Rural and Community Development • (907) 474-7143

The College of Rural and Community Development focuses on the needs of non-traditional students, including students who seek skills and degrees suited to the economy and well-being of rural communities. CRCD promotes workforce preparation, economic development, lifelong learning and community development. CRCD campuses provide general and vocational/technical education at the certificate and associate degree levels, baccalaureate and graduate degrees in rural development, and, in cooperation with the College of Liberal Arts, baccalaureate and graduate degrees in education and social work. In addition, CRCD offers workshops, continuing education and short-term courses, developmental studies, credit for prior learning and other non-degree-oriented services.

CRCD community campuses include Northwest (Nome), Kuskokwim (Bethel), Bristol Bay (Dillingham), Chukchi (Kotzebue) and Interior-Aleutians (Fairbanks, which administers six centers throughout the Interior and the Aleutian Islands), and Tanana Valley (downtown Fairbanks). The Center for Distance Education and Independent Learning provides a variety of distance-delivered courses for degree and non-degree programs throughout the university. The statewide Cooperative Extension Service, which is organized within CRCD, provides informal research-based education relating to agriculture and natural resources, community resource and economic development, home economics and consumer science, 4-H and youth development, and housing and energy.

CRCD serves nearly two-thirds of Alaska, encompassing 160 primarily Alaska Native arctic, subarctic and coastal communities. At least 16 indigenous languages are spoken in the region served by CRCD, and the economy spans subsistence hunting and fishing, small-scale village development and cooperatives, and large-scale international corporate development. The College of Rural and Community Development focuses on responding to students and partners to develop the economic and social well-being of Alaska Native communities and beyond.