The APAYAO STATE COLLEGE was formerly known as the Conner Vocational High School (CVHS) and was established through the creation of Republic Act No. 4928 which was sponsored by then Congressman Juan M. Duyan. It was enacted with executive approval on June 17, 1967, and entered into Official Gazette, Volume 65, No.8, Page 1710, in February 24 of the following year. The vocational high school was under the direct supervision of the Director of Vocational Education, and upon his recommendation to the President of the Philippines, a portion of public land within the Municipality of Conner, as was necessary and as a convenient location, was set aside and reserved for the establishment of local school site. Congressman Felipe B. Almazan worked for the release of the sum of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 150,000.00) that was authorized to be appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the establishment, operation and maintenance of the CVHS for the first year. The necessary sums were then included in the Annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The institution opened on July 1, 1971 with five faculty members, four office personnel and an initial enrollment of twenty-four (24) male students, temporarily housed at the defunct Municipal Building at Brgy Ripang, Conner, Kalinga-Apayao. The school site was then transferred in 1974 to Brgy Malama, on a 4.8 hectare site donated by Albert Bengan and Sabas Gorospe. The first building was inaugurated on August 24, 1975 and another building for the Boys Shop was constructed on the succeeding year.
In 1976, the request to offer two-year technical courses was granted, whereas the position of School Principal was re-classified to Vocational School Administrator, and on February 7, 1978, The President of the Philippines approved the changing of the status and rename the school to Kalinga-Apayao School of Arts and Trade (KASAT). An adjacent site with an area of 2.27 hectares was purchased in 1982, as an extension site for the operation of the programs of the school. The purchase gave the school a total land area of 7.07 hectares.
The school administrator, Dr. Lorenzo J. Tadios, then worked for the approval to offer four-year degree courses, beginning with the offering of Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE), and in 1992, with the cooperative efforts of its sixty-six (66) hard working faculty and staff, KASAT successfully produced its first batch of graduates of Bachelor of Secondary Education, Major in Technology and Home Economics (BSE-THE). Two years later, following the move for the conversion of Apayao as a separate province from Kalinga in 1994, Dr. Tadios continued his efforts to convert KASAT to Apayao Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) to cater more to the needs of the province and the immediate service areas of the school.
The exemplary leadership of Congressman Elias K. Bulut, Sr., and Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, was evidenced in the approval by President Fidel V. Ramos for the conversion of Kalinga-Apayao School of Arts and Trades into the Apayao Institute of Science and Technology through Republic Act 7853 of House Bill No. 8179 on December 24, 1994.
As Kalinga and Apayao became two separate provinces with the passage of Republic Act No. 7878 on February 14, 1995, Congressman Elias K. Bulut, Sr., Governor Lawrence Wacnang of Kalinga-Apayao, Beatriz Dongui-is, a representative of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED, and municipal mayors of the province witnessed the inauguration of the Apayao Institute of Science and Technology (AIST).
With the global demand of quality education, the thrust of the national government on education for all, and the demand of the community for more relevant and competitive degree courses, the school superintendent, with the full support of then Congressman Elias K. Bulut, Sr., drafted a bill and worked for its passage in the House of Representatives for the elevation of the institution into a state college to enable it to offer more curricular programs. With the collaborative efforts of the congressman, the school superintendent, local officials, the faculty and the administrative staff, the Apayao Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) was converted into a state college and named Apayao State College (ASC) on February 26, 1998 through Republic Act 8563.
Dr, Lorenzo J. Tadios, who worked for twenty-nine (29) years as school administrator of the institution, was inaugurated as the first president of the Apayao State College on February 26, 1999. Dr. Zacarias A. Baluscang, Jr. followed as the second president of the college for two successive terms from 2003 to 2012. The third president of the college, Dr. Nieves A. Dacyon, was installed on December 1, 2012. Dr. Nelia Z. Cauilan, former Vice President for Research and Development at the Cagayan State University, was installed as the fourth president of Apayao State College on October 23, 2017. To date, the fifth President of the college, Dr. John N. Cabansag, former Vice President for Planning, MIS and External Affairs at the Isabela State University was installed on June 23, 2022.
