The 2008 Austin Community College Progress Report

Transcription

1 The 2008 Austin Community College Progress Report

2 About Austin Community College ACC is a publicly-funded local institution that is well suited to rapidly scale its enrollment and graduation numbers to meet Metro Austin s growing education needs. As such, ACC is a major regional economic development asset. ACC offers 180 associate degree and certificate programs as well as university transfer courses, customized workforce training, academic remediation classes, and a wide array of academic services for its students. ACC enrolled more than 46,000 students in 2008, 34,000 of whom were enrolled in credit-bearing courses. Half of all Metro Austin residents enrolled in higher education a end ACC. Half of all Metro Austin residents who transferred to local universities in 2008 transferred from ACC. Purpose of ACC Progress Report For Austin to thrive in the global economy, a greater percentage of our residents need bachelor and associate degrees and/or technical certifications, especially in high-growth, high-demand occupations such as health- and technology-related fields. The Austin Chamber of Commerce and 50 education and community partners have undertaken the 20,010 by 2010 Initiative to enact and scale programs and align policies to broadly increase enrollment from Metro Austin into post-secondary education by 30% over the 2005 baseline. ACC and other institutions of higher education play critical roles in achieving those targets. The ACC Progress Report was created to inform Austin business leaders on: ACC alignment and progress on key indicators most important to regional economic growth, talent development and labor supply; Where more rapid performance gains may be needed; Where the business community and Chamber can provide support to help ensure ACC s continuing success. 1

3 ACC Progress Report Summary Findings ACC has made significant progress in using student enrollment and performance data to guide institutional planning and spending. ACC Trustees currently report, review, and set annual targets for performance metrics of interest to the Austin business community and Chamber of Commerce. ACC s Business Office produces financial reports by a variety of cost functions. Still, ACC can more effectively use the data it gathers to shape the college in ways that best serve the Metro Austin community. ACC s enrollment growth rate has exceeded Metro Austin s overall population growth rate, including a significant increase in fall 2008 enrollment. The May 2008 annexation of Round Rock into ACC s taxing district allowed ACC to increase its projected enrollment growth to mirror the region s expected 3% population growth rate. However, under current projections, Metro Austin will create or replace more jobs requiring an associate s degree or post-secondary vocational certificate than ACC will graduate students. According to ACC projections, the college plans to increase completions from by 300 students. In the same period, ACC plans to increase allied health and nursing completions by 500 while planning for li le increase in technology-related completions. It is unclear from ACC s projections which other program areas will see decreases in completions to meet ACC s overall completion target. Over the past five years, 77% of the growth in the number of classes taken at ACC was due to students taking collegelevel transfer classes. Those classes, o en taken by students who intend to transfer to a four-year college, represent the majority of time that ACC spends teaching students. Although two-thirds of ACC s enrollment is in transfer classes, ACC spends more than half of its local property tax revenues on workforce classes. Approximately 95% of ACC students who took state occupational licensure exams in 2007 passed. Only seven of the 30 school districts that are completely within ACC s service area currently contribute financially to the ACC property tax base. 2

4 Task Force Recommendations 1 ACC should be commended for se ing and reviewing performance metrics. However, ACC should increase enrollment and degree/certification completion targets overall and for technical-related programs to meet local labor force need. ACC should include in its Master Plan these goals to be accomplished by 2015: Student enrollment will be 45,000, a level projected to meet 90% of local labor force need in Student completion of associate degrees and/or technical certificates will be 2,790 per year, a level projected to meet at least 90% of projected labor need in Student completion of allied health programs will be at least 1,163 per year, 90% of projected labor need in Student completion of non-health technical programs will be at least 810 per year, 90% of projected labor need, with particular focus on additional computer support specialists. 2 ACC should match graduates data records with their initial post-graduation workforce positions and salaries. This will allow ACC to determine whether students enter the careers for which they are trained and how their educational credentials affect their earnings. 3 ACC should determine and adopt the best methodology to measure successful graduation and transfer rate student outcomes for each type of program. ACC should consistently use these measures in advance of adopting a FY2011 budget to guide institutional planning and budgeting. This will allow ACC to further prioritize its budget and align graduation rates with market needs, determine appropriate transfer rates to bachelor programs at universities, and determine if it is necessary to focus resources on students who intend to earn a certification or associate s degree. 4 In the academic year, ACC should use performance data to more closely guide institutional planning and budgeting by: Comparing workforce departments capacity and student demand to ACC targets and labor market 3

