04/05/2023 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

         HB 148-AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:01:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  RUFFRIDGE announced  that  the only  order of  business                                                               
would  be  public  testimony  on  HOUSE BILL  NO.  148,  "An  Act                                                               
relating to the Alaska performance scholarship program."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:01:49 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE opened public testimony on HB 148.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:02:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PAUL LAYER, Vice President of  Academics, Students, and Research,                                                               
Academic  and  Student  Affairs,  University  of  Alaska  system,                                                               
testified in support  of HB 148.  He explained  that the proposed                                                               
legislation would provide significant  changes to make the Alaska                                                               
Performance   Scholarship  (APS)   program  more   accessible  to                                                               
students, and more competitive.   He highlighted the notification                                                               
timeline,  which changes  from six  months  to 18  months in  the                                                               
bill.    This  timing  allows for  competitiveness  with  outside                                                               
institutions, he said.  He  noted the change to testing barriers,                                                               
explaining that  standardized testing was used  by the university                                                               
for placement, not  admission.  Increasing the amount  of the APS                                                               
would  also  allow  for  financial packages  to  be  created  for                                                               
students to reduce or eliminate the burden of debt.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:05:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  ALLARD  asked  whether  a student  who  applied  for  a                                                               
scholarship would be  required to take a placement  test to avoid                                                               
being put  into classes above  his/her level and  possibly losing                                                               
the scholarship as a result.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LAYER replied  that for  all  students coming  in there  are                                                               
multiple   placement  tools   that   are   used,  including   the                                                               
standardized test  and the university's own  internal test called                                                               
Accuplacer  to  assure students  are  placed  in the  appropriate                                                               
programs.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:08:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MAISIE ZUGG, Student, University  of Alaska, testified during the                                                               
hearing  on HB  148,  and  gave her  background  in academics  in                                                               
Alaska.  She  stated she would like  the APS to be  looked at for                                                               
"a better eligibility of usage."                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:12:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AMY BRISTOR,  Admissions, University  of Alaska  Fairbanks (UAF),                                                               
testified in  support of HB  148.   She stated she  had witnessed                                                               
the  inception  of   the  APS,  and  the   tremendous  amount  of                                                               
opportunities it had awarded many  students.  She opined that the                                                               
APS had  flaws that  the bill  would help improve.   She  gave an                                                               
example of a  successful student with a high  grade point average                                                               
(GPA) who  did not  do well  on tests, and  believed it  was that                                                               
type of student the bill would help.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:16:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked Ms. Bristor  at what point she started                                                               
advising students about the APS.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS.  BRISTOR indicated  that she  had talked  to students  of all                                                               
ages about the  APS, and encouraged them to pay  attention to the                                                               
scholarship requirements and their GPA.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY  asked  whether   there  was  any  kind  of                                                               
notification  that  high  schools   or  colleges  use  to  remind                                                               
students to start thinking about the APS.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  BRISTOR replied  the communications  are  mostly via  email,                                                               
typically in a  student's junior year.  In some  cases, she said,                                                               
a high school guidance counselor would begin communications.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:19:01 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR ALLARD discussed a possible  amendment that would notify                                                               
students [about the APS] potentially  at the end of freshmen year                                                               
or beginning  of sophomore year.   She asked Ms.  Bristor whether                                                               
this would help.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. BRISTOR  said she was  unfamiliar with the amendment,  but it                                                               
sounded like a  notification requirement.  She  said she believed                                                               
all communications  to students  and families  would help  to get                                                               
the word out.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:20:28 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE relayed that due  to technical issues with the                                                               
phone lines, public  testimony on HB 148 would remain  open.  [He                                                               
announced that HB 148 was held over.]