I am pleased to announce another addition to our Student Services leadership. Michael Acosta has been appointed dean of student services for ACC’s Highland Campus. His first day is Monday, February 6, and he will report to Executive Dean of Student Services Dorado Kinney.

Mike Acosta has served in student services roles at universities across Texas.

Mike brings more than 15 years of higher education administrative experience, specifically in developing and managing programs to enhance student experiences. A lifelong problem solver, Mike earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso and was a product quality engineer at Applied Materials in Austin. After earning a master’s degree in public service and administration from Texas A&M University, he began his career in higher education. As director of undergraduate enrollment and student development at Southern Methodist University, he was responsible for enrollment and financial aid services for engineering students and worked with student work experience programs. He subsequently served as director of graduate recruiting at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he redesigned enrollment approaches for graduate programs.

Mike also served as vice president for enrollment management at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, where he supervised offices handling admissions, financial aid, registrar functions, student employment, and academic services for a high-need, underrepresented student population. Mike led his OLLU team through a tumultuous period that included a financial aid office audit, a fire that nearly destroyed the university’s primary administrative building, and a major software installation. Mike returned to Austin to pursue a doctorate in higher education administration at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include college-readiness programs, first-generation students, and assessment of interventions to enhance student persistence. As a doctoral student, Mike worked at St. Edward’s University as director of graduate, transfer, and new college admissions, and at UT-Austin as a graduate research assistant. He also serves on the board of the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium.

Mike lives in Austin with his wife and daughter.

Student Services webinars

I want to again thank all who joined me for last fall’s Student Services webinar series. We resumed the series February 10 with a session about plans for an enhanced academic early alert system. I’m looking forward to additional webinars this semester and will provide dates and times in the coming weeks. Those unable to attend can access recordings by contacting Dr. Richard Armenta, [email protected].

One final note: We will be launching the latest version of the Degree Map application this semester. Watch for more information about how we will be applying some of the tool’s new features.

I’m excited about what’s in store for 2017 – thanks for all you do!

Dr. Virginia Fraire
Vice President of Student Services

Tags: Highland Campus Student Services Dean, Michael Acosta, student services