Eastern Florida State College: Making Major Economic Impact on Space Coast
The Space Coast is growing fast and so is Eastern Florida State College.
A wealth of new programs in high-demand career fields, low tuition and partnerships with industry are making EFSC an essential player in economic development.
“We’ve never been more important to the future of Brevard County in educating and training the workforce to help propel the economy forward,” said college President Dr. Jim Richey.
“From high-tech to health care to public safety and much more, we’re providing excellent programs with students often hired as soon as they graduate.
“We’re a key ingredient in the strong success Brevard is having in growing existing companies and attracting new ones to our community,” he said.
A good way to measure the college’s impact is in these two areas:
EFSC has started 60 new programs in the past decade, including more than 25 bachelor’s degree tracks in business, health care, computer technology and education.
The programs have transformed higher education in Brevard with students able to stay home to get the education they need rather than leave and go elsewhere.
Also critical is not raising tuition for 12 straight years in a commitment to keeping college education affordable. Along with a record number of scholarships awarded by the EFSC Foundation, the results are more students staying enrolled and completing their studies.
“When you combine the wide range of programs we offer with our low cost, it’s a game-changer for our students and the entire community,” Richey said.
Also important are partnerships with industry that are providing students with internships and apprenticeships, giving them real-world experience before they earn their diploma.
For example, students in the Aerospace Technology program are serving apprenticeships with Lockheed Martin at Kennedy Space Center where they do hands-on work on the Orion spacecraft that is poised to take astronauts back to the moon.
Nearly all the students that have gone through the training have been hired by Lockheed immediately upon graduation.
The college also continues to make major investments in new, state-of-the-art facilities designed to meet the specific needs of industry.
Here is a look at three projects underway.
Center for Innovative Technology Education
The college will break ground in February on this nearly $20 million facility on the Melbourne Campus.
The 36,500-square-foot building will meet the urgent need for more technical support staff for rapidly growing and changing industries.
The facility will feature labs that can be easily configured to provide students with the access to software used by high-tech employers.
The approach will bring together cutting-edge equipment, course work and students working in teams to simulate working environments and the best practices used by industry. Importantly, training can be tailored to the specific needs of individual companies, giving them a go-to place to expand their workforce and provide continuing education for existing staff.
It can also help start-ups get their footing as they begin building their technical teams.
In all, CITE will support students in 16 college programs focused on aerospace, computer technology, engineering, and advanced manufacturing where they can earn bachelor degrees, associate degrees and college certificates.
Aerospace Center of Excellence
The Center is opening its doors this year and will expand the Aerospace Technology program to the Titusville campus, which is ideally situated adjacent to Kennedy Space Center.
With a bevy of new commercial space companies locating near Titusville, ACE will provide a much-needed training ground for students from North Brevard and adjoining counties.
It will also allow the two-year degree program to double in size at a time when demand for these skilled workers is soaring.
The $1.6 million building includes four specialized labs in electronics, metal fabrication, fluids and composites.
Cocoa Campus Modernization
The college has received $3.6 million from the Florida Legislature to begin modernizing the Cocoa Campus with a new Advanced Technologies Center.
The Center will be housed in the completely renovated three-story campus library with library services moved to another building. The renovation approach will allow the new Center to be open years before originally planned and help meet Gov. Ron DeSantis’s goal to ensure Florida is the leading state for high-tech workforce training.
Another $4.7 million will be requested from the Legislature to outfit the 90,000-square-foot building for high-tech classes.
The facility will have large spaces for classrooms, collaborative workspaces, and labs to accommodate the expansion of growing high-tech programs. The programs offered will include Applied Manufacturing, Mechatronics and Robotics, Computerized Machining, Aerospace Systems, Advanced Composites and Electronics Technology.
“There’s really no limit to what we can accomplish at EFSC. It’s a great place to get an education and it’s getting greater,” Richey said.
Learn More
Eastern Florida State College
easternflorida.edu/
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