ACC’s Transfer Services team helps students who intend to transfer stay on track this summer with the Summer Transfer Bootcamp. This two-day event will provide an in-depth exploration of transfer planning.
Summer Transfer BootcampDate: Tuesday, July 30 – Wednesday, July 31
Time: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: ACC Highland Campus (Room number will be sent upon registration.)
Sessions include:
For the best results, students are encouraged to attend both days. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Students can register until Tuesday, July 23, here.
Visit Transfer Services’ Transfer Events calendar for a full list of events.
After months of planning, the Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees has approved a new scholarship program to support current students.
The board unanimously approved the Affordability Scholarship program during its regular meeting on Monday, July 1.
The Affordability Scholarship program was developed following a request from Trustees. The board asked administration to explore opportunities that would honor existing students at a time when the Free Tuition pilot program was approved. The Free Tuition pilot launches fall 2024 and provides free tuition to students in the ACC service area who were part of the high school class of 2024 and those who earned their GED® after July 2023.
”I want to thank the board for working through this plan to support the students already working toward their degree at ACC. This Board is deeply committed to the work it takes to close equity gaps and improve the lives of our students. This shows the work we continue to do to meet the basic needs of our students while they are here,” says ACC Board Chair Dr. Barbara Mink. “We want to find ways to thoughtfully improve higher education and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Decisions like these demonstrate the commitment to every student, to this college, and the entire Central Texas community.”
“Our student leaders had the courage to come to us and share what their lives are really like. They’re experiencing things like food and housing insecurity more than ever,” says ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. “I’m so proud of this Board, our students, and this college for listening and putting our students and their needs first. With this program, we’re one more step closer to making tuition free for everyone.”
Who QualifiesThe two-year program is limited to students who were enrolled in a credit course at ACC during the spring 2024 semester. Students are eligible for the Affordability Scholarship once they have completed 45 credit hours toward an associate degree at ACC. More than 20,000 students who were enrolled in spring 2024 could be eligible.
How It WorksStudents who are awarded an Affordability Scholarship will receive tuition support for 15 credit hours that go toward a degree program at ACC. Recipients will have one academic year to apply the tuition support to their courses.
How It’s FundedThe program is expected to cost $12.75 million and will be funded with existing dollars in the college’s reserves budget.
“Our goal is to help students finish what they started. We want to honor the students enrolled at ACC during the approval for the Free Tuition Pilot Program. It is our responsibility to make sure students have what they need to be successful,” says Dr. Lowery-Hart. “These students have shown dedication and resilience in their education. It is the start of what can truly transform the lives of our students and community.”
Ongoing planning is underway to examine future programs that can allow the college to expand free tuition to more student populations.
More information about the Affordability Scholarship, including how to find out if a student is eligible, will be shared in the coming weeks.
ACC is experiencing issues with the college’s authentication systems Monday, July 1. Users, including students and faculty, may have trouble accessing features that require Okta verification during this time.
How does it affect me?This outage may be affecting multiple applications and websites across the college. You may not be able to log in to Colleague, Workday, Google, Box, etc. currently.
What should I do?If you are logged into an application currently, do not log out or you may not be able to log in again until the issue is resolved.
The college’s IT department is aware and is working to resolve the issue.
Austin Community College District (ACC) and the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) announce a first-of-its-kind technology and cybersecurity apprenticeship to reimagine apprenticeship programs for higher education and state agencies. The college hosted a formal signing agreement to launch the new program Friday, June 28, at the ACC Highland Campus in the Make It Center.
“This is the start of a new system that will change how we work to prepare students for a better future for them and their families. It will support students finishing what they started while getting the experience they need to transition to a successful career,” says ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. “These are the partnerships that confirm ACC is the one that is going to train the workers and make all of this magic happen. It is the start of what can truly transform the lives of our students and community.”
The partnership is closely aligned with House Bill 584. It lays the groundwork for in-house information technology training programs within state agencies.
