High School Seniors and Graduates, Alaska Public Schools:

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Situational Analysis

2014 was the first year in more than 25 years that Alaska’s population declined. Southeast Alaska saw a small decline, along with almost every other region in Alaska, except for the Mat-Su and Kenai Boroughs, and the Southwest Region, including Bethel and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. While it is too early to determine whether this trend has continued in 2015, given the state’s ageing population and uncertain economic future, it seems likely. This decline has been especially true in younger Alaskans. Since 2010, the population of 15-19 year-olds declined by more than 3,700. 1 This is also seen in Alaskan high school enrollment - we expect the number of graduating seniors to be the smallest class since 2006 or 2007.

This is crucial to enrollment at UAS. More than 80% of UAS first-time freshmen are recent high school graduates. Approximately 50% of undergraduate applications come from the Juneau area, approximately 66% are from Southeast Alaska, and approximately 85% are from Alaska.

Assuming that current demographic and economic trends continue, a core population of prospective UAS students - high school graduates coming out of schools in Southeast Alaska - will almost certainly continue to decline during the next several years. This represents a fundamental challenge to the University.

Strategy

To meet these challenges, we plan to recruit for specific niches that UAS is well poised to meet. Specifically we plan on traveling widely to meet and recruit as many FTF as possible from Southeast, Juneau, coastal, and rural Alaska. We also plan on attending college fairs in urban Alaska and the Western United States. We will also focus on in-bound recruiting by continuously upgrading and streamlining the website, and focus on fast and accurate communication to all students, especially distance and non-traditional students. Our goal is a smooth and intuitive website and communication plan that guides students into a smooth and intuitive application and registration process.

1_{Alaska Economic Trends: April 2015}

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Graduates Seniors

High School Seniors and Graduates, Alaska Public Schools: 1996-2017

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Market Segments

 Traditional First-Time Freshman from Alaska

 Juneau

 Southeast and rural Alaska

 Southcentral (Anchorage/Mat-Su/Kenai) and Fairbanks

 UA Scholars

 APS eligible students  Out-of-state

 Western Undergraduate Exchange

 Come Home Alaska  Transfer

 Non-traditional and Distance  Ketchikan and Sitka

 Military  International

Goals

 Recruit college ready students that have a high probability of retaining

 Increase applications and enrollments from Fall 2015

 1100 or more new and transfer students

 500 or more new and transfer degree seeking students

 240 or more First Time Freshmen (FTF) on the Juneau campus

 50% of new FTF living on campus (120 + students)

 Recruit Alaska Natives as 20% of the incoming class

 220 or more new and transfer Alaska Native students

 Recruit 20% of the incoming class from out-of-state  Increase applications and enrollments from UA

Scholars and Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) eligible students

 35 or more new enrolled UA Scholars

 55 or more new APS students  Build a strong team of student recruiters

602 505 498 ₄₃₁ ₄₃₀ ₄₂₉ 500 553 628 530 555 624 600 1155 1133 1028 ₉₈₆ 1054 429 1100 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 New and Transfer Non-Degree Seeking New and Transfer Degree Seeking

Source: https://ie-reports.uas.alaska.edu. 2015 data is from EMAS query, enrolled students, 10/8/15

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Admissions Requirements

To ensure that incoming freshmen are prepared for the rigors of university level work, the Admissions Office will continue to follow the published plan to gradually increase UAS admissions requirements for incoming bachelor’s degree seeking students. Fall 2016 marks the final year of this stepped, multi-year plan. The requirements for incoming Bachelor’s degree seeking Freshman are as follows:

 Graduate from an accredited high school with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, pass a high school core curriculum,* and complete either the SAT or ACT

or

 Graduate from an accredited high school with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50, pass a high school core curriculum,* and score at least 1290 on the SAT or 18 on the ACT.

* Four years of Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science or four years of Language Arts and Social Studies, three years of Math and Science, and two years of an Alaska Native or World Language

These requirements match the core curriculum requirements of the APS and are closely aligned with the

admissions requirements for bachelor’s degree seeking freshman at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The intended effects are that students will experience UA admissions as accessible, efficient, and transparent, and will enter UAS more prepared for college level work, have greater access to the financial resources of the APS, and be more likely to retain and graduate on-time. This action directly addresses Theme 1 Issues A and B of the Shaping Alaska’s Future (SAF) roadmap, as well as the UAS mission of Student Success, and the

overarching UAS strategy to improve enrollment management by increasing retention and completion.

