FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

The strategies under each pillar of the Theory of Change are as follows:

• Start Strong: required advising, student success course, co-requisite courses, dual credit, direct-to-college matriculation
• Enroll Full Time: strategic scheduling, paying for college, academic tutoring and coaching, 8-week sections
• Meet Basic Needs: child care, food security, housing security, emergency aid, transportation, mental and physical health
• Culture of Belonging and Connection: demonstrate caring from all staff, foster belonging and engagement in the classroom, foster vibrant student community, transfer

Watch the Data Deep Dive webinars or access the slides to learn more about the data on each strategy. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

Access the OIRA Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms for definitions of key data terminology.

Access to OIRA data depends on the level of sensitivity and observance of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). While some data on the OIRA website are publicly available, most require at least ACC Okta verification, and some are accessible only on the ACC network. You can find instructions on how to access the ACC network here.

In addition, to access some reports, you must have access to TIPS (The Information Portal System). If you do not have TIPS access, you can request it by filling out the form here.

Many reports on the OIRA website are housed in BOX. If you do not have a BOX account, you can request one from IT via a Mojo ticket.

8-week course data are available in various OIRA reports. Examples include the Daily Registration Dashboard, Northridge 8-Week Campus Initiative evaluations, and TIPS reports (described below). There is also significant literature about the positive impacts of 8-week courses, many of which are included in the "Eight week courses: Scholarship & Resources" LibGuide.

• Three-year enrollment data are available in the Daily Registration Dashboard, with filters and disaggregations available for many different student and course characteristics (e.g., session length, course, course location, new v. continuing students).
• In AY23-24, ACC implemented the Northridge 8-Week Campus Initiative with the goal of dramatically increasing eight-week course offerings on this campus. OIRA, in partnership with the Vice Chancellor of Instruction and the Northridge 8-week campus strike team, is conducting an evaluation of the initiative’s implementation, available on our website. ACC evaluated preliminary indicators from implementation in the first semester (fall 23) of the 8-week campus initiative at Northridge. The components included in this evaluation were designed to inform the college’s understanding of lessons learned from early implementation efforts so the college can continuously improve 8-week offerings. Additional evaluations (e.g., spring 24) will be added once available.
• Additional data are available in TIPS (The Information Portal System), such as the “Course Completion & Withdrawal - Grade Distribution” report (under the “Course Completion & Withdraw” section), which provides course success breakouts at the college, dean, department, or course levels and includes additional parameters you can select (e.g., “Section Length” to compare results for each length). (Tip: Viewing at the course level will provide a better comparison than larger levels.)

For more information about 8-week sections and the Theory of Change, watch the Enroll Full-Time Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

The Student Success Metrics Report contains data on first-time-in-college (FTIC) students referred to Developmental Math, Reading, and Writing and their progression to college readiness and completion of their first college-level course over three years compared with FTIC students who were not referred to Developmental Education.

Watch the Start Strong Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides for more information about co-requisite courses, an alternative to the traditional developmental education model, and one of the strategies under the Start Strong pillar of the Theory of Change. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

Among fall 2020 FTIC students, students with dual credit had a higher North Star Completion Rate than students without, 60% as opposed to 42%. From an evaluation of fall 2018 direct-to-college students, dual credit students are much more likely to enroll directly in college than other students, as 83% of ACC dual credit students enroll directly in college after high school compared to 43% of all high school graduates. Once they’ve enrolled in college, dual credit students are more likely to earn a degree or transfer. Within 4 years, 51% of former dual credit students transfer, and 31% earn an associate degree. In that same period, 35% of students without dual credits transfer, and 15% earn an associate degree.

Watch the Start Strong Data Deep Dive webinar for more information about dual credit at ACC, or access the presentation slides. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

ACC free tuition cohorts are tagged in the student information system. Seven committees at ACC are charged with monitoring and evaluating the free tuition initiative. The committees' focuses are implementation, student onboarding, student experience, communication, financial support and financial aid strategic planning, sustainability, and course scheduling.

All ACC faculty and staff can track registration for the free tuition cohorts in the OIRA Daily Registration Dashboard. Navigate to the Detail Report page and use the Select Parameter filter to “Free Tuition Cohort” or the Student Groups Filter “Free Tuition Cohort.”

