Overview
The ACCelerators are student-centric innovative learning and student engagement environments that provide holistic learning support and technology resources to accelerate students’ preparation for academic and life success, based upon their unique needs and goals. They are located at the Highland, Rio Grande, Round Rock, and San Gabriel campuses. They provide access to 1,000+ computer stations, study rooms, open study areas, and other technological resources. The ACCelerator core functions are open technology access, innovative teaching/instruction, academic support services, student support services, and community engagement.
Accomplishments
In fall 2022, the ACCelerators hit a milestone by surpassing one million unique student visits by 120,000+ student visitors. During the 2022-23 academic year, 34% of the total ACC student population visited an ACCelerator, with over 15,000 unique student visitors and over 107,000 visits. Students accessed computers, study rooms, tutors, academic coaching, scholarship assistance, registration support, and academic advising.
Student support specialists in the ACCelerators contacted over 17,000 students during outreach “call-a-thons” campaigns to support dual credit enrollment, unregistered/deregistered re-enrollment, and scholarship assistance.
The ACCelerators offered over 30+ courses such as English, math, Japanese, geography, fashion, psychology and general education classes. This year faculty and instructors were able to utilize the ACCelerators’ Distance Learning Synchronous areas (DLS hubs) which supported teaching formats such as HyFlex, hybrid, and online only.
Impact
The ACCelerators strongly impact student engagement by being a welcoming and collaborative space where students feel a sense of belonging to the college because it is the location where they get the support they need by feeling welcomed, recognized as individuals, and made to feel they matter to the institution. The ACCelerators are the most visited area across the college, with 100,000+ visits this current academic year, where they are able to take classes, have access to technology, have easy access to support, and where customer service is of utmost importance to the overall student experience. In a recent survey 97% of ACCelerator visitors said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their experience.
Next Steps
- Continue expansion of ACCelerators districtwide at all campuses
- Upgrade AV in ACCelerators to provide hybrid in-person and online courses
- Upgrade and improve ACCelerator technology, i.e. Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), iMacs, and scanners, as the majority of computers are out of warranty or nearing the end of their warranty