Please note: students that do not meet the admissions requirements for a bachelor’s degree program may apply for an Associate or certificate program, and transfer to a bachelor degree program once they have successfully completed 30 credits while maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Traditional First-Time Freshman

To continue building the Juneau on-campus

community, we plan on recruiting heavily to bring new FTF to the Juneau campus.

Goals

 Increase the number of FTF enrolling at the Juneau campus

 Recruit 120 or more FTF to live on campus  Fill the John Pugh Freshman Residence Hall  50% of new FTF living on campus

Juneau

The Juneau School district will continue to be the most important source of new incoming Freshman. We plan to recruit heavily by continuing to build relationships with JSD teachers, making classroom presentations,

86 62 85 62 93 98 120 37% 31% 43% 38% 53% 50% 234 199 ₁₉₆ 165 174 240 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Juneau FTF: Fall terms

Juneau FTF living on campus: Fall terms Source: FTF data 2010-2014 https://ie-reports.uas.alaska.edu. 2015 data is from Housing Office.

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bringing tour groups to campus, administering placement tests, and attending the Juneau College Fair.

Action Items

 Schedule classroom presentations at JDHS/TMHS/YDHS opportunistically throughout the year

 Invite classes from local high schools to visit Juneau campus, sit in on classes, and complete placement tests

 Maintain a strong presence at the Juneau College and Career Fair

 Continue to support the Early Scholars and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programs at Juneau Douglas High School (JDHS) and Thunder Mountain High School (TMHS) (albeit at a reduced level)

 Load JSD names and contact info into EMAS and execute Juneau specific communication plan  Schedule Juneau area juniors to take math placement tests

 Schedule placement tests at JDHS and/or TMHS for applicants

 Schedule enrollment days at JDHS and TMHS after applicants have completed placement tests  Keep active in Juneau School District activities (Academic Decathlon, Regional Science Fair, Senior

Scholarship nights, etc.)

Southeast and Rural Alaska

This year First National Bank Alaska (FNBA) has again generously extended the “Getting Ready for College” grant to UAS. We plan on fully utilizing these funds to recruit throughout Southeast and rural Alaska. This recruiting is very cost effective, and these schools are typically good venues where we can take time to do classroom presentations and help students apply to UAS.

In conjunction with the Alaska Learning Network, we plan on hosting a conference titled “Distance Education and the Online Learner.” We have

scheduled the conference for late September, and we will invite educators and counselors from targeted schools in rural Alaska. We will use this opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with counselors from rural Alaska, and showcase UAS programs and changes and additions to the Juneau campus.

313 332 329 402 272 ₂₄₂ ₂₄₃ 175 ₁₂₈ ₁₄₉ ₁₆₀ 50 102 123 155 146 122 49 42 27 37 ₄₀ 32 ₃₀ 0 100 200 300 400 500 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Juneau-Douglas High School Thunder Mountain High School Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alt.H.S.

Home BRIDGE Johnson Youth Center

Juneau School District Graduates: 2005-2015

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Statistics and Reports

86 62 85 62 93 120 234 199 ₁₉₆ 165 174 240 37% 31% 43% 38% 53% 0% 50% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Juneau FTF: Fall terms

Juneau FTF living on campus: Fall terms

161 160 164 ₁₅₅ 232 220 14% 14% 16% 16% 22% _20% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0 50 100 150 200 250 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

New and Transfer Alaska Native/American Indian students: Fall Semester, number

New and Transfer Alaska Native/American Indian students: Fall Semester, percentage

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We aim to build on the strength of the small, tightly knit, “personal touch” of the UAS community and strengthen UAS’s niche as an ideal college for rural Alaskan students to attend. This plan of action directly addresses the UAS value of Diversity, as well Theme 1, Issue E of the SAF document. The long term goal is that the UAS student body and graduates will increasingly reflect the diversity of Alaska.

