(a) The commission and council jointly shall develop and maintain a higher education facilities information system, except for the exempt schools. The higher education facilities information system shall serve as a vehicle for carrying out the following functions:

(1) Acquisition of statewide data;

(2) Analysis of space use and classification based on nationally recognized standards and measurements to facilitate comparisons among post-secondary education institutions within the state and in the region and nation; and

(3) Other purposes as determined by the commission and council consistent with facilitating policy analysis without burdening or interfering unnecessarily with the governance responsibilities which are placed upon the governing boards.

(b) At a minimum the higher education facilities information system shall serve the following purposes:

(1) Develop and maintain a statewide inventory of higher education facilities, including those acquired by long-term lease, lease-purchase or other arrangement whereby the institution has long-term beneficial use. The inventory shall include, but is not limited to, the institution and campus location of the facility, the construction date, the original cost, square footage, floor plans, type of construction, ownership status, the purposes for which it is used, the current replacement cost and any other data the commission and council consider appropriate, consistent with the provisions of the foregoing subsection (a);

(2) Develop and maintain an inventory of all rooms within each facility, which includes, but is not limited to, the room number, the square footage, room usage, number of student stations and any other data the commission and council consider appropriate, consistent with the provisions of the foregoing subsection (a);

(3) Provide a vehicle for institutions to submit capital appropriation requests to the commission and council;

(4) Provide information on major institutional capital projects, including major maintenance and deferred maintenance projects; and

(5) Provide information on facilities needed to calculate the building renewal formula.

(c) The commission and council shall establish benchmarks for classroom and class laboratory use including an analysis of utilization for the fall and spring semesters of each academic year. The efficient use of classrooms and class laboratories is a factor in determining whether an institution needs additional classroom and laboratory facilities.

(d) Each governing board and any institution under its jurisdiction shall participate and cooperate with the commission and council in all respects in the development and maintenance of the higher education facilities information system.

(e) The higher education facilities information system may be used for other purposes set forth by the commission and council in the rules required by section seventeen of this article, consistent with the provisions of the foregoing subsection (a).