Letters to the Editor

Letter: School of Education shows negative merger potential

With plans being made to merge the University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Southeast, the recent merger of the School of Education should serve as an example of the detrimental consequences.

In 2017, the University of Alaska saved little money by merging the School of Education administration, given the creation of a head dean position at UAS and the need for increased administration to run online learning and oversee program coordination. Following the merger, the ensuing confusion and loss of morale contributed to the poor performance during the accreditation process and a subsequent loss of accreditation for the School of Education at UAA.

In 2019, the UA Board of Regents decided to fully merge the UAA School of Education early licensure programs into UAF and UAS. This merger has led to a sharp decrease in enrollment, with 37% fewer student credit hours being taken in merged education classes across all three campuses compared to last year. The K-12 school districts of Alaska will soon feel the impact of fewer teachers and, if the full merger continues, Alaska communities will feel the loss of engineers, nurses, doctors, biologists and business graduates shortly afterwards.

— Max Kullberg

Assistant Professor at UAA

Anchorage

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