Members of the House Education Committee were less than pleased with work that’s been done so far to prioritize and trim down the number of programs offered by the University of Alaska system.
In a meeting with University of Alaska regents Monday morning, the members of the committee grilled the regents on a slew of issues from program prioritization, travel budgets and tuition hikes.
“The point of this meeting is to know if we’re getting the bang for our buck,” said Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla and the committee’s chairman.
The meeting comes a year after the Legislature asked the University of Alaska to “review every program” and “delete any unnecessary programs.” Last fall the University of Alaska Fairbanks produced a list of 42 academic programs— including geography, philosophy and technical programs like dental hygiene, power generation and drafting—for special review.
Other campuses did not produce a similar itemized list, and Keller said he believes the overall work has come up short of last year’s request.
“I do not see a real prioritization,” he said. “I suspect that the product is not done yet and is still in progress, but it was a year ago that we asked a per-degree basis.”
To that end, some members requested that the university supply them a list of every program offered by every campus.
The House cut $25 million from the University of Alaska system in the budget it approved last week. The Legislature does not have specific say on how those dollars are spent; those decisions are left up to the university and the Board of Regents.
Board of Regents Chairwoman Jo Heckman said the university’s budgeting cycles are done well in advance of a fiscal year and that the prioritization process is ongoing.
Via newsminer.com
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