Teach out or pay up

Sheldon Jackson College is obliged to offer a teach out agreement for students with less than 30 credits remaining. This offer is due by August 1st, unless the College successfully wins appeal of their license suspension with Alaska Post Secondary.

And if they fail to offer the teach out to eligible students by then? A student may be reimbursed for lost tuition and/or costs of completing their degree. See the comments section for exact wording. Contact ACPSE for more information.

Students Moving on...

When SJ closed the doors so abruptly, students were left with very little time to respond. UAS has been good to many of them, and Sitka is fortunate to keep some students in town. Others have found new institutions across the country, and I wish them well.

Katie Tyler - Lakeland College (WI)
Victoria Spencer - Hofstra University (NY)
Angie Neilson - Marylhurst University (OR)
Nate Eakland - Pacific University (OR)

Let me know of others...I'll post them here.

SJC'ers on the Radio

What is going to happen to all of us who worked, taught, and studied at SJ now that the place has closed? Who are we, and where are we headed? We have an opportunity to share our stories about our lives and our time at SJC.

While hanging out at the Home Skillet Fest, I got to talking with Ken Fate, drummer for the Glorious Youth Parade and General Manager at KCAW Raven Radio. We were on the subject of SJ's closure when he asked. "What could Raven Radio do in response?" I pitched the idea of recording stories from the SJ community, to record for all time, stories of folks who made SJ what it was.

A few days later, Ken let me know that staff had spoken, and were interested. Rob Woosley showed me the ropes of operating one of the mobile digital recorders, and sent me on my way. So I am - looking for folks to share their experiences of life at SJ with me, and with our community. Please contact me if you're interested. Help create the collective memory of what Sheldon Jackson was just before the lights went out.

Good news for Scott Harris & Cerissa Payment

Scott Harris, former COESA Director, has taken a new position as Conservation Director at Sitka Conservation Society. Our community is better for it. Congratulations Scott!

Also, Cerissa Payment, Resident Director, has accepted a position at Youth Advocates, working at the Hanson House. Kudos as well to Cerissa.

If anyone knows of others who've found work or are transferring to new schools, let me know.

Dr. Dobler on Raven Radio

Thursday morning, Dr. Dobler appeared on KCAW's Give & Take call in show with host Steve Will. Audio will be available on the KCAW website later today. There were no surprise revelations of any substance, as Dr. Dobler stuck to the script. He did, however, publicly state that severance pay and vacation / sick pay were forthcoming as monies became available.

A most interesting piece was Dr. Dobler's response to Steve Will's question about going back to the city for funding, essentially asking for a "redo". Dr. Dobler stated somewhat cryptically, that it would not be possible because the "College" is now "operating under a new business model." What does this mean? Only time will tell...

A tale of two Colleges

In Friday's Sitka Sentinel (July 13th), President Dobler stated that he preferred not to think of SJ as closed, but as "seriously curtailing operations." He also stated that students had been notified in writing of the situation, which has yet to happen, prompting several calls to the paper and several letters to the editor.

On Tuesday, (July 17th) the Sentinel ran a story that paints a very different picture. In it, they site a press release from the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education in which the Commission states that they have canceled authorization of SJC to operate as a College. President Dobler states that the College (or former college) will appeal.

Hooray for Heather Garrison!

As time passes, the good folks of SJC will land on their feet. I'm proud to announce that Heather Garrison from Lifelong Learning has been hired as an Administrative Assistant. This is good news indeed.

My search continues, as does many others. I'll keep everyone posted as I'm sure each of us will return to work soon.