Florida Board of Governors

02/13/2013

HIGHLIGHTS: Board of Governors Strategic Committee meeting on online learning

The Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Governors recommends a two-pronged approach for improving Florida's online educational offerings

GAINESVILLE—The Strategic Planning Committee of the Florida Board of Governors on Wednesday offered up a comprehensive plan to better coordinate the online degree offerings across the State University System.

The proposal, which calls for both long- and short-term actions, is the product of more than a year of work with our universities, the State College System, Florida's independent colleges and universities, state leaders and experts in the online learning industry. The Board expressed a willingness to seek funding from the Legislature to support this effort. It includes the following:

• The Board of Governors should use preeminence metrics, approved by the Board for use in university workplans, to determine a university that would offer a new, separate arm of high-quality online degree programs to students in Florida and across the globe. The designated university should also create a research center to develop cutting-edge technology and instructural design of online programs and ensure the success of online students.


• State University System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan should form a systemwide workgroup to continue to determine ways in which universities and other higher education delivery systems can better coordinate online degree offerings now and in the future.

"The world of online higher education is ever-changing, and there are many opportunities for improvement," said John D. Rood, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. "Through this process, we are confident Florida will emerge as as an even stronger national leader in online education—not only for providing high-quality offerings to our students, but for developing best practices that meet the strategic needs of Florida."

The decision followed a presentation by the University of Florida on its online learning strategies. The recommendations will be presented to the full Board of Governors for consideration at its telephonic meeting Feb. 21. The goal is to deliver an online education framework to the Legislature prior to the start of Session in early March.

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 more than 330,000 students, making it the second-largest public university system in the nation. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the system’s coordination and operation. The Board appoints a Chancellor who serves as the system’s chief executive. For more, visit www.flbog.edu.

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