(a)
(1) The boards of trustees of the state-supported senior colleges and universities and the community colleges which presently exist and those which will be established are authorized to cooperate or enter into contracts with the Southern Regional Education Board in order that students from states comprising the Southern Regional Education Board area may attend Arkansas state-supported institutions through the Academic Common Market while paying the same level of student fees as an Arkansas resident.
(2) Participation shall be authorized only after the program of the Arkansas institution is classified as an uncommon program of the region by the Southern Regional Education Board staff and final approval is granted by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(b) The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board is authorized to cooperate, or enter into contracts, with the Southern Regional Education Board or institutions of higher education in order that Arkansas residents shall participate in uncommon programs in other states of the Southern Regional Education Board area through the Academic Common Market.
(c) The Division of Higher Education staff, at the direction of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, is empowered to conduct necessary administrative duties in connection with this program.