South Florida Community College Revenue and Competitors

SFCC was established in 1965 by the Florida Legislature to serve the educational needs of Highlands and Hardee counties. The College began operation in August 1966 in temporary facilities provided at no cost to the State by public-spirited citizens of the City of Avon Park. The facilities were renovated, air conditioned, and partly furnished through the voluntary contributions of many interested individuals and organizations in both Highlands and Hardee counties and by the municipalities of Avon Park, Bowling Green, Lake Placid, and Sebring. As of the summer of 1966, an empty supermarket became known as a college library, classes were held in a former hotel, and a movie theatre parking lot was available to SFJC students, employees, and visitors. These facilities had been converted to form the temporary quarters of a new college…South Florida Junior College. The permanent site planned for the College was 1.5 miles south of Avon Park. It was a wilderness of scrub pine and palmetto patch that stretched between two lakes and among orange groves. The College would officially move onto this site in 1969. In 1984, South Florida Junior College became known as South Florida Community College. Today, SFCC has three campuses and several off-site centers, including the Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto campuses, and Lake Placid Center. In 2003, the College opened the Hardee and DeSoto campuses to give residents of those counties easier access to a college education.