Valencia College prides itself on the quality of education programs, the professionalism and experience of the staff, the enthusiasm of the students, and the support they get from the community and parents in multitudes. Ranked among the best schools in Florida, Valencia College continues to offer the quality that you would expect from a great school.
Explore key information about Valencia College including; tuition, scholarships, and other interesting things about the college in our review.
What Is Valencia College?
Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It was established in 1967 as Valencia Junior College but then took the name of Valencia Community College in 1971. In the fall of 2010, it gained its current name “Valencia College” after Valencia’s Board of Trustees voted for a name change.
Valencia College is part of the Florida College System and has several campus locations in Orlando with additional campus locations in Winter Park and Kissimmee.
These include; West Campus, East Campus, Winter Park Campus, Poinciana Campus, Osceola Campus, Lake Nona Campus, and School of Public Safety.
Why Would I Want To Study At Valencia College?
Valencia College is one of the best colleges in Florida and was the inaugural winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (2011-2012).
It has one of the highest graduation rates in Florida and is an innovative leader in higher education with a reputation for student success. You will get quality education at an affordable price and in smaller class sizes compared to other public schools with student support along the way.
With carefully developed degree programs, continuing education courses, and accelerated skills training, Valencia College is helping to transform Central Florida into an engine of economic opportunity for its residents.
What Is It Like Studying At Valencia College?
Valencia College’s vision is to be a premier learning college that transforms lives, strengthens community, and inspires individuals to excellence.
Through providing opportunities for academic, technical, and life-long learning in a collaborative culture dedicated to inquiry, results, and excellence, Valencia Community College has managed to emerge throughout the last decade as a top school in rankings.
You should look forward to building learning relations and appreciating the dimensions it adds to your quality of life through its diversity. The caring, inclusive and safe environment will inspire you to achieve their goals, share their success, and encourage others.
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How Do I Get Admissions Into Valencia College?
Valencia College has all the tools you need to pursue your career and goal. You can pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree, take accelerated training in as little as six weeks for certification in in-demand skilled jobs, earn Continuing Education credits for career advancement or enter the Public Safety, Corrections, or Fire Academy programs to pursue a career in law enforcement or firefighting.
Applying to the program of your choice is easy. Once you identify the program you want to enroll for, visit Valencia College’s website and apply through the link.
The main application is for both degree and non-degree-seeking students. Use this application if you are pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree, technical certification, or advanced technical certification (ATC) and any non-degree option such as transient, personal interest, education programs, or job improvement.
You will be admitted as a degree-seeking student if you have a standard high school diploma or a state-issued General Education Development (GED). You must also possess an admissions application and an official academic transcript in the admissions and records office.
If you don’t have the GED, you could be admitted as a non-degree-seeking student. Dual Enrolment students must also apply to Valencia College through this main application.
How Can I Register At Valencia College?
Firstly, you must have an Atlas account if you are registering for online classes but those who don’t have access to a computer may register using any of the Atlas Access Labs.
It is important that you register with Atlas, it provides you with current class listings and a Registration Planner to help you create a class schedule with the courses you need.
Please take note that students with holds will not be eligible for the application.
Carefully read through the following registration options prior to registering for your area of interest;
Step by step guideline for Atlas registration:
You are required to log in to your Atlas account or you can sign up for those without an Atlas account and then follow these steps once you’ve logged in;
- Click on courses tab, inside the Registration channel-click on registration, click on the register for classes and then tap on registration term and finally, “click, submit”.
- After this, click on the Registration Planner to select your classes and create a class schedule and then send the created schedule to your Registration Cart.
- In your Registration Cart, click on Register and you are done.
If this is your first registration attempt for a semester, you will have to update your Valencia Alerts and submit your Student Enrollment Agreement before you can complete registration, then return to your Registration Cart to complete registration once you’ve submitted the Student Enrolment Agreement.
Lastly, you need to visit your Student Detail Schedule to confirm that you have been successfully registered into all of your classes.
Other forms of registration you may want to consider include the following;
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Assisted Registration
This is done aided by a Student Services Specialist in the Answer Center. Unless you are; senior citizens, students who wish to audit a course, internship & Workforce Services students, and students who received a registration override and want to be added to a waitlist, you must register for courses via Atlas account.
