Austin Community College (ACC) is the first community college to receive Salesforce's Excellence in Institutional Efficiency award.

The award — which recognizes higher education institutions using Salesforce Education Cloud to increase operational efficiency by providing a holistic, connected campus experience — was presented at the Higher Ed Summit 2020.

ACC received the award for its ACCess Internship application, which provides an intuitive, user-friendly application and workflow process for students seeking internships through the college's Office of Experiential Learning. It tracks all internship participants — students, faculty, and employers — and helps ensure the college is meeting all compliance requirements to keep students safe and learning.

"This award highlights how technology, when properly applied, can increase our students' experience at every level of interaction with the college," says Imad Costantini, Information Technology vice president.

ACC's IT Salesforce Tactical Team and IT Shared Services worked with the Office of Experiential Learning to define the application vision and goals and to design, build, and release the application in only two months.

"This was a great example of close collaboration between divisions and a testament to the wonderful talent we have at ACC," says Dr. Susan Thomason, Teaching & Learning Excellence Division associate vice president.

ACC was one of three finalists which included Butler University and the University of Florida.

Watch the video of Kathryn Naughton, Office of Experiential Learning internship coordinator, accepting the award on behalf of ACC.