“The idea was that we have a workforce shortage in cybersecurity, and there were obstacles to getting that workforce built out—the biggest was requiring a four-year degree. We determined we could look at apprenticeship,” says Texas Rep. Donna Howard. “We can create a position for IT cybersecurity that could lead to an associate degree and create a situation where the state could actually hire folks without a four-year degree, but who actually have the experience and the knowledge to protect the resources that we have in our systems.”
“ACC and community colleges across Texas have proven that you do not need a 4-year degree to be talented at cybersecurity, to be talented at state IT. We’re pumping tons of money into our community colleges. It’s time for the state to start reaping some of those benefits,” says Spencer Schumacher, Executive Director at Innovation & Technology Caucus of the Texas Legislature. “Last session, we invested $2.6 billion into major state IT projects…but all of those investments mean nothing if we don’t have talented people in state agencies to make decisions about what technology to deploy and when to deploy it.”
DIR will serve as the employer for this pilot program.
“This is a fantastic way to strengthen the state IT workforce and, frankly, the partnership with ACC was just a natural fit. it is the perfect pilot partner for us with this initiative. We want to be able to scale it across the state. We’ve partnered with [ACC] in the past on a variety of other initiatives, [its] proximity to state government offices, and then [its] exceptional cybersecurity and computer science programs really made it a natural fit,” says Amanda Crawford, DIR’s Executive Director and State of Texas Chief Information Officer. “We are looking at a global shortage of cybersecurity workers. We really need help to teach these skills and get folks out there as quickly as possible. Two-year degree programs are just as effective in helping us get folks out there as quickly as possible to be able to address that shortage.”
ACC will use this model to replicate with all partners, including business and industry. Apprenticeships offer the dual benefit of work and study, providing hands-on training while pursuing academic qualifications. This apprenticeship offers a unique model for training state agency employees and provides an all-encompassing view of the department, blending academic learning with practical, on-the-job experience.
“Apprenticeships are the best way for students to get real-time on-the-job training. While getting the skills that can make them hirable,” says Dr. Lowery-Hart. “This program will help ACC become the gold standard for apprenticeships that reflect the needs of industry. It will reflect the prowess, and pedagogy of incredible faculty. It will meet the needs of our community and give students a pathway to a family-sustaining wage.”
“Having ACC as a partner is really important because there are great minds coming through here. I was out a recent event that you all had, and I got to connect with some students. They understood exactly what we do. They knew what they wanted,” says Lisa Jammer, DIR Chief People and Culture Officer. “Each area of the apprenticeship allows you to understand the state’s infrastructure better. If you’re really looking to deep dive and understand exactly what we do here, this is the opportunity. You’re sitting down with experts who have 20 or more years of experience, but also to enjoy some of the new things that are happening.”
The program is designed to be a template for future partnerships between state agencies and educational institutions, with the potential to expand into the private sector. ACC’s next partnership will be with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
Cybersecurity Programs at ACCThe Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program at ACC represents a significant step forward in addressing the tech industry’s evolving needs and creating pathways for students to enter the workforce.
The college offers a full computer science pathway from fast-track competency-based education (CBE) programs and other accelerated options to an associate degree in Computer Information Technology and Computer Science. In fall 2023, ACC launched its fourth bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity. The bachelor of applied science (BAS) is designed to help working professionals in cybersecurity prepare for more advanced career roles. The college also offers a BAS in Software Development.
Explore all ACC programs in Computer Science and IT at austincc.edu/computerscience.
Apprenticeship Programs at ACCIn 2023, more than 100 students registered to complete apprenticeships. At least seven ACC departments, including health sciences, manufacturing, IT, accounting, and veterinary technology, are involved in apprenticeship programs with over 25 industry partners. ACC’s programs are registered with the Texas Workforce Commission.
For more information, visit austincc.edu/apprenticeships.
Dozens turned out for the Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees public hearing on ACC’s potential annexation of Lockhart Independent School District (LISD) territory. The hearing took place on Tuesday, June 25, at Lockhart ISD’s Gerry Ohlendorf Performing Arts Center.
Members of the Lockhart community addressed the board to share support and concerns about entering the college’s Taxing District. The purpose of the hearing is to allow Trustees the opportunity to hear directly from the community before they meet in August to decide whether to call an official election. If the board approves, the annexation will be on the November ballot for Lockhart ISD voters to decide. If approved, residents living within the Lockhart ISD territory will receive in-district benefits immediately.
