November 24, 2014

UA announces winner of myTRACK Alaska Airlines contest

For Immediate Release

November 24, 2014

University of Alaska student Danielle Dallmann won two round-trip tickets courtesy of Alaska Airlines as part of the university’s myTRACK photo contest.

In the contest, students posted a “selfie” to UA’s Facebook site indicating with their fingers how many years it would take to earn their degrees.  The contest is part of UA’s annual Stay on TRACK campaign, now in its fourth year, which encourages students to graduate on time and with less debt.

The contest ran July through October. Dallmann, a Juneau student who is Hawaii-bound with her winning tickets, had this advice to share with fellow students: “do not assume that taking 15 credits a semester is ‘too much work’. Once you register for those classes and begin taking them, you'll realize that 15 credits is actually quite a manageable load.”

Dallmann also shared that “as much fun as college is, it is costly! Another year at college may not sound as good if you discuss it in terms of finance.” It costs students an extra estimated $10,000 for a fifth year, plus the lost salary income from starting their career a year late. She reflected that students taking additional years to complete their degree tend to miss out on “what else lies in store for them as early as their on-time graduated peers would experience.”

Anchorage student Haley Lorenson won a $250 gift card as the top vote recipient, receiving 299 votes for her myTRACK selfie.

UA’s efforts to encourage full-time students to take additional credits have made a difference. Students who attempt and earn at least 15 credit hours a semester perform significantly better than full-time students who take less than 15 credit hours a semester. First-year retention to the second year of college is 23 percentage points greater for students taking 15 credits per semester compared to students who take lighter course loads. Graduation rates among full-time students with heavier loads are impressive--39 percentage points higher (over a 10-year period) for students who take at least 15 credits a semester compared to those who take less.

Click the links for Dallmann’s winning selfie and Lorenson’s winning selfie. To learn more about UA’s Stay on TRACK campaign, go to http://www.alaska.edu/stayontrack/.

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For information contact Mary Gower, UA Director of Enrollment Services,

msgower@alaska.edu or 907.450.8145.

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