The University of Alaska Anchorage ranks near the very bottom of the pack in a new national survey of campus free expression.
In the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, UAA placed 197th out of 257 four-year colleges and universities, with an overall score of 54.3 out of 100 and a speech climate grade of F. The school received a “red light” rating for policies FIRE says clearly and substantially restrict student speech.
FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit that defends free speech and academic freedom, has produced the rankings annually since 2020. The 2026 edition drew on surveys of 68,510 undergraduates at 257 schools conducted between January and June 2025, plus reviews of campus speech codes and tracked incidents in which speakers, faculty, or students faced punishment or disinvitation for controversial views. Scores combine student perceptions, written policies, and how administrations handle controversies.
Nationally, the average score was 58.63, with more than 160 schools receiving an F. Only 11 earned a C or better.
UAA had some bright spots in the FIRE report, ranking in the top 25 schools for “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” “Disruptive Conduct,” and “Administrative Support.” The FIRE report also recorded zero speech controversies — no deplatformings and no cases of scholars or students “under fire” at UAA. The report surveyed about 104 UAA students.
Those positives, however, do not tell the whole story. UAA ranked in the bottom 50 for “Political Tolerance,” a measure of whether students would welcome controversial speakers from across the spectrum. A total of 43% of students said they had self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month. Another 61% said shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking was acceptable at least in rare cases, and 23% said using violence to stop someone from speaking was acceptable at least in rare cases. Those last two figures track a national trend: FIRE found record-high student acceptance of shout-downs, blocking event access, and violence as tools to silence speech.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
The rankings report comes as campus speech remains a cultural flashpoint across the nation. FIRE reports that more than half of students nationwide say the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is difficult to discuss openly. Abortion, transgenderism, and the 2024 presidential election also rank high among taboo topics.
Additionally, a majority of students, for the first time in the survey’s history, opposed allowing any of six hypothetical controversial speakers — three described as conservative and three as liberal — onto campus. Acceptance of illiberal protest tactics rose.
Given that public universities such as UAA operate under the First Amendment, FIRE argues that “red light” codes — policies that, for example, overly restrict “harassment,” “bias,” or protest — chill protected speech even when administrators do not enforce them in high-profile cases. The organization says UAA could climb quickly by revising those codes to at least a “yellow light” rating and by formally endorsing the Chicago Statement, which affirms that universities should not suppress ideas because they are offensive or unpopular.
Overall, the FIRE report describes UAA as a campus where student self-censorship remains common and a sizable minority treats disruption, and even violence, as acceptable responses to speech they dislike.
