Annexation
San Marcos CISD

Fact Sheets

Closing the Gaps in College Participation1

Closing the Gaps is a statewide initiative that began in 2000 to reverse an alarming trend toward decreased college participation rates among Texans. The state Legislature has called for Texas colleges and universities to enroll an additional 630,000 students by 2015 in order to maintain a healthy economy and attract business and industry requiring a skilled workforce.

Key concerns driving the initiative are:

  • If more people don’t obtain higher education, the state will not have the skilled, well-educated workforce expected by business and industry.
  • Business and industry will relocate or limit expansion while new business will go elsewhere if the region cannot provide the necessary trained workforce.
  • Minorities are the fastest growing demographic group but the least likely to go to college.

The Gap in San Marcos

The Texas Education Agency reports 55 percent of SMCISD’s 2008 graduates did not enter the public higher education system within the year after they graduated. According to TEA, almost 60 percent of SMCISD students are economically disadvantaged.

Failing to Address the Gap

Projections demonstrate failure to increase college participation rates would affect all residents. Here are some ways communities are impacted2:

  • Increased number of uneducated people.
  • Increased number of people making lower wages.
  • Decreased consumer spending, harming local businesses and the local economy.
  • Increase in tax-funded social services.

ACC’s Role in Closing the Gaps

With locations across an eight-county service area, 235 degrees and certificates, and more than 41,000 credit students, the Austin Community College District (ACC) is a gateway to higher education in the region.

  • ACC assists students of all education levels and backgrounds, particularly those from traditionally underserved populations such as minorities, economically disadvantaged, and students who are the first in their families to go to college.
  • The fastest growing populations are minorities who have been traditionally underserved in higher education. Minorities who go to college most often choose community colleges.
  • ACC remains the most affordable option for students entering college. Two years (60 credit hours) of 2010-11 tuition and fees at ACC is as low as $3,480 for in-district students. This compares with $15,680 at Texas State University-San Marcos and $18,836 at the University of Texas at Austin.3
  • ACC is the largest provider of transfer students to the University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. As ACC grows, so do four-year universities.

1. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “Closing the Gaps: Texas Higher Education Plan.”
2. The Perryman Group, “A Tale of Two States - And One Million Jobs!!” March 2007.
3. Collegefortexans.com, “College Costs, 2010-2011."