Deputy Commissioner Karen Morrison and Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education officials told the House Finance Education Subcommittee on Feb. 7 that the state saw an increase in students eligible for the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) for the Class of 2024 and that more sustained communications could increase student uptake.

"If we had additional funding, we could do more targeted training, with school districts about APS eligibility," said Carrie Thomas, acting executive director of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE). She told the committee that ACPE conducts regular APS communications but lacks funding for a statewide, consistent outreach campaign.

Committee members pressed whether APS outreach could be coupled with FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) assistance. Thomas and DEED staff said a cross‑agency work group already recommends pairing APS and FAFSA messages so students learn about both throughout high school rather than only at graduation. Deb Riddle, Division of Innovation, Education Excellence operations manager at DEED, said the department currently has one staff member who manages APS program work and that ACPE handles much of the outreach.

Thomas told the committee that one full‑time position dedicated to APS communications at ACPE would be sufficient to provide more consistent training and media outreach, and would help sustain connections with district staff in high‑turnover areas.

Committee members asked for more detail on how such a position or grant would be structured and for ACPE’s communications plan. ACPE agreed to provide its communications plan to the committee. The committee also asked ACPE to supply FAFSA completion data; ACPE said it would provide the data after the hearing.

Why this matters: APS provides Alaska students with state scholarship support when they meet academic and application requirements. Because APS requires FAFSA submission as part of the process, officials said coordinated outreach could increase both FAFSA completion and APS uptake, helping more graduates access postsecondary funding.