Economy good, and bad, for colleges

WASILLA — As the economy goes down, college enrollment goes up, putting a strain on one Valley campus and offering an opportunity for another.

Mark Hamilton, the president of the University of Alaska, explained that people turn to education when they’ve lost their jobs or are in fear of losing their jobs.

“The fact is that our enrollment is counter-cyclical to the economy,” Hamilton told the crowd at the Palmer Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. “We are seeing double-digit increases in the number of individuals coming to the university.”

The University of Alaska is well-suited for these students, he said, because it still has the community college mission built into the system.

He said 77 percent of the jobs in America don’t require a four-year degree.

“But here’s the key. Your high school diploma won’t get you much of a job.”

Of the 100 new degrees offered under Hamilton’s tenure, 88 have been two-year programs or less.

“The fact is, we graduate 2,400 people just in the Department of Labor’s list of most-needed jobs,” he said.

Hamilton credits this job-specific education for the 100 percent employment rate of UA graduates. But that is bittersweet, he said, comparing it to a store sold out of inventory by 3 p.m.

Employers need more trained workers, he said, and Alaskans are willing to go back to school, especially during the recession. The problem is funding.

The schools do not have the funding to grow as fast as the demand. Hamilton said it costs three times the tuition to educate an individual, and it is the state’s job to make up the remaining two-thirds of the cost.

“People are standing in line begging to come to the university,” Hamilton said. “They can’t get in the door because we have failed to fund the university in the way that this state desperately needs.”

While the university is expanding programs in green technology and construction and hopes to get a sizable portion of the federal stimulus package, they are still having to turn students away.

“Talk about a cruel blow,” Hamilton said. “Lose a job or be in fear of losing a job, come to the university, and I have to say no.”

Instead of turning people away, Charter College (www.chartercollege.edu), the other post-secondary college in the Valley, is taking advantage of the recession. Less than a year after opening the Wasilla campus, the school is already expanding.

On May 18, the college plans to hold an open house at its new campus. The 13,500-square-feet facility north of town on the Parks Highway is more than double the size of the 6,100 square feet that originally housed the school.

In addition to the new building, there will be two new bachelor programs offered in business technology and business accounting. Down the road, they will begin a two-year associate program in criminal justice, said Wasilla campus president Michael Reeves.

“I don’t think the recession has hit Alaska as hard as other states,” Reeves said, “but we do expect we will see more students as it gets worse.”

“Our other campuses in California and Washington are seeing their numbers increase more, and our new building should help bring more students here. The fact is that education is a growing industry,” Reeves said.

Contact Todd Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or (907) 352-2252.