ACC springs into weekend college

Here's some good news for both current and prospective Austin Community College students who have a hard time juggling their time between classes and their jobs: ACC now has weekend-only classes. Students can take core curriculum classes or earn a degree, while fulfilling career responsibilities during the week.

ACC's Weekend College classes started out as normal college classes on the weekends at Northridge campus, with student services available on the weekends. The current Weekend College program marks the first expansion to the Riverside campus.

New students will be able to complete transferable core curriculum or an associate's degree within seven semesters of attending the weekend college. A certificate would require two to four semesters.

The ACC Weekend College emphasizes a balance of academic transfer and workforce education programs. These courses are planned so core curriculum courses can be offered each semester, though some major courses are only offered every other semester, and some workforce education courses are not offered every semester. The program may eventually expand to include more degree offerings, based on response from the public.

Charles Quinn, Dean of Business Studies, noted that the name "ACC Weekend College" is somewhat of a misnomer because the classes are not much different from normal classes.

"The registration process is the same; the same services will be offered," Quinn said, "the name 'ACC Weekend College' refers to the availability of student services to facilitating classes on the weekends in addition to giving students more options as to when they should take classes."

Quinn also said that the idea to expand and promote the Weekend College has been considered since late spring 2006. He says the expansion of the program to the Riverside campus is a result of the realization among the ACC Board of Trustees that many workforce programs such as automobile technology would be well-suited for the weekend format. The expansion aims to meet the needs of the many working adults who would only have time to take those classes during the weekends.

At ACC's board meeting on Jan. 22, Dr. Stephen Kinslow, ACC's president, mentioned that the weekend classes would "expand [ACC's] capacity" and that there was a "very successful launch."

"Over time, we hope to build enrollment," Kinslow added, regarding plans.

Quinn said that the enrollment was "as good as we'd expected it to be at this point." A total of 2,019 students were enrolled on the first day of the Weekend College.

A list of certificates, transferable core curriculum courses as well as associate degrees is provided at www.austincc.edu/weekend. For questions regarding the ACC Weekend College program, Quinn can be contacted at cquinn@austincc.edu.