Registration in Online Classes
Only students residing outside of California are to register for online classes due to the state rules and these must provide a mailing address because without it, you will be removed from any online classes where you are registered.
Senior Citizen Registration
This category of students will follow the protocol below for their registration;
You must; be a Florida Resident by filling the Statement of Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes form, registering for classes on the initial day of registration, obtaining a Senior Citizen Waiver Form from the Business Office or the Answer Center and completing it, then presenting it to the Business Office after registering for your classes.
Dual Enrolment Registration
This is available for high school students who have been approved to take courses at Valencia College that will count toward high school completion. These may register for classes online via their Atlas account.
Transient Student Registration
Transient students have currently enrolled college students who register for courses at another institution on a temporary basis and these must receive approval from their home institution in order to take courses at another institution.
Students whose home institution is in Florida must complete a Transient Student Admission Application on https://www.floridashines.org/. Students whose home institution is in another state or who are attending a Florida private institution that does not utilize floridashines.org should contact their home institution for permission to attend Valencia College.
After you have been approved, you are required to create your Atlas account and then register for your classes via the account.
Students with Disabilities Registration
Students in this category are encouraged to request accommodations from the Office for Students with Disabilities at least four weeks before the first day of classes since the college cannot guarantee that accommodations will be available on the first day of classes for those students who choose to request services later than four weeks prior to the first day of classes.
However, students have the right to self-identify and request accommodations at any time during their enrolment at Valencia College. At Valencia College, all students can access their services despite their physical limitations.
How Much Tuition Does Valencia College Charge?
While there’s no application fee for Valencia College Bachelor’s Degree programs, students applying for other programs may be charged an application fee.
Students who apply for associate’s level credit courses will be required to pay $35 as an application fee that is non-refundable. All students in this category have to pay this application fee whether they are part-time, full-time, audit, etc.
If you are seeking readmission “2 years later”, you will have to pay the same fee.
There are some programs where you are required to pay extra in addition to the general Valencia application fee i.e.
For any applications, students enrolling in health sciences programs will pay $15 extra, and those enrolling in a Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) or a Fire Rescue Institute program are required to pay a $100 non-refundable application fee per program.
Below is the tuition structure for Valencia College.
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Registration Fees for Associate Level Courses:
Fees for a Florida Resident
- Tuition- $82.66
- Technology-$3.83
- Financial Aid Fee-$3.83
- Student Activity Fee-$7.07
- Capital Improvement Fee-$5.67
- Total-$103.06
Fees for Non-Florida Resident
- Tuition-$330.53
- Technology-$15.34
- Financial Aid Fee-$15.34
- Student Activity Fee-$7.07
- Capital Improvement Fee-$22.68
- Total-$390.96
Registration Fees for Bachelor Level Courses:
Non-Florida Resident
- Tuition-$367.16
- Technology-$15.34
- Financial Aid Fee-$15.34
- Student Activity Fee-$7.07
- Capital Improvement Fee-$22.68
- Total-$427.59
Fees for Florida Resident
- Tuition-$91.79
- Technology-$3.83
- Financial Aid Fee-$3.83
- Student Activity Fee-$7.07
- Capital Improvement Fee-$5.67
- Total-$112.19
What Are The Valencia College Rankings?
Valencia College is one of the nation’s largest and most recognized public schools in Florida. Valencia Community College was named one of the top 50 community colleges in the United States twice according to Washington monthly’s 2013 college Guide and Rankings.
It was one of the five Florida state schools in the rankings. It also topped in several categories as follows; as 2nd in the number of one-year certificates awarded, 4th in the number of associate degrees awarded, 5th in the number of associate degrees awarded to Hispanic students, 7th in the number of associate degrees awarded to African-American students, and 17th in the nation for the number of degrees awarded to Hispanic college students.
In 2011-12, Valencia College won the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Exchange and was named top community college in the nation.
Can I Get Scholarships?
Most scholarships are awarded based on financial need while some could be awarded based on other factors like; academic performance, sport, and talent, etc. The scholarship requirements and application procedures vary depending on the scholarship provider’s criteria.
