At its last meeting ahead of the new year, the Florida Board of Governors set several lofty strategic goals.
First, the board wants to see more Florida public universities and colleges improve in the yearly U.S. News & World Report rankings by 2030.
In Central Florida, members of the board want UCF in the top 50 public universities in the rankings, and FAMU in the top 100 public universities by 2030.
Throughout the state, the board also wants Florida to be home to at least one top 10 liberal arts college, and top HBCU, which could be a Central Florida school.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives & Economic Development Emily Sikes said improving Florida school rankings will make it easier to land research collaborations and increase annual giving.
“That means that's two thirds of our system in the top 100. So that's, I think, an incredible goal to have as a board,” said Sikes.
Second, the board wants 78,000 to 80,000 bachelor's degrees awarded yearly, and 32,000 to 34,000 masters degrees awarded yearly by 2030.
Sikes said this will increase the economic impact of graduates.
“Our accountability plans right now show us being flat in the next five years. And I think that’s just conservative projections in the accountability plans. And so we really looked at enrollment growth, university plan enrollment growth around this, looking at what happens if we improve our graduation rates in the next five years,” said Sikes.
Chair Brian Lamb said it only makes sense that the number of degrees awarded should increase by 2030, as the state is the fastest growing in the country.
“We're adding 300- to 350,000 plus people a year. We want to see improved graduation rates. Want to see improved retention rates that all should correlate to, you know, generating more output and outcomes faster. So I would expect enrolled degrees awarded to improve,” said Lamb.
The board is also shooting for a 70% graduation rate by 2030. And for 40 to 60% of undergraduates to complete an internship before they graduate, and 85% of undergraduates to graduate loan free.
Watch the full Florida BOG meeting here.
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