Opinions

Hard times is no time to shortchange education in Alaska

We all know our state is facing a period of challenging public finances. At the same time, we know that continued, prudent investment in education of our people pays dividends in terms of our economy and our quality of life. When making tough choices in the days and months to come I encourage our leaders to continue to put education at the top of the list of priorities, and I encourage those who work in our education system to embrace innovative ideas that are responsive to the needs of our state.

We have many examples of this kind of good work. Just last year, with bipartisan support, Alaska enacted improvements to its student loan programs administered by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. These improvements will encourage more students to graduate from college on time, resulting in lower cost to the state and more job opportunities for our students.

The commission also is working with school districts, industry associations, state agencies, and higher education institutions to increase Alaska's college-going rates, an essential condition for our state's economic development and diversification, and for the quality of life of our people. ACPE is aggressively streamlining and cutting waste from its administrative processes, improving services at lower cost to Alaskans, especially important during these times of tight budgets.

And looking forward, as federal student loan interest rates have begun to rise, ACPE will be pursuing opportunities for the Alaska Student Loan Corp. to fund state education loans at the lowest possible costs, thereby reducing the financial burden of postsecondary education for Alaskans.

We all know that Alaska's economy has been, and will continue to be based on responsible natural resource exploration and development for years to come. When we are able to add value to those resources here in Alaska, jobs and income are created. When we sell those products outside Alaska, capital from outside Alaska adds to our state's wealth.

I believe the best way to diversify our economy is to focus on education, from preschool through university, because this effectively turns natural resource wealth into human resource wealth. It is well-educated people who take ideas and make them into businesses that invest, create jobs, provide valuable goods and services, and make our communities clean and safe places to live. It is through education that we create the capacity for sustainable innovation, so critical for our long-term success in this increasingly competitive global economy. And it is through education that we provide more opportunities for our people, lower social costs for our state, increased civic engagement in our communities, and even higher expectations for the future. It's a classic virtuous cycle.

Yes, our state is heading into a period of challenging public finances. But at the same time, we know that continued, prudent investment in education of our people is critical to our economy and our quality of life. Let's keep our focus on expanding opportunities for our people to obtain a high quality, cost-effective education, and encourage our leaders to put education at the top of the list of priorities when making tough choices in the days and months to come.

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Dr. James Johnsen serves as chair of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. He is a senior vice president at Alaska Communications and has served as senior vice president at Doyon, Ltd., and as vice president and chief of staff of the University of Alaska. The views expressed here are his own.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

James Johnsen

Dr. James Johnsen resides in Fairbanks. A former administrator and instructor at the University of Alaska, he now serves as chair of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, Vice-Chair of the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees, and member of the Alaska State Committee on Research. The views expressed here are his own.

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