Alaska Progress Report

ISER Searches for New Director

The University of Alaska Institute of Social(ist) and Economic Research is searching for a new director. Review of applications begins on January 5, 2009. From the position description:

"Sixty percent of assignment involves directing the institute and managing its research program. Director responsibilities include working with the CBPP dean and senior ISER faculty to identify, develop, and fund research programs and projects; supervising personnel and managing fiscal and other resources; communicating and working with colleagues within the university, public and private sector partners, and clients; and ensuring the continued fiscal strength of the Institute. The other forty percent of the assignment consists of conducting research and teaching in an appropriate discipline."

The three main qualifications are a high pain threshold, poor short term memory and... I forget the third. You can apply online.

UAA Measures Success Differently

Thanks to the UAA Seawolf Weekly for this heads up about an Inside Higher Ed article : turns out UAA is a bit of a rebel. They've decided they don't like the way the federal 'graduation rate' is calculated and used, so they've developed their own measures of success:

"The Anchorage rate differs on just about everything from the federal rate: what counts as success, who is counted, and for how long. If you want to understand why the federal rate is so irrelevant, according to Gary Rice, director of institutional planning, research and assessment at Anchorage, consider this statistic: Anchorage’s low federal rate (about 18 percent) is based on cohorts that represent only 3-5 percent of each year’s new students. Like many public colleges (and plenty of private ones), Anchorage’s students simply don’t fit the old-fashioned federal measure."

UAA now defines students more broadly, divides them into ten-year cohorts and asks them questions to uncover what their goals are. Seems to make sense; not everyone is following the traditional degree path these days, and UAA's effort seems to be getting a cautiously optimistic reception. Not that we care how they do it outside, of course.