Iisaġvik College, UIC buy land for new Utqiaġvik campus

A 15-acre land purchase in Utqiaġvik could reshape how higher education and job training are delivered on the North Slope, giving Iisaġvik College a chance to move from aging leased spaces into a single, purpose-built campus built around student services, workforce programs and local community needs.

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation and Iisaġvik College announced the deal May 20, calling it a major milestone for education, workforce development and regional infrastructure. The planned campus would replace the college’s current network of leased facilities, a setup that has long made it harder to centralize classrooms, training spaces, student support and collaboration in the Arctic capital.

For Utqiaġvik families, the stakes go beyond real estate. Iisaġvik says it is Alaska’s only tribal college, serving a region where travel, housing and operating costs are high and where a local degree or certificate can mean the difference between leaving the North Slope and building a career there. The college enrolled 988 students in 2024-25, reported a 7:1 faculty-student ratio and said 63% of its students identified as Alaska Native or American Indian.

The college’s mission is rooted in Iñupiaq cultural heritage and subsistence culture, and its role reaches well beyond traditional academics. Iisaġvik says it supports North Slope employers through customized training, apprenticeships, workplace instruction, mentorships and on-the-job training. It also offers tuition waivers for Alaska Natives, American Indians, Elders and all North Slope Borough residents, making the campus plan as much a workforce strategy as an education project.

Housing has been one of the clearest operational constraints. The college’s residential services say North Slope housing is limited and that it relies on a limited number of rental units and leased housing. Student housing at the residential center is listed at $2,000 per semester for full-time students, plus a $270 damage deposit. A centralized campus could ease some of that strain by bringing academics, services and residential life into a more connected space.

The land sale also landed in Iisaġvik’s 30th anniversary year. The college was established in 1995 by the North Slope Borough, after higher education efforts that began in 1986 and later evolved into Arctic Sivunmun Iisaġvik College in 1991. UIC said the sale fits its long-running focus on community development; the company says it has more than 4,400 employees, more than 70 subsidiary companies and social and economic responsibilities to more than 3,800 Iñupiat shareholders and descendants. For Utqiaġvik, the new campus now stands as a long-term bet on keeping students, skills and leadership on the North Slope.