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Kelly Layman
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News
11/10/2011
ACTIONS TAKEN: Florida Board of Governors, Nov. 10 In Boca Raton
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—November 10, 2011
“ACTIONS TAKEN”: MEETING OF THE FLORIDA BOARD OF GOVERNORS, NOV. 10
BOCA RATON, Fla.—In regular business, the Florida Board of Governors today took the following actions. This list represents highlights and is not the complete list of business. Please consult the web site www.flbog.edu. for all agenda items and back-up materials.
Unless otherwise indicated, votes below were taken by the full Board based on the earlier work and discussion within standing committees; the committees forward their respective business items to the full Board of Governors agenda for action and any further discussion necessary. The full Board meeting is the concluding meeting of the two days of proceedings.
Board of Governors Elects new Chair, Vice Chair
Governors Dean Colson of Coral Gables and Mori Hosseini of Daytona Beach were nominated and elected to the posts of Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, for the 2012-13 leadership term. There is a separate press release on this item that has been sent. Meanwhile, the terms for four seats on the Board of Governors conclude in January 2012; see www.flbog.edu. under “The Board” for the listing of members and terms. Fourteen of the Board’s 17 members are appointed by the Governor in staggered seven-year terms.
From the Academic and Student Affairs Committee (Chair Ann Duncan)
Voted to approve the Public Notice of Intent to Amend Board of Governors Regulation 6.018: Substitution or Modification of Requirements for Program Admission, Undergraduate Transfer, and for Graduation by Students with Disabilities. This will align existing Board regulation language with changes made by the Legislature in the 2011 Session (s. 1007.264 and 1007.265, Florida Statutes).
Voted to approve the Public Notice of Intent to Amend Board Regulation 8.016, Academic Learning Compacts. These amendments would simply clarify the process related to student learning outcomes assessment. A presentation on the compacts was made in the committee on Wednesday. Several years ago, there were more than 800 compacts for baccalaureate degrees were put in place, to assure student learning and critical thinking skills, among other commitments in the curricula. Each Academic Learning Compact in place at a university is posted on its web site for access by the students and the public. A detailed historical presentation about the success of this initiative – considered a national model – was made by Board staff at the committee-level meeting, and is posted under Wednesday’s materials.
Note: These amended regulations are expected to return to the next full Board meeting in January for final action after the public comment period required in our Board regulations.
From the Strategic Planning Committee (Chair Frank Martin)
Dental Education Proposals: As reported in the media earlier this week, UCF withdrew its proposal on Tuesday. The other proposal on the agenda represents a collaborative partnership between UF and FAMU that would dedicate some of the new student slots at the existing UF dental school for minority students, shepherded by FAMU, who would work in underserved and rural areas in Florida.
Regularly queried documents by the media:
The Florida DOH report presented by DOH at the June meeting of the Board of Governors can be found here: http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/meeting_items.php?id=126&agenda=528
The Senate’s Interim Committee study and report, released this summer and reviewed at the September meeting of the Board of Governors, can be found here:http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/meeting_items.php?id=150&agenda=541
During committee-level discussion of the UF-FAMU proposal, Governor Hosseini made a motion to approve the concept of the collaborative partnership but require additional financial information at the Board of Governors in January. In discussion, Chair Parker asked about the cycles of funding and whether there would be a way to move the partnership forward while the funding over the initial start-up years of expansion might be less recurring dollars in costs to the state. Governor Perez had extensive questions about the per-student costs in the expansion relative to the number of new student slots. The committee vote passed with members voting no. Today, the Board took up the same vote in a motion, and it passed by acclamation.
Voted to approve the “Board of Governors' Strategic Plan Update for the State University System of Florida: 2012-2025.” During the past 18 months, the Strategic Planning Committee has aggressively worked on development and finalizing this document. At its August special workshop and in meetings prior, the committee crafted an updated mission statement and vision statement for the State University System, and identified increased or new goals and performance indicators for the 13-year period. The committee identified three “critical points of emphasis” for the updated Strategic Plan: Excellence, Productivity, and Strategic Priorities for a Knowledge Economy. Targeted 2025 goals have been identified within this framework – and in recognition of the tripartite mission for public universities: Teaching, Research, and Public Service. The Strategic Planning Committee and the Board staff will now develop implementation plans for the new goals and performance indicators; these will augment the existing dashboard performance indicators that are found today in the Board of Governors’ Annual Report as well. See www.flbog.edu. – “Annual Report” link.
