{"id":52716,"date":"2026-01-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=52716"},"modified":"2026-01-16T14:54:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:54:59","slug":"enrollment-grows-at-acc-as-workforce-and-health-programs-see-double-digit-gains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/01\/20\/enrollment-grows-at-acc-as-workforce-and-health-programs-see-double-digit-gains\/","title":{"rendered":"Enrollment grows at ACC as workforce and health programs see double-digit gains"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"953\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/01\/ACC_WelcomeRiverbat_SP26_Gfx_Infohub.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/01\/ACC_WelcomeRiverbat_SP26_Gfx_Infohub.png 953w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/01\/ACC_WelcomeRiverbat_SP26_Gfx_Infohub-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/01\/ACC_WelcomeRiverbat_SP26_Gfx_Infohub-768x446.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/01\/ACC_WelcomeRiverbat_SP26_Gfx_Infohub-150x87.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 953px) 100vw, 953px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>Data shows record gains in enrollment, persistence, and full-time attendance<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Austin Community College District (ACC) welcomes students for the spring 2026 semester beginning Tuesday, January 20. The College continues to see enrollment growth in almost all programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is proof that when we design college around real lives and real jobs, students respond,\u201d says ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. \u201cMore students are enrolling, more are staying, and more are moving forward with confidence and purpose. That matters. It tells us our work to remove financial barriers, align schedules with work and family, and build clear pathways into high-demand careers is changing outcomes \u2014 for students, for families, and for the Central Texas workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of Friday, January 16, spring enrollment is up over 7% from last year, with 40,781 students enrolled, compared to 37,970 last spring. More students are choosing to stay with ACC from semester to semester. Data show a 9% growth in students continuing at ACC compared to last year and 23% growth from two years ago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Growth is strongest in workforce-aligned and health-related fields, including:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Advanced Manufacturing | Up more than 17%<\/li>\n<li>Skilled Trades | Up more than 17%<\/li>\n<li>Health Sciences | Up more than 17%<\/li>\n<li>Liberal Arts &#8211; Humanities and Communications | Up more than 13%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ACC is also seeing progress in full-time enrollment, a key component of the College\u2019s student success strategy. This spring, 11,319 students are enrolled full-time, up from 10,195&nbsp; last year, an indicator that more students are able to continue and reach their goals faster.<\/p>\n<p>Access and affordability continue to play a major role in that success. Participation in ACC\u2019s Free Tuition Pilot program has doubled. Last year, ACC had one cohort with 4,894 students. Now there are two cohorts totalling 9,741 students enrolled this spring. The program covers tuition and fees for eligible students from the ACC service area, reducing financial barriers and supporting on-time completion.<\/p>\n<p>To meet student demand, ACC continues to add course sections as needed and is using predictive analytics and strategic scheduling to anticipate when, where, and how students want to take classes \u2014 ensuring more options that fit real lives and keep students on track.<\/p>\n<p>Registration remains open for 14-, 12-, and 8-week courses, offering flexible entry points throughout the semester.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/austincc.edu\/shortsemester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">austincc.edu\/shortsemester<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data shows record gains in enrollment, persistence, and full-time attendance Austin Community College District (ACC) welcomes students for the spring 2026 semester beginning Tuesday, January 20. The College continues to see enrollment growth in almost &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/01\/20\/enrollment-grows-at-acc-as-workforce-and-health-programs-see-double-digit-gains\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":52718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,13,15,18,19],"tags":[2620,2526,2104,101,4330,210,4286,4091],"class_list":["post-52716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-official-acc-press-releases","category-students-and-alumni","tag-advanced-manufacturing","tag-free-tuition","tag-health-science","tag-semester","tag-skilled-trade","tag-spring","tag-spring-2026","tag-welcome-riverbats"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}