What 鈥淏y the Numbers鈥� Means for CAS
The College of Arts and Sciences has seen a lot of growth in recent years, and the proof is not just in the pudding鈥攊t鈥檚 in the numbers!
According to the University of 麻豆无码版鈥檚 department of Data Analysis and Institutional Research, the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year saw enrollment increases in the majority of colleges at UAA and our Community Campuses. The College of Arts and Sciences saw a 6.3% increase in the actual number of students enrolled, which exceeds the 4.8% increase seen across the university as a whole. CAS also increased credit hours by 5.8% and the number of full-time students by 4.4%. Full- and part-time course pass rates have steadily climbed over the past four years, and A100-A200 level General Education Requirement (GER) course completion rates are also on the rise. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Peer Comparison Data Set for Dual Enrollment institutions shows that UAA is trending up in Baccalaureate retention rates, putting us over the average at both the regional and national levels. This means that, compared to our peer dual enrollment institutions, more of our first-gen, first year students come back to UAA for their second year, and this serves as an indication of student satisfaction and the overall quality of their educational experience.
The number of degrees and certificates awarded at UAA has also continued to go up this past year, showing a 2.8% increase from 2023. In the 2024-2025 AY, out of our 11,206 students, UAA awarded 1,730 degrees, including Bachelor鈥檚, Master鈥檚, Doctorates, Associate, Post-Baccalaureate, and Certificates across our five campuses. CAS alone offers 16 of those baccalaureate degrees and 20 minors, six graduate degrees and certificates - including a PhD, and 13 professional certificates.
In terms of research activity, CAS currently has 117 outstanding grants totaling over 118.5 million dollars. CAS grant funding comes from a variety of sources, with roughly two-thirds coming from federal awards. These numbers indicate an incredible array of research, creativity, intellectual curiosity, and community collaboration, and represent the passion and drive of CAS faculty and students. We have also seen extraordinary increases in CAS fundraising over the past five years, and donations have risen from $281k in 2020 to over $832k in 2025. The number of corporation, foundation, and friend contributors have all gone up since 2020 as well. Our communities clearly believe in CAS just as much as we do.
We have also seen remarkable successes with outreach efforts, such as the CAS Community Lecture Series, which has increased in attendance and ticket sales with each special guest. In May of 2025, Liz Cheney brought in over 1300 people, and attendance for Bill Nye鈥檚 talk in August was over 1900, including nearly 500 students. There are still two major events to come this year鈥擪atie Orlinsky, and Ray Troll & Kirk Johnson, so there is still time to keep those numbers climbing. Additionally, our CAS Summer Camps continue to have a positive impact on our community, bringing in 102 kids from grades 6-12 to learn about dance, painting, forensic anthropology, playing the guitar, creative writing, and how scientists learn about the brain by training lab rats. And, thanks to a generous donation from ConocoPhillips, CAS has been able to expand our Title I scholarship participation in 2025, to include 12 full- and 19-half ride students from a larger number of Anchorage public schools than in previous years. You can join the effort to strengthen CAS鈥� influence in the community by proposing a Summer Camp of your own.
As we continue to prioritize the five pillars of our CAS Strategic Plan鈥擲tudents First, Embrace our Differences, Be the Public Square, World Class Creativity, and our Collaborative Community鈥攊t鈥檚 heartening to see that our goals and aspirations are reflected in these numbers. They are proof that CAS makes a difference for our students, both past and present, and our communities.