“Organizing the System for Success”: As part of the strategic planning process throughout 2011, several Board regulations have been developed or updated. Two votes on final action for two regulations were at this meeting: One is Board Regulation 8.004: Academic Program Coordination. This regulation promotes the collaboration and coordination of program delivery across the State University System. The other regulation is amended Board Regulation 8.009: Educational Sites. The amendments clarify the approval processes for campuses and other educational sites by delineating responsibilities of the Board of Governors and universities’ Boards of Trustees. These two votes fully conclude the work done during 2011 to address a total of three Board regulations; specifically, two were amended from language in the 1970s-80s during the time pre-dating the Board of Governors (operating as the Board of Regents), when the System was much smaller with fewer universities. That language also did not include the university Boards of Trustees – as those bodies were established in the past decade. As Board Chair Parker and Committee Chair Frank Martin have stated in the past, updating these Board regulations has been critical and necessary, in order to ensure that there is no unwarranted duplication in the System – and to demonstrate to the Legislature and other stakeholders that the Board is meeting its constitutional obligations and responsibilities to oversee a coordinated, accountable State University System.
From the Facilities Committee (Chair Dick Beard)
Voted to approve the Higher Education Classroom Utilization Study to send to the Legislature. See agenda item under Facilities Committee and the study report posted. Apart from the existing widespread utilization of classroom facilities on nights and weekends currently at many state universities in the System, the Legislature asked for a more detailed study to further maximize possibilities.
From the Budget & Finance Committee (Chair Tico Perez)
Voted to approve the “2011 New Fees Report to the Legislature.” Florida Statutes require the Board to submit an annual report summarizing fees at the universities. In January there were eight new fee proposals submitted to the Budget and Finance Committee for consideration. Ultimately, the Board of Governors approved four new fees at its March meeting. The report on the web site summarizes the proposals, actions taken on each proposal, and details about the fees approved, including anticipated revenues and expenditures.
Voted to approve the market tuition rate list of proposals. Please consult the “fact sheet” I sent out earlier on this topic. Please note this issue is only for graduate-level online degrees or graduate-level courses offered through continuing education, and has nothing to do with baccalaureate degree programs. The following universities submitted proposals: UCF, FIU, FSU, UF and USF. The market tuition rate proposals are optional and voluntary. The 2010 legislative “governance rewrite” directed the Board of Governors to evaluate market tuition rate concepts nationally, and implement a Board regulation framework, should universities voluntarily pursue the market tuition rate for certain programs. The Board is in its second cycle/second year of a three-year pilot program. Some universities in the System are not pursuing market tuition rate programs.
Regarding student fees that universities may propose or propose to increase for FY 12-13: Any such proposal must be first heard and approved at the university Board of Trustees level, then submitted to the Board of Governors. Universities have a deadline of Jan. 16 to send formal proposals to the Board of Governors. The Budget & Finance Committee will have a meeting, to be announced, in February for a separate hearing on the proposed fees. Any new fees would not be implemented until Fall 2012 term. The Budget and Finance Committee in the past has rejected some fee proposals and sent them to the full Board with a recommendation against approving.
Higher Education Strategies Ad Hoc Workgroup (UNF President John Delaney, Workgroup Chair)
A presentation was made on some of the national trends in higher education, an ad hoc workgroup formed after the September Board meeting. The presentation was added this morning to the web site agenda materials. Further discussions will be had in the Strategic Planning Committee on how these items may interface and support the Board of Governors’ existing 2012 legislative policy agenda, the existing Legislative Budget Request, and the just-completed Strategic Plan update (2012-2025) that had final approval at this Board meeting. (More regarding the Strategic Plan update is below.)
Board of Governors Foundation, Inc.
The Board gaveled in as the Board of Governors Foundation, Inc., in order to discuss and approve a few items. The annual report of the Foundation stated that more than $600,000 has been distributed through several endowment scholarship funds for which the Board of Governors distributes scholarship and financial aid monies to the 11 institutions. The Foundation budget was approved, and the new Chair and Vice Chair of the Foundation will be Governors Dean Colson and Mori Hosseini, respectively.
Previous editions of “Actions Taken” from the past year of Board meetings are all on the web site, along with other resources, at www.flbog.edu/pressroom for your reference at any time.
