Bastrop campus a possibility

Round Rock may not be the only new Austin Community College campus on the horizon. A Bastrop campus could also be down the road.

Though no official steps have been taken, Bastrop leaders have recently called for plans to build a new campus in Bastrop County, in hopes of urging more local students into higher education to meet Texas higher education goals.

Currently, ACC currently offers 15 core curriculum extension courses at Bastrop High School.

ACC's expects to expand its taxing area to encompass more of its service area over the next several years, expectations that include new campuses. Discussions with Bastrop Mayor Tom Scott have intiated the search for a building site.

Brette Lea, ACC's executive director of public information and college marketing, said that though the college is, "taking proposals from land owners," the focus at present is Round Rock. "There are no plans at present to build in any other area," she said.

The college needs to expand by up to 10,000 students in the coming years. "We have to grow," said Lea. "That's our master plan. That's our mandate."

A major step toward fulfillter plan. That's our mandate."

A major step toward fulfilling that mandate could be taken on May 10 if Round Rock residents approve the inclusion of their city into the ACC tax district, resulting in a local campus.

Under the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Closing the Gaps program, which aims to make huge improvements in the Texas educational system by 2015, calls for an additional 600,000 post-secondary students enrolled in Texas colleges.

The state's business and political communities strongly support such improvements because of the need for more well-trained Texas residents. This includes adding more than 20,000 students locally.

The Texas educational system has long been in need of internal improvements and standards competitive with other states. Annual performance guidelines set in the Closing the Gaps program put pressure on Texas communities to meet those standards.