More about the service planThe service plan includes three distinct phases of potential facility development in the community.
Phase 1: ACC will work with LISD to provide services on LISD property during evenings and weekends when LISD property is not otherwise in use. The college will offer expanded career and technical workforce offerings as well as collaborate with the school district on the implementation of an Early College High School.
Phase 2: ACC will work with the local community to develop and occupy a 15,000-square-foot to 20,000-square-foot workforce and general education space located in close proximity to Lockhart High School.
Phase 3: ACC will purchase land and develop a permanent facility in the territory to be annexed after consultation with local community, economic, and educational leadership to ensure that the permanent facility meets the emerging and projected needs of the region.
For more information on the process, service plan, and tax information, visit austincc.edu/lockhart.
ACC’s experiential learning opportunities provide students with experiences beyond the classroom that positively impact career readiness. Reports from the fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters are now available and show the growth in these programs.
The college’s Office of Experiential Learning (OEL), housed under the Teaching & Learning Excellence Division (TLED), works with academic departments to develop and maintain cooperative education programs. The OEL works with employers and nonprofit organizations to arrange external learning internships, clinicals, apprenticeships, and service learning.
In spring, 2,780 students enrolled in experiential learning opportunities, up from 2,466 students enrolled in experiential learning opportunities.
OEL reports that there are a total of 66 departments throughout the college with at least one form of external learning program available to their students in the 2023-24 academic year. This represents over 81% of all departments in the college.
Below is an overview of some of the experiential learning programs offered and the data from the reports for these areas.
Service LearningService Learning is an instructional method in which an entire class is assigned to a nonprofit or government agency to work on a project for the semester. The projects are graded assignments that have an element of self-reflection. Career readiness and community engagement are the twin foci of the service learning program.
Faculty must undergo a three-day training program to be certified to teach a service learning section. Currently, more than 100 faculty members have taken the course.
This spring, 750 students from 15 departments and 37 sections took part in service learning. In the fall, 728 students from 13 departments and 43 sections participated.
Service Learning has seen tremendous growth over the previous year. In spring 2023, the number of students in service learning programs was 631, and in fall 2022, the number was only 230. Preliminary numbers show more than 1,000 students registered in service learning sections for fall 2024.
InternshipsInternships include all courses with instructional methods INT (internship). PRA (practicum), and COO (coop), excluding Health Sciences practicums, which are included under clinicals. These courses generally serve as capstones in their respective degree plans and have restricted enrollment contingent on department chair approval.
Internships can be either paid or unpaid and employers range from our own Bioscience Incubator and college partners, such as Austin PBS, to a variety of small and large Central Texas employers. The college currently has a list of about 1,400 employers, which has grown from about 1,300 in the fall, and ACC works to get as many of the internships paid as possible.
In the spring, 393 students from 33 departments and 55 sections enrolled in internships, up from 320 students from 30 departments and 49 sections in the fall.
ClinicalsClinicals include all courses with instructional method CLI and Health Sciences sections with instructional method PRA. Clinical are a requirement for several programs at ACC and they cannot be paid.
In the spring, 1,534 students from 11 departments and 64 sections participated in clinicals. Those numbers were 1,310 students, 11 departments, and 50 sections in the fall.
ApprenticeshipsApprenticeships are an agreement between the college and an employer in which the college provides their employees with technical instruction and the employer provides on-the-job training. Their employees are typically our students hired by the employer and the apprenticeship ends with a nationally recognized credential. ACC requires that the employer provide the employee with a pay increase once the apprenticeship has been completed.
Apprenticeship programs were recently moved under the OEL after Gretchen Riehl retired as the associate vice chancellor of Workforce Education. Currently, ACC has about six active apprenticeship programs and the OEL plans to grow that number.
In the spring, 103 students participated in an apprenticeship program, and 108 students participated in the fall.
To learn more about ACC’s experiential learning programs, visit the Office of Experiential Learning’s website.