Goals

 Recruit 33% or more of the incoming freshman class from rural Alaska  Recruit Alaska Natives as 20% or more of the incoming freshman class

Action Items

 Visit and recruit from every high school in Southeast Alaska

 Visit and recruit from Bethel and surrounding villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

 Visit and recruit from coastal Alaska (Cordova, Valdez, Seward, Homer, Kodiak, Dillingham)  Utilize student recruiters to call high school seniors from the above locations

 Maintain and strengthen personal relationships with counselors and teachers in schools across rural Alaska

 Invite FNBA representative to September conference

 Work with Institutional Effectiveness to develop a report detailing efforts of rural recruiting and outcomes of rural students that can be used when requesting future grant funds

UA Scholars and Alaska Performance Scholarship Recipients

The number of new UA Scholars entering UAS has fluctuated greatly since 2002 from a low of 13 in 2007 to a high of 43 in 2010. Over the previous two recruit cycles, UAS has seen a steady growth in the number of new UA Scholars since a recent low in 2013 of 23 new Scholars. We estimate that 33 new Scholars enrolled at UAS in Fall 2015.

Students entering UAS in Fall 2011 were the first students eligible to receive the APS award. The number of new incoming APS recipients has fluctuated from a low of 40 in that year, to a high of 64 in 2012. Meanwhile, the total number of APS recipients at UAS has steadily increased from the original 40 to 150in 2014. As APS recipients begin to graduate, we expect the

significant growth in the total number of APS recipients at UAS to naturally slow.

However, we aim to maintain and expand the “critical mass” of top students on campus by recruiting enough UA Scholars and APS recipients each year to more than replace those Scholars and recipients who graduate or transfer. The long term goal is build a student body that is college ready (by definition), enrolls in 15 credits per semester, has continued access to the extraordinary financial resources of the UA Scholar Award and the APS, and graduates in four years with minimal student debt. 21 20 17 18 16 13 27 29 43 25 41 23 25 33 35 64 70 88 93 87 88 87 109 133 131 143 ₁₂₉ 121 33 135 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16

New UA Scholars Other Enrolled UA Scholars Total UA Scholars:

Fall 2002-2015

Source: Fall 2002-2014: Statewide UA in Review

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Goals

 Recruit 35 + new UA Scholars  Recruit 55 + new APS recipients

UA Scholar Specific Action Items

 Enter UA Scholar list into EMAS (September-October)

 Review and execute UA Scholar specific communication plan

 Develop html formatted emails

 Bulk mail viewbook w/ letter to all Scholars

 Utilize student recruiters to make recruiting calls to all Scholars before winter break

 Host UAS UA Scholar reception (November 17)

 Invite all Juneau area Scholars to attend reception

 Invite UA Scholars from FNBA Grant areas in Southeast AK to attend reception.

 Work with a current UAS UA Scholar to provide a motivational presentation  Attend UA Scholar receptions

 UAF (November 5)

 Kodiak College (November 13-14)

 UAA (November 16)

 When meeting Scholars on the road, specifically target them to submit an application for the Alaska Leadership Initiative (AL-I)

15 20 11 15 12 19 17 14 13 22 22 17 40 64 53 50 55 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Not reported Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 New APS Students: Fall 2011-2015 15 33 33 39 42 12 22 35 43 ₃₉ 13 33 55 64 51 40 91 128 151 132 200 0 50 100 150 200 250 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Not reported Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Total APS Students:

Fall 2011-2015 21 20 17 18 16 13 27 29 43 25 41 23 25 33 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 20 02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10 20 11 20 12 20 13 20 14 20 15 20 16 New UA Scholars: Fall 2002-2015

Source: Fall 2002-2014: Statewide UA in Review

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2016 Recruit Cycle Plan

2016 Recruiting Plan 7

APS Specific Action Items

 Maintain Baccalaureate admissions core course requirements at the level of the APS requirements  Include APS checklist with mailings to Alaska High sophomores, juniors, and seniors

 Present the benefits of the APS on all recruiting trips  Include APS testimonials in future recruiting pieces

 Recruit at Alaska Middle College (Chugiak-Eagle River UAA campus)  Increase telecounseling outreach to applicants we suspect will earn the APS

 Push school districts (especially in Southeast Alaska) to enroll a higher percentage of students in an APS curriculum

Alaska Leadership Initiative

The Alaska Leadership Initiative (AL-I) continues to be a valuable tool that Admissions utilizes to recruit prospective students. Current participants make up a pool of

on-campus students that we can utilize for leadership roles, student workers, and potential campus tour homestay hosts. Program requirements include a full credit load (and

participants are encouraged to enroll in 15 credits per semester) and AL-I participants tend to have a higher retention rate. Fully utilizing this program is a major goal of the Admissions team.

