Imagine trying to get a job without even a high school diploma. Approximately 200,000 adults living in the Austin/Travis County area do not have a high school diploma or GED certificate. Fortunately, Austin Community College is making great strides in educating these adults. On April 22, more than 40 ACC Adult Education students will be inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society (NAEHS). The ceremony takes place at 6:30 p.m. in room 201 at the Highland Business Center.
“The program was very flexible. I was able to study and work, but I got the help I needed to succeed, ” said Adult Education Student and Honor Society Inductee P.J. Qolas. “Now I can come back to ACC to go to college.”
The Adult Education Department serves more than 3000 students a year at all levels of literacy, including Literacy, Beginning Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), Low Intermediate ABE/ESL and High Intermediate ABE/ESL, and Adult Secondary Education. Adults performing at the Adult Secondary Level are generally more prepared academically to take the official GED test.
“Some of the students have been in the program for years, starting at a low literacy level and working their way up to the top of their GED class,” said Mary Harris, Executive Director of Adult Education. “Having the GED under their belts will give them job opportunities they’ve never had before.”
Austin Community College’s Adult Education Department was created in 1973. Since then, ACC has partnered with numerous organizations, including Central
Texas WorkSource, the Austin Independent School District and Literacy Austin.
The adult students being inducted into NAEHS scored an average of 550, or better on the high school equivalency exam. The inductee with the highest exam score will receive a $300 scholarship to take classes at ACC. The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, local ACC Alpha Gamma Pi chapter, is presenting the scholarship.
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