Introduction The higher education establishments of the states of Alaska and Utah, while working toward the same general goals of promoting education for the populace of the respective states, go about that task in very different ways. The structures at the state levels affect the operations of the schools overseen by the state level educational leadership. Superficial Differences Size is one of the most obvious differences in higher education in Utah and Alaska. The contrast is seen clearly in the number of schools: seven in Alaska and 41 in Utah. The 28,563 Alaskan undergraduates is small next to 176,909 in Utah’s. The smaller student populace has not lead to a higher graduation rate in Alaska, which trails Utah by 16 percentage points. …show more content…
2). The Assembly is comprised of members elected by the faculty senate, classified staff, administrative, professional, and technical staff, and the student groups. This group provides advice to the President, the Board of Regents, Chancellors, Provosts and Vice Chancellors, and the System Governance Council (“Governance Office,” 2012). The Faculty Senate, in contrast, at Dixie State University is more akin to a lobbying group for faculty interests than a governing body. One of the purposes of the Faculty Senate, stated in its constitution, is “to form a representative organization empowered to speak with authority for the faculty” (“Constitution and Bylaws,” 2002, art. II). Prince William Sound College Prince William Sound College is described on its website as “a one-of-a-kind institution of higher education located in Valdez, Alaska” (“About PWSC,” 2015, para. 1). This college is unique because it is a state university and yet it is governed by a College Director and Cabinet Members. It is also distinctive in that it is funded by the community of Valdez that underwrites 30 percent of the costs of the institution. No comparable institution exists in Utah. All eight of its public colleges are under the control of the Board of Regents. Chapter …show more content…
In Alaska, a relatively small population and student enrollment has given them the opportunity to create a highly centralized system in which the University of Alaska is one school on three campuses. Consider the fact that the entire enrollment of all undergraduates in the state of Alaska is approximately the same size as the enrollment of the University of Utah’s main campus (“University of Utah,” 2016). One might surmise that if Alaska’s student population were to increase, the state would review its structures. Martinez, Damore, and Lang (2014) in arguing for a restructure of Nevada’s higher education system make reference to the Alaskan structure and the fact that the states with strong, unified governance systems, besides Nevada, are Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota, all of which combined have a population equal to