6
Contact
|
In the News...
April 7, 2006
LAKE-SUMTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE JOINS NEW CONSORTIUM TO EXPAND ITS GRADUATES'
ACCESS TO UCF PROGRAMS
LEESBURG (April 5, 2006) - Lake-Sumter Community College President Charles
Mojock, along with the presidents of the University of Central Florida and
Seminole, Valencia and Brevard community colleges were the featured speakers
during the Trustees Luncheon of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce on
April 4. The panel of presidents discussed the new Central Florida Higher
Education Consortium and how it could provide an innovative solution to
accommodate the ever-increasing demand for education.
Joint-use facilities, between the community colleges and UCF, are a big part of
the Consortiums goals. LSCC dedicated its 60,000 sq. ft. Higher Education
Facility, a shared project with UCF, on its South Lake Campus in March of 2002.
BCC has 265,689 sq. ft. dedicated to its UCF partnership, while VCC and SCC have
plans to construct comparable operations. Such facilities not only allow the
sharing of classrooms, offices, and even faculty and staff, but also enhance
student services to provide a seamless transition from a community college to a
university.
UCF now offers more than 35 programs at its regional campuses, but that number
could double in the next ten years with the addition and expansion of joint-use
facilities. This would give community college students more choices of
bachelor's degree programs in their home counties, allowing them to stay close
to families or jobs while continuing their studies. Lake and Sumter are among
the fastest growing counties in the U.S., yet there is no university in our
district to provide access to four-year degrees for our LSCC students, many of
whom are place bound, said President Mojock. That is why our joint-use
facility with UCF is so important. Many of the new programs added at regional
sites will be in engineering, business, health and nursing, criminology, liberal
studies, education and digital media.
The forming of this Consortium will not only strengthen community college/UCF
partnerships in academic programs, but also in advising and financial aid,
guarantying graduates of the participating community colleges admission to UCF.
Though several bachelors degree programs are offered on LSCCs South Lake
Campus, Mojock was quick to add, Our students also need access to the great
variety of specialized programs available only at the UCF Orlando Campus. We
need to act now to ensure they do not get squeezed out due to the increased
demand for higher education.
Last year, the Consortium's community colleges awarded more than 7,600 associate
degrees. About three-fourths of their graduates, who transferred to Florida
public universities, now attend UCF. In 2005, UCF awarded 2,290 bachelor's
degrees to students who graduated from the same community colleges. If the
Central Florida Higher Education Consortium achieves its goals, by 2015, more
than 4,000 graduates a year from LSCC and the other Consortium community
colleges could receive UCF bachelor's degrees.
|
