Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It was founded in 1967 as Valencia Junior College, taking the name Valencia Community College in 1971. In December 2010, Valencia's Board of Trustees voted to change the name to Valencia College because the academic scope of the school had expanded to include bachelor's degrees. Valencia has several campus locations in Orlando with additional campus locations in Winter Park and Kissimmee.
Seal
The official seal of the college includes the coat of arms of Valencia, Spain, in the middle and the entire diamond design stems from it. However, the college is not named for the city in Spain, but rather for the Valencia oranges which used to be prevalent in Central Florida.
Student profile
College-wide Headcount was 68,351 for 2015. 51.6% AA 48.6% AS/AAS/Certificate Race/Ethnicity Diversity Enrollment: 17.9% African American, 4.9% Asian/Pacific Islander, 32.5% Caucasian, 32.5% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 11.5% Other
Locations
Valencia College operates a total of eight campuses and three sites in its service area, which encompasses Orange County and Osceola County.
Downtown Campus - A state of the art campus inaugurated over Fall 2019. The only Valencia Campus that currently offers student housing, and is also shared with UCF.
West Campus - Which houses High-tech programs like engineering, architecture, math, and health sciences.
The average class size is around 23 students. A longstanding partnership between Valencia College and the University of Central Florida has contributed to Valencia's transfer rate, considered to be the highest in the country. The DirectConnect to UCF program guarantees Valencia graduates acceptance and streamlined admission to the University of Central Florida. Since the program's inception in 2006, approximately 45,000 students have indicated that they are DirectConnect students.
School of Public Safety
The Valencia College School of Public Safety houses three major program areas: Criminal Justice, Fire Rescue and Safety and Security. Valencia College will train the next generation of public safety professionals using state-of-the-art technology and the latest in simulation training. Programs for firefighters, law enforcement, corrections, security officers and homeland security elevate and unify training standards across all divisions of public safety. This interdisciplinary approach promotes cross-sector training and collaboration between public safety agencies that help make our communities safer—both in times of crisis and in maintaining the peace.
The Criminal Justice Institute occupies a state-of-the-art criminal justice training facility. The CJI is certified and approved by Florida Department of Law Enforcement to operate law enforcement and corrections academies, advanced courses and specialized training. Valencia is one of 4 colleges in Florida that trains Department of Juvenile Justice recruit officers.
The Fire Rescue Institute provides career pathways to meet the needs of the fire service community in Central Florida and prepares all levels of fire service professionals, including the fire fighter, fire officer, fire inspector, fire investigator and fire instructor.
The Safety and Security Institute is still in development. The Safety and Security Institute will build upon programming already being offered by Valencia College and the School of Public Safety to provide professional and leadership training for private security officers and managers, as well as homeland security specialists. The Safety and Security Institute will be the first of its kind to provide standardized training and certifications to the security professionals working within Central Florida's many airports, hotels, theme parks and attractions.
Valencia Continuing Education and Professional Training
Valencia Continuing Education and Professional Training is located at West Campus. Valencia's continuing education, training and professional development division of Valencia College serves businesses, government agencies, individuals and organizations of all sizes, across every industry throughout the Central Florida community. Valencia International and Continuing Education is located alongside the continuing education and professional training division at West Campus. Valencia's International and Continuing Education division offers conversational English and Spanish courses, cultural diversity workshops, American sign language and corporate training programs to prepare students for entry into a college degree program.
