Orlando, FL — Valencia College’s nursing program has been awarded $2 million in grants for simulation equipment, scholarships, and faculty recruitment.
This marks the third straight year that the state has awarded Valencia College LINE grants.
The grant program, which was established in 2022, provides matching funds, on a dollar-to-dollar basis, to participating colleges and universities that partner with health care providers to support nursing education. The competitive grant program was created to incentivize collaboration between nursing education programs and health care partners to combat the growing nursing shortage in the state.
At Valencia College, 316 nursing students graduated in 2024 with an average pass rate of 91.32%, on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Nationwide, 90.6% of students who earned an associate degree in nursing passed the exam.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have outstanding relationships with our local health systems, who share our vision for affordable, quality nursing education and allied health programs that serve the Central Florida community,” said Dr. Kathleen Plinske, president of Valencia College.
“We’re also immensely grateful for the Florida Legislature’s recognition of the importance of nursing education and their determination to fund quality nursing programs, where the cost of educating nurses is quite high – because of the one-on-one, hands-on nature of these programs and because of the high cost of equipment used to educate nursing students,” Plinske added.
Valencia College officials have worked diligently to keep the cost of nursing education affordable. The full cost of an A.S. degree in nursing at Valencia College is currently $11,482 – which includes tuition, books and uniforms.
The LINE funds, along with the donations from AdventHealth and Orlando Health, will be used to upgrade and replace simulation equipment, and to hire experienced nurses from AdventHealth and Orlando Health to provide laboratory and clinical education to Valencia College nursing students. A portion of the funds will also be used as scholarships to help offset graduate costs for RN licensure.
At a recent meeting of the Valencia College District Board of Trustees, representatives from AdventHealth and Orlando Health praised the college’s vision for its nursing program.
“I have had the pleasure to spend 45 years in the academic world and in operation of hospitals. When I started to partner with Valencia College, I thought, ‘This is really a special place,’” said Patty Genday, assistant vice president of academic partnerships at Orlando Health. “We’re happy to support the education of the next generation of nursing and allied health personnel.”
For Cathy Stankiewicz, chief nursing officer of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, whose mother graduated from Valencia College’s nursing program in 1977, returning to Valencia is a reminder that nursing is often a calling passed from one generation to another. “It’s such a blessing to have the LINE fund and it was really exciting to see how that LINE funding brings us together as partners, and to see how we’ll be able to support allied health and nursing students.”