UCF Transfer Center employees work behind the front desk at the center located inside Trevor Coulborn Hall on Tuesday.
Victoria Pera
This semester marked 20 years of the DirectConnect program at UCF.
DirectConnect to UCF is a program that has helped more than 79,000 students over the years receive a degree at a lower cost, according to a news release.
DirectConnect began in 2005 with four initially partnered state colleges; it has since expanded to seven. In this program, college students can receive their associate degrees at a partner college. Once students feel ready, they can transfer to UCF using the DirectConnect program.
Students can save an average of $6,553, about 25%, on total four-year tuition costs if they choose the direct connect route, the school has reported. The most recent addition to this program is Indian River State College, with campuses located in five cities in Florida.
Dr. Kimberly Hardy, assistant vice provost of UCF Connect, highlighted the diverse backgrounds of students that DirectConnect brings to the university.
“They’re bringing just such a rich background with them,” Hardy said. “We have traditional learners. We have non-traditional, we have veteran students. We have such a variety, and it really brings such a different realm to the institution that we have.”
Hardy discussed the goals DirectConnect to UCF aims to meet over the next 20 years.
“Looking at study abroad opportunities, undergraduate research, looking at all the vast, rich experiences that students can have when they get here, and making sure that we continue to enhance those and increase those as we look at the next 20 years, and incorporating all of that into our goals for transfer student success,” Hardy said.
Transfer students can receive help navigating a large campus like UCF with the assistance of success coaches at the UCF Transfer Center. The Transfer Center is located in Trevor Coulbourn Hall on the main campus, in Suite 215.
Angelina Smith, director of the Transfer Center, discussed some of the responsibilities that come with assisting the university’s transfer students.
“So if they’re a prospective student, making sure that they have completed their prerequisites, that they are applying and doing the correct things to come into the university,” Smith said. “We want to make sure that they know how to search for classes and what courses are needed for their major, because that’s the main thing, making sure that they can graduate in a timely fashion.”
Smith spotlighted the proximity of UCF to the other partner state colleges and how it’s beneficial to have a world-class university nearby.
“Many of the students are first-generation,” Smith said. “So, just having a world-class university right here in their backyard that’s available to them, that is a big opportunity for even the youngest student.”
One DirectConnect success story is that of UCF alumna Kristina Lavallee. Lavallee graduated from the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in 2013. She said that she had always known how to bake, but at Rosen, she was able to learn the business side of things.
Lavallee discussed how transferring to UCF from Valencia College eased her transition as a first-generation Spanish-speaking student.
“I feel like, at least for me, it was the way to go,” Lavallee said. “It actually helped me transition, get used to classes, and get used to people, because at least for me, it was a little bit challenging at first. I’m Latina, so English was not my first language.”
Now, Lavallee is best known for her work and goes by “The Cake Girl.” She owns her own brick-and-mortar bakery out of Tampa, full of color and brightly decorated treats.
Hardy said the UCF Connect program views this recent addition of Indian River State College as a sign of what is to come: more opportunity and growth in transfer student success.