The Board of Governors works with both the Articulation Coordinating Committee and the Florida Talent Development Council.

• Articulation Coordinating Committee. The Articulation Coordinating Committee is a K-20 advisory body intended to collaboratively establish and adopt policies with the Board of Governors. The committee makes recommendations related to statewide articulation polices and issues regarding access, quality, and reporting of data maintained by the K-20 Data Warehouse to the Board of Governors. The committee consists of two members each representing the State University System, the Florida College System, public career and technical education, K-12 education, and nonpublic postsecondary education, and one member representing students. The chair is elected from the membership.  
• Florida Talent Development Council. The purpose of the council is to develop a coordinated, data-driven statewide approach to meeting Florida’s needs for a 21st century workforce that employers and educators use as part of Florida’s talent supply system. Membership of the council is established in Florida statute and includes one member of the Board of Governors.

The Board uses the Performance Based Funding model to allocate funds based on 10 metrics that evaluate the institutions on a range of issues. These metrics were chosen after reviewing over 40 metrics identified in the Accountability Plans.

 The model has four guiding principles.

1. Use metrics that align with State University System Strategic Plan goals.
2. Reward Excellence (achieving SUS goals) or Improvement (making progress towards SUS goals).
3. Have a few clear, simple metrics.
4. Acknowledge the unique mission of the different institutions.

The model has four key components.

1. Institutions will be evaluated on either Excellence or Improvement for each metric.
2. Data is based on one-year data.
3. The benchmarks for Excellence were based on the Board of Governors 2025 System Strategic Plan goals and analysis of relevant data trends, whereas the benchmarks for Improvement were determined after reviewing data trends for each metric.
4. The Florida Legislature and Governor determine the amount of new state funding and an amount of institutional funding that would come from each university’s recurring state base appropriation.

The first nine metrics in the model are as follows.

1. Percent of Bachelor's Graduates Employed (Earning $40,000+) or Continuing Their Education
2. Median Wages of Bachelor’s Graduates Employed Full-time
3. Average Cost to the Student (Net Tuition per 120 Credit Hours)
4. Four Year Graduation Rate (Full-time students in college for the first time)
5. Academic Progress Rate (2nd Year Retention with GPA Above 2.0)
6. Bachelor's Degrees Awarded in Programs of Strategic Emphasis
7. University Access Rate (Percent of Undergraduates with a Pell Grant)
8. New College and Florida Polytechnic University only: Percentage of newly admitted FTICs with high school GPS of a 4.0 or higher; All other universities: Graduate Degrees Awarded in Areas of Strategic Emphasis
9. Three-Year Graduation Rate for FCS Associate in Arts Transfer Students plus either Academic Progress Rate for 2nd Year Retention for FTIC (first time in college students) with a Pell Grant (Florida Polytechnic University only) or Six-Year Graduation Rate for Students Who Are Awarded a Pell Grant in Their First Year (all other universities)

For the tenth metric, the Board of Trustees of each university chooses a metric from the remaining metrics in the Accountability Plans that are applicable to the mission of that university.

The amount of the state investment appropriated by the Legislature and Governor for performance funding will be matched by an amount reallocated from the university system base budget. These institutional base funds are the cumulative recurring state appropriations that the Legislature has appropriated to each institution.

Each university metric is evaluated based on Excellence or Improvement and has ten benchmarks ranging from low to high. The lowest benchmark receives one point, while the highest receives ten points. On a 100-point scale, a threshold of 60 points is established as the minimum number of total points needed to be eligible for the institutional investment. Any institution that fails to meet the minimum point threshold for the institutional investment must submit an improvement plan to the Board.

Institutions with the top three scores are eligible for their proportional amount of the state’s investment. All State University System institutions with a score the same or higher as the previous year are eligible for their proportional amount of the state’s investment. Any institution with a score less than the previous year but whose previous year’s score was the same as the year before or higher is eligible for its proportional amount of the state’s investment. Any institution with a score the same or lower than the previous year’s score for two consecutive years must submit a student success plan to the Board.

The 2013 Legislature established the Preeminent State Research Universities program. The Board of Governors designates each state university that annually meets at least 12 of the 13 academic and research excellence standards identified in s. 1001.7065, Florida Statutes, as a Preeminent State Research University.

A university that meets at least 12 of the 13 standards must submit a five-year benchmark plan with target rankings on key performance metrics for national excellence to the Board of Governors. Once approved, the Board of Governors awards the university an amount specified in the General Appropriations Act.

Florida State University, the University of Florida, and the University of South Florida have been designated Preeminent State Research Universities.

The Board of Governors provides additional information on the Preeminent State Research Universities program in the System Accountability Plan.

In 2016, Ch. 2016-237, Laws of Florida, amended s. 1001.7065, Florida Statutes, to create the designation of an Emerging Preeminent Research University, which applies to state universities meeting at least 7 but fewer than 12 of the 13 academic and research excellence standards identified in law. Emerging Preeminent Universities must also submit a five-year plan with target rankings on key performance metrics for national excellence to the Board of Governors.

The University of Central Florida and Florida International University have been designated as Emerging Preeminent Research Universities.

The State Universities of Distinction applies to all SUS institutions that have not yet attained the standards for Preeminence, including Emerging Preeminent Research Universities.

The State Universities of Distinction program is intended to recognize and invest in universities that can attain national excellence in a core competency. The program is also intended to meet state workforce needs now and into the future and foster an innovation economy that focuses on areas such as health, security, and STEM.

Each State University of Distinction must submit to the Board of Governors a proposal identifying the program that is a core competency capable of reaching national or state excellence. As part of the proposal, each institution is required to identify metrics for measuring success. At least one metric must demonstrate a year-one accomplishment or success; at least two metrics must demonstrate a return on investment to the state; and metrics should demonstrate how the program has improved over time as a result of program funding. Upon review of these proposals, the Board of Governors may recommend additional metrics to measure success and progress.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida Polytechnic University, New College of Florida, and University of Central Florida have been designated Universities of Distinction.

Higher Education Changes. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-82, Laws of Florida, which changes post-tenure review, increases preeminent state research university designation requirements, and updates universities' hiring processes by

• requiring a Board of Governors regulation to include a post-tenure review of state university faculty every five years;
• requiring the Board of Governors Accountability Plan to annually report certain research expenditures of $50 million or more; 
• revising the number of standards an institution must meet to receive a designation as preeminent state research university from 11 to 12, and from 6 to 7 for emerging preeminent state research university; 
• providing that each state university president is responsible for hiring the provost, the deans, and full-time faculty; and
• requiring each state university board of trustees to have review procedures for the president’s selection and reappointment of certain faculty.

Other Reports
Board of Governors - Office of Inspector General's Internal Audit Activity - For the Review Period July 2018 Through June 2019, Auditor General Report 2020-032, September 2019
The Auditor General reports on university operations are available on its website
Expenditure Analysis Reports, State University System
Operating Budget Reports, State University System

Websites of Interest
State University System, Accountability Plans
State University System, University Fact Books
State University System, Interactive University Data
State University System, Strategic Plan (Amended October 2019)

Performance Information
Performance measures and standards for universities may be found in the Board of Governors' strategic plan and accountability reports

Florida Board of Governors, State University System, 850-245-0466
Website