Valencia College officials have named CFE Federal Credit Union the college’s preferred banking partner.
As part of the five-year agreement, CFE will provide banking services to students, faculty and staff throughout the college, and will also present financial literacy seminars on topics such as budgeting, identity theft prevention and car and home ownership.
Through this partnership, CFE will establish a student-run “micro-branch” on a Valencia College campus by 2020 to provide real-world banking experience for college students. The credit union currently facilitates a student-run branch program at nine Central Florida high schools, and looks forward to extending this program to Valencia.
In addition, CFE will provide Valencia College’s Career Center with regular listings of internships and job openings. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in job shadowing experiences with CFE employees.
“Valencia works hard to provide students with the learning support they need to be successful. The partnership with CFE fits perfectly with that vision. This partnership will educate our students on financial literacy, provide outstanding banking services and give students an opportunity to work firsthand at a first-class financial institution. Our students will be the ultimate winners from this relationship,” said Loren Bender, vice president of business operations and finance at Valencia College.
“CFE and Valencia College have a shared vision of serving the Central Florida community through education, and we are proud to partner with the college to provide banking services and financial literacy for the students, faculty, and staff,” said Kevin Miller, president and CEO of CFE Federal Credit Union.
“Financial education is at the heart of all that we do, and through our partnership with Valencia, we can continue to empower our community with the positive foundation they need to achieve their dreams,” said Linh Dang, chief development officer for CFE Federal Credit Union.
As part of the agreement, CFE will also install ATMs on every Valencia College campus and will be the sole ATM provider on the college’s campuses. CFE will also offer specialized college student checking accounts, designed to help students establish financial independence and develop healthy money management habits.
CFE will also partner with Valencia College’s Financial Learning Ambassadors to collaborate on financial literacy initiatives. The Financial Learning Ambassadors are Valencia College work-study students who teach their fellow students about a wide range of personal finance issues, such as how to avoid student loan debt, how to shop for a car loan or how to get the best cell phone deal.
CFE is also a partner with and will have a presence at the new downtown campus that Valencia College will share with UCF.
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About Valencia College
Valencia College is one the nation’s largest and most recognized community colleges with 74,000 students. In 2011, Valencia won the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence based on the strength of its graduation and transfer rates, as well as the high job placement rates of its workforce training programs. The college offers a two-year Associate in Arts program that prepares students to transfer to an upper-division college or university; plus, technical programs and continuing education courses that prepare students to meet the needs of business and industry, as well as several bachelor’s programs. Valencia College operates eight campuses and centers in Central Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties.
About CFE Federal Credit Union
Founded in 1937 by 23 educators, CFE Federal Credit Union serves more than 150,000 members. With more than $1.74 billion in total assets, CFE offers its members an array of financial products and services at 22 full-service branches, nine high school branches, and more than 40 ATMs. Anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers, or attends school in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake Counties may become a member. Qualified businesses and other entities may join as well. CFE is the Official Financial Institution of the UCF Knights and owns the naming rights to the CFE Arena on the University of Central Florida campus. CFE is also the Preferred Credit Union for Seminole State College. CFE is recognized as a Top 25 Company for Working Families and has been named the 2014 Community Service Champion by the Orlando Sentinel.