Free class offered at Valencia College

Valencia College has a gift for graduates of the Class of 2014 from Orange and Osceola counties. Apply now to receive free tuition for one class this fall.

Students must apply to Valencia and register for the class by July 3 to qualify. The college will waive the cost of any three-credit course, valued at $309. Students will still be responsible for the cost of lab fees, textbooks and other educational materials.

The offer is extended to students who graduated with a standard diploma from public high schools in Orange and Osceola counties. If students successfully complete the class, they will earn three credits that can be applied toward an associate degree or bachelor’s degree.

Further details about this free-class offer can be found at http://net1.valenciacollege.edu/future-students/freshman-freebie/.

Valencia College officials hope this opportunity will encourage more local students to attend college. Although earning a college degree can help secure middle-class status, only about half of those who graduated from Orange County high schools in 2012 enrolled in a public college, university or post-secondary program that fall. In Osceola County, only 43 percent of the 2012 graduates enrolled in a public college or university program following graduation, according to the Florida Department of Education.

And, research shows that if students don’t attend college immediately following high-school graduation, they are not likely to enroll later.