Local college enrollment on the rise

Michael Presco is part of an increasing demographic of students that are pushing aside four-year college brochures in favor of spending their first two years at a smaller, local college.

A student at Seminole State College of Florida, Presco is taking advantage of lower tuition costs and being closer to his family's home.

"I have friends who went away to big schools like FSU and LSU," Presco said, "but they had bad time-management skills, failed out and came back here.

"You're actually a person here, not a number, and home is right down the road."

Statistics show that cost is the No. 1 reason students choose to attend two-year colleges. However there are equally compelling reasons such as smaller class size, one-on-one time with professors, the ability to get classes at desired times, and the convenience of being close to home.

Seminole State College and Valencia Community College are both seeing a steady increase in enrollments, according to school officials.

Seminole State College of Florida

Formerly known as Seminole Community College, SSC boasts a 32 percent increase in new student enrollment this spring, said Pamela Mennechey, director of Admissions and Recruiting for SSC.

With 65 pre-major choices and its first baccalaureate class in Interior Design, SSC has experienced eight straight quarters of double digit enrollment increases at its four sites.

Osteen resident Melissa Bernosky began her college experience at SSC's Heathrow campus in January. She graduated from Pine Ridge High School last year then took a semester off to analyze her options.

Bernosky plans to study nursing at the University of Central Florida, is majoring in respiratory care at Seminole State College and attends classes at the Heathrow and Lake Mary/Sanford campus.

"It's a totally different environment than high school — you make your own decisions," Bernosky said.

Standing out at the SSC Lake Mary/Sanford campus is the new four-story, $30 million Partnership Center. The building houses a new library, classrooms, a student communications center and UCF Direct Connect headquarters. Students will find increased computer access, interactive study rooms and student services.

"We have many student services including a team that answers nothing but financial aid, records and admissions questions," Mennechey said.

Students holding Bright Futures Scholarships experience significant savings, which will continue for the first two years at Seminole State College, Mennechey said.

Valencia Community College

Valencia Community College accepts Bright Futures as well and has more than 4,000 recipients this semester, said Lucy Boudet, assistant vice president of Marketing and Media Relations.

A credit hour at VCC is $87.36 with $78 covered through Bright Futures.

Valencia Community College is also experiencing significant growth in enrollment. "Our snapshot this semester reflects a 10 percent increase over last year's enrollment of 50,255," Boudet said. "Valencia provides a huge economic advantage for parents who are struggling. Their child gets a great education for half the cost."

VCC participates in the Direct Connect program where registered students are guaranteed acceptance upon graduation into UCF. VCC is the largest feeder into UCF, which has become a destination school for students outside of Central Florida.

Retention of students from fall to spring has been a major focus at Valencia with positive results. While the average retention rate is 60 percent, Valencia's is 85 percent. Small classes, teams of advisory counselors and a vision that "anyone can learn given the right circumstances" have supported the effort.

"We put extraordinary emphasis on not only helping them succeed but to go on. We want to build pathways with a team behind them in, through and beyond the community college experience," she said.

Feeding new student enrollment is an even greater escalation in applications. Last spring more than 3,300 applications were received at SSC compared to 5,300 this spring.

Mennechey cautions that the process takes time — application for enrollment and financial aid, verification of Florida residency, completion of entrance exams and online orientation, providing transcripts, and scheduling first-time-in-college advisement.

"If I could give students and parents one message it would be to complete the application process early. Last year we had 350 applications we could not process because they came in too late. We like to do some hand-holding but we can't if they wait too long," she said.