Direct Connect



Shugart Named One of the Nation’s Most Innovative College Presidents

Washington Monthly magazine has named Valencia College’s president, Dr. Sandy Shugart, one of the nation’s most innovative college presidents. Others [...]


Valencia College Featured on PBS NewsHour for Efforts to Help Low-Income Students Finish College

Valencia College is one of five cutting-edge colleges and universities that was featured in an August special  on “PBS NewsHour,” [...]


Politico Magazine Hails Valencia-UCF Partnership as a Model for the Nation

Politico Magazine hailed DirectConnect to UCF, Valencia’s partnership with the University of Central Florida, for creating “a seamless pipeline of [...]


UCF, Valencia Announce Plans for Proposed Downtown Campus

ORLANDO – University of Central Florida officials announced on Tuesday, Sept. 23, that they are planning to create a downtown [...]


Perseverance Pays Off: Valencia Grad Heads to Harvard Medical School

When Cathy Gutierrez was a senior in high school, she never dreamed that she might one day be heading to [...]


Orlando Sentinel Focuses Spotlight on DirectConnect to UCF, Valencia

Cathy Gutierrez is one of Valencia’s many success stories. The 22-year-old, who graduated from the University of Central Florida in [...]


National Journal Examines Success of Valencia’s DirectConnect Program

ORLANDO — Shortly after President Barack Obama called on the nation’s higher-education community to help minority students reach their full potential, the [...]


Valencia Partners with Seminole State, Lake-Sumter Colleges to Win $1.5 Million STEM Grant

ORLANDO – Valencia College, Seminole State College and Lake-Sumter State College have been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant from [...]


Higher Education Writer Touts Valencia’s DirectConnect to UCF

Jeff Selingo, an editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, spent more than a year researching the future of higher [...]


DirectConnect at Valencia Wins National Excelencia Award

Valencia College’s DirectConnect to UCF program has been selected by Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, as America’s top [...]