5 needs. Where need exists and demand exceeds current ACC capacity, ACC should estimate the cost of adding sufficient capacity; and Comparing student entry and retention rates to completion rates for health and technical-related programs. 5 ACC should evaluate spending and distribution of student instructional time by enrollment type college transfer, workforce or remedial for efficiency and alignment with institutional goals. 6 ACC should consider obtaining state licensure exam passing rates within a year a er exams are taken so that licensure data can more closely guide academic efforts. 7 ACC s efforts to facilitate students transitions from high school to college through programs such as College Connection and Early College Start should be commended. ACC should now direct comparable a ention to facilitating the re-entry to education of incumbent workers and students who are 25 years of age and older. This will entail strategic initiatives to increase career aspiration, instructional accessibility and higher-education affordability for these students. These strategies in turn should be based on analyses of how goal-a ainment success for these ACC students correlates with background, preparation level, program choice, instructional method, course load, special support services and financial-aid use. 8 To avoid the possibility of ACC facing severe fiscal constraints and to aid ACC s efforts to meet Metro Austin 20,010 by 2010 college enrollment targets, the Metro Austin business community should strongly consider supporting thoughtful efforts to expand ACC s taxing district. 4

6 ACC Snapshot Data for Academic Year Exceptions on accreditation:... None Annual Operating Budget:... $199 million Student Enrollment: Credit-bearing courses:...33,728 Continuing Education:...10,517 Adult Education:...2,718 Student Course Load:...75% Part-time, 25% Full-time Student Contact Hours:...80% Transfer...20% Workforce Courses Student Intent (Fall 2008): Earn Associate Degree:...26% Earn Certificate:...5% Transfer:...45% Improve Skills:...11% Personal Enrichment:...4% No Response:...9% Findings: Overall enrollment growth exceeds regional population growth. Between 2000 and 2008, ACC student enrollment in credit courses grew at an annual compound growth rate of 3.4%, which exceeded Metro Austin s 3.0% population growth rate. Fall 2008 enrollment increased by 6%, year over year. Hispanic enrollment growth outstripped Hispanic population growth. Between 2001 and 2008, ACC enrolled Hispanics at an annual compound growth rate of 6.1%, outstripping Metro Austin s 5% Hispanic population growth rate. ACC targets now align with population growth. Due, in part, to annexation by ACC of City of Round Rock in May 2008, ACC increased its enrollment targets to 3% annually, in line with the region s overall expected population growth rate. ACC 2015 targets are 20% below 20,010 by 2010 need, despite significant, sustained enrollment growth. 5 ACC Faculty Average Salary of Full-time Full Professor:...$60,872 Number/Percent Full-time Faculty: /29% Number/Percent Full-time Faculty w/doctoral Degrees: /28% Fall 2008 ACC Student Enrollment Grows at Twice Population Growth Rate With approximately 25% of Austin Metro Class of 2008 high school graduates enrolling immediately in ACC, the college, with assistance from taxpayers, is well positioned to expand and help meet the regional college enrollment growth goals of the Metro Austin 20,010 by 2010 Initiative. To meet its share of the regional goals, ACC enrollment will need to reach 49,177 by Meeting this critical community goal will have a significant impact on all facets of ACC. *Projected Data sources: December 2008 ACC Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness ad hoc Report; December 2008 Austin Chamber of Commerce calculations derived from Office of State Demographer data and projections.

