Transferring to UCF has never been so easy with DirectConnect
February 27, 2014
Connecting to UCF is easy. Many students who come to Valencia, or other community colleges in the Central Florida area, come seeking an Associates Degree in the hopes of moving on either directly into a career field or another larger university.
At Valencia, there is one program that helps students do just that; Direct Connect. It is guaranteed access into UCF.
Since its inception in 2006, the Direct Connect program has helped around 31,000 students from across Central Florida enter UCF from its various partnering schools. These schools include Eastern Florida State College, Lake Sumter State College, Seminole State College, and our very own Valencia College.
According to Kim Martinez, adviser of the Direct Connect program at Valencia, “About 6,500 to 7,000 students use Direct connect from Valencia each year.”
There are many advantages to using a program like Direct Connect as well. “Students have access to counselors and advisers from the Direct Connect program as well as UCF while they are still at Valencia. Because they enter with an Associates Degree, it also saves students a lot of money,” said Martinez.
SeeUCF is another part of the Direct Connect program. This meet-and-greet, which started out on Valencia’s East Campus and has expanded to the West and Osceola Campuses this year, allows students to visit and explore UCF. During this once-a-semester field trip, students get the chance to meet with advisers on the UCF campus and discuss and narrow down any majors they are interested in. “These resources are here to help with an early transition to UCF,” said Martinez.
When asked why he chose Direct Connect, sophomore Daniel Salas said “Valencia and UCF have great Biomedical degree programs and it’s a guaranteed entry into UCF. Plus, I can save money and have smaller class sizes.”
John Spear, a sophomore and International Business major said, “I chose to do Direct Connect in order to save money. It is a lot cheaper to start at Valencia. I can’t wait to go on to UCF next spring.”
Information about Direct Connect may be found online or at any of the UCF offices on Valencia’s campuses.
