Florida Board of Governors


The Florida Board of Governors is a 17-member governing board that serves as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida.
After its predecessor, the Florida Board of Regents, was abolished by an act of the Florida Legislature that was signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush in July 2001, United States senator Bob Graham, who objected to the abolition of the statewide higher education body, responded by leading a ballot initiative to restore it. The Board of Governors was established in 2003 after the successful passage of the constitutional amendment heralded by Graham in 2002. A statewide board of education, also appointed by the governor, oversaw kindergarten through higher education, but focused mostly on K-12 education and community colleges. The Board of Governors, as part of the Florida Constitution, cannot be abolished without another constitutional amendment.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, the State University System enrolled roughly 341,000 total students.

Board composition

The Florida Board of Governors has seventeen members, including fourteen voting members appointed by the governor, as well as, the Florida commissioner of education, the chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates, and the president of the Florida Student Association. The board appoints a chancellor, who serves as the system's chief executive.

University campuses

Think Florida

In January 2016, the State University System launched a statewide communications and marketing campaign to build and bolster the state's entrepreneurial climate - Think Florida: A Higher Degree for Business. The campaign's focus is a strong connection between the system's universities and Florida's businesses, with an emphasis on collaboration in the areas of talent, research and partnerships.

Performance-based funding

The Board of Governors unveiled a in 2014 to incentivize universities to improve on key metrics, from graduation rates to post-graduation success.
The model has four guiding principles:
  1. use metrics that align with SUS Strategic Plan goals,
  2. reward excellence or improvement,
  3. have a few clear, simple metrics, and
  4. acknowledge the unique mission of the different institutions.
Key components of the model: