Riverside Campus Student / Board Forum Notes Thursday, November 7, 2012, 11: 00- 12:00 p.m., Building G Trustees:

Jeffrey Richard Guadalupe Sosa

Presiding:

RVS SGA Senators Lisa Pham, Sarah Leon

1.

Every ACC student receives a free bus pass to transport to each main campus. But, as of today, two out of eight campuses, are inaccessible – Cypress and Round Rock. What is the Board of Trustees doing to make sure that our students get the transportation needed to travel safely and efficiently to the other campuses? Bus routes to campuses continue to be a challenge that the Board advocates for. Cypress Creek Campus has bus service through an agreement between ACC and Capital Metro. However, Capital Metro does not service the Round Rock Campus.

2.

The student body is aware that Simon’s Café contract with ACC is coming to an end next month. Students have been very vocal about getting healthier and more cost effective food vendors on campus. What is the Board of Trustees doing to ensure that new food vendors come to ACC?” The Simons Café contract ends at the end of this year. The SGA conducted a student survey regarding food and vendor preferences. Students will participate in the next food vendor selection. Students suggested a fair price for an item is $7. Students also suggested vendors - Subway, Thundercloud Subs, Whole Foods, Chick-Filet, McDonalds, and Chinese food.

3.

The Riverside Campus houses one of the largest student populations. The majority of students have between discouraged from going to the Learning Lab, due to the small room size and the lack of tutors. How can the demand for tutors be reached to assist students with succeeding in their classes? In past years, the Board of Trustees has increased the budgets for the Learning Labs, allowing for increased hours of operations and additional tutors. Unfortunately, the Riverside Campus has limited space.

4.

Parking continues to be an issue on all campuses. Riverside students would like to know how the Board of Trustees plans to keep up with the growing student population with such limited parking. The first three floors of the Rio Grande Parking Garage staff are never full. Could there be a gradual reduction of faculty, staff parking places, perhaps a row at a time? The facilities master plan for each campus addressed and expanded the parking, for the future. Also ACC promotes multi-modal transportation services, including Green Pass, Carpool and Bike ridership promotion to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles coming to campus. ACCPD continually monitors the parking at the RGC garage and makes adjustments as needed regarding the number of assigned parking spaces for faculty, staff, and students.

5.

The Riverside campus attracts more students each year. Keeping the mind active is vital. Physical activities are instrumental, and available activities will ensure students return next year. How can the Board of Trustees help these long-term plans? The Campus Advisory Committee has had input into future campus facilities. However, with limited funds, the instructional offerings and support services have been the priority.

6.

How can enforcement be brought upon the existing law of our smoke-free campus? There is a constant relapse of students carelessly overruling your judgment. What is the Board of Trustee’s long-term plan for this unenforced problem? The ACC Board of Trustees adopted Board Policy, “C-10, Safe and Healthy Teaching and Learning Environment” at the October 3, 2011 Board meeting, and the ACC no-smoking policy went into effect January 2, 2012. On February 14, 2012, through the shared governance process, the Administrative Services Council passed a proposed Administrative Rule for implementation of the no-smoking policy. The administration is currently reviewing the implementation recommendations and gathering current comparative information regarding the procedures used at other community colleges and universities. It is anticipated that the administration will finalize the enforcement recommendations for implementation effective the Spring Semester 2013.

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7.

Many times it is difficult for students to retrieve necessary information from ACC. Acquiring a student run broadcast television station will not only give students educational and professional opportunities, but information on what is happening on each campus. What approach would the Board of Trustees take to do to help the students achieve this goal? ACC uses video in a number of ways and has several video production environments. These environments are used for: a. Instructional Support - to support and design content and the delivery of commercial and locally-produced inperson and digital classroom instruction and for b. Communication - for communication of college and college-related information from the surrounding ACC community. Instructional Design /services (IDS) does not lend itself to internships as there are significant instructional production lead times needed for quality and planning for classroom/curriculum-supported initiatives. The communication and information sharing use -through Channel 19 - however, is currently under discussion, and a cross-departmental Channel 19 committee has been formed to come up with a recommendation for the future (with representatives from IDS, marketing, Radio Television Film, Student Life, External Affairs, Arts & Humanities, the President's Office, HR and others.) This team is working on short and long term plans for college functions and academic departments and among the critical elements and activities being discussed for communication avenues through Channel 19 are internships for ACC students. IDS studio clients, however, are often interested in interns from ACC. These requests go through ACC’s Radio, Television and Film department (223-4732) and faculty in the area manage, schedule, research topics, and prepare the host - in essence - turning the project into a student-centered learning experience.

8.

ACC has become a very liberal college, accepting all walks of life, exclusively in the community of LBGTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer); there is a very large demand here at Riverside ACC in meeting the needs of these organizations, such as a coming out-group. What are the Board of Trustees long-term plans for this very much needed outreach? There is a LBGTQ club. The name of the organization is Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), and the contact information is Megan Rue, [email protected], 512/704-5049. Any- student(s) may take the initiative to start a club. Contact Quevarra Moten-Arcoven at [email protected] for information.

9.

