ACC students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to hear college updates and ask questions at the Fall 2019 Campus Conversation on Thursday, October 3, at Eastview Campus.

The conversation, led by ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes, started by sharing some of the college's recent brag points, including winning the Austin American-Statesman's Best of the Best Nursing Program for the second year in a row and being one of only nine colleges to receive the 2019 Seal of Excelencia by Excelencia in Education.

ACC's Priorities
Collegewide, ACC's priorities include communication and engagement, technology, data, and a new districtwide campus master plan.

"When you're on 11 campuses the size of Connecticut, it's hard to make sure everyone hears everything, but it is a huge focus now.This campus conversation is one of our outreach efforts," says Dr. Rhodes in regards to the challenge of communicating throughout the district.

Another recent effort was a survey on communications that went out in September in which more than 600 people responded. "All of this input and feedback will help shape the way we share news at the college," says Dr. Rhodes.

He also discussed efforts to replace the new enterprise resource planning system and said that responses to an RFP are currently being evaluated and a decision on a solution should be made by the end of December.

Updating the Districtwide Campus Master Plan is a priority because the last one took place in 2010. Since then, the college has added four new campuses — Elgin, San Gabriel, Cypress Creek, and Hays — and temporarily closed Pinnacle Campus. Dr. Rhodes said to look for updates about Pinnacle in the coming months.

Fall Enrollment and Completion
Dr. Rhodes also shared the college's fall enrollment numbers. More than 41,000 students are attending classes to earn credits and 38 percent of them are Hispanic, ACC's fastest-growing student population.

Completion numbers are improving as well. From 2014-2018, completion rates have doubled and transfer rates have increased by nine percentage points.

Eastview Campus Update
He then focused on Eastview Campus, which is home to 2,800 students this fall and is the number one campus in the district for health sciences and home to the only dental clinic in the college.

The campus is also home to the Culinary Arts program; however, it will move from Eastview to Highland in 2020 once the ACC Highland Phase 2 project is complete. A Campus Space Committee has been created to explore what to do with the vacant space.

Audience Questions and Suggestions
Following the presentation, Dr. Rhodes opened the floor for feedback and questions. Below are some of the questions and comments received:

• Concern about communicating ACC's new tuition payment deadline to students.
• Suggestion of a temporary Cashier Office at campuses that don't have a cashier services during registration periods to better supports students with transportation issues.
• Suggestion to talk to Capital Metro about converting one of its repair facilities located two blocks from Eastview Campus to a new Metro Rail station for Eastview students who need services located at ACC Highland.
• Concern about a lack of parking and the safety issues surrounding that, such as parking along dark streets.
• Concern about lack of nutritious food options on and around campus for students.

Watch the full conversation here.