UAS Staff: Some Great News and please remind your current students to register for spring classes! - November 1, 2023
Dear Staff,
Howdy and Happy November! I want to share some great news with you.
Many of you probably know but just in case you hadn't heard, our admissions data from October 31st show that we are up in new applicants for spring by 35% and in newly admitted students for spring by 33% in comparison to last year at this time! While our admitted students have yet to register for their classes (which they will get to do in mid-November), we should definitely celebrate! Kudos to all of you and especially to our Admissions and the Creative Agency teams for helping to recruit students to UAS! Thank you for all of your hard work and for letting your circle of family and friends know how amazing we are! You all deserve to take a moment and celebrate this success!
Secondly, I want to ask you to remind your current students that class registration is coming up soon. As you might know, priority registration for current students begins on Monday, November 6th and registration for all students opens on November 13th. If you interface directly with students, please take time to speak with them about registration. Especially for students who are the first in their families to go to college, your reminder means "I believe in you." Your influence is huge! We know from many national studies that staff engagement with students is a very powerful factor in a student's decision to continue their progress towards completing their credentials/degrees. At UAS, your involvement is especially important during the freshman year. Our data also show that for students pursuing Bachelor's degrees, the transition between the sophomore and junior years is critical as well. During these times in a student's progression, you can make the greatest difference!
All of our students have received an email about registration. Students can also go to uas.alaska.edu/
If students mention barriers to their success, such as financial issues or mental health worries, please encourage them to see a Financial Aid Counselor or to see a Mental Health Counselor. As you know, we offer other types of support as well. All of our services for students are listed at: uas.alaska.edu/
I want to close out with another wonderful bit of good news in case you haven't heard yet: our retention rate (for first-year, full-time, first-time freshmen) has jumped from 65% to 71%. That's a HUGE leap and another accomplishment worthy of celebration!!!!!! This means that more of our students are able to advance towards achieving their dreams! Thank you for the important role that you play in this work and for collaborating with our faculty on these efforts. There are so many great initiatives across all three campuses that are contributing to this increase in our retention rate and I am so grateful! Even if you are not in a student-facing position, you are making a big difference! I have no doubt that we will be able to build on this momentum in coming years to raise our retention rate even further. For now, please take time to experience the joy!
Thank you again and have a wonderful week!
Cheers,
Dr. Aparna Palmer
Chancellor