University of Alaska Anchorage’s teaching programs lose accreditation

University of Alaska Anchorage’s teaching programs lose accreditation

The university is not allowed to recommend students to the state for licensure without accreditation.

ANCHORAGE — A national oversight organization has revoked the accreditation of teaching degree programs at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation notified the university Friday, throwing the viability of teaching into jeopardy for about 250 students enrolled in the programs, the Anchorage Daily News reported this week.

The university is not allowed to recommend students to the state for licensure without accreditation. Teachers must be licensed by the state to teach in public schools.

[University of Alaska bosses ask for more money from Legislature]

“To put so much work into it and for it to be like this might not matter anymore — I mean, I just want to cry,” said Jessica Beers, a junior studying early elementary education.

The revocation affects the university’s bachelor’s degree programs in early childhood education, elementary education and secondary education, as well as the master’s degree program in secondary education. Students will still be able to graduate from the university with degrees in these programs, said Cathy Sandeen, the university’s chancellor.

The Alaska Board of Education could make an exception and allow students from the unaccredited programs to be licensed, said Claudia Dybdahl, the interim director of the College of Education. Administrators will present their case to the state board later this month, she said.

[New UA College of Education ready for first year]

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation is known for its rigor and focus on data for its accreditation standard.

“They really focus a lot on assessments and data. And we didn’t really have enough data, consistent data and analysis of data to meet their criteria,” Dybdahl said.

The university can try again for accreditation in a year. University officials said they are confident the university will meet the standards.


• This is an Associated Press report.


More in Home

From left to right, U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sit side by side during a U.S. Coast Guard event in Juneau on Friday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Alaska delegation differs on Trump indictment

Murkowski, Sullivan say matter is serious, but clash on merit; Peltola says she trusts process.

Rear Adm. Megan M. Dean (center) awaits her entrance during a change-of-command Friday in Juneau where she was sworn as the new command of U.S. Coast Guard District 17 at the Alaska Army National Guard Aviation Operating Facility in Juneau. Standing behind to her left is Vice Adm. Andrew J. Tiongson and to her right is outgoing Rear Adm. Nathan A. Moore. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Coast Guard’s Alaska district under new command

Incoming Rear Adm. Megan M. Dean says she is excited about working with the people of Alaska.

Annie Bartholomew plays a song from her upcoming debut album “Sisters of White Chapel” on a clawhammer banjo on a bench at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on Thursday. The longtime local folk musician said she learned the instrument specifically for the project, and both the character of the instrument and women who played it during the Klondike Gold Rush helped inspire the mostly original songs she performs on the album. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Musical revelations of the Klondike’s ‘White Chapel’

Annie Bartholomew’s new album shares surprising untold stories of sex workers during the gold rush

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File
Girls teams face off on the twin courts of the main gym at Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School during the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza on Oct. 15, 2022. A proposal being considered by the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development to ban transgender females from participating in girls high school sports could take effect before this year’s fall sports season.
Public comment open for statewide transgender sports ban

Proposal barring transgender girls from girls’ high school sports teams to be reconsidered July 26

City and Borough of Juneau Assembly member Greg Smith smiles Thursday afternoon while walking across the rainbow crosswalk recently repainted in downtown Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Faces of Pride: Assembly member Greg Smith

“For me it’s about acceptance, respect and understanding where people are in their lives.”

A harbor seal pokes its head up near Low Island in Sitka Sound on June 1. The area was the site of a fatal charter boat accident May 28. (James Poulson/The Daily Sitka Sentinel via AP)
Body of captain recovered 11 days after five die in Sitka boat sinking

Authorities have recovered the body of the captain of a fishing charter… Continue reading

A Chinook salmon is seen in an undated photo. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)
Washington-based group wants Endangered Species Act protections for Alaska king salmon

By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska Beacon A Washington-based conservation group whose actions have… Continue reading

Cinnamon-colored Juneau black bear watching cars drive by out the road at the 20 mile marker on Friday, June 2. (Courtesy Photo / Virginia Kelly)
Wild Shots

Reader-submitted photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska.

City and Borough of Juneau administration and Assembly members smile for a picture during the Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night, which was city Finance Director Jeff Rogers last finance meeting after serving four years in his position. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Assembly and chamber bid farewell to outgoing city finance director

Jeff Rogers will depart from his position at the end of June.

Most Read