Section 49-7-177 - Annual collection of information by higher education commission - Web-based platform to assist students in making informed decisions about possible postsecondary credential pathways and outcomes(a) As used in this section:(1) "Community college" means a two-year public institution operated by the board of regents of the state university and community college system;(2) "Personally-identifiable information" means information that would allow a reasonable person, who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to determine an individual's identity with reasonable certainty, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual;(3) "State university" means a four-year public institution of higher education operated by the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee or a state university board;(4) "TCAT" means a Tennessee college of applied technology operated by the board of regents of the state university and community college system; and(5) "THEC" means the Tennessee higher education commission.(b) THEC may collect the following information or data annually, including from public institutions of higher education, where applicable: (1) The high demand occupations in the state, including salary and education level required for such occupations;(2) The average cost of attendance at each state university, community college, and TCAT;(3) The student-level loan data for students participating or enrolling in any state university, community college, or TCAT participating in the federal loan program;(4) The average student loan default rate for a student at a state university, community college, or TCAT;(5) The average graduation rates for each state university and community college;(6) The completion rates for TCATs;(7) The average salary by degree type for graduates of state universities and community colleges; and(8) The average salary by credential type for graduates of TCATs.(c) THEC may make available a publicly accessible web-based platform that is capable of assisting current and prospective students in making informed decisions about possible postsecondary credential pathways and outcomes. THEC may utilize, modify, and expand an existing web-based platform for purposes of this section if the end product is capable of assisting current and prospective students in making informed decisions about possible postsecondary credential pathways and outcomes.(d) A web-based platform developed pursuant to this section must be: (1) Capable of searching and comparing available data across multiple programs and institution types; and(2) Able to correlate specific institutions with the related information collected under subsection (b).(e) Within the web-based platform, THEC may include documents, hyperlinks, or other resources related to:(1) Additional information relative to state-funded financial aid options;(2) Military enlistment opportunities and benefits information including the Tennessee national guard; and(3) The highest need occupations in the state and associated salary information.(f) A web-based platform authorized pursuant to this section shall not contain personally-identifiable information. Any personally-identifiable information collected for purposes of supporting or populating the web-based platform must be aggregated into summary statistics before the information is used to ensure that the results cannot be used to identify individual students.Added by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 507,s 2, eff. 7/1/2022.