Riverside Campus Student Forum Notes Thursday, February 24, 2011 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Building G, First Floor, Student Lounge. Room 2000 Presiding: Sabrina Holland‐Perry, Riverside Student Senator Trustees: Tim Mahoney Guadalupe Sosa Dr. James McGuffee 1. Questions and comments from the Riverside paper forum: “The Learning Lab is like gold to me. I hope you never reduce this part of the funding because there are some very, very, very helpful amazing tutors here. I had a nightmare about physics and woke up thinking that all I needed to do was get to the learning lab and they would be able to help. No kidding … please keep this program growing strong.” 2. Can you get cameras for the parking lot? Too many thefts. During calendar years 2010 and 2011, a total of only two vehicle burglaries have occurred in the Riverside parking lots. Although cameras are not currently installed in the parking lots at Riverside Campus, the long range plans for the District include installing surveillance cameras in all campus parking lots. Anyone parking in campus lots should remember that police escorts are available. Everyone should also be alert, be aware of their surroundings, and be careful to not leave anything of value in plain sight in their parked vehicles. 3. We need intercampus shuttles. In the past, a well‐advertised shuttle system between three campuses was not used sufficiently to continue its operation. As addressed in the contract, ACC and Capital Metro will jointly develop a plan to promote an increase in ACC student and staff ridership on Capital Metro services; this plan may include more efficient access between ACC campuses and the promotion of currently available incentive programs for alternative transportation. 4. Why does tuition go up every time we turn around? The State’s funding cuts of 7.5% this year, and anticipated cuts of nearly 20% next year, are the reasons for the increases. The alternative for ACC would be to reduce programs, support services and faculty/staff. In‐district tuition was the same from 2005 through 2009 (5 years), and increased $3 in fall 2010 and $5 in summer 2011. Out‐of‐district tuition increases each year, per Board Policy (G‐8 Tuition Rate). ACC’s tuition, in comparison to other institutions, is low and is lower than the state and national average. ACC intends to increase tuition another $5 in fall and $5 next spring. There are three types of revenue that ACC receives: local property taxes, state funding, and student tuition. State budget cuts will be addressed through institutional efficiencies, as well as tuition increases. The budget information can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/newsroom/index.php/2011/01/21/state‐budget‐cuts‐impact‐ on‐acc/
02/24/11 RVS Student Forum Notes
Page 1
5. There should be more captioning for deaf students of videos used in the classrooms. Students should first discuss the need for closed caption video content with their professors and then with the Office for Students with Disabilities. The instructor can request that Instructional Resources and Technology (IRT) closed caption material that is not already captioned. Lead time is required to caption video content. The College Accessibility Committee recommended that resources be dedicated to support closed captioning for instructional content. 6. Why is the waiting list so long for nursing students with high gpa’s? The nursing program is required to maintain compliance with Board of Nursing regulations. One of those regulations is that the program must have sufficient faculty and clinical placements sites to ensure the education of all students admitted. These factors determine the number of students that can be admitted for each class. Since the nursing program has more applicants than can be admitted, the program uses a ranking formula which is published on the program’s website under admissions criteria ‐ http://www.austincc.edu/health/rnsg/Formula.php. The four elements of the ranking formula determine each applicant’s place in the pool of applicants. Normally, the program admits approximately 140 applicants from the ranking list in the fall and again in the spring. 7. What is your opinion about permitting guns on campus? The President of the College is strongly opposed to the effort to allow concealed handguns on campus. 8. Students agreed that all students should be notified of emergencies by their cell phones, and only have the opportunity to “opt‐out”; that is, students will be included on the emergency message “call‐out,” unless the request is not to be notified. 9. What is happening with the Horticulture Center? It looks abandoned. The Horticulture Center (Building H) and the Greenhouse are not abandoned buildings. Capital Idea uses the building during the day and Continuing Education (CE) uses it during the evening and weekends. Also, the campus maintenance office/work area is located in the Horticulture Building. 10. Can Building D be used? Building D is not habitable and will be torn down. Visit the Campus Master Plan website http://www.austincc.edu/faoadmin/CampusMasterPlanning.php to see the plans for Riverside Campus expansion. 11. Simon’s concerns – quality, price, Simon’s Café currently offers several healthy options (salads, sandwiches) at a very reasonable price. Due to the current configuration of the facility, they are not able to prepare cooked meals on‐site. There are weekly options offered by the culinary arts Bistro 3158 (http://www.austincc.edu/cularts/Bistro.php). The food contract will expire on December 31, 2012. ACC will begin working on a new solicitation about 1 year prior to expiration. It is during this time that ACC will reach out to the students to get feedback as well as coordinating a vendor forum.
02/24/11 RVS Student Forum Notes
Page 2
