(a) In this section:
(1) “Board” means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or its successor agency.
(2) “Student government” means the representative student organization directly elected by the student body of an institution of higher education.
(b) A student representative shall be appointed to the board. The student representative is not a state officer. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the appointment of a student representative to the board shall be made in the same manner as a student regent is appointed under § 51.355(c). The student representative to the board serves a term that is the same as the term of a student regent appointed under § 51.355.

(c) The board shall develop a uniform application form to be used by each institution of higher education to solicit applicants for the position of student representative to the board.
(d) For an institution of higher education that is not part of a university system, the president of the institution, from among the applicants selected as the student government’s recommendations for the position of student representative to the board, shall select two or more applicants as the institution’s recommendations for the position and send the applications of those applicants to the governor in accordance with the deadline established under § 51.355(c) for a chancellor to send applications to the governor for a student regent.
(e) A student representative to the board must meet the minimum requirements prescribed by § 51.355(d) for a student regent, as those requirements apply to an institution of higher education.
(f) The student representative has the same powers and duties as the members of the board, including the right to attend and participate in meetings of the board, except that the student representative:
(1) may not vote on any matter before the board or make or second any motion before the board; and
(2) is not counted in determining whether a quorum exists for a meeting of the board or in determining the outcome of any vote of the board.
(g) The student representative serves without pay but shall be reimbursed for the actual expenses incurred by the student representative in attending the meetings of the board or in attending to other work of the board when that work is approved by the chairman of the board.
(h) The student government of the institution of higher education at which a current student representative was enrolled at the time of the student representative’s appointment may not solicit applicants for the position of student representative for the next regular term of the position.
(i) A vacancy in the position of student representative shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment by the governor.