About the College

Purpose of the College—Mission
Austin Community College is an educational institution committed to challenging the human mind to explore new ideas and seek new opportunities. The College mission is to provide a wide range of high quality educational services that meet the needs of our willing partners in learning, both those who seek our services and those whom we must seek out.
Austin Community College operates on the belief that open access to quality postsecondary educational experiences is vital in a rapidly changing democratic society. Therefore, the College exists to provide such educational opportunities to all the people of the Austin Community College service area. Hence, Austin Community College maintains an “open door” admissions policy, offers a comprehensive variety of postsecondary educational programs, and actively seeks to eliminate barriers in the educational process.

A. Types of Programs
Austin Community College offers the following types of programs, services, and instruction to fulfill its mission and to satisfy state law for public junior and community colleges:
a. Vocational and technical programs of varying lengths leading to certificates or degrees.
b. Freshman- and sophomore-level academic courses leading to an associate degree or serving as the base of a baccalaureate degree program at a four-year institution.
c. Continuing adult education for academic, occupational, professional, and cultural enhancement.
d. Special instructional programs and tutorial service to assist underprepared students and others who wish special assistance to achieve their educational goals.
e. A continuing program of counseling and advising designed to assist students in achieving their individual educational and occupational goals.
f. A program of technology, library, media, and testing services to support instruction.
g. Contracted instructional programs and services for area employers that promote economic development.

B. Intended Results
1. The basic result to be produced by the College, in conjunction with other community sectors, is that all service-area adults legally qualified for College services have the postsecondary and higher education they need and can use for productive, successful lives. How close the local community is to this goal is a central accountability indicator for the College. However, declaration of this goal is not a guarantee of particular services, program admissions, or resource allocations; these are decided through the program-review, admissions, and budget processes.
2. Accredited preparation shall be provided for as many career areas and university-transfer options within the mission of the College as is feasible. Emphasis shall be placed on providing postsecondary education (including needed preparation) to people who are educationally disadvantaged or are not well-served by other colleges, and on preparation for family-wage careers (either directly or after further higher education).
3. In addition to mastery of the specific subject-area knowledge and skills needed to meet their education-related goals, students completing College programs shall have the general skills needed for success in employment and higher education: these include dependability, effective communication, gathering and critically assessing information, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and a focus on producing results of high quality.
4. The College shall organize its activities so as to produce as high a level of overall value for the community as possible, and shall avoid procedures that waste the money or time of students or staff.
5. The College shall create a good place to work, to learn, and to otherwise experience the higher-education process.