USF System Overview
The University of South Florida System is a young and emerging system that currently includes four institutions: USF Tampa; USF St. Petersburg; USF Sarasota-Manatee; and USF Polytechnic. The first three institutions are separately accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All four institutions have distinct missions and their own detailed strategic plans. USF includes the main campus in Tampa, its College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg, and USF Health. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.
The USF System was formed to bring these four institutions together, so that collectively and collaboratively they could serve the region and beyond in optimal ways, resulting in a stronger presence and a distinctiveness that provides an unstoppable competitive differentiation. In addition to having a strong and unified voice for higher education, the USF System seeks to find and capitalize on synergies and economies of scale among its institutions that are of benefit to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and communities.
The USF System operates within the USF Board of Trustees governance structure. The USF BOT appoints the USF System President, the Chief Executive Officer, who in turn appoints the Regional Chancellors of the member institutions. The President and other System Officers are advised by four USF System Advisory Councils and the USF System Faculty Council, the principal, representative faculty governance body for the System.
On November 9, 2011, the Florida Board of Governors set the USF Polytechnic on a path to independence. The Board established a set of benchmarks which, when met to the satisfaction of the Board, will result in the creation of USF Polytechnic as a freestanding institution within the State University System of Florida. A record of progress towards achievement of the benchmarks is updated regularly at USF Polytechnic: Tracking Progress to the Future.