2024-04-15
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Study Abroad
A New Wave of Education: Outer Coast's Vision for Alaska's Higher Learning
The Core Principles of Outer Coast's Educational Vision for Alaska
A New Wave of Education: Outer Coast's Vision for Alaska's Higher Learning
James Singewald, a 21-year-old from Sitka, Alaska, hopes that more young adults will have the opportunity to study history, literature, and ecology at Outer Coast, an aspiring college in the state's southeast chain of islands. The program operates out of the former campus of Sheldon Jackson, a religious boarding school and college founded to educate Alaska Native students as part of a deeply assimilationist institution.
Outer Coast aims to forge a close-knit community, inspire student service, and disrupt the Western canon. The program operates out of the former campus of Sheldon Jackson, which was founded to educate Alaska Native students as part of a deeply assimilationist institution. The program focuses on forging a close-knit community, inspiring student service, and disrupting the Western canon.
The executive director, Bryden Sweeney-Taylor, believes that Outer Coast could also work in other remote regions in the U.S. that are higher education "deserts." However, Sitka is not exactly a higher education desert, as the city already has a college with a different vision for the future of learning.
The University of Alaska Southeast at Sitka has three campuses planted on the Pacific Ocean and Canada, separated by hundreds of miles of glaciers. The university has prioritized distance education, especially in the sciences, to stay relevant and accessible to more students due to its geographic isolation. The Sitka branch of the university has leaned into programs that emphasize workforce training, with most students studying online, mostly in two-year programs.
Outer Coast, a liberal arts institution in Sitka, Alaska, offers small-group seminars and focuses on local themes, such as studying the Tlingit language. The model aims to allow students to earn an associate degree and transfer to a four-year institution for a bachelor's degree. Inspired by Deep Springs College, Outer Coast aims to start each school year with 20 new students, providing intimate learning opportunities and fostering intellectual relationships.
Students also work at community organizations, contributing to the program through a self-governance system of committees. To measure success, Outer Coast uses administrative data and surveys to track student success over time. The program plans to compare outcomes with those who choose not to attend or are waitlisted.
Tuition is relatively affordable at the University of Alaska Southeast, but it still grapples with the "narrative" that most students leave college with "a crushing debt." Outer Coast will cost about $45,000 this fall, covering half of the revenue needed to operate. Both institutions aim to serve more students from Alaska, with Outer Coast focusing on reaching Alaskan students, especially Alaska Native Indigenous students and rural Alaskans.
Both institutions are not competing for the same students, but they have built relationships with the University of Alaska Southeast, allowing them to offer classes for credit through the university
Outer Coast aims to forge a close-knit community, inspire student service, and disrupt the Western canon. The program operates out of the former campus of Sheldon Jackson, which was founded to educate Alaska Native students as part of a deeply assimilationist institution. The program focuses on forging a close-knit community, inspiring student service, and disrupting the Western canon.
The executive director, Bryden Sweeney-Taylor, believes that Outer Coast could also work in other remote regions in the U.S. that are higher education "deserts." However, Sitka is not exactly a higher education desert, as the city already has a college with a different vision for the future of learning.
The University of Alaska Southeast at Sitka has three campuses planted on the Pacific Ocean and Canada, separated by hundreds of miles of glaciers. The university has prioritized distance education, especially in the sciences, to stay relevant and accessible to more students due to its geographic isolation. The Sitka branch of the university has leaned into programs that emphasize workforce training, with most students studying online, mostly in two-year programs.
Outer Coast, a liberal arts institution in Sitka, Alaska, offers small-group seminars and focuses on local themes, such as studying the Tlingit language. The model aims to allow students to earn an associate degree and transfer to a four-year institution for a bachelor's degree. Inspired by Deep Springs College, Outer Coast aims to start each school year with 20 new students, providing intimate learning opportunities and fostering intellectual relationships.
Students also work at community organizations, contributing to the program through a self-governance system of committees. To measure success, Outer Coast uses administrative data and surveys to track student success over time. The program plans to compare outcomes with those who choose not to attend or are waitlisted.
Tuition is relatively affordable at the University of Alaska Southeast, but it still grapples with the "narrative" that most students leave college with "a crushing debt." Outer Coast will cost about $45,000 this fall, covering half of the revenue needed to operate. Both institutions aim to serve more students from Alaska, with Outer Coast focusing on reaching Alaskan students, especially Alaska Native Indigenous students and rural Alaskans.
Both institutions are not competing for the same students, but they have built relationships with the University of Alaska Southeast, allowing them to offer classes for credit through the university
