Daytona State College (DSC) is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

with its main campus in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

. DSC also has 6 smaller regional campuses throughout

Volusia Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...

and Flagler counties. It is part of the

Florida College System The Florida College System, previously the Florida Community College System, is a system of 28 public community colleges and state colleges in the U.S. state of Florida. In 2013-14, enrollment consisted of more than 813,000 students. Together w ...

. The college offers more than 100 certificate, associate and baccalaureate degree programs in fields such as healthcare, emergency services, business, education, hospitality, engineering, and technology. In addition to having standard classes at its main and regional campuses, DSC offers a number of fully online degree programs through its distance learning platform. The college's sports teams compete in

NJCAA Region 8 Region 8 of the National Junior College Athletic Association comprises at least 26 community and state colleges from the Florida college system. All members of the NJCAA Region 8 are Division I, excluding Pasco–Hernando State College, which is i ...

and the

Mid-Florida Conference The Mid–Florida Conference is a conference within the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 8. The conference consists of seven state colleges located in Florida. Members Member institutions are: *Seminole State College ...

. DSC is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

(SACS).

History

The

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

authorized Daytona Beach Junior College as one of Floridas first comprehensive colleges in 1957. Its three divisions – college credit, adult education, and the Mary Karl Vocational School – functioned as separate entities under

Volusia County Schools Volusia County Schools is the public school district for Volusia County, Florida, United States. The district serves the 16 cities of Daytona Beach, DeBary, DeLand, DeLeon Springs, Deltona, Edgewater, Enterprise, Holly Hill, Lake Helen, New S ...

, although they all were administered by the colleges president. Volusia County Community College was founded simultaneously as a school for African Americans; at its inception Daytona Beach was all-white (at the time there were no integrated colleges in the state). Following the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, VCCC was closed in 1965, and its students were given the option of enrolling at Daytona Beach. Those who did found an unhospitable atmosphere, and while 450 students transferred in 1965-66, black enrollment in 1966-67 was under 100.Walter L. Smith, ''The Magnificent Twelve: Florida's Black Junior Colleges'', Winter Park, Florida, FOUR-G Publishers, 1994, , p. 148. In 1968, the Florida Legislature combined Daytona Beach Junior Colleges divisions into a single administrative unit under a District Board of Trustees independent of Volusia County Schools. In 1971, the college was renamed Daytona Beach Community College. Besides the main campus in Daytona Beach, the college offers several regional campuses, located in DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater, and Flagler/Palm Coast, as well as the Advanced Technology College and News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach Community College became a four-year college in 2006, when it offered its first

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, the Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management. In 2008, the college was renamed as Daytona Beach College, then a month later renamed as Daytona State College, reflecting its transition to a four-year institution offering workforce baccalaureate degrees. The college began offering Bachelor of Science in Education degrees in spring 2009, Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology degrees in fall 2010, bachelors degrees in Nursing and Information Technology in January 2014, and the Bachelor of Science in Accounting in fall 2020.

Campuses

Main campus

The main campus of Daytona State College is located off International Speedway Boulevard in

, approximately Northeast of

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

and Northeast of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Aside from housing the primary administrative offices, the main campus is also home to the

Southeast Museum of Photography The Southeast Museum of Photography is located in Daytona Beach, Florida, on the campus of Daytona State College. It opened in 1992, and moved to a new facility (the Mori Hosseini Center) in 2007.University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

(UCF) partnership center. In the 2022-2023 school year, the college opened its first student housing facility.

Regional campuses

In addition to the Daytona Beach campus, Daytona State College has several other campuses to service

and Flagler counties. In Daytona Beach, there are two other campuses: the Advanced Technology Center, where several vocational programs are offered, and the News-Journal Center, which houses the college's performing arts venues and the Mike Curb College of Music, Entertainment, & Art. Outside Daytona Beach, there are campuses in DeLand,

Deltona Deltona is a city in central Florida and the most populous city in Volusia County. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Monroe along the St. Johns River in central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 93,692. The cit ...

New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau. The downtown section o ...

, and

Palm Coast Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,180, more than twice the 32,832 counted in 2000. The population was estimated to be 89,800 in 2019. It is the most populous city in Flagler ...

. In addition to having standard classes at these campuses, DSC offers a number of fully online degree programs through its distance learning platform. DSC, in partnership with the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, participates in a program called DirectConnect. Through this program, all students and alumni of Daytona State College are assured admission to the university, though not necessarily to academic programs in the UCF colleges.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams compete in the

of the

Florida State College Activities Association Florida College System Activities Association Incorporated (FCSAA) is the governing body for all extracurricular activities of the member schools of the Florida College System. Activities include athletics, Brain Bowl, forensics, music, publicati ...

, a body of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Region 8.

Notable alumni

References

External links

* {{authority control Buildings and structures in Daytona Beach, Florida Educational institutions established in 1957 Florida College System Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges in Volusia County, Florida NJCAA athletics 1957 establishments in Florida