This regular feature recognizes the achievements, activities, and accolades of Austin Community College District (ACC) faculty and staff. To submit news or suggestions, see the contact information below.
Dr. Nina Almasy, Dean of Health Sciences, was selected as an advisory member for the Texas Healthcare Workforce Task Force created by Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The Healthcare Workforce Task Force and advisory members will meet monthly and gather insights from state agency experts and additional healthcare stakeholders throughout Texas. The task force will issue a final report on October 1, 2024. Learn more here.
Student Support Services leaders Dr. Ruth Reinhart, Kathy James, and Hilda Gartzeke served as panelists at the Civitas Learning Leadership Workshop in June, where they highlighted their successes in using the Civitas platform to enhance student engagement and persistence.
The ACC Center for Peace & Conflict Studies received a $10,000 Inspiring Campus Change grant from Interfaith America. The grant will support a research project to better understand the religious, secular, and spiritual identities of ACC students and how these identities shape their academic journey. The college is one of 11 recipients of this year’s grant. Learn more here.
Adjunct Jewelry Faculty Sugar Gay Isber had her work featured in the film “Hit Man” by director Richard Linklater. The movie, available on Netflix and in theaters, features actress Jo-Ann Robinson adorned with unique pieces crafted by Isber in her Austin-area studio.
Do you know a student, faculty, or staff member who has accomplished something notable outside the classroom or in their community? We want to hear about them. Contact Victoria Garza Gonzalez, ACC internal communications coordinator, at victoria.garza@austincc.edu.
Prepare to see a lot of new faces on campus this fall. One month after fall registration opened, preliminary enrollment data show registrations continue to climb, especially among new students.
According to fall 2024 registration reports, enrollments for all ACC students are up almost 23% from last year and more than 29% from two years ago as of June 20.
As for new students, since ACC announced the Free Tuition Pilot Program for the high school class of 2024 on April 1, registrations for all new students are up more than 27% from last year and more than 78% from fall 2022.
Daily registration reports show almost every area of study across the college is seeing increased enrollments of at least 10% from last year.
Growth by Area of Study
“Supporting our students and community with the resources they need to succeed is our top priority,” says Dr. Monique Umphrey, ACC Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic & Student Affairs. “We are closely monitoring trends and remain committed to expanding our offerings to ensure we provide the necessary classes and resources to meet our students’ needs.”
To understand the demand for courses as part of the Free Tuition program, Instructional leadership collaborated with the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA) to gather and analyze relevant data on direct-to-college students from the past three fall semesters.
The data show that:
Based on this data, Instructional leadership created an action plan for adjusting the fall 2024 schedule to match enrollment trends. Additionally, they aim to help students declare a major early in their academic journey at ACC. Action items include:
Instruction also developed a dashboard with OIRA to track active course sections for the top 20 courses, ensuring responsiveness to enrollment needs.
To support students in declaring a major, Instruction is implementing two programs for fall 2024. One involves a pilot program in several sections of the student success course with sessions on discipline and major exploration and a dedicated session with a faculty advisor.
The other is ‘Pathways Discovery Week’ from September 9 to 13, offering students sessions with academic divisions to explore different pathway options. Reflection on these sessions will be integrated into the student success course within the Student Development and Humanities areas.
Student Registration SupportThere are still two months to register for fall classes. Students are encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure the classes and locations that best fit their needs.
Students who need assistance registering can still get 1-on-1 support. The college will host Registration Rallies to provide registration assistance, academic advising, financial aid, and information on course selection to meet academic goals.
Registration Rallies
Dates: Saturday, July 20, and Saturday, August 17
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Locations: Round Rock, Hays, and Highland campuses
Registration Stations are also available throughout the summer. They’re located in the ACCelerators at the ACC Highland, Round Rock, and San Gabriel campuses. Staff will be ready to assist ACC students Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Students may also book a virtual session for support.
Fall classes begin Monday, August 26. For more information, visit austincc.edu/fall. (Haga clic aquí para Español, austincc.edu/otono.)
The self-evaluation that kicks off the annual Performance Excellence Program (PEP) period is now available in Workday for Austin Community College District (ACC) employees. Administrators, Classified employees, and Professional-Technical employees are asked to complete their self-evaluation soon to allow for supervisor review.
