Valencia College Lake Nona Campus: What It Offers, What It Costs, and What It Doesn't Guarantee

A one-building state college campus next to Lake Nona High, with low tuition, a real transfer guarantee to UCF, and a second building that has been planned since 2011.

By David Myers, Broker Associate · NonaOrlandoProperties.com · Last updated September 2026

Valencia College's Lake Nona Campus is a single-building branch campus at 12350 Narcoossee Road in Orlando that opened in August 2012. It sits beside Lake Nona High School, and the two run the Collegiate Academy, which lets high school students earn college credit. Florida residents pay $103.06 per credit hour for associate-level courses at Valencia, according to the college's tuition page at the time of this update. A Valencia A.A. degree guarantees admission to UCF through DirectConnect, but it does not guarantee a seat in a specific major. The campus has no student housing, and a second building, first planned in 2011 and now estimated at $43 million, is partly funded but not built.

Most Lake Nona buyers never think about Valencia College until one of two things happens: a teenager at Lake Nona High School asks about dual enrollment, or someone in the household wants an affordable way back into a classroom. Either way, the campus that matters is the one on Narcoossee Road, not the larger Valencia campuses across town.

An earlier version of this post described the campus in brochure language. This update replaces that with what can be checked: when it opened, what it costs, what the UCF transfer guarantee does and does not cover, and where the long-promised expansion actually stands.

What is Valencia College's Lake Nona Campus?

It is Valencia College's branch campus in Lake Nona Medical City, a single three-story academic building at 12350 Narcoossee Road that opened in August 2012.

Valencia broke ground on June 16, 2011, and described the building at opening as roughly 83,000 square feet with 18 classrooms, six science labs (including a biotechnology lab), a library, a campus store, a café and student services offices. Before the building existed, Valencia taught courses in space on the Lake Nona High School campus, and that is where the partnership with the high school began.

The campus is part of Lake Nona Medical City, the same district as the UCF College of Medicine, Nemours Children's Hospital and the Orlando VA Medical Center. Valencia's own materials emphasize science and health career preparation here for that reason.

Is Valencia College a community college?

No. Valencia is a Florida state college, and it has offered bachelor's degrees since 2011, though the Lake Nona Campus mainly serves students taking associate-degree coursework.

Some sources, including an earlier version of this post, call Valencia a community college. The college dropped “Community” from its name in July 2011, when it began offering bachelor's degrees. It still offers the two-year Associate in Arts that most Lake Nona Campus students are working toward, and that degree is the key to the transfer guarantees described below.

What the Lake Nona Campus does not offer is every Valencia program. Class availability varies by term, and some programs and bachelor's courses run only at other campuses. Check the course schedule for the campus before planning a degree around it.

The campus is built for commuters. There is no on-campus housing, and the architect describes it as a small campus for a largely commuting student body, built around a central courtyard.

How does DirectConnect to UCF work, and what doesn't it guarantee?

Students who earn a Valencia A.A. or an articulated A.S. degree are guaranteed admission to UCF, but not to a particular major or limited-access program.

Students sign up for DirectConnect to UCF on the Valencia application or before finishing 30 credit hours. Finishing the degree is what triggers the guarantee, so a student who transfers early loses it. Valencia's catalog is explicit that admission to a preferred major or limited-access program is not guaranteed. Programs with their own GPA and prerequisite requirements, such as nursing, can still turn an admitted student away from the major.

Separately, a Valencia A.A. graduate is guaranteed admission to one of Florida's 12 public universities under the state's articulation agreement, but not necessarily the one the student wants. An earlier version of this post described the UCF path as guaranteed without either qualification.

Can Lake Nona High School students take classes at Valencia?

Yes. Lake Nona High School and Valencia run the Collegiate Academy together, and eligible students can earn college credit through dual enrollment while still in high school.

