Celebrating student success improvements

Austin Community College District's 2020 fall commencement was a celebration of the college's largest group of graduates to date — more than 3,400 students. Combined with the number of students who graduated in spring, ACC will have recognized more than 6,300 this year. 2020 is the first year to fully realize the college's Guided Pathways initiatives.

ACC adopted Guided Pathways in 2016 and redesigned the learning experience with new initiatives, like Student Success course — EDUC 1300; new learning facilities, like the ACCelerator; co-requisite courses; and expanded support programs. Since then, the college has continued to see huge dividends in terms of student outcomes.

Preliminary data shows strong and promising growth across all college programs. ACC students have earned 43 percent more associate degrees and 49 percent more certificates over the last five years.

The largest increases in percentage growth over the past five years were in these five Areas of Study:

  • Design, Manufacturing, Construction, and Applied Technologies
  • Arts, Digital Media, and Communications
  • Computer Science and IT
  • Science, Engineering, and Math
  • Health Sciences

The largest increases in the last year were in:

  • Liberal Arts
  • Design, Manufacturing, Construction, and Applied Technologies
  • Computer Science and IT
  • Arts, Digital Media, and Communications
  • Business

Additionally, the combined number of credit associate degrees and certificates has grown each year, with this year's total nearly double the total from five years ago.

  • 2015: 2,903
  • 2016: 3,903
  • 2017: 4,243
  • 2018: 4,305
  • 2019: 5,156
  • 2020: 5,624

Watch ACC's 2020 Virtual Commencement Celebration pre-show with messages from ACC faculty and staff and the community here.