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 obtain the credentials necessary for employment, career advancement, or enrichment.

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 students, and places of belonging and opportunity for those already enrolled.

Students-First Action Agenda
Projects & Impact Areas
 

Students-First Action Agenda - A Systemwide Effort with Shared Purpose

The Action Agenda is a unified roadmap to act with a shared purpose - from Anchorage to Fairbanks to Juneau and across every region of the state. It represents a coordinated, data-informed, and student-centered transformation of public higher education in Alaska to:

  • Align enrollment and student success strategies across the UA system
  • Prioritize evidence-based practices and clear outcomes
  • Focus  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 to build the future our state needs.
Each year, this agenda is updated to reflect progress, adapt strategies, and sustain momentum.

 

Guided by Students-First Principles

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 recommendations in the EAB Systemwide Attainment Framework Report, direction from the UA Board of Regents (BOR) in their SAF Guidance, 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 Students-First Action Agenda project includes success metrics, timelines, and reporting milestones. Starting in FY26, to ensure accountability and making it easy for anyone to see how we are advancing student success across the University of Alaska system, 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