UA Board of Regents to hold special meeting, public testimony October 28

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The University of Alaska Board of Regents will hold a special board meeting 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, October 28 to review and discuss responses to the concerns raised in the recent letter from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU. The meeting will be held via video conference and livestreamed at www.alaska.edu/bor/live.

Statewide audio conference public testimony will be held later that day, from 4-5 p.m. Call 1-866-726-0757 to join the queue for testimony. This is an opportunity for anyone in Alaska to call in and share their perspectives directly with the Board of Regents o issues facing the University of Alaska. The public testimony will be live streamed at https://alaska.edu/bor/live/.

BACKGROUND: The NWCCU letter raised concerns regarding university governance, specifically the roles and responsibilities of the regents, president, and chancellors, and the inclusivity of decision-making processes regarding university structure. The letter raised no concerns about the quality of academic and research programs at the three separately accredited universities within the University of Alaska system. In a letter to the university community on September 27, the board, president and chancellors replied that they will work together to ensure full compliance with NWCCU standards.