The Austin Chamber of Commerce unveiled the first Community College Progress Report in the nation Friday morning. The report, produced by an Austin Chamber Task Force made up of leaders in the business community, details Austin Community College’s enrollment and graduation numbers, talent development specific to growing industries in the Austin area and the college’s production of graduates in certain areas of Metro Austin’s growing workforce.

The Report is part of the Chamber’s “20,010 in 2010” initiative to increase enrollment in higher education by 20,000 students by 2010.

“We need a talented, well-trained and educated workforce to hire from,” said Barry Mayer, Task Force Co-Chair and President of Tokyo Electron. “Of course we can bring people in from other parts of the country, but the cost and time associated with doing that adds up. We all benefit when we have a home-grown, educated workforce that can fill the needs of the companies growing right here in Austin. This is where ACC plays a significant role in developing that talent base.”

Findings of the Report show:

• Between 2000 and 2006, ACC’s enrollment growth exceeded Metro Austin’s population growth. However, ACC projects its enrollment to increase between 2006 and 2010 by 2.2% while the Chamber of Commerce estimates Metro Austin will grow by a 3% rate. If this happens, ACC may lose ground in an area it has remained strong.
• Current ACC targets are not enough to keep pace if Metro Austin is successful in increasing higher education enrollment by 20,010 additional students by 2010.
• While ACC’s growth of certificate and associate degree completion has increased steadily since 2000, it is not filling the current need of 3,155 open positions which require a post-secondary vocational certificate or an associate’s degree.
• ACC has increased the number of students completing nursing and related health occupations, such as radiology technical and licensed vocational nurse. Just this year, ACC added 100 additional slots – and filled them – in their nursing program. However, while ACC is adding capacity, this area represents the most immediate workforce need in Metro Austin and current needs are not being met.

As ACC makes great strides with expanding high demand programs and increased enrollment, especially among traditionally underserved populations, the college faces institutional capacity limitations and funding challenges.

• Community Colleges are not funded the same as four-year universities
• Community Colleges are expected to have local tax support to fund facilities and operations and the state is supposed to fund the cost of instruction
• While, Texas community colleges enroll more than half of all higher education students, they receive only 12% of higher education funding
• ACC gets much of its funding through property taxes yet only 4 out of 30 school districts in the state-mandated service area, are entirely within ACC’s taxing district
• The ACC tax rate is capped at 9 cents per $100, the state average is 15 cents.

“Many don’t realize that ACC is the primary gateway to higher education and workforce training in Central Texas,” said Dr. Stephen Kinslow, ACC President & CEO. “To meet growing demands, ACC must have more financial support to enable it to expand its instructional capacity and its important programs and services.”

The Chamber recognizes that ACC has a broader mission than just serving those who want to employ their associate graduates, certificate earners and transfers and recognizes that ACC does not need to shoulder 100% of the burden alone, and that there are a variety of additional players, to include UT-Austin, Texas State University, and St. Edward’s University as well as for-profit vendors like the University of Phoenix, DeVry and others. This Report is the beginning of an ongoing process to build and diversify Austin’s workforce. The Austin Chamber of Commerce and business community look forward to working with ACC on needs outlined in the report and funding concerns.