This year, employees will see a few minor changes to the PEP process:
Before the PEP process ends on Friday, August 23, 2024, all staff should have met with their supervisor to discuss successes, areas for improvement, and goal-setting. These evaluations are done every year to ensure all employees are receiving meaningful feedback on their performance, an important tool for building excellence across the College.
Details for both employees and supervisors can be found on the Self-Evaluation web page or the Staff Evaluation for Supervisors web page.
If you’d like to learn more, sign up for one of the upcoming information sessions listed on those pages.
ACC’s HR Business Partners are ready to visit with faculty and staff on each campus. Over the past few months, Erica Breedlove, Donald Jackson, and Aly Wang have been gathering information, meeting with key leaders, and building a program aimed at closing the gap between ACC employees and the Human Resources department. They’ll make regular visits to all campuses to foster direct interactions and effectively address HR inquiries for everyone at ACC.
Starting Monday, July 8, and continuing through Thursday, July 18, the Business Partners will host meet-and-greets at the campuses they’ve been assigned to. One of the partners’ primary goals is to build relationships and spend face-to-face time with all ACC staff and faculty to answer questions and offer guidance.
All employees are urged to participate in these sessions if schedules allow. Those who can’t attend in person can tune in via Zoom.
Visit the HR Business Partner web page to find your campus’s date, time, and Zoom link. Please submit an RSVP for seating and refreshment purposes.
Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Center for Peace & Conflict Studies has been awarded a prestigious $10,000 grant from Interfaith America. This grant, one of only 11 Inspiring Campus Change grants given out this year, will fund a vital research project to deepen our understanding of students’ religious, secular, and spiritual identities.
Interfaith America‘s grants support higher education institutions in promoting religious diversity and pluralism. According to Interfaith America, this grant will provide “opportunities for institutions of higher education to promote religious pluralism and to create welcoming environments for people of diverse religious, secular, and spiritual identities” to help “campuses engage constructively with people of diverse religious backgrounds and divergent ideologies, and to model what it means to live and thrive in a diverse democracy.”
“The Inspiring Campus Change team at Interfaith America is excited to support the development of more comprehensive interfaith infrastructures and strategies at Austin Community College. The proposed project outlines a clear plan to strengthen the institution’s knowledge and engagement of religious diversity on campus, with the goal of developing strategies to advance religious pluralism,” says Bex Blackburn, Interfaith America program operations manager.
The project will be administered through the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies by a team including Shirin Catterson Khosropour, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center; Matty Martinez-Mandell, Coordinator of the Center; and Grant Potts, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities. The project will involve group interviews with students across multiple campuses and collecting collegewide data on students’ religious, secular, and spiritual identities. The findings will guide recommendations for enhancing inclusivity.
ACC qualified for the grant by participating in the Interfaith, Spiritual, Religious, and Secular Campus Climate Index, a national survey assessing campus inclusivity. This national index helps campuses better assess how welcoming they are to students from a variety of religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds. It is a collaboration between researchers at Ohio State University and North Carolina State University, funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
The Center for Peace & Conflict Studies at ACC, founded over 10 years ago, focuses on peace, justice, and conflict understanding.
For more information, visit ACC’s Center for Peace & Conflict Studies webpage.
Austin Community College District (ACC) will close in observance of Independence Day on Thursday, July 4. The college reopens Friday, July 5. Employees are reminded to turn on their out-of-office replies.
Employees are also reminded that ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart announced during the June Virtual Employee Town Hall that the first week of July is No Meeting Week and that every Friday in July will be No Email Fridays. These opportunities will look different for everyone and employees are expected to use their judgment. The intention is for employees to find time to reconnect with each other, get organized, and get some things off their plates.
Registration Remains Open for StudentsRegistration for 5.5-week summer courses remains open. The short semester begins July 13. Students may view the summer course schedule online.
Fall registration remains open, and the fall course schedule may be viewed here. Classes begin Monday, August 26. For more information and to register, visit austincc.edu/fall.
