Pinnacle Campus Student / Board Forum Notes Wednesday, September 25, 2013, Student Cafeteria, Room 905, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Trustees:

Jeffrey Richard Guadalupe Q. Sosa

Presiding:

Dr. Kathleen Christensen, Vice President, Student Support and Success Systems George Reyes, Dean, Student Services Cheryl Richard, Director, Student Life David Tucker, Manager, PIN Campus

Moderator:

Ibrahim Tembe, SGA

1. Students are concerned with living a healthy lifestyle and know that there is a gym at RVS and NRG campuses. Is there any plan to add gyms to other campuses? Adding gyms might not be feasible at existing campuses; however, registration is currently underway for intramural sports that will begin on October 7th. Student Life is renting recreational spaces around the City of Austin for students to use. Currently a variety of sports are being offered, including basketball, soccer, tennis, flag-football, sand volleyball, and golf will likely be added for the spring semester. There is already an 18-hole golf course at RVS. Additionally, students can take questions and suggestions for sports to Coach Tracy Partin, the coordinator for intramurals. He has worked to set up a discount program for ACC students with Gold’s Gym and Planet Fitness. Another thing to look into is the upcoming health fair in October. Furthermore, a sand volleyball court is planned for the Pinnacle campus. A location needs to be chosen, and permits from the City of Austin need to be obtained, but the planning is in progress. Regarding healthy eating options, ACC is looking into having more choices on campuses, including healthier vending machine selections. There is not currently a plan to offer non-genetically modified foods; however, organics are on the list as a possibility. However, there are economic reasons why organics are challenging to implement as a food option. 2. Are there plans to have child care facilities at other campuses besides EVC? It would be great to have these facilities at every campus, but there are a lot of restrictions along with these facilities. Daycare services at the new Highland campus are under consideration as well as to broaden services to all campuses. As campuses expand, childcare will be recommended. Childcare payment assistance, in addition to textbook payment assistance, is available for students. These services are offered through the Student Support offices, which are located at every campus except RGC. 3. There is a concern among mothers that there are not lactation rooms at ACC campuses. The law requires that these rooms be available to employees, and we do have these rooms at every campus. These rooms are available for students to use, and the campus manager schedules the use of these rooms. ACC will advertise widely so more students know this service is available. 10/4/2013 12:21 PM Page | 1

4. What is being done to control the insect (cricket) problem at PIN? ACC has a green policy when it comes to pest control. There are only certain chemicals we can use under that policy. We pretreat for crickets each year before breeding season and have regular pest control treatments. We do recognize that this is an issue. 5. Students have requested more outside seating and more outdoor locations with wireless access and electronic outlets. What is being done about this? We have added some outdoor tables, but making power and wireless access available on the grounds is difficult, which includes underground cables. Other issues are people from outside the ACC community using it, and there are financial considerations as well. 6. How does the Board of Trustees plan to address the public transportation need? The green pass provides unlimited use of the Capital Metro buses and rail. Capital Metro busses do not travel to RRC or EGN, since these communities are not part of the Capital Metro system. This transportation problem could be part of a larger issue which is that ACC is made up of small campuses. Students need to travel from campus to campus because they cannot take all of their classes at one campus. Under consideration are mega campuses, campuses of at least 100 acres where students can get everything they need at that one campus. In the meantime, the green pass is helpful. Student suggestion: Another thing to consider is how much can be done online, which would help with the transportation issue. Other universities have been able to put a lot of offerings online and maybe ACC should consider what can be taught virtually. It costs a great deal to build new buildings and going online is the wave of the future. 7. With the addition of Elgin and shortly the Hays and Highland campuses, how is ACC going to ensure that all students receive the same information and what is the plan for ACC 5-10 years down the road? ACC has a policy that it is a one college entity and ACC works to ensure that everyone gets the same education and the same information. ACC is getting larger so this will become more difficult. The website is a good resource because as much information as possible is included on the website to help ensure that everyone is receiving the same information. ACC is working more closely with UT, Texas State University, and Huston Tillotson University to offer articulation and co-enrollment programs. The ACC Board of Trustees is planning to ask voters to pass a general obligation bond to give ACC the funds to make renovations to current property and to buy land for future campuses.

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