Austin Community College District’s (ACC) fall semester started August 22, 2022, and although overall enrollment numbers are lower, the college continues to see increases in some new and Continuing Education student enrollments.
“New student enrollment has rebounded this fall, driven primarily by increases in new high school student enrollment. Meanwhile, continuing student enrollment has declined about 5% in fall 2022 compared to fall 2021,” says Dr. Jenna Cullinane Hege, Institutional Research & Analytics vice chancellor.
As of September 7 — the official enrollment count day — ACC has an unduplicated headcount of 34,642 fall credit students. 8,705 of those students are new, up from 8,414 in 2021, an increase of 3.5% from last year. New high school student enrollment is 2,929, up from 2,585 last year; however, new traditional student enrollment is 5,776, down from 5,829 in 2021.
Some of the areas of study and programs seeing enrollment growth are Arts and Digital Media; Design Manufacturing, Construction, and Applied Technologies; and Liberal Arts – Behavior Sciences.
Continuing Education enrollment is increasing with 3,999 students, a 3% increase from last year. While credit enrollment typically increases modestly from this point on, Continuing Education routinely opens new sections and enrolls additional students throughout the remainder of the semester.
The college is also seeing an increase in out-of-state and out-of-district headcount enrollment, which are up 3% and 8%, respectively. ACC Trustees have voted to lower out-of-district fees in recent years.
Additionally, more students enrolled in fall courses are choosing in-person classes and returning to campus. Of the more than 34,000 students, 22,416 are taking at least one course on campus.