Goal

 Recruit 40 incoming students

Action Items

 Heavily market AL-I on Social Media accounts  Increase website presence

 Develop online application procedure

 Add AL-I housing award to Financial Aid Scholarship application

 Continue to mail AL-I application to all eligible admitted students

 Develop an incentive structure for students to complete the second tier of the program

Alaska College Fairs

During the 2014 and 2015 recruit cycles we greatly strengthened our presence at the Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau college fairs. We plan to continue this strong presence, and to more fully coordinate between each school as well as staff and faculty at the Ketchikan and Sitka campuses. We also plan on attending college fairs in Anchorage, Kenai, and Fairbanks in conjunction with the recruiter from the School of Education.

20 24 18 22 27 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Fall 2011 Spring 2013 Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Fall 2015 Fall 2016 New AL-I students: 2011-2015 Source: Alaska Leadership Initiative

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2016 Recruit Cycle Plan

Out of State

The majority of applicants and enrolled students coded as non-Residents have Alaska addresses, but are not yet considered

residents. Of students with non-Alaska

addresses, we see a majority coming from five states: Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona. We plan to attend college fairs in these states, focusing recruiting messages on the benefits of the WUE program and the Come Home to Alaska program. Due to cost and effectiveness

considerations, we do not plan to attend college fairs in the Mid-West as in previous years.

Action Items



Attend NACAC Fairs in San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Boise, and Spokane



Attend Oregon PNACAC Fairs

International

We plan on focusing our international efforts on the near abroad – specifically the Yukon Territory and Whitehorse.

Action Items

 Refine the UAS International Fact Sheet  Attend the Whitehorse College Fair

 Improve the International Section of the website  Develop a Sister City section of the website

Military

The United States Coast Guard has approximately 3,000 members actively serving in the state of Alaska,

including roughly 200 members in southeast Alaska. Each year, new members and dependents are transferred to Juneau. Cooperating with the local Education Services Officer (ESO) and the District 17 Ombudsman, we will identify key events and communications in which UAS may have a presence and/or distribute information.

Action Items

 Make UAS general information to be available at the ESO office at all times  Include information in USCG Welcome packet distributed to incoming families

 Information sessions for interested parties with Financial Aid and School of Management

1 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 3 5 4 26 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 1 4 3 4 3 5 7 6 5 20 28 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 ID IL MA MN MO NV PA TX NJ WI FL YK CO AZ OR WA CA AK

Enrolled Applied, did not enroll Applied:

HI: 2, MI: 2, MT: 2, NM: 2, NY: 2, VA: 2, WY:2, BC: 1, IN: 1, KS: 1, MD: 1, NC: 1, NH: 1, ON: 1, PR: 1

Enrolled

NC: 1, NY: 1, WY: 1

Source: EMAS Recruiting Database. Students coded as non-resident with home address. Query pulled 10/8/15

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2016 Recruit Cycle Plan

 Host tabling events in the federal building  Small group presentations for spouse groups  Open house at Tech Center

 Participate in orientation events for incoming members and families, including Admiral’s Spouses’ Tea  Host a UAS open house on campus, including campus tour, and presentation by Financial Aid

 Provide spouse organizations with postings for Facebook page and newsletters, including general information, event details, deadlines, etc.

 Participate in Transition Assistance Program Seminars

 Create a Coast Guard focused poster for distribution to locations throughout Alaska

 Update the “Military” section of the UAS website to include information about eligibility for in-state tuition for active duty and veteran members of the military and their spouses and dependents

Marketing, Website, and Social Media

The Admissions Office will continue to coordinate with the Marketing and Public Relations office to target online ads to match recruiter travel. We plan to focus our social media efforts on four main accounts:

 Instagram: instagram.com/uasoutheast

 Twitter: twitter.com/uasoutheast

 Facebook: facebook.com/uasjuneau

 Youtube: youtube.com/user/JuneauAlaskaVideo

Action Items

 Redesign and update the /apply section of the website

 Restart the “Spike the Whale” Facebook page (through the UASJuneau Facebook page)

 Continue to build social media networks. If possible, consolidate accounts with minimal followings  Continue posting relevant content that is light and cheery

 Continue to update program sheets in collaboration with departments and marketing office  Update “Welcome to UAS” piece with Chancellor letter

 Design and print Ketchikan/Sitka/Distance “Welcome to UAS” piece

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2016 Recruit Cycle Plan

Communications

The Admissions Office plans to continue using EMAS as our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Although the system has been buggy during the past year, a recent upgrade to some machines seems to have solved these problems. At this time updating EMAS on other machines in Admissions and expanding EMAS to other staff is a high priority, but is held up by staffing issues in IT.