Access the ACC Free Tuition Website for more information on ACC’s free tuition initiative. For more information about paying for college, a strategy under the Enroll Full Time pillar of the Theory of Change, watch the Enroll Full Time Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

Our Academic Guidance Strategic Plan dashboard tracks the following outcomes for students assigned to Academic Guidance Services (AGS) Staff:

• Fall-to-fall Persistence
• College Math/English completion for first-year students
• 15-hour and 30-hour completion rates in the first year

Additionally, our Case Managed Students dashboard tracks the following outcomes for case managed students:

• Number and percent of students advised
• Number and percent of students contacted
• Number and percent of students registered for the next term

These dashboards are only accessible to people working in relevant roles, including Academic Guidance Leadership, AGS executive and campus deans, all advisors, and Success Coaches.

For more information about data on advising, watch the Start Strong Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides.

We are currently working on creating a dashboard to track tutoring data entered into the Upswing system. We plan to track the following metrics:

• Total sessions by month and academic year
• Academic outcomes for students who attend tutoring
• Total in-person and online sessions

The dashboard will also include filters to allow for analysis by course subject, student demographics, and tutoring types. 

For more information about data on tutoring at ACC, watch the Enroll Full-Time Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

Austin Community College (ACC) requires all new students with fewer than 12 successful college credit hours on their transcript to take a student success course. These courses teach students more about setting and pursuing academic and career goals, managing a college course load, mastering effective study skills, and creating a realistic college plan. Every associate degree plan at ACC includes a student success course in the first semester of the degree’s program map.

Current student success course options include EDUC 1100/EDUC 1200/EDUC 1300 Learning Framework: Effective Strategies for College Success courses; HUMA 1301 Prehistory to Renaissance topic course Great Questions Seminar; POFT 1171 College to Career Success course; or HPRS 1171 Student Success for Health Professionals course. (See the 2024-25 ACC Catalog & Student Handbook for more information).

At ACC, students who complete success courses with a successful grade persist at higher rates from fall to spring across race and ethnicity groups than those who did not take a success course. Despite the positive impact of successfully completing a success course, historically, less than one-third of eligible students enroll. 

For more information about student success courses at ACC, watch the Start Strong Data Deep Dive webinar or access the presentation slides. You can also browse the Theory of Change Design Team website to learn more about the ongoing work of each Theory of Change Design Team.

OIRA conducts student surveys and focus groups on a regular and ad hoc basis. The findings are posted on the OIRA website: oira.austincc.edu/surveys. 

HB 8 tracks dual credit students earning 15 successful credit hours, transfer students to Texas public universities earning 15 successful credit hours, co-enrolled students in specific programs earning 15 successful credit hours, and bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, certificates, advanced technical certificates (ATC), occupational skills awards (OSA), and institutional credentials leading to licensure or certification (ICLC). It also tracks whether students achieving these outcomes experienced an academic or economic disadvantage or are adult learners (25+). More details on what is tracked can be found on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) website (https://www.highered.texas.gov/our-work/supporting-our-institutions/community-college-finance/). 

This differs from the North Star Completion Rate in a few important ways: 

• HB 8 outcomes are only reported as counts rather than a rate. There is no denominator, and students can achieve multiple outcomes (e.g., completing an associate degree and transferring).
• There is no time limit for achieving HB 8 awards. Although there are timing considerations in the tracking, there is no requirement that a degree be earned in a student's first three years.
• HB 8 tracks different outcomes, such as an hours threshold for dual-credit and co-enrolled students. 
• Students achieving HB 8 outcomes do not need to be FTIC students.

The ACC Fact Book is the best one-stop data resource for learning more about the students ACC serves. This easy-to-use guide includes the demographics of our students, their enrollment across campuses and distance learning, the degrees and awards they complete, and much more. 

The Daily Registration Dashboard is a primary tool to support tactical scheduling decisions, but we can also use it to inform our strategic planning. The dashboard allows users to explore current and historical enrollment by different student characteristics, like new vs. continuing students, traditional vs. high school students, student race/ethnicity, and different course characteristics, like modality, session length, and department.

The annual Student Success Metrics Report contains key performance metrics over time, including course success, persistence, completion, and transfer rates. The metrics are disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and enrollment intensity.

Race and ethnicity are tracked via self-report on a student’s ACC application.