(a) The commission may appoint an executive director as the commission's executive officer. The executive officer is a member of the exempt service under AS 39.25.110, serves at the pleasure of the commission, and receives compensation fixed by the commission. The executive officer appoints persons to the staff positions authorized by the commission, and staff compensation is fixed by the commission. Each employee of the commission shall elect membership either in the state teachers' retirement system (AS 14.25), if qualified, or in the public employees' retirement system (AS 39.35).
(b) The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education is not a division in the Department of Education and Early Development. The commission, its members, executive officer, and staff are in the Department of Education and Early Development for administrative support services only, and they are not subject to the direction of the commissioner of education and early development or the state Board of Education and Early Development.