(a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(1) BIOGRAPHICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ELEMENTS. Include, but are not limited to, student identification number which shall not be the Social Security number, sex code, race and ethnic identification code, birth date, country of citizenship, state of geographic origin on entry, matriculation date, and college graduation date.

(2) CURRENT EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY DATA ELEMENTS. Include, but are not limited to, student level, major area code, credit hours enrolled, cumulative credit hours attempted, cumulative credit hours earned, cumulative grade point average (GPA), state of current legal residence, residency status, cumulative quality points, veterans' benefits status, housing status, minor/teaching field code, and financial aid status.

(3) DATA ELEMENTS. Include, but are not limited to, biographical and demographic data, previous educational experience data, and current educational activity data.

(4) PREVIOUS EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE DATA ELEMENTS. Include, but are not limited to, high school graduation date, high school code, high school average, American College Test (ACT) scores, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, transfer college, transfer hours earned at the undergraduate level, transfer grade point average at the undergraduate level, and admission status.

(5) RESIDENT/NONRESIDENT STUDENT. In determining resident or nonresident classification, the primary issue is one of intent. If a person is in Alabama primarily for the purpose of obtaining an education, that person shall be considered a nonresident student.

(6) STUDENT UNIT RECORD. Specific items of information pertaining to individual students enrolled at a public two-year or four-year institution of higher education.

(7) ELECTRONIC STUDENT UNIT RECORD DATA SYSTEM. The collective student unit records of all public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education.

(b) The commission, after affording a full opportunity to two-year and four-year public institutions of higher education and the public to be heard, shall design and establish a state university and college electronic student unit record system to provide comprehensive, meaningful, and timely information pertinent to the formulation of decisions and recommendations by the commission. The information submitted by the public institutions of higher education shall be in comparable terms that meet the specific format for the student unit records as established by the Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in complete and full consultation with the Chancellor of the Postsecondary Department of Education, and the Chairman of the Council of College and University Presidents. The reports developed through the system shall conform to the procedures established by the commission. The data elements of a student record shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Biographical and demographic data elements.

(2) Previous educational experience data elements.

(3) Current educational activity data elements.

(4) Residency status and whether the student pays tuition as a resident or a nonresident student.

(c) The commission shall be the state coordinating agency for all data collection requirements of the federal government which require state level coordination and relate to postsecondary education. The commission shall make every effort to minimize the reporting burden on the institutions by using the existing reports of the federal government.

(d) The commission shall establish an advisory committee comprised of, but not limited to, representatives of the public institutions of higher education and the State Board of Education to assure that the expertise and concerns of the institutions relative to this section, both individually and collectively, shall be provided to the commission.

(e) The database shall be configured to possess the capabilities to include:

(1) Reports to individual high school officials and the State Board of Education using information captured by the student unit record data base concerning the progress made by their respective graduates within the public institutions of higher education in Alabama. Using data captured through the system, the commission shall generate reports to assist legislators, the Governor and educators in informed decision making on education issues.

(2) Reports on student retention and graduation rates.

(3) Reports on student transfers across sectors, institutions, and within institutions.

(4) Reports on the status of out-of-state students.

(f) The information provided by each institution to the commission pursuant to subsections (a) to (g), inclusive, shall be subject to audit by the commission or by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

(g) The commission shall immediately report to the Legislature the failure of any public institution of higher education to comply with the requirements of subsections (a) to (g), inclusive, by means of written notice delivered to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation-Education and the Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

(h) The format used to collect student data shall be developed by the Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in complete and full consultation with the Chancellor of the Postsecondary Department of Education, and the Chairman of the Council of College and University Presidents.

(i)(1) The commission, after affording a full opportunity to the two-year and four-year public institutions of higher education and the public to be heard, shall design and establish a state university and college information system, to include an electronic faculty unit record system, in order to provide comprehensive, meaningful, and timely information pertinent to the formulation of decisions and recommendations by the commission and the Legislature. The information, including the data components required by the electronic faculty unit record system, submitted by the public institutions of higher education shall be in comparable terms and shall meet the specific requirements as established by the commission and the reports developed through the system shall conform to the procedures established by the commission.

(2) In order to promote accountability, the commission shall establish a uniform electronic faculty unit record system for the purpose of obtaining information on faculty work loads at two-year and four-year public institutions of higher education in the state. Each two-year and four-year public institution in the state shall report annually to the commission its individual faculty work loads. The commission shall then forward a summary of this information to the Governor and the Legislature and the Chair of the Council of College and University Presidents and the State Board of Education. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize or permit the commission to set standards or establish policies for public institutions of higher education concerning faculty and staff hiring, promotion, or retention. This authority shall rest solely with the governing board of the institution.