Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7.

This bill requires the Tennessee higher education commission to: (1) Collect the following data annually: the most in-demand jobs in the state; the average cost of attendance at each state university and each vocational school; the average monthly student loan payment for a student at a state university or vocational school; the average three-year student loan default rate for a student at a state university or vocational school; the average total student loan debt for graduates with a bachelor's degree who attended a state university; the average graduation rate for each state university and vocational school; the completion rates for vocational schools; the number of college graduates from a state university working in an occupation that does not require a college degree; the average starting salary for bachelor's degree graduates of state universities; the average starting salary for graduates of a vocational school; and the base pay for and benefits for enlistment in the military; (2) Create and compile the data collected pursuant to item (1) above in a student horizon database. The database must have the capability to search the data and compare the data to other state universities and vocational schools and must have the capability to correlate a specific degree at a specific state university or vocational school with the related information collected under item (1) above; (3) Publish the student horizon database on the state's website; and (4) Publish the following data annually on the state's website: the top 50 highest starting salary occupations in this state; the top 25 most in-demand jobs in this state and their corresponding starting salaries and education requirements; and the base pay and benefits for enlistment in the military, along with necessary armed services vocational aptitude battery score by military branch and average signing bonus. This bill will take effect on January 1, 2022. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1521, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the collection of data and publication online by THEC permissive rather than mandatory, adds community colleges to the types of higher education institutions for which data may be collected and published under this bill, makes various revisions to the types of data that may be collected as described in (1) of the Bill Summary including removing the provisions relating to military pay and benefits, replaces this bill's requirement that THEC create a student horizon database with authorization for THEC to 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, adds a prohibition against publication of personally identifiable information on any web-based platform made available to the public under this amendment, deletes the publication requirement described in (4) of the Bill Summary, and changes this bill's effective date from January 1, 2022, to July 1, 2022.