The Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees held a work session followed by its regular meeting on Monday, July 1, at Highland Campus. Below are highlights from the meetings.<\/p>\n
ACC trustees unanimously approved the college\u2019s 2024-25 budget, the college\u2019s first over $500 million. The budget includes a 4.5% salary increase across the board for all employees and sets the college\u2019s minimum wage to $23\/hour. It also maintains tuition and fees, which the board voted to keep unchanged for the 11th consecutive year back in April.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Read more here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n After approving the Free Tuition Pilot Program<\/strong><\/a> for the class of 2024 in April, trustees asked administration what they could do to help currently enrolled students complete their degrees. After exploring opportunities in May and June, the college presented the Affordability Scholarship program during the July 1 board work session. <\/p>\n Under the new program, ACC will cover the cost of tuition for 15 credit hours toward a student\u2019s first associate degree program. Students who were enrolled during spring 2024 when the Free Tuition pilot program was approved would be eligible. A student must complete 45 credit hours toward an associate degree at ACC to receive the scholarship. Learn more about the program here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Trustees unanimously approved the program.<\/p>\n The board also approved moving forward with a contract with TK Elevator Corporation for elevator modernization services for the Highland Business Center (HBC). The cost is estimated to be $680,000.<\/p>\n Additionally, trustees approved updates to the college\u2019s free speech and related policies. The changes were spurred by Executive Order 44, which was issued by the Governor on March 27, 2024. The order requires governing boards of institutions of higher education in Texas to review and update their free speech policies to include the definition of antisemitism found in the Texas Government Code and to ensure that engaging in antisemitism on college property is subject to disciplinary action. <\/p>\n Since the college\u2019s free speech policies had not been formally reviewed since April 2021, this presented an opportunity for a thorough review and updating of the policies involved. As a result, there are a number of revisions to the three main policies\u2014DGC (Local), FLA (Local), and GD (Local)\u2014that reflect improvements to clarify the policies and ensure that they are constitutionally sound. A new policy, FFDA (Local), was also added to include the specific definition from the governor. The definition was also added in an amendment to DIAB (Local), which are the policies that set out the college\u2019s freedom from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation principles. <\/p>\n As part of Dr. Lowery-Hart\u2019s regular remarks, he invited students from ACC\u2019s Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) rocketship team to share an update on their recent competition in New Mexico. The group participated in the 2024 Spaceport America Cup. It marked the college\u2019s first STEM international-level competition. ACC was one of 121 institutions of higher education from around the world and one of only three community colleges in the competition, competing against Ivy League schools.<\/p>\n The students thanked Dr. Lowery-Hart, Provost, Dr. Monique Umphrey, the Student Life leadership team, and the college\u2019s Manufacturing Department team for working with them to make it happen. They also recognized their advisors, Amber Kelly, Troy Jefferson, and Janna McCarthy.<\/p>\n The student\u2019s rocket, which stands over 8 feet tall and weighs 22.5 pounds, will soon be on display in the ACC Make It Center at Highland to inspire future students.<\/p>\n View all agendas and recordings from the meeting<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Recordings are usually available by the Thursday following the meeting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees held a work session followed by its regular meeting on Monday, July 1, at Highland Campus. Below are highlights from the meetings. 2024-25 Budget Approval ACC … Continue reading Affordability Scholarships for Current Students<\/h3>\n
Highland Business Center Elevators <\/h3>\n
Updates to Free Speech and Related Policies<\/h3>\n
Special Presentation to Trustees<\/h3>\n
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