ACC in Round Rock
ACC in Round Rock
Written by Christi Snow Thursday, 07 June 2007
School planned to support eastern Wilco’s need
Austin Community College wants to build its largest campus, capable of serving 10,000-11,000 students, in eastern Williamson County as soon as possible. The school has already begun land acquisition on University Boulevard and commissioned concept drawings. It is a unique situation because ACC has never purchased property in a community outside of its district.
Since 1980, ACC has offered classes in Round Rock schools, and in more recent years the Round Rock Higher Education Center has acted as a sort of satellite campus by hosting classes. During the All-of-Austin-Annexation in 2005, 33 percent of the Round Rock Independent School District joined the college’s district. However, most of the city has remained outside ACC jurisdiction.
“I joke we’ve been dating a long time,” ACC President Stephen Kinslow said. “It’s time to get married.”
Case for a campus
The ACC facilities master plan for the 2006 through 2008 fiscal years calls for a Round Rock-Pflugerville area campus, highlighting the area’s attraction to young residents who can afford local housing costs and the overall population growth.
Kinslow said in the Fall 2006 semester, the college had 5,189 Williamson County students enrolled with almost 3,500 from Round Rock. Only a small portion of county enrollees, 512, attended the RRHEC.
He suggests this is because the campus, which also houses classes from Texas State and the Small Business Development Center, has limited space translating into fewer classes services and programs.
With this in mind, the ACC Board of Trustees wants to step forward with a Round Rock campus that would include around 200,000 sq. ft. of space. At the same time, Kinslow admits they will probably not build on a large scale until the city joins the taxing district—and it looks like that might also happen soon since an unnamed group recently announced their decision to begin an annexation campaign effort that would result in a May 2008 election.
Meanwhile, ACC intends to acquire land near the RRHEC on University Boulevard by purchasing a portion of the more than 60 acres and receiving the remainder as a donation from the Avery family. The RRHEC and the neighboring Seton Medical Center-Williamson were also once Avery land.
If Round Rock Independent School District residents want the largest Austin Community College District campus in their city, then voters will need to approve joining the two-year college’s taxing district, according to ACC President Stephen Kinslow. He points to gaining a campus, cheaper tuition and free dual-credit courses for high school students as valuable incentives.
Tuition/fee implications*
- In district – $54 per credit hour
- Out of district – $125 per credit hour
Annual tax implications
A nine cent raise for every $100 in property tax
| Property Value | $100,000 | $140,000 | $220,000 |
| Regular homestead | $91.68 | $130.00 | $207.48 |
| Senior/disabled | $19.32 | $57.96 | $135.12 |
| Commercial | $96.48 | $135.12 | $212.28 |
Source: Austin Community College
0 Comments 