from individual experiences to systemwide learning.

Listening sessions vary by campus and context. Some are large, public forums; others are smaller or intentionally unrecorded to encourage open dialogue. Participation levels can be influenced by academic calendars, travel, and timing. ANSI approaches each session with care, transparency, and respect for local conditions.

Across campuses, several consistent themes have emerged:

  • The importance of early, clear, and sustained advising and navigation
  • The need for continuity in staffing, communication, and support
  • The role of place, language, and visibility in shaping student experience
  • The value of trust, follow-through, and shared responsibility at all levels

Summary

During Summer 2025, the Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) held early listening sessions at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) as part of a systemwide effort to engage campuses ahead of the academic year and establish ongoing lines of communication.

The first session, held July 8 in Juneau, took place prior to the start of fall classes and included a small group of participants. The conversation surfaced foundational themes related to place, language, onboarding, and how institutional values are demonstrated through everyday practices.

A second session occurred in late August on the Sitka campus during President Pitney’s visit there. This session was intentionally not recorded to encourage open dialogue. There was some direct local follow-up, including coordination between campus leadership and student representatives to continue ANSI-related work at Sitka.

Together, these sessions were framed as starting points rather than conclusions. They emphasized the importance of learning first, building trust over time, and creating conditions where students, staff, and faculty see their identities, knowledge, and voices reflected across the institution: not only in statements, but in action.

What We Heard

  • Place and language matter, and should be reflected visibly in campus environments
  • New hires benefit from ongoing learning beyond initial onboarding
  • Institutional values are most credible when reflected in daily practice
  • Students want their voices incorporated into planning and strategy, not consulted episodically
  • Listening is most effective when it leads to continued dialogue, not one-time events

Next Steps

Actions underway

  • Adding Indigenous-focused resources and references to the ANSI website
  • Incorporating place-based introductions and acknowledgements more consistently in public-facing settings
  • Supporting campus-level follow-up between leadership and student representatives at Sitka

Actions being developed

  • Establishing more regular communication with student groups at UAS campuses
  • Improving onboarding materials to emphasize place, language, and local context
  • Extending future listening sessions to allow deeper conversation (longer formats)

Longer-term priorities

  • Strengthening continuity of dialogue at smaller and remote campuses
  • Ensuring listening sessions translate into visible, campus-specific follow-through
  • Embedding learning and reflection into ongoing institutional practice

Campus-wide Listening Session

This listening session brought together students, faculty, staff, and senior leadership to discuss how institutional culture, communication, and decision-making affect student persistence and confidence at UAA. A separate listening session was held specifically for students at a later date. Participants spoke candidly about their experiences navigating academic programs, campus services, and organizational change.

A recurring theme was the need for clear ownership of Alaska Native student success initiatives at all leadership levels. Many participants noted that while strong work is happening across campus, it is not always visible, coordinated, or consistently reinforced. Gaps in communication, particularly during periods of restructuring, were described as disruptive to trust and continuity.

Faculty and staff emphasized the importance of recognition, clarity of expectations, and shared responsibility for retention. Students stressed the need to be heard early and often, especially when changes affect advising, programming, or campus spaces central to their experience.

Leadership acknowledged these concerns, reaffirmed the purpose of ANSI as a mechanism for accountability at the highest levels, and emphasized the need to embed student success expectations into everyday operations—not as an add-on, but as core institutional work.

What We Heard

  • Retention must be treated as a primary institutional outcome
  • Students are affected most when changes occur without clear communication or involvement
  • Faculty and staff doing student-centered work want clearer recognition and support
  • Advising, navigation, and early connection strongly influence whether students persist
  • Cultural relevance and visibility matter in shaping students’ sense of belonging
  • Trust is built through consistency, follow-through, and shared responsibility

Next Steps

Actions underway

  • Integrating student retention expectations more explicitly into University structures
  • Improving internal communication about ANSI goals and responsibilities
  • Documenting and sharing retention data more transparently

Actions being developed

  • Clearer guidance for deans and directors on their role in supporting student success
  • Improved coordination across programs that serve Alaska Native students
  • More consistent recognition of faculty and staff contributions to recruitment, retention, persistence and graduation

Longer-term priorities

  • Embedding student success expectations into leadership roles and workflows
  • Strengthening campus-wide understanding of ANSI’s purpose and progress
  • Building continuity so progress persists beyond individual leaders or programs
  • Fostering external partners as stakeholders to support student success 

IRSC-Focused Listening Session

This session focused specifically on the experiences of students connected to the Indigenous & Rural Student Center (IRSC). Participants described how advising, staffing continuity, space, and cultural connection shape their ability to persist and succeed at UAA.

