I have a multi-faceted relationship with Austin's large community college, which serves over 30,000 students each semester and has enrolled more than 600,000 over its 35-year history.  ACC is a vivid illustration of both the advantages and shortcomings of governmental action, providing valuable services but largely protected from the feedback that market forces can supply.  From 1992 to 2000 I served as one of the nine elected trustees of the college, helping develop a comprehensive policy revision that realigned college operations in various ways.  I have since been active in ACC annexation, tax, and trustee elections, as well as by contributing items such as a prototype alumni web site.  I also participated in a citizens' advisory committee that the Board appointed to consider strategic financial issues, including those related to financial aid and tuition subsidies.  My current focus is on expanding self-directed citizen input to ACC, especially toward laying the basis for objective quantitative assessment of the college's contributions toward meeting community needs and improving the college's very weak performance (well under 20% success) in remedial education for underprepared students. 

I have produced many documents related to ACC issues.  Here are some highlights:

• An explanation of why ACC policy makes out-of-district tuition so high
• Developmental (i.e., remedial) education at ACC
  • A critical examination of ACC's approach to remedial mathematics
  • A data sheet on remedial-education success of ACC and of Capital IDEA
  • A rebuttal of claims that ACC and Capital IDEA students are not comparable
• A spreadsheet showing a cost model for ACC departments, including overheads
• The initial citizens' committee report, focused on financial policies
• The citizens' committee report on the financial aspects of Early College Start
• The citizens' committee final report on financial aid, with several recommendations
  • Use techniques similar to those of Capital IDEA
  • Provide textbooks to ACC students
  • Allocate overhead costs appropriately in planning and evaluation reports
  • Compare ACC performance to that of local suppliers of similar services
  • Gradually reduce out-of-district waivers for Early College Start students