Austin Community College (ACC) opened its newest Veterans Resource Center at its Highland campus on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. This center adds to three other centers located at their Round Rock, Northridge and Riverside campuses.
It is extremely important that we honor our veterans, and this is one of the ways we can do it, said Dr. Richard Rhodes, the President and CEO of ACC. The Veterans Resource Center will provide not just our 2,200 student veterans, but all veterans a pathway to achieve their dreams.
The new center is 4,000 square-foot in size and provides the necessary support and services to enable veterans to seek and succeed at taking post-graduate education classes at ACC. Included in the center is a lounge that offers military and student veterans a place to socialize, find peer support, and participate in veteran-specific activities.
Andrienne Liddle, one of the founders of ACC’s Student Veterans Association said, “Having a place like this an actual physical location where veterans can go and know that they can find answers and support is priceless really.” It didn’t exist when my husband and I first came to the school and it was something that we really needed.”
ACC has partnered with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) for the College Credit for Heroes (CCH) program. The mission of this innovative program is to maximize college credit awarded to veterans and service members for their military experience, helping veterans and service members obtain their degrees and certifications more quickly and expedite their entry into the workforce. The TWC began the CCH program in 2011 by selecting seven Texas community colleges to bring the process into fruition. Now the program involves a total of 38 colleges and universities throughout Texas. The goal of the program is to help them transition from active duty service to a civilian career.
Austin Community College has maintained a strong presence in providing support and services for active duty military personnel, veterans and eligible family members. For example, their VetSuccess on Campus program, a collaboration between ACC and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides counselors to enable veterans and military personnel to smooth your transition to college life.
We veterans appreciate the various programs that ACC has established to help us obtain advanced education here in Austin and throughout the State of Texas.
