Led by the UCF/Valencia Improving Student Success Task Force, the new pilot program will provide additional support to students before and after their transfer from Valencia to UCF.

“The Helios grant presents a real opportunity for us to improve students’ readiness to transfer to UCF and shorten the amount of time needed to graduate with a bachelor’s degree,” says Valencia College President Kathleen Plinske.

“DirectConnect to UCF is an important pathway to help students earn life-changing bachelor’s degrees and become part of the talent pipeline that fuels Central Florida’s industries,” says UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright. “Thanks to the support of the Helios Foundation, more students will be well-prepared to launch or advance their careers faster, jump-starting innovation and serving our community.”

The new grant will support Valencia College DirectConnect transfer students in the Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 semesters, and provide them with Helios-funded incentives for the following:

• $500 toward the completion of up to three courses at Valencia to complete the common program prerequisites aligned with a student’s degree pathway
• $250 for having completed an Associate in Arts degree and the common program prerequisites prior to transfer to UCF
• $500 financial aid award for part-time students to continue their studies at UCF part-time and supplement their financial aid in the transition from Valencia to UCF

Additionally, Valencia students will be encouraged to participate in a S.E.E. UCF tour, which stands for Students Early Exploration, with food and transportation provided. In addition to the financial incentives, the grant will cover program costs, staffing and data analysis for the length of the grant.

Using data from the Central Florida Educational Ecosystem Database (CFEED) and based on a Fall 2022 pilot which focused on students transferring to UCF’s College of Business, Valencia and UCF have identified multiple interventions to increase the success of transfer students between their institutions. The Helios grant will be used to expand the pilot and serve transfer students within all programs.

“Helios Education Foundation’s investment in DirectConnect provides Central Florida students both on-campus and financial supports to ensure completion of their Valencia College degree as the first step toward completion of a bachelor’s degree at UCF,” says Paul Luna, president and CEO of Helios Education Foundation.

The DirectConnect to UCF partnership is recognized as one of the leading transfer programs in the country. Since its inception in 2006, more than 42,000 UCF bachelor’s degrees have been awarded to Valencia College students, accounting  for nearly a quarter of UCF’s baccalaureate graduates.

“Everyone should have access to a high-quality college degree,” says Pam Cavanaugh, associate vice provost for . “Together with our partners, UCF has the opportunity to collaborate and discover ways to strengthen support for transfer students and help them identify the right pathway to earning a degree that will change their lives, and the lives of their families, for generations to come.”

Sixty-four percent of all transfer students completing an associate in arts degree at Florida’s 28 state colleges enroll at FIU, UCF, or USF and each year, over 50,000 transfer students attend one of the three Consortium universities.

Already established leaders in transfer student success, UCF, FIU and USF will utilize the funds to identify and address the barriers to student success, reduce the time needed for students to complete a degree, and increase campus involvement. The Consortium will create solutions in three areas: increased coaching and advising to reduce “transfer shock;” the development of a dashboard to help students with degree planning; and targeted retention strategies to ensure students are engaged and connected to each campus community.

UCF has for years placed a priority on ensuring transfer students have access to resources and support. Last year, 87.5% of the 2019-2020 transfer student cohort returned to UCF to continue their studies, marking the highest one-year retention rate to date. UCF has the largest number of transfer students among all of Florida’s public universities with more than 11,000 transfer students entering during the 2020-21 academic year.

UCF has the largest number of transfer students among all of Florida’s public universities with more than 11,000 transfer students entering during the 2020-21 academic year.

UCF has more than 30 success coaches and peer coaches who assist transfer students from before they enroll at their state college through their graduation from UCF, providing personalized support and guidance along the way. The coaches help students overcome challenges and stay motivated to reach academic, career and personal goals. UCF will use its portion of the grant to enhance its Coaching Academy, which will serve as a training and resource center for other universities and amplify UCF’s model across the state. The Academy will provide customized training to individuals, teams and organizations to further develop a culture of coaching within an institution.

“We know how critical it is for students to have individual, tailored assistance,” says Cavanaugh. “Our coaching model gives every transfer student a ‘go to’ person who serves as a constant and consistent presence for them. We’ve seen what a difference this makes for our students, and we look forward to working with our partners to scale this model across the state.”

