Many of the commenters here are clearly unaware of the massive success UAS has had in teacher education compared to UAA and UAF (nor does the article fill in that information). According to the facts I've seen, UAS School of Education graduated significantly more students over the past few years than UAF, produced far more graduates per faculty member than either UAF or UAA, produced those graduates at lower cost, and graduated many more Alaska Native educators over the past several years than either UAF or UAA.

I completed my MAT program at UAS with a group of students from all over Alaska, including students from Anchorage and the interior who preferred to go to UAS instead of UAA or UAF. Please note, of course, that this merger will not prevent future students from taking education courses in Anchorage and Fairbanks. It simply means UAS will be taking the lead—and because of its successes, I believe UAS absolutely deserves that role.