7 2008 Associate Degree, Certificate Earners Meet 64% of Local Labor Force Need ACC is well positioned to produce enough associate s degree and post-secondary certificate earners to meet much of the overall local labor market s need. Local labor market figures are derived from Texas Workforce Commission projections of Metro Austin new and replacement jobs for over 700 occupation classifications which require either a post-secondary credential or an associate s degree. For purposes of this report, the Task Force assumed that labor market needs will be identical for each year through Findings: Overall total degree and program completions declined slightly from , then made up all losses in 2008 with a 16% increase, year over year, to 1,994. In 2008, ACC associate degree and postsecondary vocational certificate earners represented half of the 3,135 additional associate degree and postsecondary vocational certificate earners Metro Austin needed to fill relevant new and replacement jobs in 2008 and in each year through at least ACC administration projects degree and certificate completions will increase by 1% in 2009 and decrease 3% in 2010, followed by annual increases of about 3% through 2015 to about 73% of expected labor market need. The difference between ACC s projected output and projected employment need indicate that Austin area businesses will likely be able to find many new hires locally. *Projected Data sources: December 2008 Austin Chamber calculations performed on Texas Workforce Commission Labor Market Information Projection, ; May 2009 ACC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability (OIEA) ad hoc database query report from the OIEA s Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) data. This data is owned and created by ACC for submission to THECB and thus is known internally as the THECB data; May 2009 manual calculations performed by OIEA on ACC Continuing Education Department ad hoc report; December 2008 ACC Closing the Gaps Report. 6

8 Allied Health Completions Marginally Decrease, ACC Sets Aggressive Targets Metro Austin has opened four hospitals in the past 24 months. Until six months ago, employers had great difficulty in filling allied health and nursing positions requiring certificates and associate s degrees due to insufficient local labor availability. Though several local universities are or will soon be contributors to the local allied health labor pool, ACC is best positioned to produce a larger and growing share of the net need for allied health and nursing employees. Findings: Associate s degree and certificate awards and continuing education completions for ACC s allied health and nursing programs decreased 7% between 2004 and 2008 to 644. ACC produced 50% of the local labor market need for allied health and nursing completers and graduates in To meet its target of graduating 1,163 students with allied health and nursing associate s degrees, certificates or continuing education completions by 2015, ACC must achieve a compound annual growth rate of 3% from and 4% from The addition of 100 nursing slots on the Eastview campus and health training programs planned for the new Round Rock campus should ensure success. TWC projects an annual average need for nearly 1,300 new and replacement hires in Metro Austin allied health occupations through However, actual hiring will fluctuate significantly around the projected average. If ACC meets its 2015 targets, it will produce more than 90% of TWC s projected local market need for allied health workers. This output, coupled with output from other regional institutions, should meet most employer hiring needs. *Projected **ACC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability is unable to provide ACC production by category (associate s degree, certificate, continuing education) at this time due to internal data systems limitations. Data sources: December 2008 Austin Chamber calculations performed on Texas Workforce Commission Labor Market Information Projection, ; May 2009 ACC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability (OIEA) ad hoc database query report from the OIEA s Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) data. This data is owned and created by ACC for submission to THECB and thus is known internally as the THECB data; May 2009 manual calculations performed by OIEA on ACC Continuing Education Department ad hoc report; December 2008 ACC Closing the Gaps Report. 7

9 Technology-Related Completions Improve, ACC Sets Targets Despite the current economic downturn, Metro Austin remains a tech-focused job market. The Texas Workforce Commission projects that by 2015 Metro Austin companies will need an estimated 25,000 employees with post-secondary credentials or associate s degrees in technology-related fields, a nearly 20% increase over ACC is well-positioned to produce a much greater percentage of this local workforce need than it currently does. Local technology-related labor market needs outstrip ACC s supply of associate degree and certificate earners. However, the size of this gap depends on the business cycle and is likely overstated because some students who are nearing the successful conclusion of a technical-related program accept fulltime tech jobs instead of completing their studies. Maximizing students job opportunities and be er meeting local companies needs requires that ACC ensure its students ultimately complete their programs. *Projected **ACC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability is unable to provide ACC production by category (associate s degree, certificate, continuing education) at this time due to internal data systems limitations. Data sources: December 2008 Austin Chamber calculations performed on Texas Workforce Commission Labor Market Information Projection, ; May 2009 ACC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability (OIEA) ad hoc database query report from the OIEA s Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) data. This data is owned and created by ACC for submission to THECB and thus is known internally as the THECB data; May 2009 manual calculations performed by OIEA on ACC Continuing Education Department ad hoc report; December 2008 ACC Closing the Gaps Report. Findings: Completions of tech-related jobs have been closely tied to the last decade s roller coaster local job market. ACC, like most higher education institutions in the United States, has not recovered enrollment and completion numbers since the tech bust in the early part of this decade. TWC projects an annual average Metro Austin technologyrelated job creation of approximately 900 through 2015, 200 of which are computer support specialists. Actual annual job creation will likely vary widely around the average. ACC currently produces approximately 260 associate s degree and technical certificate and continuing education program completers each year. For 2008, ACC produced about 32% of local need for technology jobs which require at least a post-secondary credential or associate s degree, up from 26% in ACC s established 2015 institutional and programmatic targets aim to improve that share marginally to 34%. 8

