(1) "Academic credit" means the recognized unit requirements which students attending eligible institutions must accomplish in order to receive a degree for completion of a two-year or four-year course of study;

(2) "Arkansas Cooperative Education Advisory Committee" means the committee established by this subchapter to:

(A) Determine the eligibility of educational institutions;

(B) Review the operation of the cooperative education program through periodic meetings;

(C) Make recommendations to the participating institutions, the state personnel administrator, and to the General Assembly; and

(D) Perform all other appropriate functions to provide for the advancement of the cooperative education program;

(3)

(A) "Cooperative education" means the process of education which formally integrates the student's academic study with work experience in cooperating employer organizations.

(B) The normal plan is for the student to alternate periods of college study with educational-work experience on assignments which relate to the student's stated career objectives;

(4) "Eligible institutions of higher education" means any public or private two-year or four-year institution of higher education within the State of Arkansas which:

(A) Is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, a candidate for such accreditation, or gives satisfactory assurance that it has the potential for accreditation and is making progress which, if continued, will result in its achieving accreditation;

(B) Does not discriminate in the admission of students on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and is in compliance with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and executive orders issued pursuant thereto; and

(C) Is certified to the state personnel administrator by the Arkansas Cooperative Education Advisory Committee as an eligible institution based on the criteria established in § 21-3-508; and

(5) "State personnel administrator" means the head of the Office of Personnel Management, his or her successor, or the person designated by the state personnel administrator to perform the duties assigned to the administrator or to the office.