An essential component of the Board of Governors’ 2025 Strategic Plan is the Programs of Strategic Emphasis list. Programs of Strategic Emphasis are one of several tools for aligning the degree production goals of the State University System with the economic and workforce needs of Florida and are also included in the Performance Based Funding Model. The list helps to provide highly qualified talent to support Florida’s most critical workforce shortages, and it is a valuable resource to help students select a major that will ensure a positive return on investment for the time and money spent to earn a degree.
In 2021 and 2022, the legislature amended section 1001.706, Florida Statutes, requiring that the Programs of Strategic Emphasis list be reviewed every three years, use specific data sources, and follow a methodology similar to the one used by the Credentials Review Committee. In conjunction with the statutory requirements, the Board determined that a precision-targeted and workforce data-driven list would be most appropriate for the latest iteration. Board staff developed an updated methodology to better address Florida’s workforce needs, incorporating feedback from key stakeholders, which included staff from State University System institutions, the Governor’s REACH Office, the Florida Legislature, the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Council of 100, and CareerSource Florida. The updated methodology considers the supply of graduates across all Florida education sectors and matches it to projected labor market demand and wage information across all occupations in Florida.
This webpage provides both up-to-date and historical information on degree programs associated with the Programs of Strategic Emphasis. The Board of Governors is now on its seventh iteration of this exercise, with each yielding programs for the System upon which to strategically focus resources. The latest methodology and list was approved by the Board of Governors on November 9, 2023, and goes into effect for the 2024-25 academic year.
New Programs of Strategic Emphasis (PSE) (effective 2024-25 academic year):
- New PSE list, approved by the BOG at its November 2023 meeting (PDF)
- New PSE list, approved by the BOG at its November 2023 meeting (XLSX)
- New PSE methodology, approved by the BOG at its November 2023 meeting
Current Programs of Strategic Emphasis (PSE) (effective 2020-21 academic year through 2023-24 academic year):
- Current PSE list, approved by the BOG at its September 2020 meeting (PDF)
- Current PSE list, approved by the BOG at its September 2020 meeting (XLSX)
- Current CIP 2020 PSE methodology, approved by the BOG at its September 2020 meeting
- Current PSE methodology, approved by the BOG at its October 2019 meeting
- Current Gap Analysis methodology, approved by the BOG at its October 2019 meeting
- SUS Academic Program Inventory