Alaskan students will benefit from scholarship legislation signed by Governor Sean Parnell on Thursday. Speaking to an assembly in the Unalaska high school gym, Parnell explained that the law will help Alaskan high school graduates who want to attend in-state universities or vocational schools.

“So in 2011, I was able to convince the legislature to set aside $400 million in an account so the interest earnings on that account could fund the Performance scholarships. This year, the bill that I’m going to sign, actually kind of puts a white picket fence around that $400 million and reserves it for the Performance scholarships and also for something called the AlaskaAdvantage needs-based grants for education.”

The funding split between the Alaska Performance and AlaskAdvantage programs was a compromise between what Gov. Parnell wanted and what the state Senate would allow. As Gov. Parnell told students at the assembly, he believes scholarships should only be given to students who meet certain academic performance requirements.

“I wanted to create a path where you will want to stay in school, where you will want to open more doors of opportunity for yourselves. Not where I can hand you something that you haven’t earned and that you would not appreciate, but something that you would take yourself and use it to better yourself.”

In order to qualify for the Performance scholarships, students need to take specific courses, have a GPA of 2.5 or higher and minimum standardized test scores. Last year, ten students from Unalaska qualified for the money. Five of them accepted funding to attend an in-state school. The scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale, with the maximum award covering up to $4755 in tuition and fees.