ACC prides itself on meeting students where they are. Many of our students are parents of young children. Does the Board of Trustees plan on meeting the needs of students and adding childcare facilities to each campus? ACC has one child care facility which is a lab school for the child development associate degree program. In the recent past, the Student Government Association and the college studied the need for child care at ACC. As a result, the College responded that funds and other resources are not available to have child care facilities at each campus. However, the Student Activity Fee budget includes an allocation of $70,000 for students to apply for child care funds. The funds are administered through the Support Centers at each campus, except for the Rio Grande Campus. An interested group is exploring the possibility of providing day care at the Highland Mall location.

10. The majority of first year students and returning students get approved for financial aid. Some students hardly know how to budget wisely and efficiently. Does the Financial Aid Department offer any money management workshops for students and, if not, what are their plans to provide financial education workshops to students? Fall Semester 2012: Financial Aid workshops offered were as follows. Go to http://www.austincc.edu/support/financialaid/. The workshops will continue to be offered throughout the semesters. Financial Aid workshop titled “Making $en$e of It All” was held during the month of November and one in December 2012 at various campuses. Round Rock, November 14th Riverside, November 27th and December 4th South Austin, November 28th Northridge, November 29th All students were sent an email encouraging them to attend the workshop. This workshop was/is intended for students currently on financial aid and future financial aid applicants currently enrolled. Workshops were advertised to students via event flyer, email to ACC gmail, workshop registration was advertised on ACC financial aid home page, as well as facebook and twitter. Students were asked to register for each workshop. Each campus Dean of Student Services promoted the workshops and encouraged faculty and staff to attend.

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Spring Semester 2013: For spring 2013, financial literacy workshops are scheduled on each Wednesday during the month of February at various campuses. These dates are not posted on the Financial Aid website, but as soon as there is a room assignment, this information will be on the Financial Aid website: http://www.austincc.edu/support/financialaid/. Texas Guaranteed will be conducting the workshops. The workshops will be promoted via email, web, Facebook and twitter. A flyer is also being created to promote the workshops. Students will be asked to register. Financial Literacy topics include: Wednesday, Feb 6th - Saving and Investing - Round Rock Campus - 4:30pm - 6pm Wednesday, Feb 13th - Monitoring Spending - Northridge campus – 3:00pm – 4:30pm Wednesday, Feb 20th - Needs & Wants - Riverside campus - 3pm-5pm Wednesday, Feb 27th - Spending Plans - Rio Grande - 1:30pm - 3pm Financial aid workshops will continue to be provided at various campuses. Check the Financial Aid web site for more information. 11. There are currently nine educational buildings here at the Riverside Campus. How can the Board of Trustees organize these buildings into subdivisions for educational departments such as math/science, history/government, English/communications, etc.? So, the students have the opportunity to get the whole experience of what the Riverside Campus has to offer. This is a new and interesting idea. The Campus Advisory Committees will be discussing and contributing to the Academic Master Plan. Student Government Association Senators are members of the Campus Advisory Committee, where these and other ideas should be presented and discussed. 12. What are you going to do about the small desks at the Riverside Campus? This is a recognized problem at the Riverside Campus. Some classroom furniture has been exchanged from desks to tables. The issue is that larger desks will reduce the capacity of the classroom, and hence, limit enrollment in classes. Nevertheless, the plan is to improve the classroom furniture size for students. 13. Building D has been closed for over a decade and is now being used by APD and ACC Police training, which is taking away a substantial amount of student parking. How can the Board of Trustees open Building D for more classes and services that are desperately needed here at Riverside Campus? Building D at the Riverside Campus has been abated from harmful effects. However, the building is now a “shell” that is not conducive for classrooms/offices. Currently, it is being used as a training facility by the ACC and Austin Police Departments. The Riverside Campus Advisory Committee should address this issue in the Academic Master Plan. 14. Can we have sports activities, intramurals? ACC does not provide all instructional programs at every campus because of cost, space restrictions, and enrollment needs. Student Life offers Intramural men’s and women’s basketball and soccer; women’s volleyball, co-ed dodge ball, co-ed floor ball, co-ed soccer, bowling, blazer tag, and skating. There are north, central, and south rented facilities to provide a well rounded intramurals and recreation program to students. For more information regarding Intramurals please contact Tracy Partin at [email protected]. The ACC Student ID card will qualify students for a discount at Gold’s Gym. 15. Why do I need to take government 1 & 2? Why can’t I just take the second course for my major? The Texas Education Code (51.301) mandates that students who receive a baccalaureate or associate’s degree from a public college or university must complete six hours of course work in government/political science including a focus on both the U.S. and the Texas Constitutions and related topics. GOVT 2305 focuses on the U.S. Constitution and national policy-making, while GOVT 2306 focuses on the Texas Constitution and state and local policymaking. 16. What health insurance do we have for students? The College provides a complete PPO policy offered by United Healthcare. Students may obtain information packets regarding the policy from the Student Life offices at all campuses. Students may get additional information at www.uhcsr.com/austincc. The ACC Board of Trustees recently approved a $3 annual fee for student accident insurance, effective fall 2011. This fee eliminates the $3.50 insurance fee per course that some courses required. This accident insurance covers students on campus and at college-sponsored events. The maximum coverage is $10,000, and this insurance pays first before other insurance pays. There is a $25 deductible per claim on this policy. The website for insurance is: http://www.austincc.edu/ehs/Insurance.php. Click on "Student Accident Insurance" to see the information about this insurance and procedures to make a claim.

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