Hosseini: Florida Higher Education on Right Track

As chair of the State University System’s governing body, one great privilege is the opportunity to regularly visit our 12 universities and learn about their distinct approaches and missions.
New College of Florida in Sarasota focuses on liberal arts, Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in Miami emphasize global diversity. The list extends across our universities to hundreds of academic specialties and disciplines.
The campuses are diverse, but each university visit reveals something remarkable: the common talent, imagination and optimism of our students.
The students are the inspiration for the members of the Board of Governors and the many hard-working presidents, administrators and faculty at our institutions. They are the reason I so frequently ask myself: Are we doing everything possible to ensure a high-quality educational experience? And are we adequately preparing students for today’s fast-changing workforce?
In January of 2014, when I accepted my role as chair, I delivered a speech outlining my vision for our universities. I discussed three areas of focus: academic quality, university funding, and synergy — a spirit of partnership and cooperation between all university stakeholders. A year later, I’m proud of our progress but prouder still of the foundation we have laid to achieve the goals that are still in front of us.
Last year, the Board of Governors, in partnership with the Governor and the Legislature, launched a new performance funding model that brought an additional $135 million into the system, which was allocated based on university excellence or improvement. The model ensures that the right incentives and resources are in place so universities are compelled to raise the bar on 10 key metrics that are important to students, families and taxpayers, from graduation and retention rates to post-graduation success.