Achieving your education goals is not impossible after a spinal cord injury. Many people in Florida find tremendous educational success at community colleges throughout the state, with many people transferring to state universities after receiving a degree from a community college. Not everybody has all the money in the world to spend on their college education. For many people with spinal cord injuries, a community college is a great way to start your educational career.
Many community colleges provide top-notch education and are accessible to students with disabilities. Some stand out among the rest for their accommodations. Here are some of the best community colleges to consider in the state of Florida if you have a spinal cord injury.
5) Tallahassee Community College
A public community college in Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee Community College has nearly 25,000 students. This community college also boasts one of the best disability service centers among any community college in the state. Many people receive an Associate in Arts, an Associate in Science or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from this college. You can also receive a variety of industrial training certifications here.
Tallahassee Community College’s Student Accessibility Services Center is staffed by five employees and offers assistance with a variety of accommodations you may need to study/take tests. Appointments are also available, but walk-ins are welcome, and they also have a testing center and adaptive computer lab on-campus.
4) North Florida Community College
A smaller public a community college located in Madison, Florida is North Florida Community College, founded in 1957. This college has 1,200 students and a standout disability center. Their mission is to create an environment where all students have equal opportunities on-campus. Their Office of Disability Resource Center is where students can get a variety of assistance with accommodations on-campus.
They help with classroom accessibility, testing modifications, note-taking services and offer individualized academic coaching. Degrees available at North Florida Community College are the Associate degrees in Arts and Science, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. You can also receive certificates in several different areas like early-child education or criminal justice.
https://www.nfcc.edu/current-students/student-services/disability-resource-center/index
3) New College of Florida
While New College of Florida is a public liberal arts honors college and not a community college, it has a community college vibe with only 838 students. This college offers a variety of degrees and a bachelor of arts programs and has a beautiful campus with many sustainable features. They also offer a robust disability services center with several employees on-staff.
Accommodations are provided in every area of academic life such as testing accommodations, classroom accommodations, communication and technology accommodation, and residential accommodation. They also offer service animal assistance and reduced meal plans as well. Single rooms are also available for students living on-campus.
https://www.ncf.edu/campus-life/student-disability-services/
2) Indian River State College
While it no longer has community in the name, Indian River State College is a former community college that offers several four-year programs. It is known for its popular athletic programs and has over 24,000 students. Located in Fort Pierce, Florida, the school offers several associate degrees as well as an adult high school program. Their student accessibility services center provides all of the accommodations you need as well. They have both a counselor and an adviser who works with students with disabilities to coordinate the services they need to access resources in the classroom.
https://www.irsc.edu/student-resources/student-accessibility-services.html
1) Broward College
Located in Ft. Lauderdale, check out Broward College. Broward College has one of the largest student bodies in the entire state with 63,000 students. They also offer a variety of academic programs and was voted one of the top 10% of community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute in 2012. This campus has a very diverse student body with 30% of the students African American and 30% of the students Hispanic.
Broward College offers all the on-campus accessibility assistance you'll need as well, such as classroom accessibility and test-taking resources. They also offer ADA maps of the entire campus on their site. Broward also offers four different scholarships to incoming students with disabilities.
http://www.broward.edu/studentresources/disability/Pages/default.aspx
Honorable mention goes to Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. This community college has been rated one of the top community colleges in the country and is known for offering a variety of public safety programs such as criminal justice, fire rescue, and safety and security. They have an awesome office for students with disabilities where they offer assistive technology and a downloadable student handbook that answers all the questions you may have on accommodations (https://valenciacollege.edu/students/office-for-students-with-disabilities/).
