ACC’s Early College Start saves money, gives students transferable credit

Sergio De Anda, a senior at Pflugerville High School, plans to be the first in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. When he sets foot on his college campus this fall, he’ll already be well on his way to meeting that goal. That’s because Sergio took part in the Austin Community College District’s Early College Start program, which gives students an opportunity to earn up to a year of transferable college credit that also satisfies high school requirements.

“I will have 30 credit hours by the time I go to college. That’s an entire year’s worth of classes,” says 17-year-old Sergio, who would like to attend Texas State University or the University of North Texas. “And I did it without paying any tuition. I saved so much money.”

Sergio De Anda in class at ACC's Northridge Campus

Early College Start allows students to take up to two courses per semester, beginning the summer before their junior year of high school. Students can earn credit by attending ACC classes at their high schools, at any ACC campus or center, and through distance learning. Tuition and fees are waived for students who reside in the ACC taxing district, as well as for students who live outside the taxing district but take their ACC classes on a high school campus. The remainder of non-taxing district students pays a nominal fee of $40 per course.

Early College Start offerings include core academic courses, such as biology, art, math, and sociology. It also provides access to workforce programs, including accounting, automotive technology, computer information systems, and hospitality. While those workforce programs are specialized and may not be applicable to other institutions, ACC’s academic transfer courses are accepted for credit at any Texas public college or university.

That transferability of credit hours is what’s giving Sergio a head start on college. He has already earned credit for speech, a computer course, English, U.S. history, drawing, introduction to visual arts, and U.S. government; he is studying Texas government and microeconomics this semester.

“I’m very proud of my son,” says Maria Ruiz, Sergio’s mother. “He has worked hard to earn his credits, saving money and time. And I believe it’s something all kids can do.”

Early College Start is available to students in all 58 public high schools across ACC’s service area, along with students in private or charter schools and those who are home-schooled. Last semester, 3,318 students throughout the region took part in Early College Start. Classes are offered during the day, after school, on weekends, and over the summer. Dr. Luanne Preston, ACC’s executive director of school relations, says the financial savings and opportunity to earn a degree more quickly aren’t the only perks.

“This gives students a better understanding of the college experience,” says Dr. Preston. “They learn how to study, what professors expect of them, the enrollment process – Early College Start brings a wealth of intangible benefits.”

That’s certainly the case for Sergio De Anda.

“Early College Start gave me a chance to learn how to communicate with my professors, buy textbooks, and manage my time, in addition to sharpening my academic skills,” says Sergio. “The whole environment made a big impact on me. I was in class with adults starting at the age of 15, and I think that made me more mature.”

Maria Ruiz concurs that Early College Start changed her son.

“Sergio feels more comfortable speaking in front of people now. Early College Start made him more confident in himself,” says Ruiz. “He saw that he could do the same work as someone twice his age. And he learned a lot from the older students.”

Ruiz is actually an ACC student herself. She began working on her associate degree in accounting a number of years ago but didn’t finish. After Sergio got involved with Early College Start, he pushed her to enroll again. She’s now in her last year of school – and happy that her son had an opportunity to get started on his degree much sooner than she did.

“I would tell everyone to get more information on Early College Start,” she says. “It helped us so much.”

Families will have a chance to learn about ACC’s Early College Start program on March 30 and April 8, from 6-7 p.m. The college will hold general information sessions in room 201 at Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road in Austin. Students and parents can also get more details by talking to their high school counselor or ACC Early College Start staff (512.223.7355 or [email protected]). Additional information may be found at austincc.edu/ecs.

“The credit and courses are there for the taking,” says Sergio, who hopes to become a foreign language teacher. “You’re already taking high school classes – why not get college credit too? Early College Start is definitely worth it.”