Editing Alaska (section)

==Education==
{{See also|List of school districts in Alaska|List of high schools in Alaska}}
[[File:Kachcampus.jpg|thumb|The [[Kachemak Bay Campus]] of the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]], located in downtown Homer]]

The [[Alaska Department of Education and Early Development]] administers many [[List of school districts in Alaska|school districts]] in Alaska. In addition, the state operates a boarding school, [[Mt. Edgecumbe High School]] in [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], and provides partial funding for other boarding schools, including [[Nenana Student Living Center]] in [[Nenana, Alaska|Nenana]] and The Galena Interior Learning Academy in [[Galena, Alaska|Galena]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |title=Asset Building in Residence Life |publisher=Alaska ICE |date=April 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009144551/http://www.alaskaice.org/material.php?matID=138 |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref>

There are more than a dozen [[List of colleges and universities in Alaska|colleges and universities in Alaska]]. Accredited universities in Alaska include the [[University of Alaska Anchorage]], [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], [[University of Alaska Southeast]], and [[Alaska Pacific University]].<ref>These are the only three universities in the state ranked by [[U.S. News & World Report]]. {{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |title=USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101130054/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php |archive-date=January 1, 2007 }}</ref> Alaska is the only state that has no collegiate athletic programs that are members of [[NCAA Division I]], although both Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage maintain single sport membership in Division I for [[college ice hockey|men's ice hockey]].

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development operates AVTEC, Alaska's Institute of Technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |title=AVTECHome Page |publisher=Avtec.labor.state.ak.us |access-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009132015/http://avtec.labor.state.ak.us/ |archive-date=October 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Campuses in Seward and Anchorage offer one-week to 11-month training programs in areas as diverse as Information Technology, Welding, Nursing, and Mechanics.

Alaska has had a problem with a "[[brain drain]]". Many of its young people, including most of the highest academic achievers, leave the state after high school graduation and do not return. {{as of|2013}}, Alaska did not have a [[Legal education in Alaska|law school]] or medical school.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 5, 2013 |title=House Bill 43 'University Institutes of Law And Medicine' |work=States News Service |url=http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230080140/http://akdemocrats.org/?bill=hb43 |archive-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[University of Alaska]] has attempted to combat this by offering partial four-year scholarships to the top 10% of Alaska high school graduates, via the Alaska Scholars Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309023826/http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/faq.xml#scholars_award |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |title=UA Scholars Program—Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=December 28, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Beginning in 1998, schools in rural Alaska must have at least 10 students to retain funding from the state, and campuses not meeting the number close. This was due to the loss in oil revenues that previously propped up smaller rural schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|title=Alaska's Rural Schools Fight Off Extinction|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2009-11-25|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126032742/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/us/26alaska.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, there was a proposal to raise that minimum to 25,<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|title=Proposed increase to minimum enrollment threatens funding for dozens of small schools|agency=[[KLDG]]|publisher=[[Alaska Public Radio]]|date=2015-10-26|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028124742/https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/10/26/proposed-increase-to-minimum-enrollment-threatens-funding-for-dozens-of-small-schools/|url-status=live}}</ref> but legislators in the state largely did not agree.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=Hannah|url=https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|title=Bill to cut funding to small schools finds little support among Alaska lawmakers|publisher=[[KDLG]]|date=2015-11-11|access-date=2021-07-15|archive-date=November 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180921/https://www.kdlg.org/post/bill-cut-funding-small-schools-finds-little-support-among-alaska-lawmakers|url-status=live}}</ref>