The current online request for more information form is run through UAOnline, outside of direct UAS control. This form is “klunky” both for students to fill out and for Admissions staff to monitor. The form also does not always pull important data, and it does not match the rest of the UAS website. To smooth this step in the student information flow, we plan to build a simplified online request form with the help of the Web

Coordinator. Ideally this system will be set up so data can be directly routed to the correct department, as well as imported directly into EMAS. This will also avoid potentially assigning duplicate ID numbers in Banner. Students attempting to request info via UAOnline (small minority) can be redirected to UAS request site.

Sitka and Ketchikan

Sitka has also developed and implemented an EMAS communication plan for Sitka students. When students submit inquiries for Sitka based programs, we place them into the Sitka specific market segment.

Ketchikan has a communication plan for their students, (without using EMAS). When Admissions receives informational requests for Ketchikan based programs, we forward that information to the Ketchikan campus. According to Gail Klein, their system is working for them, and they would like to continue communicating with their students themselves. At this time, there is no reason to integrate the Ketchikan campus into EMAS.

Action Items

 Work with IT to update EMAS on student recruiter/SRC peer advisor computers  Continue to train staff and student workers on EMAS

 Contact Alaska school districts to add current juniors and seniors to EMAS  Build a simplified online request form with Web coordinator

 Expand EMAS to Novatney front counter, SOM coordinator, Arts and Sciences advisor, and others  Target stage 100 communication and calls more accurately (by school district, UA Savings plan list,

etc.)

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2016 Recruit Cycle Plan

Recruiting Activity

Recruiter Travel, Fall 2015

7/23 –Goldbelt Heritage Camp, UAS Juneau Campus 7/24 – Open House at Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute 7/30 – Southeast Alaska State Fair

8/7 – Scholarship Awards Night, Filipino Community Hall 8/19 – Coast Guard Recruitment, Juneau Federal Building 9/9 – Classroom presentation, JDHS AVID class

9/15 – Classroom presentation, JDHS AVID class 9/16 – Recruiting trip to Kake School

9/16 – Classroom presentation, TMHS AVID class 9/18 – Recruiting trip to Angoon School

9/27 – Phoenix National College Fair 10/4 – San Diego National College Fair 10/6 – Recruiting trip to Wrangell High School 10/7 – Recruiting trip to Petersburg High School 10/7 – Presentation at Financial Aid night, JDHS 10/12 – Douglas County College Fair (Oregon) 10/12 – Elders and Youth Conference, Anchorage

10/13 – Southern Oregon/Northern California College Fair 10/13 – Sitka College Fair

10/15 – Ketchikan College Fair 10/15 – Tacoma College Fair 10/15 – Central Oregon College Fair 10/16 – Juneau College Fair

10/16 – Seattle National College Fair 10/16 – Eugene College Fair

10/18 – Anchorage College Fair

10/19 – Recruiting trip to Prince of Wales Island 10/19 – Boise National College Fair

10/20 – College of Western Idaho College Fair 10/20 – Kenai College Fair

10/21 – Fairbanks College Fair 10/21 – Spokane National College Fair 10/23 – Portland National College Fair

10/23 – Recruiting trip to Ketchikan and Metlakatla 10/27 – Recruiting trip to Skagway

10/29 – Whitehorse College Fair 11/2 – Recruiting trip to Galena

11/4 – Recruiting trip to Yakutat and Cordova 11/5 – UA Scholars Reception, Fairbanks 11/6 – Recruiting trip to Nenana

11/9 – Recruiting trip to Nome and surrounding villages 11/13 – Kodiak College Fair and Scholarship Night 11/16 – Recruiting trip to Bethel and surrounding villages 11/16 – UA Scholars Reception, Anchorage

11/17 – Recruiting trip to Valdez 11/17 – UA Scholars Reception, Juneau