Our Colleges
Florida College System
Florida’s colleges remain the primary point of access to higher education in Florida, with 65 percent of the state’s high school graduates pursuing postsecondary education beginning at a Florida college, and 82 percent of freshman and sophomore minority students in public higher education attending one of Florida’s 28 state colleges.
Honors and Early College/Dual Enrollment programs attract some of the best and brightest minds and the colleges’ open-door policies allow students who need remediation to get the skills they need for college-level courses. Many state college students are the first in their families to attend college. Adult learners take college courses for personal and professional development, or to prepare for a new career.
More students enroll at Florida’s colleges to retool and retrain during economic downturns. We are more committed than ever to keeping our doors open, and to helping students get the training they need to improve their lives and help boost our state’s economy.
Technical College System
Our state technical colleges are designed to meet the immediate workforce needs of our residents. They offer industry-driven career and technical education and training, but also adult basic and general education for those residents needing additional support or a high school equivalency diploma. The technical colleges represent a significant portion of our student population and work very closely with Florida College System institutions to articulate course work into degree programs.
Currently, Florida has 48 technical colleges exclusively serving postsecondary learners and offering viable non-degree career certificates, industry certifications, and advanced technology diplomas. They are open access and very often offer programs that are stackable. Florida is one of the few states in the country whose technical colleges exclusively serve postsecondary learners and are all accredited by the Council on Occupational Education.