In this chapter,

(1) “agent” or “agents” mean persons owning an interest in, employed by, or representing for remuneration, a postsecondary educational institution in or outside the state who, by solicitation made in the state, enroll or seek to enroll residents of the state for education offered by the institution, or offer to award educational credentials for remuneration, on behalf of the institution, or who hold themselves out to residents of the state as representing a postsecondary educational institution for any purpose;

(2) “agent's permit” means a nontransferable written authorization issued to a natural person by the commission which allows that person to solicit or enroll a resident of the state for education in a postsecondary educational institution;

(3) “avocational” means of or relating to an activity that is done as a hobby or for recreational purposes;

(4) “authorization to operate” means approval of the commission to operate or to contract to operate a postsecondary educational institution that provides education or grants educational credentials in the state;

(5) “commission” means the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education;

(6) “education,” “educational program or services,” “instruction,” or “instructional program” includes any class, course, or program of training, instruction, or study;

(7) “educational credentials” means degrees, diplomas, certificates, transcripts, reports, documents, or letters of designation, marks, appellations, series of letters, numbers, or words which signify, purport, or are generally taken to signify enrollment, attendance, progress, or satisfactory completion of the requirements or prerequisites for education at a postsecondary educational institution;

(8) “owner”

(A) means

(i) a person having at least a 10 percent interest in the stock of a postsecondary educational institution that is a corporation;

(ii) a partner of a postsecondary educational institution that is a partnership; or

(iii) a person having a direct financial interest in, or title to, at least 10 percent of the assets of a postsecondary educational institution which is neither a partnership nor a corporation;

(B) does not include a financial institution holding a mortgage on some or all of the real property or a security interest in some or all of the personal property of a postsecondary educational institution;

(9) “postsecondary educational institution” means academic, vocational, technical, home study, business, professional, or other school, college, or university offering education primarily to persons who have completed or terminated their secondary education, or who are beyond the age of compulsory high school attendance, for attainment of educational, professional, or vocational objectives;

(10) “recreational” means an activity engaged in for the purpose of personal satisfaction, pleasure, creative enrichment, or enhanced well-being;

(11) “to grant” includes awarding, selling, conferring, or giving;

(12) “to offer” includes, in addition to its usual meanings, advertising, publicizing, soliciting, or encouraging persons directly or indirectly to perform the act described;

(13) “to operate a postsecondary institution” means to establish or maintain a facility or location where education is provided or postsecondary educational credentials are granted to persons in the state and includes contracting with any person, group, or entity to operate such an educational institution;

(14) “vocational” means of or relating to a skill or trade pursued as a career or for the purpose of gainful employment.