Alaska Score Card

A small state in terms of population, Alaska is projected to experience an 11 percent decline in high school graduates over the next 10 years. The state has eight higher education institutions and leads all states in the proportion of undergraduates who attend public institutions, 95 percent. The state's six-year graduation rate for all four-year institutions is only 20.3 percent, well behind the second-worst state Nevada, at 37.4 percent. Alaska has traditionally had difficulty retaining high school graduates, but the state has improved in this area. Sixty-three percent of Alaskan natives who began college in 2007 were attending an institution in their home state, up from 45 percent in 1996.

Alaska's higher education accountability system's strengths are:

• Collecting and reporting data in a timely fashion.
• Separating data by important socioeconomic factors (race/ethnicity, gender, income, first-generation status, transfer students, etc.).
• Aligning state priorities with concrete goals for achievement.

Alaska's higher education accountability system needs work in:

• Comparing data across time and/or against peers.
• Proactively informing prospective students, parents, and the general public about the performance of state colleges and universities.