New dashboard shows Fairbanks graduates enroll and graduate college at rates above UA system and many U.S. peers

The district's senior research analyst introduced a new post-secondary outcomes dashboard Aug. 19 that tracks Fairbanks graduates' college enrollment and graduation across more than a decade of classes. Using data sourced from the National Student Clearinghouse, the dashboard shows roughly 62 percent of district graduates enroll in college within two years and about 42 percent of those who enroll earn a college credential (certificate, associate or higher) within six years. Key findings: students who finish high school with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 (B average) or higher were roughly three times as likely to graduate from college within six years as students who did not. Students meeting the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) criteria were roughly twice as likely to complete college as those who did not. The district's college-graduation rate, calculated for Fairbanks students wherever they enroll, exceeds the University of Alaska system average and the national average for comparable open-admissions four-year institutions. Why it matters: the dashboard gives the district a longitudinal, evidence-based measure of outcomes for local students and helps the district evaluate the effectiveness of high-school preparation and scholarship programs. The presentation noted that waivers of SAT/ACT testing during COVID increased APS qualification rates for the cohort years. What the dashboard does not yet include: military enlistment or employment/trades outcomes for graduates were not comprehensively available; the analyst said those are possible future data projects and that the state may expand post-secondary tracking in future legislation. Ending: Board members praised the analysis and asked the analyst to explore adding military and employment outcomes; the dashboard is available on the district website and staff offered to help stakeholders access it.