The partnership began in 2010, before the Lake Nona Campus building opened. Valencia's 2022 campus report counted 628 students who had taken part in the Collegiate Academy since it started, and Valencia's own locations page says students can finish a Valencia degree while earning their diploma. The Lake Nona High School post covers the high school side of the program.

Two practical points for families. First, a student has to be assigned to a school that offers the program, and school assignments are set by OCPS and change as Lake Nona grows. Confirm the assignment for a specific address with OCPS Find My School before counting on it. Second, eligibility for dual enrollment has academic requirements, so ask the high school's counseling office what applies before you plan a schedule around it.

Is Valencia building a second building in Lake Nona?

Not yet: a second building of about 85,000 square feet, now estimated at $43 million, has received partial state funding, and Valencia is still requesting the rest.

When Valencia broke ground in 2011, it described the building as the first of four planned for the site, with a long-term goal of about 5,000 students. Fourteen years later there is still one building. In its request for the 2026-27 state budget, the college said the campus serves more than 1,500 full-time-equivalent students in a single building, and that a second building would support new degree and certificate programs, more dual enrollment for Lake Nona High students, and about 3,500 more students a year. The same request covers a remodel of labs and student-support space in the existing building.

The project has received partial funding, and the college's requests for the balance are ongoing. Florida funds college buildings a piece at a time, so a partly funded building can wait several budget cycles before construction starts. Until the full amount is appropriated and a construction contract is signed, treat any opening date you hear as a hope, not a schedule.

What does Valencia cost, and can retirees take classes for free?

Florida residents paid $103.06 per credit hour for associate-level courses at the time of this update, and Florida residents 60 and older can audit up to six credit hours a term with tuition waived.

Valencia's tuition page lists $112.19 per credit hour for Florida residents in bachelor's-level courses and $390.96 per credit hour for non-residents. Lab, distance-learning and special fees are extra. Rates are set by the college board and the state and can change, so check the current tuition page before budgeting.

The senior waiver has real limits. According to Valencia's 2026-27 catalog, it applies to Florida residents age 60 or older, covers tuition and standard course fees for up to six credit hours a term, and is audit only, which means no grade and no credit. Registration is on a space-available basis after a date set in the academic calendar, and signing up before that window can void the waiver for the course. For residents of age-qualified communities such as Gatherings of Lake Nona, that makes a science or history class nearby the cost of the fees, as long as you are willing to wait for a seat.

Does living near the campus affect a Lake Nona homeowner?

Not much: it is a single commuter building with no dorms, and the traffic on that stretch of Narcoossee Road comes mostly from the middle and high school next to it.

Valencia at 12350 Narcoossee Road, Lake Nona High School at 12500 and Lake Nona Middle School at 13700 share one corridor. In our experience, traffic is heaviest during middle and high school drop-off and pickup, not around Valencia's class changes. Lake Nona High starts around 7:15 a.m. and Lake Nona Middle at 9:30 a.m., so the morning peaks are staggered. If you are buying nearby and commute along Narcoossee, drive it at those times before you commit.

Because there is no student housing, the campus does not create the rental pressure a residential university can. If a second building opens, expect more commuter traffic, not a student housing market.

What the Neighbors Know

People who move to Lake Nona for Medical City often don't realize there is a college campus inside it until their kids reach high school. The questions that come up are practical: can my student take Valencia classes, does the credit count at UCF, and what does it cost. The answers are yes, generally yes, and not much, with the caveats above. For school assignments, always confirm the specific address with OCPS rather than trusting a listing or a neighbor. For the rest of the education picture, start at the Lake Nona schools hub.

Official Sources

• Valencia College Lake Nona Campus
• Valencia College tuition
• Valencia catalog: tuition exemptions and waivers (2026-27)
• DirectConnect to UCF FAQ
• Florida Senate: Lake Nona Campus Building Two funding request (FY 2026-27)
• OCPS Find My School

Buying or selling in Lake Nona? Call/Text David Myers at 407.801.3286 or use the contact form.