Goal One: Summary of Progress and Work Underway (October 2010)
Goal 1: Build Pathways
 Design effective and efficient pathways to learning and educational progress for students.
 Create opportunities for students to develop and achieve their personal aspirations.
 Develop program options for students that enable them to compete successfully in the
Central Florida economy.
Objective 1.1: Transition to College - Partner with others to increase the college-going rate of
students from every high school and the percentage of district high school graduates who apply
and enroll at Valencia.
Objective 1.2: Persistence - Increase the percentage of students who persist at Valencia through
key academic thresholds.
Objective 1.3: Goal Achievement - Increase the course and program completion rate of
Valencia students by decreasing the withdrawal rate.
Objective 1.4: Economic Development - Align plans for the Associate in Arts and Associate in
Science degree programs, and the resources to support them, with the economic development
needs of the region.
Objective 1.5: Access - Increase access to associate degree and higher programs through
university partnerships, scholarships, and financial support, and through the addition of Valencia
campuses and locations in growing service district areas that are relatively distant from existing
campuses.
The 2009-10 goal team projects that the current and planned activities related to this goal can be
expected to “move the needle” toward goal achievement, but noted that restricted funding for
facilities and new faculty and staff acts as a constraint. The team established short-term measures
that will assist in monitoring progress toward these ultimate aims:
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The college-going rate of Orange and Osceola county high school graduates will increase to the
higher of either the goal set by the county systems or a rate that is in the upper quartile of
Florida K-12 systems
Valencia will maintain its market share of those graduates.
The percentage of degree-seeking students who are retained through key thresholds, and who
graduate, will increase to levels that exceed current Valencia performance and that
place/maintain Valencia’s ranking in the upper quartile of Florida community colleges for these
measures.
The college will document a clear correlation among the economic and workforce development
needs and priorities of our service district and the AA and AS programs offered at Valencia.
College will be accessible to all in our district via campus locations and/or alternative delivery
systems, and financial need will not be a barrier to attendance.
Valencia places among the top 5% of community colleges nationally in program completion
and graduation rates.
College will be accessible to all in our district via campus locations and/or alternative delivery
systems, and financial need will not be a barrier to attendance.
Overview of Selected Efforts to Achieve the Goal
Improving Success on the Pathway to Valencia - Plans are being implemented, many via
partnerships with high schools, local communities and other higher education institutions, to increase
the number of students reached with the message that “College is Possible.”
Among these are expanded transitions programs and support services to parents, teachers, counselors
and students; marketing strategies and tactics (including a new Prospective Student tab on the web
site); outreach by deans and provosts; summer camps; an expanded Bridges program; the Career
Pathways program; technical program alignment (Perkins); the Direct Connect program that enables
students to see a pathway through Valencia to the baccalaureate; a partnership with the City of Orlando
to encourage college degree completion in low income neighborhoods; dual enrollment programs and
high school academies; the growth of Take Stock in Children; increases to faculty and staff to serve
enrollment growth; expansion of on line offerings; expanded access through the addition of buildings
and campuses, including Lake Nona and Building 4 at Osceola; and planning for future capital needs.
Improving Success on the Pathway through Valencia - Many efforts aim to improve success as
students enter and move through their programs of study at Valencia.
These include increasing usage of LifeMap tools and resources, assisted by the LifeMap marketing
campaign and the LifeMap faculty project; the Developmental Education Initiative (DEI), including
expanding Supplemental Learning, LinC and Bridges to Success programs; implementing a
comprehensive plan for new student success; increasing early registration and conducting registration at
orientation; CJI mandatory orientation and the “Two for All” CJI degree initiative; assisting students on
academic probation; implementing the withdrawal policy; reducing textbook costs; assisting students in
meeting CLAS graduation requirements; and improving student financial literacy.
Also smoothing the pathway are the development of program outcomes and assessments for all majors
and for General Education; the alignment of the AA/AS/AAS general education curriculum; infusion of
college readiness skills into the developmental education curricula; an expanded International
Education program for study abroad and for international students; the expansion of the Honors
Program; further development of Distance Learning strategies; implementation of the financial literacy
plan (FLIRT); and increased communications with students regarding availability of scholarships.
Improving Success on the Pathway Beyond Associate Degree Achievement - A number of
substantial efforts aim to improve student success in achieving the baccalaureate and advancement in
the workforce.
Among these are support for four-year degree pathways for students via the Direct Connect
Consortium; plans to add selected four-year degrees at Valencia; implementation of a variety of
collegewide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Initiatives; and the alignment
of the faculty staffing plan with program needs.
Workforce and economic development initiatives include annual reviews of workforce projections and
economic development priorities with a comparison to current and planned program offerings; updates
to the AS programs and courses every two years; working with the State Board of Education’s effort to
review industry certifications for statewide articulation; development of new security education and
training programs, including a new training program with the Transportation Security Administration
launched in 2010-11; and industry-based roundtables and forums to identify training and educational
needs that Valencia can help to meet.