College of Central Florida was established in 1957 under the name Central Florida Junior College, serving Citrus, Levy and Marion counties in Florida. In 1958, instruction began, with only 320 students using temporary facilities at the Marion County Vocational School. In 1966, the school merged with Hampton Junior College. Hampton Junior College was originally opened in 1958 as well, as one of the first black, two-year colleges in the state. In 1971, the school changed its name to Central Florida Community College. On May 25, 2010, CFCC officially changed its name to College of Central Florida.
The Ocala campus was originally established on 60 acres (24 ha) of land donated by Atlantic Realty and Investment Company and the city of Ocala.[4] It has since grown to 140 acres (57 ha).
In 1996, a free-standing campus opened on 88 acres (36 ha) in Lecanto. Over time, an additional 10 acres (4.0 ha) were added to the Citrus campus, and the Citrus Learning and Conference Center opened in fall 2009.[4]
The Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus opened in fall 2017,[4] replacing the Levy Center located in Chiefland.
CF's Hampton Center, which offers health occupation courses and community outreach programs, opened in 1996 on the site of the former Florida State Fire College in West Ocala. In 2004, the facility was completely rebuilt.[4]
The college maintained a partnership interest in the Appleton Museum of Art for more than a decade before accepting full responsibility for operations in 2004.[4]
Tuition at the College of Central Florida has not been raised for five years.[9] For Florida residents, the cost per credit hour is $107.10 for students pursuing an associate degree and $122.89 for students pursuing a bachelor's degree.[10] The average cost of tuition for a 12-credit course load for two semesters is $2,522 for associate-level courses and $2,906 for bachelor's-level courses.[9]
Student profile
Congressman Cliff Stearns joins students on campus to celebrate Constitution Day
College-wide unduplicated headcount was 10,854 for the 2017–2018 academic year.[11]
Headcount by campus
Ocala Campus: 9,546
Citrus Campus: 4,264
Levy Campus: 1,872
Hampton Center: 151
Enrollment by program
Associate in Arts: 63%
Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science: 20.8%
Each of the three CF campuses has its own Student Life organization to promote campus activities and engagement. Collectively, the campuses hold more than 50 student clubs for academic, athletic, social, and service learning opportunities.[12]
CF's tennis programs produced three of the program's NJCAA national championships. The men's program won national titles in 1963 and 1981; the women's team won the NJCAA Division II championship in 2001.[13] The men's basketball team won the NJCAA championship in 2013.[14]
The Patriots won five state championships across three sports in the 1990s, including women's basketball titles in 1992 and in 1997,[15] a men's basketball title in 1996,[16] and consecutive baseball championships in 1997 and 1998.[17]
The CF athletics program annually produces NCAA student-athletes and has started the careers of several professional athletes. Its prominent athletic alumni include former Major League Baseball players Brian Buscher, Mike Figga, and Bill Hurst. Clinton Hart, a seven-year veteran of the National Football League, began his collegiate athletic career as an outfielder for the Patriots baseball team.
In the spring of 2010, men's basketball standout Ricardo Ratliffe capped an historic two-year career at CF by winning the 2010 NJCAA Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award.[21] The honor, selected from among all male student-athletes in all sports across the NJCAA's 525 member schools, marked the first national player of the year award won by a CF student-athlete.
In June 2010, the CF District Board of Trustees voted to add women's volleyball to the school's athletics program, with its inaugural season scheduled for the fall of 2011.[22]
The College of Central Florida announced in 2019 that the volleyball and basketball programs would be cancelled following the 2019–2020 seasons.[23]