Valencia College’s new Poinciana campus opened its doors this fall. More than 1,100 students are taking classes there. To check in on how this first school year is going, we hear from Campus President Kathleen Plinske.
"Valencia has had ideas of building a campus in Poinciana for quite some time, for more than a decade; it really became obvious that we needed to accelerate our timeline when we looked at the college-going rates in Osceola County," said Plinske.
Leaders of the Poinciana campus hope to raise the area's low college-going rates by providing an affordable higher education option close to home.
She said Valencia does outreach to local high schools to discuss financial aid opportunities and to help with college scholarship essays. Plinske said the college also offers short-term training programs to help people gain skills in demand in central Florida.