ACC and Very Large Texas Community Colleges

ACC and Very Large Texas Community Colleges

THECB Almanac 2017 Data

June 9, 2017

THECB Almanac 2017 - ACC and Very Large Community Colleges Analysis

Report Highlights

The Austin Community College (ACC) District is the primary gateway to higher education and training for residents in a 7,000-square-mile area in Central Texas. ACC is among the fastest- growing community colleges in the country, providing access to valuable programs and services that change lives and benefit communities.

This report summarizes key characteristics of ACC and its nine peer institutions as reported in The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) 2017 Almanac.

General Enrollment Characteristics

In fall 2016, ACC was the 6th largest community college among the ten very large community colleges in Texas (39,208 students enrolled in credit courses).

ACC serves more part-time students (82.1%) than six of its peer institutions in Texas, with only Tarrant County CCD (83.1%), Lone Star College (83.5%), and Dallas County CCD (84.9%) serving fractionally more part-time students.

In fall 2016, 15.5% (6,100 students) of the total enrollment were students enrolled in dual-credit programs, programs where high school students attempt one or more college courses for high school and college credit.

Successes

ACC's disaggregated graduation by ethnicity data mirrors both the enrollment and service area ethnic breakdown. Approximately 7% of degrees are awarded to African American students, mirroring the approximate 8% enrollment of African American students. Additionally, approximately 28% of degrees are awards to Hispanic/Latino students, which is in line with the approximate 33% enrollment of Hispanic/Latino students.

ACC serves a larger percentage of students enrolled in technical programs (35.1%) than its nine peer institutions in Texas, indicating that a higher number of students are seeking programs to prepare them for the workforce.

ACC is ranked 6th for success of Academic Program Graduates. For graduates of the 2014-15 academic year, 90.0 % are employed and/or enrolled. However, the difference in success rates between ACC and its top-ranked peer is 4.3 percentage points (top ranked peer success of Academic Program Graduates is 94.3%), indicating that ACC is competitive within its peer group.

ACC is ranked 5th for success of Technical Program Graduates. For graduates of the 2014-15 acadmeic year, 88.1% are employed and/or enrolled indicating that Technical Program Graduates are leaving ACC ready for the workforce. However, the difference in success rates between ACC and its top-ranked peer is 3.3 percentage points (top ranked peer success of Academic Program Graduates is 91.4%), indicating that ACC is competitive within its peer group.

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THECB Almanac 2017 - ACC and Very Large Community Colleges Analysis

ACC has the 3rd highest rate for students below reading standards successfully completing a college-level reading-related course within three years of enrollment (52.3%).

ACC also has the highest rate for students below writing standards successfully completing a college-level writing-related course within three years of enrollment (47.3%).

First time in college students at ACC are entering more prepared for college. ACC has the 5th lowest rate for students enrolling whose skills are considered below standards in mathematics (33.2%), the 2nd lowest rate for students whose skills are considered below standards in reading (16.7%), and the 3rd lowest rate for students whose skills are considered below standards in writing (15.0%).

ACC has the lowest student-faculty ratio (16:1) (tied with Houston) compared with its peer institutions.

Opportunities

ACC's six-year transfer rate for students enrolled in fall 2010 (18.1%) is ranked 10th (last) among its peer institutions in Texas.

ACC ranks 9th among its peer institutions in total number of degrees and certificates awarded (3,910 awards).

ACC ranks 10th among its peer institutions in three-year and four-year graduation rates for first-time credential seeking students enrolled starting in fall 2013. (3-year rate: 6.2% full-time, 2.7% part-time; 4-year rate: 11.8% full-time, 4.9% part-time). However, it should be noted that the graduation rates almost doubled full-time and more than doubled for part-time students between year 3 and year 4.

ACC ranks 10th among its peer institutions for six-year graduation rate for first time, credential seeking students enrolled full-time (26.4%).

ACC ranks 10th among its peer institutions in average attempted credits to complete an associate degree for graduates in the 2015-16 academic year (106 semester credit hours [SCH]). At the highest ranked institution, South Texas College, the average attempted credits was 80 SCH.

ACC ranks 10th among its peer institutions in average time to complete an associate degree for graduates in in the 2015-16 academic year (5.5 years). This data, combined with both the average attempted credits and six-year graduation rates, is in line with the higher number of part-time students enrolled at ACC.

ACC has the 6th highest rate for students below mathematics standards successfully completing a college-level mathematics related course within three years (12.8%).

ACC has the 3rd highest average tuition and fees for 30 semester credit hours among its peers ($2,550). The highest average tuition among the 10 peer institutions was $3,590 (South Texas College), and the lowest average tuition was $1,278 (Houston).

ACC ranks 9th among its peer institutions for percent of semester credit hours taught by full-time faculty (51.3%).

