ACC sees increase in enrollments after offering free tuition

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Community College District (ACC) said it saw an increase in fall enrollment one month after registration opened.

“Preliminary data indicate a significant increase in enrollment, especially among new students,” ACC said.

The community college said enrollments were up nearly 23% from last year and up more than 29% compared to two years ago.

New student registrations also showed an increase of more than 27% from last year and more than 78% from fall 2022. ACC attributed the growth to the Free Tuition Pilot Program, which was announced in April for the high school class of 2024.

ACC provided data for the growth by area of study:

• Arts & Digital Media: 23% increase
• Business: 12.7% increase
• Computer Science and Information Technology: 25% increase
• Design, Manufacturing, Construction, and Applied Technologies: 7.2% increase
• Health Science: 28.2% increase
• Liberal Arts (Humanities and Communications): 18.7% increase
• Liberal Arts (Social and Behavioral Science): 20.6% increase
• Public and Social Services: 22%
• Science, Engineering, and Math: 29.9% increase

ACC said there were two months remaining to register for fall classes, and students were encouraged to register soon to secure their desired classes and locations.

Fall classes begin August 26.