Schools and Universities

Anchorage has an excellent public school system that is ranked among the finest in the nation. The Anchorage School District is the 80th largest district in the United States, with approximately 50,000 students attending 89 school facilities.

Average SAT and ACT college entrance exam scores are consistently at or above the national average, and the dropout rate among Anchorage School District students is below the national average. The average teacher/student ratio in the Anchorage School District is one teacher for about every 25 students in the first through sixth grade, and the district spends more per student than most districts in the United States. In addition, 90 percent of Anchorage’s adults have high school diplomas, 65 percent have attended college, and 17 percent hold advanced degrees.

The district’s comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the basic communication skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students are schooled in mathematics, how to use a library, and how to use and understand technology as a tool for learning and working. The standard program also includes social studies, health, science, physical education, art and music.

A variety of programs and alternative learning environments meet the needs of the diverse student population, including bilingual education and special education. Other specialized and alternative offerings include ABC and Montessori schools, gifted education, Title I, full-day kindergarten, and foreign language immersion.

In December 1998, Expansion Management Magazine gave the Anchorage School District a Blue Ribbon Rating in its nationwide survey of public schools.

The city has four excellent higher education facilities, which offer affordable, quality higher education. These are the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University, both within walking distance of each other, Charter College, and Wayland Baptist University.

Alaska Pacific University, the only accredited private liberal arts university in the state, was founded as Alaska Methodist University in 1959, the same year Alaska became a state.

The university has a distinctive active learning philosophy that develops leadership qualities. APU education allows students to gather information via projects, individual or collaborative study, internships, Internet research, field study or study abroad. Education at APU is hands-on, experiential and relevant to real-world problem solving.

APU offers undergraduate programs in Business Administration, Environmental Science, K-8 Education, Liberal Studies, Psychology and Human Services. Graduate programs include Business Administration, Environmental Science, Counseling Psychology, K-8 Education and an MBA in Telecommunications Management.

The campus is located in a natural setting of 170 wooded acres and offers an extensive network of nearby trails that lead from Cook Inlet to the Chugach Mountains.

For information, contact the Alaska Pacific University Office of Admissions at 1-800-252-7258 (toll-free outside of Anchorage), 1-907-564-8428, or check out the web site at www.alaskapacific.edu.

University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest institution of higher learning in the state. Fully accredited, it maintains an open enrollment policy that allows a student who has the equivalent of a high school diploma or is 18 years or older to take classes at UAA regardless of that person’s previous grade-point average. Additional requirements are often needed when applying for "formal admission" to one of the certificate, associate, baccalaureate and master’s degree programs offered through the university.

Academic units located on the Anchorage campus include the College of Arts and Sciences; Community and Technical College; College of Health; Education and Social Welfare; College of Business and Public Policy; and the School of Engineering.

Organized research units at UAA complement the academic programs and reflect the special character of the university’s mission in Alaska. Research units include the Alaska Center for International Business, the American Russian Center, the Environment and Natural Resources Institute, the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, the Center for Economic Education, the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, the Center for Human Development, the Institute of Social and Economic Research, and the Justice Center.

UAA operates on a semester system, with the semesters commencing in September, January, and May. Fifteen semester credits are a normal class load and a minimum of 120 semester credits are required to complete a bachelor’s degree. Learn more about UAA via its web site at www.uaa.alaska.edu, or call the UAA Enrollment Services Information Line at 1-907-786-1480.

Charter College is a vocational and technical college, which provides training in computer technology, medical administration, office administration, and business management. This year, Charter College began offering instruction leading to Microsoft certification, and was designated as an authorized Microsoft Testing and Certification Center. For more information about Charter College or to enroll, please call 1-907-277-1000 or 1-800-279-1008.

Wayland Baptist University, located on Fort Richardson, is a satellite campus of the main campus in West Texas. Founded in 1908 by pioneering families who wished to transform education for future generations, Wayland’s mission is to provide quality education grounded in Christian faith.

The Fort Richardson satellite offers majors and specializations in Business Administration and Management, Criminal Justice, Health Administration, Corporate Training, Technical Management, Occupational Education, Religion, Human Services, and Vocational Education. The university gives credit for work experience and military experience, and all classes run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. To learn more about Wayland Baptist, call 1-907-428-1496.