FIU again earns highest rank for university performance metric, FGCU again the lowest

Florida International University was the highest performing public university in Florida in 2025 based on the state’s incentivized funding model. 

FIU scored a 96 out of 100 on the performance-based model, which scores on metrics like wages of its graduates, their employment, graduation, and retention rates, and degrees awarded in areas in need.

The school scored a 96 in 2024 and 95 the year before. 

The lowest-scoring school was Florida Gulf Coast University. That school scored a 67, up from 63 a year ago. 

The funding attached to performance was not finalized during the Board of Governors meeting in Boca Raton Wednesday, due to the delayed end of the legislative session. The pot approved by the Legislature provides $350 million to be divided between campuses. 

Last year’s pot contained more than $300 million, with shares ranging from $71 million for the University of Florida to $5.1 million at New College of Florida.

FGCU in September will have to present a student success plan due to it score being below 70. The plan must detail activities taken to improve metrics. This happened last year, too, and makes the school eligible for only 50% of its allocation after it presents the plan. 

FGCU President Aysegul Timur said the school is “laser focused” and she has “a completely new team working on the initiatives.”

Florida Atlantic University is on the “watchlist,” which means its score dropped. 

New College finances

One of the performance-based funding metrics tracks the cost to the student by calculating tuition. 

Board member Eric Silagy suggested updating the metrics, saying some are “layups” and easily attainable. 

Earlier in the meeting, Silagy called for closer attention to how much it costs each university to educate students. 

He has raised concern several times about New College of Florida’s cost to graduate a student. 

According to data the Phoenix received in a public records request from the Board of Governors, based on 2025-2026 estimations, it will cost the institution $555,016 to graduate a student from New College of Florida. The system-wide average is $54,391. The next closest to New College is Florida Polytechnic University at $154,149.

Silagy questioned, without mentioning New College, whether it is justified for the state to pay $450,000 for a student to graduate with a degree that is “arguably lesser of a degree given the status of preeminence” at other universities. 

Since Richard Corcoran started his presidency in 2023, the cost to graduate a student at New College has increased by $165,513, while the system-wide average has increased by $11,656 in the same time, based on the 2025-2026 estimation provided by the BOG. 

The school with the lowest estimated cost-to-the-state per degree in the coming year is University of Central Florida at $31,764. 

New College of Florida has the lowest projected enrollment in the coming year while UCF has the highest.