More than 30% of new undergraduates enrolled each year at UCF come through the to UCF program, which guarantees admission to UCF for students with an associate degree or articulated degree from one of six partner state colleges. Since DirectConnect to UCF was established in 2006, UCF has conferred 61,924 degrees to students participating in the program. A national model, DirectConnect to UCF has significantly increased the number of minority, low-income and first-generation students who earn a college degree.

“Helios believes a high-quality education should be within reach of every student. Ensuring students experience a smooth transition between Florida’s state colleges and universities is essential to student success and degree completion,” says Paul J. Luna, president and CEO, Helios Education Foundation.

The Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities and Helios Education Foundation have partnered since 2016 to elevate the success and degree completion of first-generation, minority and underserved students in the most populous metropolitan regions of South Florida, Central Florida, and Tampa Bay.

However in 2016, when clinical psychology major Jennifer Martinez de Pinillos was planning to graduate from Arturo Michelena ����ֱ�� of Venezuela’s Carabobo State, she instead had to prepare to uproot her entire life and family to a foreign country.

“When you grow up in a country, you never expect to leave. Because of [circumstances] you have to leave everything, even your dreams.”

de Pinillos, along with her parents and younger brother and sister, are a just a few of the 3 million emigrants from Venezuela who have fled their native country due to worsening economic, social and political conditions. During the past two years, hyperinflation in the nation, which is now estimated to be more than 1 million percent, has made it difficult for citizens to get food, medicine and other essential items. A cup of coffee there now costs 2.5 million bolivars.

“When you grow up in a country, you never expect to leave. Because of [circumstances] you have to leave everything, even your dreams. I was about to graduate there and I had my plan for life,” de Pinillos says.

Finding New Purpose

That plan was to pursue a master’s degree in her country’s capital of Caracas and to work for the U.S. embassy in Venezuela. But just like de Pinnilos’ life, her dream has changed entirely. Soon to graduate with her bachelor’s in clinical psychology from UCF, she now plans to return to the university to pursue her master’s in nonprofit management. de Pinillos says she hopes to one day own her own nonprofit shelter and help provide essentials for those in need.

“I want to be able to give all those things to people so they can dream again.”

“I know from the Venezuelan and American perspectives if you don’t have the basics you cannot dream. You can’t expect to go to college if you don’t have food, if you don’t have anything to wear. I want to be able to give all those things to people so they can dream again,” de Pinillos says.

Since coming to Florida, she has already put this focus to use by helping those back in Venezuela. de Pinillos and her family periodically send boxes of clothing, medical supplies and other necessities to the church they attended, along with nearby orphanages. In the two years they’ve been here, they’ve sent 20 boxes of donated items from friends, community members and themselves to those in need.

“My desire to help came from [living in] Venezuela. By helping Venezuelans from here, I discovered there are communities in the U.S. that are helping [elsewhere,]” she says.

Life in Venezuela

Although her mom, Aury Garanton, says her daughter was always looking for ways to help others, remembering conditions in Venezuela helps de Pinillos keep her focus on her home country. Her family lived in Valencia, an industrial city that is considered an economic hub. Her mother was a medical translator who would often travel to the United States for work, and her dad was a real estate agent. Although her family was better off in some ways than many other families, it was the violence surrounding university protests in the nation that caused them to move.

“In 2015 there were more protests so my mom and dad started to say we couldn’t stay anymore,” de Pinillos says.

“There were times we couldn’t go out of our house for a week. It was stressful because … you don’t really know what’s going on.”

In the year before that, Geraldine Moreno, a fellow classmate, was assassinated by National Guardsmen outside her home for protesting. The school that de Pinillos’ brother attended was at the center of the university movement opposing the government.

“There were times we couldn’t go out of our house for a week,” she says. “It was stressful because the government doesn’t allow for transmissions of the protests on television, so you don’t really know what’s going on.”

During these times, de Pinillos and her family, along with other Venezuelans, would experience guarimbas, or blockades. Citizens would use trees, tires and whatever other items they could find to block the roads to prevent colectivos, armed pro-government groups that attack protestors, from raiding homes and harassing people.

“It’s very hard leaving your family, friends and everything you’ve built for years. But life is about what is ahead. You can build anywhere you can go,” her mother says.

