ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart hosted the September Virtual Employee Town Hall on Friday, September 6, from the Theory of Change Design Teams kick-off event. In addition to a presentation hall full of faculty and staff, about 786 people attended the discussion on Zoom.

In this month’s town hall, employees learned more about ACC’s new digital wayfinding system, the launch of the Theory of Change design teams, enrollment trends this fall, and insights from the recent Employee Climate and Cabinet Leadership surveys. 

Below are highlights from the discussion.

Theory of Change Design Teams

The Theory of Change (ToC) is ACC’s transformative process to improve student success. The Chancellor wants the College to focus on effectiveness and getting better at the things we’re already doing, not new ideas. He is asking the 14 design teams to look at what others are doing and rethink and retool what we already have and what we’re already doing to make it work better. 

The work will include students as equal voices. To this end, the College will be hiring students to work with the design teams for the next 18 months. The job posting opened Monday, September 9, on Handshake.

New Digital Wayfinding System

The College’s new digital wayfinding system was launched this fall. It was a cross-departmental project that included work done by current and former ACC students. GIS/Digital Information Manager Deborah Massaro did a brief walkthrough of the interactive map that is available on kiosks throughout the district and at austincc.edu/campuses.

The Chancellor also asked his Cabinet to make wayfinding a project. They reviewed our current wayfinding and proposed some solutions this summer. Cabinet recommended a cross-collaborative committee and engaging a consultant with expertise in high-traffic, low-familiarity areas—airports, arenas, and hospitals—to help students find where things are and how to get to them. A request for qualifications (RFQ) will be posted in the next couple of weeks. The process is expected to last 12 months.

Enrollment Trends

“We’ve recovered from the pandemic. That is really exciting,” says Dr. Lowery-Hart. Data shows that while new students have increased 21% from last year, most age groups and programs have seen enrollment increases — and those enrollment increases went mostly online. The College has added sections and hired more adjunct faculty to accommodate the additional students.

Since August, there have been 10,000 visits to various student services offices. Students have completed 30,000 Financial Aid applications. There has been a 30% increase in Pell-eligible students and a 40% increase in overall financial aid distribution.

Employee Climate Survey Results

The overall response rate for the Spring 2024 Employee Climate Survey was 38% of employees. The Chancellor reviewed the strengths and challenges as well as some of the actions taken in response.

Top Strengths

  • I feel that all employees must work to create innovative ways of helping students realize better outcomes at ACC (92%).
  • I understand my role in the college (92%).
  • I have a good working relationship with my supervisor (85%) & am appreciated and respected by my co-workers for the work I do (83%).
  • I know how to incorporate the ACC values of courage, compassion, joy, and yes into my role at ACC (85%).

Top Challenges

  • I believe policies and procedures are followed consistently in all areas of the college (27%).
    • The actions the College has taken in response include the introduction of HR Business Partners, Supervisor and Leadership Training (coming fall 24), and continued integration and operationalization of ACC Values.
  • I feel that information is shared between organizational units, allowing employees to do their jobs effectively (31%) & I feel that decisions are made at the appropriate level at ACC (37%).
    • The actions the College has take in response include Chancellor town hall meetings, campus conversations, Theory of Change (ToC) grassroots design teams, free tuition as a promising example of cross-divisional communication, official communications such as the HappyHR and Fac/Staff Digest newsletters, and the Chancellor’s Leadership Institute (CLI).

View the results on the Office of Institutional Research & Analytics website.

Cabinet Evaluation Survey Results

The Chancellor also briefly went over the results of the Cabinet Evaluation Survey. Nearly half of respondents selected “unsure/not rated” when rating overall cabinet leadership for ACC as a whole because they don’t know some of the members or what they do on a daily basis. 35% of respondents said the cabinet was “exceptional” or “above average” and 11% said “average,” with 4% saying it was troublesome. 

As for the results of the Chancellor’s overall leadership for ACC as a whole, the majority of respondents selected “above average” or “exceptional,” 9% selected “average,” 12% were “unsure,” and 2% were “disappointed.”

He said that the evaluations will allow us to move forward together.

ACC Foundation Audit

Finally, the Chancellor discussed the ACC Foundation audit process. It engaged some of the country’s biggest leaders in philanthropy to help figure out how our foundation could have a more robust impact on the College. He said that we should have a $150 million foundation and that the College will invest in some positions over the next 18 months to allow us to do that by repurposing positions that were eliminated that didn’t have anyone in them.

View the recording and the entire Q&A transcript on the Virtual Employee Town Hall web page.