The University of Alaska and Kenai Peninsula College are maintaining momentum, seeing attendance growth, and continuing to work to address industry needs. That’s what University President Pat Pitney said Friday during a meeting of the Board of Regents at KPC’s Kenai River Campus.

Pitney, speaking to the Clarion during the meeting, described KPC as “a leader of the pack” in enrollment growth at the university in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since Director Cheryl Siemers took the helm.

“It’s been double digit increases in student enrollment,” she said. “It’s the passion of the students for the place. They really appreciate the support they get here. There’s such strong partnerships here on the Kenai Peninsula — they’ve set the tone, leading the way,”

The university, Pitney said, discusses how it can meet the needs of local industries like oil and gas or health care “every day.” She said the university works to develop partnerships — which make it easier for student to transition from their classes into the workforce.

During the board meeting in Soldotna this weekend, Pitney said, the board approved new programs for AI, data science and behavior health in the UA system. They also adopted a new set of recommendations to drive student recruitment and retention and provided conditional approval to a new collective bargaining agreement with the union representing most University of Alaska faculty.

There’s a lot of positive news coming out of the university, she said, and that was exemplified by being present on the Kenai Peninsula and meeting students across age ranges and programs — “from people who are in their 30s who want to get into a career field to people in high school that want to get a jump start on college.”

Part of that success, she said, comes from a vision for UAA — the college that includes KPC — as “a dual-mission university.” The college has embraced pathways both for students in vocational, two-year programs and for students seeking a four-year degree program. There are pathways for any student — from a high schooler getting a head start on their degree to that older returning student looking to pick up a certificate and get ahead in their career field.

The co-mingling of KPC and UAA, community college and university, is “a competitive advantage.”

“As long as we’re focused on what our communities need, what our workforce and our state needs, we’re going to be fine,” she said.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.