Outer Coast College

Private liberal arts college in development in Sitka, Alaska

Outer Coast College

Type| Private
Established| 2015
Location|

Sitka

Alaska

United States

57°03′05″N 135°19′18″W﻿ / ﻿57.05135°N 135.32159°W﻿ / 57.05135; -135.32159
Campus| Suburban
Website| outercoast.org

Outer Coast College is a small, private, liberal arts college in development in Sitka, Alaska. It is currently in the accreditation process with the plan to open a two-year undergraduate program in the fall of 2024.[1]

Outer Coast will admit a freshman class of about 20 students in 2024 and a similar number the following year, for a total student body of 40.[2]

## History

[edit]

After Sheldon Jackson College closed in 2007, the title to the campus was transferred to the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in February 2011.[3] In the summer of 2014, Alaska state representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins began deliberating with alumni, teachers and students of Deep Springs College about the possibility of founding a new college on the historic campus in partnership with the Fine Arts Camp.[4] Full-time work to create Outer Coast began in September 2015.[5]

In October 2017, the Outer Coast team committed to launching the Outer Coast Summer Seminar in the summer of 2018.[5] The inaugural seminar was held from July to August, drawing in rising high school juniors and seniors from Alaska and the continental United States to participate in rigorous college-level courses as well as numerous service projects.[6]

Since 2020, Outer Coast has run three iterations of the Outer Coast Year, a nine-month intensive for high school graduates from across Alaska, the Lower 48, and the globe. In addition, it has offered six intensive, college-level academic summer programs — or Summer Seminars — for high school students.

Admissions at Outer Coast are need-blind and run on a sliding-scale, means-based cost of attendance model. [7]

## Philosophy

[edit]

Outer Coast is modeled on Deep Springs' "three pillars" of academics, labor and self-governance. In academics, students enroll in a rotating series of seminars across disciplines as well as a core Indigenous Studies course, which features Tlingit language learning.[8] In self governance, students are actively involved in the governance and operations of the institution through Student Body ("SB") meetings and smaller committees vested with particular responsibilities and decision-making authority. At Outer Coast, the labor pillar is reinterpreted as the service pillar. Students develop service projects with community organizations in Sitka.[4] Outer Coast places a strong emphasis on the incorporation of Tlingit and other Native Alaskan perspectives in both the selection of its student body and curriculum.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "F.A.Q." Outer Coast. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
2. ^ "Outer Coast to admit first freshman class in '24". Outer Coast. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
3. ^ "Arts program to take over Sheldon Jackson College". Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
4. ^ a b "Outer Coast College seeks to replicate Deep Springs success". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
5. ^ a b "About". Outer Coast. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
6. ^ "Rethinking the college experience in Sitka". Juneau Empire. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
7. ^ "Cost & Affordability". Outer Coast. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
8. ^ "How 'Out There' is Progressive Education?". Harvard Political Review. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
9. ^ "Decolonizing the Outer Coast Classroom". Sitka Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-04-07.

* v
* t
* e

Sitka, Alaska

Geography

Islands|

* Baranof
* Japonski

Education

Sitka School District|

* Sitka High School
* Pacific High School (Alternative)

Other education|

* Mount Edgecumbe High School
* University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus
* Outer Coast College
* Alaska State Trooper Academy
* Kettleson Memorial Library
* Sitka Fine Arts Camp

| Closed|

* Sheldon Jackson College

|

Other

Media|

* Daily Sitka Sentinel

Transportation|

* Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport
* Sitka Seaplane Base
* Alaska Marine Highway Sitka terminal

Historical|

* Sitka Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template