Building a Future

During that building process, it’s been challenging for de Pinillos to adapt to the culture of her new home, she says. But by watching the TV show �������Ի����to get familiar with the American sense of humor and making friends in her classes, she’s overcome this.

When she first came to UCF in Fall 2017, she struggled with adjusting to the education system in the United States. In Venezuela, bachelor’s degree programs typically take five years to complete. Universities there determine every course students must take in that time, with no general education classes or choices for electives like in the United States.

“My journey at UCF has allowed me to encounter myself and know who I really am, what I really want and what I am capable of doing,”

Karen Cox, director of UCF’s , met de Pinillos at orientation and has stayed connected with her since to ensure her success. Cox says her department’s willingness to work with transfer students allowed her to substitute many of de Pinillos’ previous courses to fulfill UCF’s graduation requirements.

“It was just the look on her face at orientation that told me this student had some special needs, and I needed to find out what they were so I could help. She is a great communicator and shared her history and her future goals with me quickly,” Cox says. “Her focused ambition allowed me to guide her to the UCF resources she needed, without any time wasted.”

de Pinillos plans to carry that ambition forward into her graduate studies and pursuits after graduation to help better the world, but she credits her experience at UCF for providing the foundation on which she’s been able to build her new dream.

“When I came [to Florida] my concern was, ‘What am I going to do?’, [but] my journey at UCF has allowed me to encounter myself and know who I really am, what I really want and what I am capable of doing,” de Pinillos says.

In the acceptance letter, it was noted, “The review committee had an incredibly difficult task. I am humbled by your willingness to share your transfer journey and inspired by your service to other transfer students and professionals.”

Derisma transferred from Seminole State College in Fall 2014. She has been working with Chanda Torres, assistant vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Services, and the Foundations of Excellence transfer initiative as an undergraduate research assistant, and is a member serving on the SDES Student Advisory Council. In addition, she is a recent alumni of the I-CORPS program that gave her the opportunity to speak to other institutions about their transfer students.

“I feel honored to be selected. I am very passionate about transfer students because it gives students a second chance at attending their dream university,” said Derisma. “My goal is that I can share what I learned, and learn from the experts to help more students.”

Her dedication to ease students’ transfer from a two-year college to a four-year college has compelled her to create a website: www.bygshift.com [currently under construction for improvement for both students and advisors].

Derisma will receive a complimentary registration ($300 value) to the conference, travel and lodging expenses, and the honor to serve on the panel.

A fledgling ����ֱ�� program designed to ease that transition and ensure the success of transfer students has already earned national recognition.

UCF has had success with the DirectConnect to UCF program, which guarantees admittance to students who earn an associate’s degree from one of four partner institutions: Eastern Florida State College, Lake Sumter State College, Seminole State College and Valencia College.

Now, nearly seven years after DirectConnect was established, it’s been enhanced by the “Pathway,” a support tool designed to work closely with students as they prepare to transfer to UCF. It provides students at two-year colleges with everything from online chats with specialized advisors to virtual campus tours.

“This is an attempt to engage students in the transitional process at an earlier stage,” said Jeff Jones, UCF’s vice provost for regional campuses. “The sooner a student can become engaged with an institution, the better their chance of success.”

The Pathway program went live during a pilot phase just two weeks ago, and though there hasn’t been any official announcement or marketing, 33 students at two-year colleges have signed up already. It has also already earned a gold award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, which Jones’ team will accept at a conference in New Orleans next month.

Among other things, the Pathway program provides:

At the center of the program is an online portal that provides 24/7 access to information and access to Pathway Team members. Students can use the portal to obtain advising through live chats, web-conferencing and hosted workshops. They’ll also find videos and other resources.

DirectConnect students can take advantage of the program from the beginning of their college career. As they progress through the Pathway, they earn virtual badges and rank up, climbing from Page to Squire to Knight and, finally, Golden Knight.

The Platform has the potential to help a large number of students succeed. More than 10,000 students transferred to UCF from other institutions in the 2014 academic year, and more than two-thirds of them came through DirectConnect.

It’s also good for UCF, because the university’s departments, including its 12 colleges, want transfer students to understand program and major requirements before they arrive.

“The more individual students we can help succeed, the better we are as a whole,” Jones said.

Visit  for more information about DirectConnect to UCF.

