The student tuition recovery authority is created as a body corporate and politic of this state. The purpose of the authority is to protect students of any school registered by the state board of career colleges and schools from prepaid tuition loss for the academic term due to a school closure.

The authority shall consist of five members as follows: the executive director of the state board of career colleges and schools, the executive director of the Ohio association of career colleges and schools, the treasurer of state or the treasurer of state’s designee, the chairperson of the senate committee that primarily deals with education, and the chairperson of the committee of the house of representatives that primarily deals with education. The chairpersons of the legislative committees that primarily deal with education shall be nonvoting ex officio members. Each voting member of the authority, before entering upon the member’s official duties, shall take an oath as provided by Section 7 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution. The authority shall elect one of its voting members as chairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall appoint a secretary-treasurer who need not be a member of the authority.

All meetings of the authority shall be public. All final actions of the authority shall be journalized and such journal and the records of the authority shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times.