Florida Board of Governors

01/17/2013

HIGHLIGHTS: Meeting of the Florida Board of Governors, January 16-17

Unveiling of the 2011-2012 Annual Accountability Report, another step toward performance-based funding, and other highlights of the Board of Governors’ January meeting.

GAINESVILLE—With several new Board members at the table and a chance to evaluate the progress of the State University System, the meeting of the Florida Board of Governors on Wednesday and Thursday marked a fitting beginning to the new year.

This will be a year of renewed commitment to delivering high-quality higher education, to providing graduates with workforce-ready skills and to ensuring a maximum return on investment through system-wide collaboration. That was the message of Board Chair Dean Colson in his annual State of the System address.

"The bottom line is, we are doing well and we are getting better," Colson said. “We need to continue to collaborate, we need to remain transparent and we must remain affordable. We are fortunate to have a Governor and leaders in the House and Senate who care deeply about what we do. Everyone involved wants to make the State University System the best system of higher education in the country."

Colson highlighted key accomplishments and areas in need of improvement, as detailed in this year’s Annual Accountability Report—approved by the Board at this meeting. The document provides a look at each university’s progress on key metrics, such as graduation rates, time-to-degree and meeting statewide workforce needs. In conjunction with the State University System’s 2025 Strategic Plan and each university’s individual work-plans, it helps ensure the system is meeting its goals in a transparent way.

Identifying those goals and challenges is more important than ever, as the Board of Governors continues to develop a performance-based funding model. It is a priority the Board has been working on for the past several months, with the goal of steering universities toward excellence in an even more accountable way.

The Board's discussion at this meeting centered around proposed metrics to track through the model, which include: the percentage of graduates who get jobs after graduation or continue their education, cost-per-degree, wages of graduates, graduation rates, academic progress rates, degrees awarded in areas of strategic emphasis, university access rate, plus institution-specific metrics to be chosen by the universities and the Board of Governors.

More meeting highlights:

The Board heard up an update from its Strategic Planning Committee on its efforts to better organize and expand the State University System’s online learning offerings. The Board's Strategic Planning committee is working closely with stakeholders in the Legislature and Governor's office and will return to the next meeting with specific proposals for how best to move forward.

The Board awarded four institutions—Florida International University, the University of Central Florida, the University of West Florida and the University of Florida—each with a one-quarter share of $15 million, as part of a performance-funding pilot for information technology programs implemented by the Legislature last session.

Florida A&M University pledged cooperation with the Board on solutions to issues outlined in a Board of Governors inspector general report and Chancellor's Report on additional FAMU investigations. FAMU President Larry Robinson and Chancellor Frank Brogan agreed to report regularly to the Board on issues related to academic affairs, student affairs and administrative oversight.

The Board appointed or reappointed a member to each of the boards of trustees at Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, the University of North Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of West Florida.

Florida State University President Eric Barron gave the Board a report on FSU's digital arts program in West Palm Beach, which recently lost its primary partner, Digital Domain, after the company declared bankruptcy. Board Chair Dean Colson announced he will create a Board select committee to review whether the program should remain in south Florida or transition to FSU's campus in Tallahassee.

For more information, visit www.flbog.edu. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 21, which may be held via conference call or in-person at the University of North Florida.

Facts about the State University System of Florida and Florida Board of Governors
The State University System of Florida is a constitutional body led by the 17-member Board of Governors. The System has 12 universities and a total enrollment of more than 330,000 students, making it the second-largest public university system in the nation (some states have more than one system). The Board was created in 2003 as a result of an amendment to the Florida Constitution (Article IX, Section 7). Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the System’s coordination and operation. Members include 14 who are appointed by the Governor plus a faculty member, a student representative and the Florida Commissioner of Education. The Board appoints a Chancellor who serves as the State University System’s chief executive. For more, including the Board’s Strategic Plan and Annual Accountability Report that reflects key measurements for the System, see www.flbog.edu.

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