Prepare for the spring semester with ACC’s watch, read, and explore list

Austin Community College District (ACC) spring semester is right around the corner and registration remains open. Classes begin Tuesday, January 19. As you enjoy the final weeks of the intersession, check out the latest content created by ACC to watch, read, and explore the college’s newest programs and features including Phase 2 of ACC Highland.

WATCH

ACCTV brings you the newest content in technology, education, entertainment, lifestyle, politics, and more. The public media outlet is run by Austin Community College District students, faculty, staff, and community partners. Special programs debuting now include:

A panel of ACC experts, led by ACC’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Center Director Dr. Khayree Williams, discusses the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the nation and here in Austin. 

ACC launches its first bilingual show to cover essential topics for ACC and the Central Texas Community. Ready, Set, Ascender! is hosted by Alejandra Polcik, ACC’s Hispanic outreach projects manager, and Megan Diaz, Ascender outreach specialist. In the pilot episode, ACC student Jennifer Rodriguez talks about her matachines dance performance.

Gather the kids and tune into ACC’s newest child-friendly programming, R.B. and Friends. ACC’s beloved mascot is joined by his co-host, Rachel, to explore science through an experiment demonstrating a chemical reaction.

The pandemic changed the way we live, learn, and work. Check out how ACC students have been staying connected and supported during the fall semester.

READ

Learn about students, faculty, issues, and efforts in the ACC Newsroom. New stories populate weekly to cover the highlights for resources, support, college events, and featured stories on student and staff accolades and accomplishments. The latest stories include:

Know when you enroll at ACC, you are enrolling in one of the best online institutions in the nation. Two 2020 reports ranked ACC’s online and distance education programs among the top in the state and nation. See how the college continues to improve its Distance Education programs and how it’s building off lessons learned during COVID-19.

Army Futures Command selects Austin Community College District as the home for its new Software Factory. The national flagship training program in software development, leadership, and problem-solving will debut at the newly renovated ACC Rio Grande Campus in spring 2021. 

Baking and cooking with family and friends is a favorite pastime. Check out what ACC Culinary Arts experts say are the five most important things to keep in mind for food safety. You can also learn more from our complete ACC Experts series, including preparing for remote careers, composing a winter garden, and losing weight in the New Year. 

Keeping Austin weird, ACC is now home to the city’s monolith. Find out how a simple idea turned into a viral hit in just 48 hours, all thanks to college collaboration and the Welding Department's skills.

Two federal Department of Education grants support the college's work toward closing equity gaps and increasing student success. Learn more about the support services offered through the TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) grant and the Distance Education in Focus: Improving Course Design and Strengthening Student Support (InFocus).

After beating out 370 nationwide submissions, one ACC student’s pieces were selected to be published in the 2020 issue of Nota Bene, Phi Theta Kappa’s online literary journal. Read Azucena Enloe’s fictional essay, “What Stays with Us,” about lost childhood memories and fear and her poem titled “All that is Beautiful is Dark and Dreary.” 

ACC is the first community college in Texas to use 100 percent sustainable energy. Two ACC campuses — the ACC Round Rock and Elgin campuses — now use 100 percent clean, renewable electricity. Find out more about ACC’s commitment to sustainability. 

EXPLORE ACC HIGHLAND CAMPUS PHASE 2

ACC will bring its newest campus online in spring 2021, ACC Highland Campus Phase 2. The campus is reshaping higher education by turning the former Highland Mall into a state-of-the-art learning and training complex. The new campus features specialized culinary arts, creative arts, health sciences, and workforce innovation. Our virtual sneak peek includes:

Take a sneak peek at the college’s newest campus. You can follow along with ACC’s new Culinary Arts facilities, Health Sciences simulation labs, Manufacturing Incubator, and RTF studios. 

Relive the official lighting of the Jacob Fontaine Plaza at ACC Highland. Fontaine Plaza is named in honor of civil rights leader and church founder Reverend Jacob Fontaine. The park features an art installation called “Thicket.” The piece features 73 purple poles (to commemorate the founding of ACC in 1973). Each pole varies in height and lights up at night in patterns to symbolize bats taking flight.

ACC’s Culinary Arts program is one of the programs finding its new home at Highland Campus. The program will move into new kitchens that are ten times the size of the current space at Eastview Campus. Step into the excitement here. 

ACC’s Music and Music Business & Performance Technology programs moved into their news spaces at Highland Campus after calling Northridge Campus home for more than two decades. The programs will have multiple recording studios, four smart classrooms, and a performance venue. Join in on the historic move.