(a) The board shall appoint a commissioner of higher education, who shall select and supervise the board’s staff and perform other duties delegated to him by the board. The commissioner shall serve at the pleasure of the board.
(b) The commissioner shall be a person of high professional qualifications having a thorough background by training and experience in the fields of higher education and administration and shall possess such other qualifications as the board may prescribe.

(c) The commissioner shall employ professional and clerical personnel and consultants as necessary to assist the board and the commissioner in performing the duties assigned by this chapter. The number of employees, their compensation and the other expenditures of the board shall be within the limits and in compliance with the appropriation made for those purposes by the legislature and within budgets that shall be approved from time to time by the board.
(d) The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall develop an intraagency career ladder program. The program shall require intraagency postings of all nonentry level positions concurrently with any public posting.
(e) The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall develop a system of annual performance evaluations. All merit pay for board employees must be based on the system established under this subsection.
(f) The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall prepare and maintain a written policy statement that implements a program of equal employment opportunity to ensure that all personnel decisions are made without regard to race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin. The policy statement must include:
(1) personnel policies, including policies relating to recruitment, evaluation, selection, training, and promotion of personnel, that show the intent of the board to avoid the unlawful employment practices described by Chapter 21, Labor Code; and
(2) an analysis of the extent to which the composition of the board’s personnel is in accordance with state and federal law and a description of reasonable methods to achieve compliance with state and federal law.
(g) The policy statement must:
(1) be updated annually;
(2) be reviewed by the state Commission on Human Rights for compliance with Subsection (f)(1); and
(3) be filed with the governor’s office.
(h) The governor’s office shall deliver a biennial report to the legislature based on the information received under Subsection (g) of this section. The report may be made separately or as part of other biennial reports made to the legislature.
(i) The board shall develop and implement policies that clearly define the respective responsibilities of the board and the staff of the board.