The U.S. Department of Education announced on Sept. 10 that it will cut millions in federal grants for its Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions program. Many Alaska institutions depend on that funding to keep certain programs and services afloat.
At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, administrators say they anticipate losing $12.9 million in grant funding under what is commonly known as Title III. That would have supported several UAF student support services and degree programs — some of which are based at satellite campuses in Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham and Bethel.
In an emailed statement, UAF interim chancellor Mike Sfraga said the cuts will likely harm the university’s mission to support Alaska Native students — who make up over 20% of the student body — as well as Alaskans as a whole.
Bryan Uher, UAF’s interim vice chancellor of rural, community, and Native education, said serving Alaska Native students is deeply important to the university’s past and future.
“It really is part of the blood and the history of the University of Alaska Fairbanks to serve this population,” he said. “I think a large thing that contributes to that high of a demographic is because we have what we call rural campuses in various locations across Alaska.”
The Education Department said last week that it now believes it is unconstitutional to award grants based on racial or ethnic enrollment levels. It then terminated its Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions program, among others.
Uher said the university used the funding to develop many different technical degree programs, which are now in jeopardy. A prospective student’s race is not a barrier to enter those programs, which Uher said offer training to meet a variety of rural workforce needs — from tribal governance to American Sign Language translation and other skills.
“There’s a new occupational endorsement in information technology,” Uher said. “There’s a new private pilot ground school focused on supporting rural communities and rural residents due to that barrier of transportation and reliance on air travel.”
The federal government is allowing up to a year for universities to close out the programs funded by the grants.
UAF administrators say they’re still assessing the scope of the financial impact, which does not directly fund student aid. According to a university spokesperson, the potential loss of Title III grants is small relative to the university system’s entire $250 million federal research portfolio. However, many of the grants are tied to personnel. The university has not yet made any decisions about staff cuts or layoffs.
A UA spokesperson said University of Alaska Southeast administrators are still waiting for more information about the future of a Title III grant awarded to their Sitka campus, which manages relationships between faculty and students, particularly those who are nontraditional, first-generation and undersupported.
Outside of the University of Alaska system, administrators at the Ilisagvik College, a tribal land-grant community college in Utquiagvik declined an interview but said they’re monitoring the Title III cuts. The Education Department also declined a request for comment.
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