On Thursday, Jan. 26, the Johnson Scholarship Foundation offered a $1.5 million challenge grant to give scholarships to students with financial needs who are planning to transfer to UCF via the DirectConnect program.

DirectConnect to UCF is a unique program, started in 2006, which guarantees students at Seminole State College, Lake-Sumter Community College, Brevard Community College and Valencia College admission to UCF after earning an associate degree at one of the four participating schools.

The private, South Florida-based educational scholarship foundation has partnered with UCF’s fundraising organization, the UCF Foundation, as well as fundraising organizations at the four colleges participating in the DirectConnect program.

Funds will be raised by UCF and the colleges to match the challenge grant and to be invested. Eventually up to $4 million may be disbursed among students at the four colleges and UCF.

According to the UCF Foundation, the first scholarships are expected to be awarded in spring 2013 after a year of market investment.

To qualify for the Johnson Scholarship, students must be enrolled in the DirectConnect to UCF program, require financial assistance and have a 2.0 GPA.

Malcolm Macleod, president of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, underscored the importance of helping students who are doing the best that they can to work their way through college and save as much money as possible, but are still having trouble affording school.

“We thought that the idea of going to a community college [before attending a university] is a good thing,” he said. “Our mission is to help disadvantaged people to attain education and employment.”

When deciding on the requirements for the scholarship, foundation directors felt that making the GPA requirement relatively low in comparison with other scholarships would be reasonable for students who may be juggling working and taking care of a family along with attending school.

Kelly Dowling, director of Regional Development at the UCF Foundation, said that the scholarship is really geared toward students who may come from a “working poor” socio-economic class.

“You don’t have to be the ‘A’ student,” Dowling said about students who will receive the scholarship. “Really it’s meant for these people that might slip through the gap if other funding wasn’t available.”

According to the UCF Office of Institutional Research, 10,391 students transferred to UCF during the 2010-2011 school year.

Of these transfer students, about 65 percent used DirectConnect to transfer from local community colleges, and 72 percent of DirectConnect transfer students required some kind of financial aid, according to the UCF Foundation’s data.

In addition to guaranteeing admission to UCF, DirectConnect was also designed to match classes offered at the community colleges with classes that students will need to take at UCF so that the transition is smoother and students don’t waste their precious time and money on unnecessary courses.

Juhi Gupta, a senior at UCF majoring in the health sciences pre-clinical program, is also a peer mentor at the UCF transfer and transition services office.

She said that the majority of students she sees come through the office used the DirectConnect program, with most of them coming from nearby Valencia College.

A transfer student herself, she said she wishes that the community college she transferred from made it as easy for her as it is for students using the DirectConnect program.

“It does make the process simpler,” Gupta said. “It gives the student an opportunity and kind of a push to go to a bigger university and complete their education.”

Dowling said that the Johnson Scholarship complements DirectConnect nicely because the money raised by the colleges will follow their students to UCF and help them throughout their college career.

Currently, it is unknown how many students will be awarded scholarships as directors aren’t yet sure how much money will be awarded to each individual student.

The scholars will be chosen collaboratively by UCF and participating colleges’ staff and are expected to be picked on a first-come, first-served basis once students meet the required financial need and GPA.

Students wishing to apply for the scholarship can do so through their college’s financial aid office when scholarships are awarded in 2013.

Valencia College, a close partner of the ����ֱ��, has won the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Announced in a ceremony held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the award comes with $600,000 in prize money.

In a competitive year-long process, the Aspen Institute, along with a panel of some of the biggest names in higher education, selected Valencia from a preliminary list of 120 “top” community colleges in the nation, based on student performance and graduation data collected by the U.S. Department of Education.

“The college is an engine for employment in Central Florida, and a model for the country,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program.

In selecting Valencia as the best community college in America, Aspen officials noted that more than half of the college’s full-time students graduate or transfer within three years of entering the school, a rate significantly higher than the national average (51 percent versus 39 percent).

Many of the transfer students attend UCF through the innovative program. DirectConnect offers guaranteed admission to graduates of Valencia College, Lake-Sumter and Brevard community colleges and Seminole State College of Florida.

UCF academic and financial aid advisers work closely with students to help them make a seamless transition to .

To read a more detailed story about the Aspen Prize, visit the .

