the program review. Civil, structur- al, and electrical engineering at both UAF and UAA teach many students and scored well in the analysis. However, other more specialized programs that have fewer students did not score as well. At UAF, min- ing engineering and geological engi- neering fell into this category and ap- peared headed for the chopping block. At UAA, courses in project man- agement and geomatics were threat- ened. Project management survived. A two-year Associate Degree course in geomatics was cut while a four- year geomatics Bachelor of Science course was saved. In Fairbanks, UAF Chancellor Dan White intervened and was able to take XTYTYR PYRTYPP]TYR Zʬ _SP ST_ WT^_ Given the historical legacy of mining in Interior Alaska, it would have been huge black mark against UAF to have ended mining engineering, he felt. The geological engineering pro- gram was also retained, although rec- ommended for restructuring. It will be reduced from four full time facul- ty members to two full time faculty XPXMP]^ M`_ bTWW NZY_TY`P _Z ZʬP] Q`WWʮPORPO LNN]POT_PO ->N OPR]PP^ in geological engineering, as well as ZʬP]_SPXL^_P]ɪ^[]ZR]LX Schnabel indicated that this will be accomplished through course sharing with other UAF programs. “For instance, there are elements in geological engineering that are similar enough to civil engineering such that faculty in civil engineer- TYRNLYʭWWRL[^ɮSP^LTO3ZbPaP] because geological engineering relies much more heavily upon a founda- tional knowledge of geology com- pared to civil engineering, the two programs will remain very distinct. 8TYTYR PYRTYPP]TYR T^ OTʬP]PY_ 1LN`W_dQ]ZXZ_SP]PYRTYPP]TYRʭPWO^ cannot be used as easily. The bottom line appears to be that geological engineering can be taught by two GE professors with help from faculty in civil engineering, mining engineering, geology, and other areas. But in mining engineering a higher Y`XMP]ZQOT^NT[WTYP^[PNTʭNXTYTYR engineering faculty are needed. UAF is hiring to replace a retiring mining engineering professor to keep _SP[]ZR]LX^_LʬPO>NSYLMPW^LTO In all likelihood, this kind of band- aid approach is how the university will get through next year and similar
The damage this would cause to Southeast communities where the `YTaP]^T_d[WLd^LMTR]ZWPɨTYʭ^S - eries and maritime training, for ex- ample — likely mean the broader, long-term costs may not be worth any immediate savings. Meanwhile in Fairbanks, the engi- neering and other programs import- ant to the minerals and petroleum industries are not immune to these pressures. Engineering and technol- ogy programs at UAF went through a meat-grinder of a course review and discussion of program consolidation, Dean Schnabel said. This happened across the univer- sity system but there was particu- lar attention focused on engineer- ing programs at UAF and University of Alaska Anchorage, or UAA, be- cause of similarities in programs ZʬP]PO .TaTW XPNSLYTNLW PWPN_]TNLW and computer engineering as well as computer science are taught on both campuses. This raised questions as wheth- er there could be savings if the pro- grams worked more closely together so that, for example, each campus would teach certain classes with stu- dents at the other campus attending on-line. This is already occurring to a lim- ited degree in engineering, but com- plications appear when people get into the details, Schnabel said. :YP bL^ _SP OTʬP]PYNP^ TY NWL^^ schedules at the two campuses due [L]_Wd_Z_SPOTʬP]PY_YL_`]P^ZQ@,, and UAF. UAA serves mainly commut- er students and UAF mainly residen- tial students. The content of courses T^OTʬP]PY_PYZ`RS_Z[P]SL[^]P\`T]P approval by accreditation agencies. The program to consider major consolidations was initiated last year when the governor proposed a huge N`_ _Z _SP `YTaP]^T_dɪ^ M`ORP_ He later agreed to a smaller reduc- tion. That consolidation study was suspended in October, to allow UAF to complete its accreditation. The suspension is likely tempo- rary. Budget pressures will bring it back. Meanwhile, program “reviews,” were also underway. This involved an examination of courses with low stu- dent counts that could be dropped or NZY_TY`POTYLOTʬP]PY_bLd0^^PY - tially it was system-wide cost-bene- ʭ_LYLWd^T^ The bulk of UAF and UAA engi- neering programs made it through
FUTURE, CONTINUED from PAGE 8
?SP `YTaP]^T_dɪ^ -ZL]O ZQ =PRPY_^ and its president, Jim Johnsen, have the unenviable job of dealing with this. They knew in advance about XTWWTZYZ]SLWQZQ_SP XTWWTZY cut, which is part of a three-year deal with Gov. Mike Dunleavy to reduce _SP`YTaP]^T_dɪ^NZ^_^ The regents had developed a plan _ZOPLWbT_S_SP XTWWTZY But what blindsided them was _SPLOOT_TZYLW XTWWTZY]PO`N_TZY NL`^POMd_SP.:A4/ $aT]`^bSTNS forced a closure to on-campus classes and activity in March. -PdZYO OT]PN_ .:A4/ $ Pc[PY^ - es is a big budget hole from revenues lost from student housing and income from conferences and events. /PLWTYRbT_S_SPʭ]^_ XTWWTZY was tough. It involved administra- _TaP ^LaTYR^ _S]Z`RS ^_Lʬ Q`]WZ`RS^ `YTaP]^T_dOPM_]PʭYLYNTYRL^bPWWL^ termination or shrinking of 45 cours- es. There was no plan for the second XTWWTZYbSTNSMPNLXPVYZbY ZYWdLQ_P]_SP.:A4/ $ST_?SPZYWd option was to pull money from sav- TYR^ ?SL_ bTWW ]`Y _SP `YTaP]^T_dɪ^ emergency cash reserves down to a minimum set by the regents, not a comfortable place to be. Another shortfall looms for next dPL]1D 4_T^L XTWWTZYN`_ _Z^_L_PQ`YO^QZ]_SPʭYLWdPL]ZQ_SP Dunleavy deal. There will also likely MPNZY_TY`PO.:A4/ $TX[LN_^ 3LaTYR U`^_ ʭYT^SPO _SP 1D budget the regents and President Johnsen and the regents are now scrambling to develop a budget plan QZ]1D ?SPd X`^_ SLaP L [WLY _Z ʭWW _SP hole by October, when the regents adopt a budget request for the fol- lowing year. One idea on the table is merging the University of Alaska Southeast, or UAS, into the University of Alaska Fairbanks, or UAF, eliminating one of the three independent universities in the UA system. There are doubts that this can save a lot of money unless UAS as it functions now is essentially gutted. An initial estimate is that it might ^LaP XTWWTZYLdPL]M`__SL_T^ if the consolidation were done “ag- gressively,” Johnsen said, implying not much would be left of UAS as we know it.
CONTINUED on PAGE 12
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The Alaska Miner
July 2020
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