Scholarships in Valencia College’s available include;
Seneff Honors College Scholarships
It is available for students seeking an honors graduation distinction. The scholarship eligibility criteria are provided at the time of admittance. In these criteria, you must apply to Valencia Community College and be accepted into the Bridges to Success program,
You should set up your Atlas account as well, and all recipients of the scholarship are required to submit a FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so that processed results are available prior to the term.
Recipients must meet Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid purposes. You should be seeking an Associate’s Degree and must be accepted by the Seneff Honors College Track.
Dual-enrolled students on other scholarships are not eligible for this scholarship.
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Performing arts scholarships
It is available to all students that participate in art activities including; art, music, dance, and drama. The selection recommendations for the scholarship will be available in the Financial Aids Services.
And the recipients must complete the FAFSA form before they receive funding.
Florida Bright Scholarship Program
It is awarded to all Florida students who score highly in academics. The awards are issued by the state of Florida to the students who qualify. The applications and eligibility criteria is available on the Florida Department of Education web. For other scholarships offered by the Florida Department of Education, you can visit their website.
Bridges to Success scholarship
This is offered to students who participate in the Bridges to Success program and these must; complete a FAFSA form, meet Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial recipients, and should be students seeking an A. A or A.S. degree program.
The Mayor Richard T. Crotty Transfer Scholarship
This scholarship is funded by the Alumni Associations of Valencia College and the University of Central Florida. It is available to students in February each year and these students must have graduated in the same year of that scholarship. Two students are given the aid of $5000 each year to pursue a Bachelors’s Degree at the University of Central Florida.
Valencia Foundations Scholarships
This offers privately funded scholarships to help students pursue their careers. This scholarship can be accessed on the Atlas portal. You just have to click on the Students tab and then select Applications under Students forms.
What Are The Requirements Of Enrolling Into Valencia College?
For Degree-Seeking Students:
The following is required of a degree-seeking student to be admitted at Valencia College;
You must;
- Have adequate knowledge of the English language to study at Valencia College and the English language proficiency will be tested at entry.
- Have a Certificate of Completion from a Florida public high school which shows that you took college preparatory curriculum though you never completed all portions of the FCAT.
- Attended secondary school outside of the U.S. and attained a level of education equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma.
- Have official secondary school records, such as transcripts, diplomas and/or standardized exam results and these must be submitted in English or accompanied with an official English translation.
- Own a “Notice of Intent” – The official letter on letterhead received by the parent or guardian from the school district acknowledging receipt of notification to withdraw the student from school to be home schooled.
- Must have completed the GED through a state department of education, you should also be issued a high school equivalency diploma and must submit an official state-issued score report.
- Have attended an institution of higher education outside of the United States, its territories or commonwealths and you must obtain a “course by course” evaluation of your transcripts from a professional credential evaluation company at your expense. Transcripts which are issued by foreign institutions recognized by U.S. regional accreditation bodies do not need to be evaluated by an outside agency.
- Finally, being on academic suspension from another college or university doesn’t mean you won’t be admitted.
For Non-Degree-Seeking Students:
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One that seeks admission;
- Is one enrolling at Valencia College for personal interest, job improvement, teacher recertification, an applied technology diploma or a certificate program.
- Must be a Dual Enrolment student. Dual Enrollment is the opportunity for qualified students in grades 6-12 to enroll in Valencia College courses while concurrently enrolled in grades 6-12.
- Must present college placement test scores (ACT, PERT or SAT) in English, reading, and mathematics. All scores must be at college level to be admitted to the Dual Enrollment Program.
- And wishes to continue at Valencia College as a degree-seeking student, you must submit a Change of Program/Major form found in your Atlas account.
- Must prove Florida residency for tuition purposes via the Residency Statement and submit a FASFA for Financial Aid
- Must present a Certificate of Completion from a high school in Florida. You will be admitted as a non-degree-seeking Provisional Student but your enrolment will be limited to developmental courses and other selected courses;
Frequently Asked Questions
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Conclusion
Having read this article, we are certain that you would not want to kill this great opportunity to study with the best. We are hopeful that this article has given you complete confidence in Valencia College leaving no doubts of giving it a thought and complete guidance on everything you wanted to know about the school.
You can share your comments below on what you think about Valencia College, we love reading them.
References
- Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/
- Valencia College: https://valenciacollege.edu/
- Courses: https://courses.flvc.org