The educators commemorated the state’s investment in 2+2 Pathways to Success, a program that provides opportunities for students who complete their AA degrees at a Florida community or state college to be admitted to a state university.

More than 30 percent of the state’s students who earn associate’s degrees and transfer to a public, state university in Florida choose UCF. Nearly 5,600 of UCF’s 5,900 new transfer students last fall came from a Florida state college or community college.

“Expanding access to the life-changing opportunities of higher education is a priority for UCF, even during tough economic times,” Hitt said.  “We strive to provide a smooth transition between institutions so that students may earn their degrees in a convenient and affordable way.”

A total of $2.5 million will be divided among eight State ����ֱ�� System institutions, and UCF will receive more than $1.2 million of that amount. Another $2.5 million will be awarded to 18 institutions that are part of The Florida College System.

Hitt accepted a ceremonial check from The Florida College System Chancellor Will Holcombe at the beginning of the university’s Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.

State Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona Beach, joined Holcombe and praised the 2+2 partnership as “the model we should have everywhere in the country.”

Joining Hitt and Lynn were the following representatives from UCF’s partners in The Florida College System: President James A. Drake of Brevard Community College, Acting President Frank Lombardo of Daytona State College, President Charles R. Mojock of Lake-Sumter Community College, President E. Ann McGee of Seminole State College and Vice President of Student Affairs Joyce Romano of Valencia College. The College of Central Florida is also one of UCF’s partner institutions.

“The purpose of the 2+2 Pathways to Success program provides a geographically accessible and economical way for students to attend their university of choice on a campus of their local Florida College,” Holcombe said. “The collaboration between our colleges and their university partners offers these trend-setting programs to benefit the many cost-conscious students who need to stay close to home for a variety of reasons. The programs are also less costly to the state of Florida at a time when dollars are scarce at our own colleges and universities.”

While UCF will receive the largest amount among the 11 state universities of this type of funding, Broward College holds that distinction among state and community colleges in the 28-institution Florida College System. Symbolic of the 2+2 partnership, while Chancellor Holcombe presented a check to UCF, conversely, Chancellor Frank T. Brogan of the State ����ֱ�� System of Florida will present a check to the Broward College Board of Trustees in June.

“The 2+2 Pathways to Success partnership between the state universities and the state and community colleges has long been regarded by other states as a national model that many of them have since replicated in order to address bachelor’s degree attainment and to increase graduation rates,” Brogan said. “The partnership, funded by the Legislature, is assuredly one of the success stories of Florida public higher education, and therefore provides superb return on investment as well as preparing us with a better-educated workforce.”

According to Brogan, more than 31,000 of the State ����ֱ�� System’s 41,000 new transfer students last year came from The Florida College System. In addition, 77 percent of the State ����ֱ�� System’s 41,000 transfer students last year came from The Florida College System.

UCF has 10 regional campuses that deliver 21 bachelor’s degree programs, 16 minors and six graduate programs to more than 12,000 students.

In addition, Valencia also leads all two-year schools in the number of associate degrees awarded to minorities, an 18 percent increase from the year before.

The report was compiled using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and focused on degrees conferred during 2008-2009.

In that academic time period, Valencia awarded 5,128 associate degrees, including 1,956 earned by minority students.

“Valencia’s focus on improving student success, particularly in the critical first year of college, is paying off,” said Valencia President Sanford C. Shugart. “The rankings also underscore the role Valencia plays as the primary entry point to a college education in our region.”

Valencia also ranked first in the number of degrees awarded in general studies, 10th in nursing and 15th in engineering technology.

Source: Orlando Business Journal, , Friday, June 18, 2010, 3:14pm EDT

[UCF Today Note: Valencia is an important education partner in the initiative]

UCF currently offers nine degree programs and serves over 1,000 UCF students at its regional campus in Sanford/Lake Mary. The new building will give UCF the space to add courses in Seminole County, part of its initiative to offer more Central Florida students better access to higher education.

Since 2006, UCF has guaranteed access to all SCC graduates through the most productive community college-university partnership in the country. The program also offers graduates of Valencia, Lake-Sumter and Brevard community colleges guaranteed admission to the university. This partnership provides students a seamless transition to UCF through shared academic programs, advising and financial aid resources.