Students emphasized the importance of trusted, culturally knowledgeable advisors who understand their backgrounds, academic pathways, and financial realities. Several shared that disruptions in staffing and programming had created confusion, isolation, and difficulty navigating requirements, deadlines, and support systems, particularly for first-year students.

Participants also spoke about the role of community-based programs, Elders, and culturally grounded activities in helping students feel oriented and supported. Physical space emerged as a practical concern, with limited room constraining gatherings, events, and traditional activities that foster connection. There was a lot of discussion around the name change from Native Student Services to IRSC. Students expressed concerns and impacts and leadership listened.

University leadership acknowledged the impact of recent changes, expressed regret for the disruption caused, and emphasized that the session was part of a broader effort to listen, rebuild trust, and identify practical steps forward.

What We Heard

  • Consistent, knowledgeable advising is essential, especially early in a student’s time at UAA
  • Disruptions in staffing and programming affect persistence and confidence
  • Students value advisors who understand their communities and financial pathways
  • Clear communication about deadlines, resources, and changes is critical
  • Physical space matters for community, programming, and cultural activities
  • Students want to be involved in shaping changes that affect their experience

Next Steps

Actions underway

  • Peer advisors have begun limited hours in the IRSC
  • Reviewing advising cultural fluency and training to improve usefulness and continuity
  • Continue strengthening coordination with external scholarship and education partners
  • Continue growing cultural opportunities for connection and belonging
  • Improving communication around key deadlines, programs and scholarships 

Actions being developed

  • Strengthening the connection of students to financial resources and career services to help them be more successful
  • Enhancing first-year college transition programming

Longer-term priorities

  • Rebuilding continuity in student support structures
  • Improving space access for gatherings, events, and traditional activities and games
  • Creating clearer pathways for student input into program and organizational changes

Summary

The UAF ANSI Listening Session convened students, faculty, staff, and senior leadership for an open discussion focused on retention, continuity of support, and the day-to-day conditions that shape student success at UAF, including rural and distance learners.

Participants spoke candidly about the pressures created by uncertain funding timelines, staffing instability, and the administrative complexity faced by students navigating advising, financial processes, and enrollment, particularly those joining UAF from rural communities or online pathways. Faculty and staff highlighted the operational strain created when grant-funded positions approach expiration and emphasized the importance of planning early for continuity.

Students described the importance of trusted spaces like RSS, role models who understand their lived realities, and clear guidance for navigating academic and financial systems that may be unfamiliar. Several noted that remote learners often feel disconnected from services and campus life, even when committed to completing their degrees.

Leadership acknowledged these concerns, emphasized that Alaska Native student success is central to the university’s identity and long-term mission, and reiterated that listening sessions are intended to surface issues early, improve communication, and guide concrete follow-through over time.

What We Heard

  • Retention is closely tied to continuity in advising, staffing, and support roles
  • Funding uncertainty creates stress for staff and disrupts student-facing services
  • Rural and distance learners experience additional barriers to navigation and connection
  • Clear communication about timelines, expectations, and changes is essential
  • Spaces like RSS play a critical role in student confidence and persistence
  • Students want practical ways to contribute ideas and stay engaged between sessions

Next Steps

Actions underway

  • Compiling questions and themes raised during the session into shared internal follow-up materials
  • Improving communication around grant timelines, staffing impacts, and planning horizons
  • Identifying clearer points of contact for advising, financial questions, and remote student support

Actions being developed

  • Exploring continuity strategies for advising and outreach roles tied to time-limited funding
  • Improving logistical planning for rural students (e.g., books, enrollment processes, escalation pathways)
  • Developing clearer mechanisms for students to share input outside of live listening sessions

Longer-term priorities

  • Strengthening retention support for rural and distance learners across academic pathways
  • Improving coordination between academic units, student services, and campus leadership
  • Building more predictable planning structures so students and staff are less affected by uncertainty