Photo of the Loxahatchee Groves campus
Photo of the Loxahatchee Groves campus
PBSC’s long anticipated fifth campus is set to officially open Feb. 27.
December 3, 2016
Lake Worth, FL - by Tabatha McDonald - Students registering for spring classes at Palm Beach State College can now choose Loxahatchee Groves from among their campus choices.
PBSC’s long anticipated fifth campus is set to officially open Feb. 27. Existing students can register online now, choosing from 64 sections of general education courses that largely count toward the Associate in Arts transfer degree. New students can apply for admission online and get prepared to start in the spring. College leaders say the mostly 10-week classes developed specifically for that campus as well as some classes for the eight-week term can serve about 2,000 students.
"As a resident of Wellington, I know the Loxahatchee Groves campus area communities have been anxiously awaiting our new campus,” said Dr. Maria Vallejo, vice president of growth and expansion and provost of the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses. “All of us at PBSC are very excited to be part of history in the making for our western communities."
The 75-acre campus site on Southern Boulevard west of B Road marks the first campus constructed by the College in more than 30 years. The $30 million first phase includes a three-story, 50,000-square-foot multipurpose facility with classrooms, and computer labs, administrative office, a 250-seat lecture hall and ancillary support spaces.
Hunter Loomis, a 2016 graduate of Royal Palm Beach High School, is among the first students to enroll at the campus. He took a few dual enrollment classes at the Palm Beach Gardens campus while in high school, but the spring term will be his first time enrolling in college classes since his graduation.
“The Gardens and Lake Worth campuses are equally far from me. It is about a 30-minute drive. The Loxahatchee Groves campus is only about five minutes. This worked out well for me. I won’t have to drive as far all the time,’’ he said, noting that he still may have to take classes at other campuses to complete his Associate in Arts degree.
Spring classes for the 16-week term across the College begin Jan. 5, and the College typically offers 12-week and eight-week classes. However, because of the timeframe in which the new campus will open, PBSC leaders wanted to ensure students have options soon after the certificate of occupancy is received for the campus.
Although health sciences and technology are the initial focus of the first phase of the Loxahatchee Groves campus, the career programs that will be based at that campus will not be available until the summer or fall. They include: the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, which will start in the fall, and Health Information Technology Associate in Science degree, Health Informatics Specialist certificate, Medical Information Coder/Biller certificate and Medical Transcription technical diploma, which all start in the summer.
“We’re looking forward to the expansion to better serve the community,’’ said Dr. Roy Vargas, dean of academic affairs for the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses.
