The University of Alaska Board of Regents will meet this week at the Juneau campus of the University of Alaska Southeast for committee meetings on Wednesday and Thursday as well as a regular meeting on Friday and Saturday.
An agenda posted online says that the board will hear multiple presentations from UAS students and faculty before taking on discussions largely centered on budget, tuition costs, and proposed changes related to the board’s decision earlier this year to strip diversity and inclusivity language from all university programs and policies.
A presentation included in meeting notes proposes an increase of 3% for all tuition costs in the University of Alaska system, citing rising costs, increased access to financial support like the recently expanded Alaska Performance Scholarship and a strategy of more, smaller increases in future years.
The board will also hear about ongoing federal impacts on their funding, which was cited as a driver in February in implementing the restriction on policies and words that suggest diversity or inclusivity at the university. A presentation included in the meeting notes describes “high” risk to the university from cuts to grants, awards, executive orders, and slashed funding for research.
Proposed language set for first reading at this week’s meeting would replace language that says the university will “recruit and retain women and minorities in positions of employment where they have been traditionally under-represented” with a new passage that says the university will instead “provide equal opportunities and access in employment to all individuals free from any unlawful discrimination.”
Also on the agenda is a new revision of the university’s policy on access to public records that removes a cap on potential costs and an automatic waiver for requests that generate a cost of $5 or less, among other changes to text and format.
The full agenda for the board’s meeting and the committee meetings also scheduled for this week can be found at alaska.edu/bor/agendas.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