10 College-transfer Class Enrollments Drive ACC Growth Course enrollments tell part of the story regarding what ACC students are learning, how faculty and resources are deployed and how student instruction is aligned with institutional targets. They show that ACC s two fastest growing enrollment areas over the past five years are college-level transfer classes taken primarily by students planning to transfer credits to four-year colleges as well as health science classes taken primarily by students planning to enter the workforce a er completion. Findings: Two-thirds of the classes taken at ACC are college-level transfer classes, and one-quarter are workforce courses. College-level transfer class enrollments are up 18% over the last five years. Workforce course enrollments are up 11% over the same period. Enrollments in developmental academic courses for students not yet prepared for collegelevel work increased 10% over the last five years to represent nearly 10% of the classes taken at ACC. Over the past five years, the number of classes taken at ACC increased by approximately 27,790. Nearly 77% of that growth was due to students taking college-transfer classes. Three-fourths of ACC remedial course enrollment is in math. Advanced Technology enrollment is still recovering from the tech bust in the early part of this decade. Health Sciences enrollment is up, on average, nearly 7% annually.

11 Department / Division Enrollment Class Count Enrollments % of ACC Students 1-Year Growth 5-Year Growth All Depts Total 10, , % 3% 15% Health Sciences 1,006 15,662 7% 56% 34% Business Studies ,940 6% 2% 16% Advanced ,372 6% 1% -16% Technologies Applied Technology 712 8,270 4% 4% 13% Public Service 315 5,944 3% 5% 8% Total Workforce* 3,454 52,188 25% 4% 11% Developmental English 187 2,164 1% -1% -5% Developmental Writing 117 1,379 1% 1% -19% English Second 187 1,547 1% 0% 14% Language Developmental Math ,310 7% -1% 16% Total Developmental 1,253 20,400 10% -1% 10% College-level Math/ 1,407 34,600 16% 5% 22% Science Social & Behavioral 2,004 58,061 27% 5% 12% Science College-level 1,195 29,014 14% 3% 28% Communications College-level ,797 9% 2% 14% Humanities Total College-level Transfer** 5, ,472 66% 4% 18% *According to ACC, in many cases, students majoring in programs classified as Workforce plan to seek related four-year degrees, and thus will transfer to four-year colleges after their work at ACC. Health Sciences includes dental hygiene, EMS, health and kinesiology, medical coding, medical laboratory technology, nursing, occupational and physical therapy, personal fitness trainer, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy technician, radiology, sonography and surgical technology classes. Business Studies includes accounting, business administration, business and technical communications, culinary art, financial management, hospitality management, international business, management, marketing, meeting and event planning, office administration, real estate and travel and tourism classes. Advanced Technologies includes automation, robotics and controls technology; bioinstrumentation technology; electronics technician; engineering technology; networking/computer electronics; power technology; renewable energy; and semiconductor manufacturing technology classes. Applied Technology includes automotive technology, building construction technology, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and welding classes. Public Services includes child care and development, criminal justice, fire protection technology, human services and legal assistant classes. ** Departments traditionally called Transfer at community colleges also serve many students majoring in workforce programs, e.g., with science or math courses. Data source: December 2008 ACC OEIA ad hoc report. 10

