Three quarters of Alaska's planned college-rule cuts fall on student aid

The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education plans to eliminate 205 of its rules, a cut of 16.24 percent, three quarters of it in student financial aid. The commission approved the plan Jan. 15, 2026.

Chapter 15, student financial aid, carries a baseline of 515 requirements and reductions of 153.50; chapter 16 has 176 and would drop by 13. One full article, the education loan program at 20 AAC 15.010 through 15.085, is repealed outright.

The plan counts 1,262 discretionary requirements, obligations that go beyond what state or federal law requires, across Title 20 chapters 15 through 19, governing state education loans, the Alaska Education Grant, the Alaska Performance Scholarship, the Teacher Education Loan Program, the WICHE Professional Student Exchange and WWAMI, a medical program Alaskans attend out of state. The reform table lists 91 entries, 68 marked Repeal and 23 Amend.

Chapter 17, which governs private colleges, loses 24.50 of its 412, where the plan marks subsections rather than whole rules: parts of the advertising and the tuition and refund rules, and section (g) of the closure rule, which the plan says ensures "that students are timely notified, refunded fairly, and offered substantially equivalent alternatives if their program or institution closes."

The cuts trace to Administrative Order 360, issued Aug. 4, 2025 by Governor Mike Dunleavy, directing every executive branch agency to "reduce the number of regulatory requirements by 15 percent by December 31, 2026, and 25 percent (cumulative) by December 31, 2027," while ensuring boards "maintain critical consumer protection."

Nothing is repealed yet: each change must still clear the state's rulemaking process, with public comment. The account here is the commission's plan, which quotes no one.