Reaching students with access and opportunities.
DirectConnect to UCF is a partnership-driven, higher-education success and access program whereby students at six Florida state colleges receive comprehensive and intentional support to prepare them for transfer and are then offered guaranteed admission into the University of Central Florida (UCF) with their earned AA/AS degrees.
Through DirectConnect to UCF, students are afforded significant cost savings by attending college in their local communities, and by completing their associate’s degrees under state college pricing structures. Students are also provided joint academic advising, student services, and transfer support at their local campuses by both college advisors and UCF Success Coaches, which results in more prepared transfer students and overall enhanced transfer experience.
Once students earn their AA/AS degrees from one of six partner institutions—College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Seminole State College, and Valencia College—they have assured admission into the University of Central Florida.
Since 2006, DirectConnect to UCF has empowered more than 56,000 transfer students to earn a life-changing bachelor’s degree.
14th College Access Summitt
October 23, 2020
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Joyce Romano (center) presents the first-annual DirectConnect to UCF Joyce Romano Partnership Excellence Award to Angie Smith (left), also pictured is Claire Brady, vice president Enrollment and Student Affairs at Lake-Sumter State College
Enhanced by Partnerships.
DirectConnect to UCF efforts are enhanced by the partnership work with the many College Access Initiatives.
Steering Committee
Chief student affairs officers and chief academic officers of all seven institutions meet quarterly to prioritize goals and to drive the agenda for the annual College Access Summit
Consortium Academic Coordination Committee (CACC)
Chief academic officers from each partner institution meet regularly to review regional academic program needs and plans with focus on additional baccalaureate degree offerings so that there is consensus on program development.
College Access Summit
Administrators, faculty, advisors, and staff convening annually for the College Access Summit, which serves as key opportunities for UCF and partnering institutions to develop new and improved means of academic curricular coordination and preparation for transfer students.
UCF Success Coaches
Providing cohesive student services whereby UCF Success Coaches are embedded at the state college locations, and work jointly
with the state college advisors to offer seamless advising, services, and support to students preparing to transfer to UCF.
Curriculum Alignment
Faculty from partner institutions meeting each term to align curriculum in STEM disciplines (Mathematics & Statistics, Engineering and Computer Science, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry) and have added new disciplines including, Writing and Rhetoric, Theatre, Accounting, and Economics. The goal is to synchronize core content and ensure that the competencies gained by students are sufficient for their successful progress in the next level course at any consortium member institution, with the ultimate goal of earning a UCF bachelor’s degree.
Data Sharing
Institutional researchers and knowledge management professionals from our partner institutions monitor, share, and facilitate data needs for program development, assessment, and as a means to develop narratives of our partnership efforts. This year we developed a data dashboard for all partners to access.
Resource Development
Grant writing professionals from our partner institutions work together to identity and secure funding from external resources in support of or common priorities. A joint philanthropy initiative produced an endowment that provides scholarships to DC students.
Enrollment Services
Enrollment services teams work on specialized services to streamline the pathway, including reverse transfer, sharing graduation lists, and admissions information opportunities.
Workforce Development
Representatives from our partner institutions, along with a representative from CareerSource Florida, serve to conduct, collect, review, and analyze labor market demand data to develop an informed database of current and projected regional employer needs for an associate and bachelor degree prepared workforce.
History and Milestones.
The Central Florida Higher Education Consortium, branded DirectConnect to UCF, in 2005 between UCF and then four Florida college partners: Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Seminole State College, and Valencia College. Subsequently, Daytona State College and College of Central Florida joined the consortium in November 2015.
Signed by the Presidents of all seven institutions, the formal consortium agreement guarantees admission to UCF to students graduating with AA/AS degrees from the six partnering state colleges. All seven institutions pledge to partner on agreed upon operations that strategically address access, choice, transition, progression, and academic and student services support for guaranteed pathways from the partner colleges to UCF.
Timeline of milestones here
