The Students-First Commitment

Building Alaska’s Future, One Student at a Time

The University of Alaska system is working together–across campuses, communities, and leadership–to ensure that every Alaskan has the opportunity to access, thrive in, and graduate from college.

Through the Systemwide Attainment Framework (SAF) and our Students-First Action Agenda, we’re aligning efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate students with measurable success. Our shared goal: to make UAA, UAF, and UAS campuses of first choice for Alaska’s students, and places of belonging and opportunity for those already enrolled.

Students-First Action Agenda

Projects & Impact Areas

What is the Students-First Action Agenda?

The Action Agenda is a unified roadmap that:

Aligns enrollment and student success strategies across the UA system
Prioritizes evidence-based practices and clear outcomes
Focuses on near-term actions that make a long-term difference for students and communities

It’s not just a set of goals: it’s a systemwide shift in how we collaborate, invest, and improve.

Each year, this agenda is updated to reflect progress, adapt strategies, and sustain momentum.

Guided by Four Core Values

We believe student success begins before enrollment and extends well beyond graduation. That’s why every SAF project is grounded in these principles:

Access

We’re expanding pathways to college through targeted outreach, simplified admissions, and intentional support - especially for underrepresented and rural students.

Belonging

Our campuses are working to ensure students don’t just attend, but feel seen, supported, and valued. Belonging and mattering is essential to persistence and success.

Affordability

We’re reducing barriers to college by clarifying costs, increasing aid, and improving transparency in how financial resources are awarded and communicated.

Completion

Success means getting students across the finish line with the tools and credentials they need to thrive. That takes clear degree paths, proactive advising, and wraparound support systems.

Turning Strategy into Action

Our priorities are based on strategic research and university plans: especially the recommendations in the EAB Systemwide Attainment Framework Report, and each university’s Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan (UAA SEM, UAF SEM, UAS SEM).

Here’s how we’re taking action across the system:

Coordinated marketing campaigns using digital tools and platforms
Common App participation and improved onboarding experiences
Expanded dual enrollment and K–12 pipeline partnerships

Recruitment Project Overview

Consistent, high-quality advising through Navigate360 and other tools
Targeted outreach and support for students at risk of stopping out
Increased faculty engagement and coordinated communication efforts

Retention Project Overview

Streamlined scholarship processes and better visibility into aid options
Tuition transparency improvements to help families plan
Expanded awareness of the Alaska Performance Scholarship and UA Foundation resources

Data and Policy Project Overview

Systemwide dashboards to track student outcomes
Shared definitions and reporting standards
Improved contract management and technology integration

Financial Access Project Overview

Measuring What Matters

Each SAF project includes success metrics, timelines, and reporting milestones. Starting in FY26, we’ll share:

Quarterly project updates
A public-facing dashboard showing progress across campuses
An annual SAF Outcomes Report to communicate impact to students, stakeholders, and the Board of Regents

This approach helps ensure accountability, and makes it easy for anyone to see how we’re advancing student success across the University of AAlaska system.

A Systemwide Effort with Shared Purpose

From Anchorage to Fairbanks to Juneau, we are acting with shared purpose. The Students-First Action Agenda represents a coordinated, data-informed, and student-centered transformation of public higher education in Alaska.

We’re building the future our state needs.