PRIORITIES
STUDENT SUCCESS
Degree and credential attainment is at the core of everything Austin Community College has to offer. Students come to ACC for a wide range of reasons. Some intend to transfer to a 4-year university, others hope to earn a credential and enter/reenter the workforce. Still more come to learn a new skill, earn a promotion, or find a new calling. No matter why a student enrolls at Austin Community College, once they do, they’re on a path to earn a degree or credential.
Making sure students have the support they need, access to the right tools, and the information necessary to earn a credential or degree is the bedrock of a successful community college. Earning an education in 2023 requires reliable transportation, accessible housing, and so much more. Our students need these resources and Austin Community College should provide them. Austin Community College must continue to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s students with the end-goal of credential/degree attainment guiding the way.
WORKFORCE ACCESS
From Kyle to Cedar Park, Austin Community College is the economic engine driving Central Texas. No institution is positioned to meet our workforce needs better than ACC.
As postsecondary education continues to evolve, ACC must be at the forefront of innovative and data-backed solutions. Like micro credentials, early college high schools, and workforce partnerships. However, we can't chase trends without data-driven decision making guiding the way.
Workforce partnerships must be forged with major employers and small businesses. Micro credentials ought to be based on regional workforce needs and sustainable partnerships. Early college highschools ought to be expanded with vigor across Central Texas.
Austin Community College is the economic engine for Central Texas. With data-driven decision making, sustainable partnership cultivation, and continued support of early college high school expansion, it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
FAULTY / STAFF SUPPORT
Austin Community College is only as healthy as their faculty and staff. From IT staffing shortages, to faculty working two and three jobs, and staff kept at 19.5 hours per week, Austin Community College must do better to recrute, retain, and advance faculty and staff. A full review of staff who have been kept at 19.5 hours a week is needed, as is a renewed push to fill overdue vacancies. Moreover, faculty kept at the adjunct or lecturer position must be given the opportunity to make a living solely at Austin Community College. As ACC strives to offer the best for students, we must also fight for our tired and overworked faculty and staff. ACC is the workforce engin for Central Texas, it’s workforce must reflect that reality.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Student, faculty, and staff voices in elections, like this one, are quintessential to a healthy and well-functioning democracy. Increasing access to polling places, facilitating transportation to polling places, and continuing to increase student voices in elections is incredibly important. No student should have to decide if they are going to class or going to vote. Some campuses are located extremely close to reliable polling places, like the Rio Grande Campus or the Highland Campus. Other host polling locations on campus like the San Gabriel Campus. Protecting and expanding polling locations, transportation to polling locations, and is key is paramount to a healthier and more civically robust ACC.
AFFORDABILITY
Austin Community College has fought off tuition increases for the past decade. That streak must be kept alive. Central Texas is becoming increasingly unaffordable, the last thing a student should consider when deciding to enroll in college is the price of their classes. Whether it be a young student enrolling for the first time, a family considering enrolling their child in dual credit courses, or an adult learner re-enrolling to upskill or reskill, the price per credit must be kept affordable. Austin Community College costs $85 per credit hour (including fees) and that number must be maintained. The cost of living is going up in Central Texas. ACC should never be a financial pain point. Conversely, finances should never be a barrier to entry at ACC. Keeping prices low keeps ACC accessible.
HOUSING
Students at Austin Community College have voiced the dire need for more affordable housing. Austin Community College is uniquely positioned to buy and develop property in a way that supports both the community and students. ACC’s Highland Campus Development is a shining example of the thoughtful and constructive ways that ACC can help fight Central Texas’ housing shortage.
As ACC continues to develop and redevelop properties, like the ACC Pinnacle Campus, housing must remain top-of-mind. Following the passage of ACC’s 2022 $770 million dollar bond, the college is poised to support student housing needs through development, redevelopment, and creative partnerships. The next Board of Trustees must keep affordable housing in focus as development and redevelopment plans come to fruition.
TRANSPORTATION
Research shows that when transportation is limited, students are less likely to finish their course work, earn a credential, and enter the workforce better off than when they enrolled. As Project Connect continues to take shape ACC must remain at the heart of the conversation. The next Board of Trustees must prioritize working with City and County partnerships to ensure more bus stops, more bus routes, access to lite rail, and extended lite rail service hours are assured to best fit ACC students' needs. For many high school students accessing Dual Credit programs to adult learners accessing classes after work, or Austinites without a car or who share one with family members, public transit options are quintessential to student success.
We must also fight to maintain the programs in place, like the ACC Green Pass, which allows free rides for all ACC students on Cap Metro services. For our students outside of the CapMetro service area, we must look to build and bolster partnerships with local transportation providers like local school districts and the Capital Area Rural Transportation System.
DUAL CREDIT SUPPORT
Dual credit courses save families money while helping students to graduate high school ready for college or the workforce. Continuing to build on the base of dual credit offerings in place is paramount. Making sure students' credits transfer, making sure they have access to the right courses, and supporting students early in their dual credit journey is at the cornerstone of a forward thinking dual credit program.
Dual credit leads to increased college applications for first generation students and higher graduation rates across the board. It is also one of the cheapest ways to enter the workforce with a credential or certificate. Dual credit support and expansion for Central Texas high school students and their families is at the cornerstone of a brighter tomorrow.