Banking on campus is about to become much easier for the ACC community. As part of the partnership between ACC and University Federal Credit Union (UFCU), five new ATMs have been installed across various campuses, and even more are set to come online throughout the summer.
The newly installed ATMs are strategically located at the Eastview, two at Highland, Riverside, and Round Rock campuses. All the machines officially came online on Wednesday, June 26.
The initiative doesn’t stop here. ACC and UFCU are committed to expanding this convenience to other campuses, with additional ATM installations planned in the coming weeks. Specific dates for these installations will be announced soon, ensuring that all ACC campuses will benefit from on-site banking facilities before the summer ends.
Plans also are moving forward to expand UFCU branches on ACC campuses, with work opportunities for students.
As part of the partnership, ACC and UFCU will share monthly financial health literacy tips and information. The links below provide more information about the tips.
Good For You, Good For Your Wallet
Three Tips To Help College Graduates Establish Their Finances
“If you already know what you are passionate about, don’t hesitate any longer and start making it happen. And if you don’t know it yet, start exploring possibilities, you will never find what you like if you don’t start experiencing it.”
For Maria Gonzalez Lopez, it was time to dive into her future and embrace her interests. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from México, she started dancing professionally at 18 years old. However, this led to injuries and health concerns.
“Throughout my professional career in contemporary dance and fitness, I suffered multiple injuries that prevented me from continuing to develop, also greatly affecting my mental and emotional health. Therefore, I spent a lot of time in physical therapy where I witnessed how, with their help, I was able to regain a healthy body and a strong mind.”
Now, Maria is working toward a degree in physical therapy through ACC’s Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) program.
“I want better to understand the human body from the scientific perspective in order to continue my training as a health professional, ultimately seeking to help people live a pain-free, happy, and better quality of life.”
Getting on track to reach these dreams hit a few bumps.
“One year ago, I suffered high levels of stress due to economic problems and difficulties with my studies plan, which greatly affected my performance in school, as well as my physical and mental health. So, I decided to quit school and return to my home country. However, life had better plans for me.”
Maria connected with Dr. Nina Almasy, dean of Health Sciences, and Estrella Barerra, associate dean of Health Sciences, who took the extra time to work with her to find the best balance for her academically and personally.
“After working and talking it through, I found I could complete my degree through the PTA program in a shorter period of time and without throwing away my dreams. I adjusted my study plans and commitments, and thanks to the guidance and motivation, I earned a 3.7 GPA in the fall semester of 2023 and 3.5 in the spring of 2024 while completing all the requirements to enter the program.”
She is now waiting to hear if she will be accepted into the program. Maria wants to make sure everyone knows that this isn’t a road or burden you have to take alone.
“The road is not easy, you are strong and, most importantly, you are never alone. I choose ACC because of its excellent services, from tutoring for my classes and personalized coaching to improve my way of studying to success coaches who guide me towards my goals. I also found my community that has opened doors to new opportunities and made me feel at home from day one through the Ascender Program.”
If accepted, Maria expects to graduate in May 2026.
For more information on ACC‘s Health Sciences programs, visit austincc.edu/healthsciences.
Have questions about Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Free Tuition Pilot Program for the class of 2024? The college prepares future Riverbats for the next steps through a series of information sessions. Hosted by the ACC Welcome Center, the workshops connect students and their families with resources that can help make their college journey smooth.
Free Tuition Pilot Program Info Sessions
Tuesday, June 25 | 12 p.m.
Tuesday, July 9 | 6 p.m.
Tuesday, July 23 | 12 p.m.
Tuesday, August 6 | 6 p.m.
The sessions will be hosted in both English and Spanish. All sessions will be held at ACC Highland Campus (6101 Highland Campus Dr.), Building 1000, Welcome Center.
Key Information Session HighlightsThe pilot program offers free tuition and general fees for high school seniors, including public, private, charter, and homeschoolers and GED completers, in the ACC service area for the next five years.
The first dollar program means student tuition is covered so they can apply for additional financial support like Pell Grants, financial aid, and scholarships to get additional funding to help cover other college expenses like housing, child care, textbooks, and more.
For more information, visit austincc.edu/freetuition.