12 Majority of ACC Property Tax Revenue Spent on Workforce Courses ACC receives revenue from three primary sources: student tuition, state appropriations and local property taxes. Students pay tuition at a per-credit rate that is the same for all courses. State money funds approximately a quarter of what ACC has determined a course costs. Local property tax revenues are allocated as needed to cover the remainder of what ACC has determined a course costs. Findings: ACC spends 56% of its local property tax revenue on workforce courses, 33% on college-transfer courses and 11% on academic remediation courses. ACC s spending per credit hour on most workforce courses is higher than its spending per credit hour on most other courses. ACC spends $417 per credit hour for workforce courses, on average, compared to $267 per credit hour for academic remedial courses and $182 per credit hour for college-transfer courses. College-transfer classes account for 61% of the time ACC students spend in class. Workforce classes account for 29% and academic remedial classes account for 10%. Distribution of ACC Property Tax Funds 11% 33% 56% Distribution of ACC Student Instructional Time 10% 29% 61% Distribution of of ACC Property Tax Funds College Preparatory College Transfer Workforce Distribution of ACC of Student Instructional Time t t ti l College Preparatory College Transfer Workforce 11

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14 ACC Students Pass Licensure Exams at High Rates ACC students who took licensure exams consistently pass at rates above 90%. Nearly all of the growth in licensure is from allied health occupations, where passing rates in most fields reached 100% in However, because ACC reports it does not receive data from licensing agencies expeditiously, it must rely on year-old and incomplete data in assessing exam performance. Annual Licensure Test-Takers, Passers and Passing Rates, Programs Tested Pass Tested Pass Tested Pass Tested Pass Tested Pass Massage Therapy 32 88% 38 92% 28 71% 41 95% % Dental Hygienist - WREB Clinical Occupational Therapy Assistant Pharmacy Technician Physical Therapy Assistant Emergency Medical Technician - Intermediate 0 na 0 na 18 89% 14 93% % 6 100% 3 100% 4 100% 7 86% % 6 83% 3 67% 0 na % % 29 93% 6 100% 15 93% 17 94% 16 94% 0 na 0 na % % % Emergency Medical 78 32% % 95 92% % 90 92% Technician - Basic Paramedic 17 94% 16 94% % % % Medical Radiologic Technologist - Radiograph % 22 86% 35 94% % % Nurse, Registered % % % % % Nurse, LVN 54 94% 53 94% 60 98% % 55 85% Nurse Aide % % % na na % Total Tested % % % % % 13

15 Austin Chamber/ACC Progress Report Task Force The Austin Chamber of Commerce, under the volunteer leadership of Gene Austin, CEO, Convio, Inc. charged the Chamber/ACC Progress Report Task Force with studying ACC s goals and operational targets, comparing them with regional current and projected economic needs, and communicating its findings to the Austin business community. These civic-minded business leaders represent diverse Austin business sectors. The Task Force met four times in 2008 and Thank you to the Task Force and to ACC staff, Stephen Kinslow, Mary Hensley, Mike Midgley and Soon Merz for their significant investments of time and energy. Task Force Co-Chairs Barry Mayer, President, Tokyo Electron US Holdings Eliseo Elizondo, Global Commodity Manager, Freescale Semiconductor Task Force Membership Gary Allison, Vice President for Engineering, Convio, Inc. Joel Stone, Vice President, SpawGlass Contractors Ronnie Jones, A orney at Law Norman Chenven, M.D., Founder and CEO, Austin Regional Clinic Hunter Ellinger, Computer So ware Consultant Ann Broome, Vice President, American Achievement Corp. Mike Midgley, Vice President, Workforce Education and Business Development, ACC Donald Tracy, Group Manager, Middle-Skills Workforce, Manpower Randy Stone, Vice President, St. David s Hospital Ex-officio: Gene Austin, CEO, Convio, Inc. Advisors Stephen B. Kinslow, Ph.D, President/CEO, ACC Mary Hensley, Ed.D., Executive Vice President, College Operations, ACC Soon Merz, Associate Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability, ACC Rich Froeschle, Deputy Director, Labor Market & Career, Texas Workforce Commission Austin Chamber of Commerce Staff Michael W. Rollins, CCE, President Drew Scheberle, Sr. Vice President, Education and Talent Development Molly Bloom, Vice President, Talent Development and Alignment Cyndi Contreras, Vice President, Education and Talent Development Nan Ma hews, Sr. Vice President, Communications Debbie Camacho, Director of Publications Thor Pedersen, Graphic Designer 14

16 Austin Chamber of Commerce 210 Barton Springs Rd., Ste. 400 Austin, TX