BIO

My name is Mariana Dos Santos and I am a junior majoring in International Affairs and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. In the future I plan to go to law school to study international law in hopes of becoming a humanitarian lawyer. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela but live in Miami, Florida.

Understanding the Influence of Governance on Higher Education Performance in Florida

Abstract

This study researches the influence of government in second education institutions in the state of Florida. By using data from the Postsecondary Education Data System, which includes information from the twelve public universities in Florida, this study examines the relationship between institutional performance and governance. Since Florida does not have a specific governance system, but rather a hybrid one, each public university has a unique governance structure which allows us to study their governance process. Additionally, by using Florida as a case study, it allows us to examine how the change in governmental structure in different universities affects the institutions' performance. This paper examines governmental processes and structure in order to see which is more effective in terms of performance. It also discusses which processes are more effective including top down, horizontal, or bottom-up governmental processes. By studying these structures of the government process, we are able to narrow down the efficiency of each structure. This paper is meant to provide theoretical contributions to the field of governmental studies by expanding literature to include the structure and processes of government. It also is meant to discuss government influence in terms of organization and its influence on institutions in the state of Florida.

Keywords: governance, influence, education