The Florida Board of Governors is scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon, with two significant regulatory changes on the agenda affecting the state’s public university system — one dealing with how baccalaureate degrees are awarded and another reshaping who can enroll in Florida’s most competitive universities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday morning to discuss the findings of “DOGE” audits conducted on public universities.

Offices of diversity, equity and inclusion are closing on college campuses after Senate Bill 266 passed last year. The bill prevents Florida's public colleges and universities from spending any state or federal funding on DEI programs.

Human Rights Watch says China’s government and its supporters have monitored, harassed and intimidated pro-democracy Chinese students living in Australia.

By Jan. 1, the task force reported a total 57,555 deaths. Russian officials ascribe that to different counting methods, saying the task force only includes deaths where COVID-19 was the main cause. December accounted for the highest number of Russian deaths since April — 44,435, according to Rosstat. AdRosstat’s count is much higher than the 77,068 deaths that have been reported by the Russian government’s coronavirus task force so far, including deaths that occurred in January and February. The Kremlin credited the government's response measures for Russia’s low COVID-19 mortality, and experts cited the way Russia counts virus deaths as one of the reasons behind the relatively low reported number of virus deaths.

The 12 state universities continue to work on plans, which they are supposed to present June 23 to the Board of Governors. The plans will flesh out details about issues such as student housing, academics, health protocols and athletics. The universitys draft reopening plan, released on Monday, notes that students and faculty members returning to classrooms will be required to wear face masks. However, Nelson said the school will try to offer tests to people who express concerns about exposure to the virus. And the goal, along those lines, is to accommodate as many fans as our health leadership deems appropriate, Stricklin said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The state university systems Board of Governors on Thursday asked all universities to develop plans for alternatives to in-person summer commencement ceremonies because of the coronavirus pandemic. In-person ceremonies had to be scrapped in the spring because of concerns about spreading the virus. Universities were creative with their spring commencement festivities, and each of them found ways to celebrate their graduates and their achievements. We are confident that the summer graduates will be equally celebrated, the Board of Governor said in a news release. University leaders are then supposed to present those plans to the board on June 23.