A Brief History of ACC
A Brief History of ACC
Austin Community College (ACC) was established in December 1972 by voters of the Austin Independent School District. In the fall of 1973, ACC registered 2,363 students. Classes began on September 17, 1973. The AISD Board of Trustees served as ACC’s Board of Trustees, and the College shared the district’s boundaries.
In December 1978, ACC received its initial accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as a Level I Institution to award associate degrees. ACC’s enrollment had increased to 13,481 students.
On March 1, 1982, the College, following the guidelines of the Texas Education Code, established its own governing Board of Trustees, consisting of nine elected members. Accreditation was reaffirmed by SACSCOC in 1983, 1993, 2005, and 2013.
With its purchase of the Austin Country Club in January 1983, ACC acquired its first real estate. Situated at 5712 East Riverside Drive, the property is now ACC’s Riverside Campus. ACC’s Board of Trustees held its first election in the spring of that year.
On November 5, 1985, 83 percent of the citizens of the Leander Independent School District voted to become part of the ACC district.
Following the passage of the 1985 General Appropriations Act, which stated that “it is the intent of the Legislature that all public junior colleges receiving state appropriations shall initiate procedures necessary to secure ad valorem revenues sufficient to supplement the funding of the district by August 31, 1987,” ACC held a successful tax base election. The measure approved a maximum of 5 cents per $100 assessed property valuation.
On November 3, 1998, 70 percent of Manor Independent School District citizens voted to join the ACC district.
On June 14, 2018, ACC was awarded membership at Level II by the Board of Trustees of SACSCOC to offer the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Acc’s membership at Level II became effective August 2018. In addition, SACSCOC authorized a Substantive Change Committee Visit September 18th-201h, 2018 to review continued compliance with the Principles of Accreditation at the new degree level. The Substantive Change Committee found ACC in compliance with the Principles of Accreditation and the committee had no recommendations. On December 9th, 2018, the Board of Trustees of SACSCOC reviewed the Substantive Change Committee report and voted to continue ACC’s accreditation, which allowed ACC to expand program offerings at the new degree Level II.
The College maintains eleven comprehensive campuses in addition to the Highland Business Center, which houses the administrative offices and a business training center, and the Service Center, which houses support services. The comprehensive campuses are Rio Grande (1975), Riverside (1984), Northridge (1989), Pinnacle (1990), Cypress Creek (1991), Eastview (1999), South Austin (2006), Round Rock (2010), Elgin (2013), Hays (2014), Highland (2014), and San Gabriel (2015).
