UAF FALL SEMESTER BEGINS WITH MORE FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN AND LOWER COSTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2000

Fairbanks, Alaska – As about 8,250 students head back to classes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks this fall, they will be paying less and getting more for their money. UAF has abolished course fees of $40 and under, saving students nearly $400,000 a year. In addition, parking fees on campus have dropped from $225 to $199 per year.

More students than ever will take advantage of these lower costs. While final figures will not be available until after Sept. 19, new admissions as of Aug. 21 are up more than eight percent from last year. These include 143 University of Alaska Scholars – an increase of more than 19 percent from last year. The UA Scholars Program, begun by UA President Mark Hamilton in 1999, gives $10,800 scholarships to Alaskans who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class. This year UAF will also host 12 National Merit Scholars, four more than in previous years.

To honor volunteerism and service to the community, UAF is awarding 16 new students, both transfer students and new freshmen, Human Achievement Scholarships for volunteer service in the community. The winners will get half their tuition free for a year. In previous years UAF awarded only one Human Achievement Scholarship each year.

When all these students arrive for the first day of classes on Sept. 7, one of the first things they will notice is the new food service provided by Sodexho Marriott/ NANA, which will include a Starbucks coffee shop and a newly remodeled food court in Wood Center. Lola Tilly Commons has been remodeled and serves a varied menu. The Polar Express card, UAF's all-in-one ID card, will store an account balance that can be used at most campus dining locations.

The Polar Express card is just one of many ways UAF has used technology to make things easier for students. Other improvements include an online testing center and the ability to order textbooks and school supplies online from the UAF Bookstore. "Students can order their books online at <www.uaf.edu/bookstore> and pick them up at our store, or have them mailed directly to their home," said bookstore manager Mark Beck. In addition to textbooks, the UAF Bookstore has a wide variety of computer software, academic supplies and an assortment of UAF apparel for sale at its "cyber mall."

Starting on Oct. 2, UAF students will be able to take graduate tests like the TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, and PRAXIS1 online. Before, these tests were available only at limited times throughout the year by paper and pencil. Students had to go to Anchorage for some of the tests and it took a month to get results back. Now students will be able to make an appointment and take the tests any time Monday through Friday. Unofficial results are available immediately, and official results will be mailed in 10 days.

To help new students make the transition to college, freshmen can take advantage of the EDGE, or Education, Development, Growth, and Experience program. In its second year through UAF's Department of Residence Life, the program matches students with volunteer UAF staff, faculty, and alumni who act as mentors. This year's new student orientation will feature Playfair, a new program designed to boost campus unity and school spirit and to help students meet each other and begin to feel part of the greater UAF community.

The students' parents will have their own orientation on Sunday, Sept. 3, to acquaint them with many UAF programs, faculty, the CORE requirements, financial aid, student services and other campus departments.

Also for the first time this fall, students will be able to take classes at the North Pole High School. Tanana Valley Campus will be offering four classes in North Pole open to the public: Income Taxes, Fundamentals of Supervision, Skills for College/Career Success, and Preparatory College English.

Back on the UAF campus, the new welcome sign with time and temperature at the Alumni Drive entrance to campus will be dedicated on Sept. 25. The UAF Alumni Association coordinated private funding to pay for the sign.

All these changes are designed to help UAF students complete their degrees, and a degree at UAF will help these new students get jobs in Alaska. A survey by UAF's Department of Career Services found that 63 percent of 1999 UAF graduates were employed, while 28 percent were enrolled in graduate school or other higher education. Of those with jobs, 83 percent were employed in Alaska, 53 percent in Fairbanks.

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CONTACT: UAF Editorial Specialist Todd Paris, 907-474-7939, or by email: fntgp@uaf.edu.

SM/8-30-00/01-012