Student wins tickets in myTRACK contest
November 25, 2014
University of Alaska student Danielle Dallmann won two round-trip tickets courtesy
of Alaska Airlines as part of the university's myTRACK photo contest.
In the contest, students posted a "selfie" to UA鈥檚 Facebook site indicating with their
fingers how many years it would take to earn their degrees. The contest is part of
UA鈥檚 annual Stay on TRACK campaign, now in its fourth year, which encourages students
to graduate on time and with less debt.
The contest ran July through October. Dallmann, a Juneau student who is Hawaii-bound
with her winning tickets, had this advice to share with fellow students: 鈥渄o not assume
that taking 15 credits a semester is 鈥榯oo much work鈥. Once you register for those
classes and begin taking them, you'll realize that 15 credits is actually quite a
manageable load.鈥
Dallmann also shared that 鈥渁s much fun as college is, it is costly! Another year at
college may not sound as good if you discuss it in terms of finance.鈥 It costs students
an extra estimated $10,000 for a fifth year, plus the lost salary income from starting
their career a year late. She reflected that students taking additional years to complete
their degree tend to miss out on 鈥渨hat else lies in store for them as early as their on-time
graduated peers would experience.鈥
Anchorage student Haley Lorenson won a $250 gift card as the top vote recipient, receiving
299 votes for her myTRACK selfie.
UA鈥檚 efforts to encourage full-time students to take additional credits have made
a difference. Students who attempt and earn at least 15 credit hours a semester perform
significantly better than full-time students who take less than 15 credit hours a
semester. First-year retention to the second year of college is 23 percentage points
greater for students taking
15 credits per semester compared to students who take lighter course loads. Graduation
rates among full-time students with heavier loads are impressive--39 percentage points
higher (over a 10-year period) for students who take at least 15 credits a semester
compared to those who take less.
Click the links for and .
To learn more about UA鈥檚 Stay on TRACK campaign, go to .