Over 1,700 more earn career technical certificates, Plinske says
Valencia College President Dr. Kathleen Plinske proudly told Osceola County commissioners that the school had its 1,000th graduate among students taking advantage of the county’s Osceola Prosper program.
That program, now in its fourth year, picks up the cost of a Valencia two-year degree, or a technical or vocational certification program at Osceola Technical College. The Class of 2025 has pushed the total number of enrollees over 10,000.
The program started in 2022, using leftover federal COVID-19 recovery funds, has been funded annually from the county’s general fund. While the $10.4 million price tag in the 2026 fiscal budget sounds like a big number, Plinske touted a bigger number: the program has returned or added $85.4 million to the Osceola County economy.
“Some 5,000 of the 50,000 students enrolled in Valencia are Osceola Prosper students,” she said.
The effort has pushed Osceola County to the third-highest of Florida’s 67 counties in the percentage of high school graduates entering college. While the president of Valencia’s Osceola campus, she was central to the county’s “Got College?” program that addressed the barriers to students moving on to college, when Osceola’s rate was 61st. That program helped move Osceola back to 27th, but the county experienced another slide during the pandemic. So the effort has been Herculian.
The college-going rate of a number of the county’s high schools (Osceola, Poinciana, Tohopekaliga, Gateway) that was in the 40s is now over 60%.
“It’s a miracle,” Plinske said. “It’s big. We’re now the highest among Central Florida counties. When we started ‘Got College?’ we were the lowest. I never imagined it could be possible to supplant Seminole County (as the highest in the area).”
Osceola Prosper was designed to give students five years to attend part time and complete their Associate’s degrees in five years.
“The county commission understands the challenges for some students managing work or family responsibilities, so they have five years,” Plinske said. “Other places, like Indian River, have it, but their requirements are so stringent, it’s so difficult to qualify. What we have in Osceola County is truly one of a kind.” Being unique was a sentiment echoed by Commissioner Brandon Arrington, who has voted to start and keep Osceola Prosper in the budget.
“I’m amazed other communities aren’t following our lead,” he said.
Said Commissioner Viviana Janer: “It’s the best investment we’re making in our community.”
As for it remaining in the budget, Plinske said that an announcement on Osceola Prosper being extended to the Class of 2026 would likely come in January, based on how it’s been done the past three years.
