Austin Community College
Austin Community College has given a cohesive and comprehensive face to student success. Since 2009, ACC has pursued multiple student success strategies under the comprehensive umbrella of its Student Success Initiative (SSI). The college has established a Student Success Initiative Steering Committee (SSISC), comprised of students, faculty, and college leadership, which sets and pursues multiple strategies all aimed at closing achievement gaps and improving overall student success.
The SSI has seven goals. Those goals are to:
- Reduce Attrition;
- Increase the numbers of students who complete developmental and adult education course progression to credit courses;
- Increase the numbers of students who complete gateway courses;
- Increase student persistence (term to term/year to year);
- Enhance student learning by increasing the numbers of students who complete attempted courses with a “C” or better;
- Increase the degree/certificate graduates/transfer rates; and
- Increase success equity across all racial/ethnic/gender/income groups.
ACC has also created and continues to scale the following four interventions to close achievement gaps at the college:
- Mandatory Orientation;
- Mathematical Thinking (MATD 0385);
- Developmental Math Advisors; and
- A Faculty Coach Program.
Austin Community College (ACC) enrolls more than 44,000 credit students, with an additional 15,000 students enrolled in non-credit courses. ACC is an open door to higher education and training, serving an eight-county service area in Central Texas. ACC is the leading source of transfer students to the University of Texas-Austin and Texas State University at San Marcos; and is the number one choice for high school graduates and adults who enter college. ACC provides educational programs and support services that produce the backbone of the local workforce.
In 2009, ACC launched a Student Success Initiative to assure the student success rate continues to grow. In Fall 2010, 30% of Blinn’s student population was comprised of minority students, with more than half of those students being Hispanic; 24% of all undergraduates received Pell grants. ACC is focusing on growing graduation and transfer rates, continuing to excel on licensure passage rates, and preserving the pipeline that produces students who are well-equipped for the workforce.
The Achieving the Dream Model
Achieving the Dream community colleges commit to our Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low- income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
Each college approaches the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for keeping the focus where it belongs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support and help each college’s core team implement data-informed programs and policies that build long-term, institution-wide commitment to student success.
