Columbia College-Orlando will celebrate 35 years of meeting and surpassing the educational needs of central Florida on April 15, 2010.

Columbia College's Orlando campus was established in 1975 and is one of the college's oldest and most stable campuses, graduating over a hundred students annually. Dr. Alan Hilliard is the campus director, responsible for all day-to-day operations including class scheduling and student and faculty recruitment and retention.

"The Orlando campus was one of our first Nationwide campuses," said Mike Randerson, vice president for Adult Higher Education. "Its stability and curriculum has helped working adults and traditional students of central Florida improve their lives through higher education. Alan and his staff have done a superb job of partnering with local colleges and providing the educational offerings the students of central Florida need."

In the past year, Columbia College signed articulation agreements with Seminole State College of Florida (formerly Seminole Community College) and Valencia Community College, allowing students who take classes at Seminole State College or Valencia Community College to transfer to Columbia College and receive credit for all previously completed coursework at these colleges.

"These are reciprocal relationships," said Hilliard. "These relationships will allow all 100 and 200 level courses in all areas to be transferrable. The agreements maximize a student's transfer credit award when they choose Columbia College to earn a bachelor's degree."

Valencia Community College offers a degree in criminal justice which transferring students may complete at Columbia College–Orlando. The Orlando campus also offers 19 degrees and more than 600 classes online; on-campus bachelor's degrees in business administration, psychology, general studies, computer information systems and management information systems; and an on-campus MBA program. Students may take courses in-seat, online or both.

Hilliard is a superbly qualified director, with 30 years of educational experience, extensive area college teaching experience, a master's degree from the State University of New York and a doctorate in educational administration from Rutgers University.

Columbia College–Orlando was established in 1975 as part of the Orlando Naval Training Center. The campus later moved to its current location on 2600 Technology Drive just west of I-4 in 1999 when the Naval Training Center closed.

For more information on Columbia College–Orlando course offerings, instructors, scholarships and schedules, visit the Orlando campus Web site.