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THECB Almanac 2017 - ACC and Very Large Community Colleges Analysis

5-year Trend Analysis Highlights

The percentage of part-time students has increased across the five years the peer institutions. The percentage of part-time students has remained about the same for ACC over the five years (from 80.5% in fall 2012 to 82.1% in fall 2016).

The proportion of students in academic program and technical programs varied across the five years for all of the peer institutions. For ACC, the proportion of students in academic programs has increased from 53.0% in 2012 to 64.9% in 2016. Concomitantly, the percentage of students in technical programs decreased from 41.2% to 35.1%.

The 2010 and 2013 cohorts appeared to include the largest proportions of credit students receiving Pell grants. This is consistent with a lagged impact of the 2008 economic recession in Texas compared to the rest of the country. The 2012, 2013, and 2014 cohorts show a decline in Pell grant recipients across the peer institutions.

All ten peer institutions report increasing numbers of degrees and certificates awarded from fiscal year (FY) 2012 to FY15. All peer institutions have shown exponential increases in the number of degrees and certificates awarded, with the exception of El Paso CCD. ACC increased the number of degrees and certificates from 2,609 (FY12) to 3,910 (FY15), a 49.9% increase. El Paso CCD increased the number of awards from 4,469 (FY12) to 4,629 (FY15), an increase of 3.6%.

ACC has the lowest 3-year graduation rates for full-time and for part-time first time in college credential seeking students compared to its nine peers.

Six year graduation rates are similar for the ten peer institutions. For full-time first time in college credential seeking students, two colleges reported slightly higher graduation rates (Collin County averaged 36.6% across the five years, San Jacinto averaged 36.3%). One college reported slightly lower graduation rates (Alamo averaged 24.1%). ACC's graduation rate averaged 28.5% for this group of students.

The percentage of first time in college students transferring to a four-year institution within six years has declined in the last year for nine of the ten peer institutions. The decline in percentage ranged from .6 percentage points (Houston) to 10.9 percentage points (ACC). El Paso CCD showed the only increase, 3.4 percentage points.

The percentages of academic and technical program graduates who were employed or enrolled in the fourth quarter in the year after graduation was uniformly high for all of the ten peer institutions (85% or greater).

The number of first time in college students entering below math standard decreased from 2009 to 2013 for eight of the ten peer institutions. The decrease was highest for Alamo (-47%), and lowest for Tarrant (-2%). Austin decreased 16%. The number of students entering below math standard increased for Houston (2%) and Lone Star College (11%).

o The percentage of first time in college students entering below math standard and meeting their TSI obligation within two years has declined for six of the ten peer institutions between the 2009 and 2013 cohorts. The greatest decline was

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THECB Almanac 2017 - ACC and Very Large Community Colleges Analysis

at Houston (-47.7 percentage points). The greatest increase was at El Paso (5.3 percentage points). The percentage increased by 1.9 percentage points at ACC over the five-year period.

The number of first time in college students entering below writing standard increased across the cohorts from 2009 to 2013 for six of the ten peer institutions. The number of students entering below writing standard increased the least at ACC (9.3%) and the most at Lone Star College (154.8%) across the five-year period. ACC and Collin County have the fewest students entering below writing standard.

o The percentage of first time in college students entering below writing standard and meeting their TSI obligation within two years has declined for 7 of the 10 peer institutions between the 2009 and 2013 cohorts. The greatest decline was at Houston (-28.4 percentage points). The greatest increase was at El Paso (20.7 percentage points) over the five-year period. ACC showed an 11.8 percentage point increase.

The number of first time in college students entering below reading standard increased across the cohorts from 2009 to 2013 for five of the ten peer institutions. The number of students entering below writing standard increased the most at Lone Star (122.3%) and declined at Alamo (-52.2%). At ACC, the number of students entering below reading standard increased 12.4%. ACC and Collin County have the fewest students entering below reading standard.

o The percentage of first time in college students entering below writing standard and meeting their TSI obligation within two years has increased for 7 of the 10 peer institutions between the 2009 and 2013 cohorts. The greatest decline was at Houston (-16.2 percentage points). The greatest increases were at ACC (13.8 percentage points, Dallas County (15.9 percentage points), and Lone Star (17.8 percentage points).

Average tuition and fees increased for nine of the ten peer institutions from FY12 to FY16. The increase was greatest for El Paso ($1,100), and least for Alamo ($128). ACC increased tuition and fees by $207 over the five-year period. Tuition and fees declined for Houston (-$744) over the five-year period.

The number of SCH taught by full-time faculty has increased for all institutions except for Houston CCD, Lone Star College and San Jacinto CCD. The largest increase was Tarrant County (7.1 percentage points), while the largest decrease was Lone Star College (-21.8 percentage points).

The student to faculty ratio has remained steady or declined for all peer institutions except for Lone Star College. ACC's student to faculty ratio remained steady over the 4 years that THECB has collected data (16:1, 17:1, 16:1, 17:1).

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