ORLANDO, Fla. — The Board of Governors has given the University of Central Florida the OK to close three satellite campuses across Florida.

The UCF Leesburg, South Orlando, and Palm Bay campuses will shut down after not being in use for some time.

What You Need To Know

  • According to meeting documents, the three campuses are not used for instruction

  • The Ocala campus is also planned to be reclassified from a "type III campus" to a "special purpose site"

  • A presentation posted online indicates that the closures should not directly impact UCF students or staff

According to documents, UCF Leesburg was a joint-use facility in coordination with Lake-Sumter State College. The location originally offered course work for elementary education, though UCF discontinued instruction on the campus back in 2018 due to lack of demand.

UCF Palm Bay was used for instruction and academic support for transfer students. However, the campus hasn’t been used for educational programming since 2018 because of the expansion of online programs.

Two unoccupied buildings currently sit on the UCF South Orlando campus. Most recently, the site was used exclusively for testing. Currently, Orange County is leasing the property for a public park and recreation facility. It’s unclear what impact the campus closure would have on the park, if any at all.

UCF also plans to reclassify its Ocala campus from a “type III campus” to a “special purpose site.” The change indicates that a campus does not have an instructional component.

In 2018, UCF discontinued instruction on the campus, but kept one staff member there who works to assist students transferring from the College of Central Florida to UCF.

The UCF Board of Trustees had already approved these changes, and a representative with UCF said Wednesday’s vote by the Board of Governors was a formality.

Celeste Springer is the education beat reporter with Spectrum News 13. If you have a story idea or concern, you can email her at celeste.springer@charter.com.