We extensively research, and share with campus partners alternative and neutral strategies that can help ACC enhance the academic achievements and post-graduate outcomes for all students, including but not limited to first-generation, low income, and underserved populations.
Creating safe spaces for all students. Lived experiences research suggests that community centers offer spaces of safety and hope for individuals and that centers could be considered a community of practice as well as places for increasing cultural awareness, and fluency. Belonging also includes students discovering oneself and choosing spaces and times to rest, make space connections, and work for change. Continuously, each of our Campus Community Center models are improved upon to enhance and serve these goals.
ACC has a unifying North Star goal of increasing student completion rates, across all student populations we serve, to 70% by 2030. Targeted Universalism (TU) is one of many frameworks we recommend institutional partners consider in achieving our North Star. TU is outcome-oriented and focuses on developing a range of implementation strategies and processes directed in service of our explicit, unifying goal.
Using disaggregated data we and our partners investigate the ways different students are situated within the intersections of various systems that shape educational performance, identifying students’ common and different needs with a goal of helping all students achieve ACC’s unifying completion goal. TU acknowledges that different strategies are needed for every student to benefit from reaching our completion goal. Some students may start closer to the goal and will receive what support they need, which may be less. Others who start furthest from the goal will receive what support they need, which may be more. With an unwavering commitment to our unifying completion goal, TU platforms require a multiplicity of strategies and resources to advance all students toward completion.
Every student, faculty, staff, and employee of ACC holds great potential, skills, knowledge, and incredible cultural wealth from their lived experiences and identities. While structural barriers create significant challenges to each person’s ability to thrive in their educational and post-educational outcomes, we don’t ignore the significant inner barriers of ‘stereotype threat’ and ‘belonging uncertainty’. A valuable resource we utilize in providing customized leadership and team building training upon request is the Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinders assessment. CliftonStrengths presents who you are, as well as what you do at excellence. Nothing feels more welcoming than being valued. By showing an individuals’ unique value to a given team, CliftonStrengths also centers the individual in the team.
We collaborate continuously with ACC legal counsel, Office of Compliance, & HR to insure federal, state (including SB17) law compliance in all belonging programs, initiatives, and internal/external partnership ventures.
Belonging Mini Grants & Process
Austin Community College Office of Belonging & Purpose collaborates with multiple campus district partners to fulfill the district’s mission of building a culture of belonging, engagement, and success where all students, faculty, and employees may thrive and succeed. One of the resources we make available while funds are available are small mini grants.
The Office of Belonging & Purpose (OBP) prioritizes innovative projects, workshops, and activities that promote excellence in belonging, engagement, strengths, purpose, and/or success not addressed or limited for consideration by other existing campus resources, and will consider financial assistance for grant proposals primarily in the amount of $500 to $2,500. (Larger grant requests may be considered at the discretion of the OBP reviewers).
Review of applications will be contingent upon availability of funds, and/or the chancellor’s discretion of continuing, limiting, or eliminating the funding based upon institutional financial constraints. Funds are considered on a first-come, first serve basis with a goal where possible of sharing 50% of the available budget for faculty and staff college and/or community initiatives, and 50% for student-led initiatives.
The Office of Belonging & Purpose administrative leadership will review the merits of the proposals, confer with the appropriate Student Affairs, instructional division, or administrative partners of the potential grantees and make approval or denial decisions.
Mini Grant Application Guidelines
Guidelines for completing application:
- It is the applicant’s responsibility to write a convincing application with supporting arguments and evidence that show the project or event as strengthening ACC’s long-term commitment to belonging, purpose, engagement, and success. And also, be consistent with ACC’s mission, unifying completion goals, values, and Theory of Change.
- The proposed event or project should have a strong conceptual framework based upon at least some of the rubrics from the ACC Strategic and Academic Master Plans, and ACC’s Theory of Change. Those rubrics may include how many students will be impacted, projected results (e.g., increases in students’ access, persistence, completion, transfer, employment, learning, cultural proficiency, evidence of viability, and innovation). The proposed event or project should be clearly defined with easily identified starting and ending points and specific activities.
- The proposed event or project should have specific goals and measurable outcomes.
- The proposed event or project should have a plan for assessing impact.
- The proposed event or project should have a broad impact upon the ACC community or target first-generation, low income, or underserved groups at ACC. It cannot be limited to in-class presentations. Grant applicants are encouraged to seek broad visibility for the event or project.
- A final report is required and it will be due no later than three months after the funded activity ends. Failure to submit a final report may disqualify applicants from receiving future faculty, staff, or student belonging mini-grants.
- Successful applicants are expected to include the ACC emblem on all promotional material in accordance with College guidelines and to reference that the event/project was funded by a faculty/staff/student Office of Belonging & Purpose mini-grant.
- Grant Application – requires login
- Signature – coming soon
- Final Reports – coming soon
Mini Grant Examples
Examples including but not limited to purposes mini-grants can address:
Continuing academic, workforce, dual enrollment, or adult education for academic, occupational, professional, and cultural awareness or fluency and proficiency.
Enhanced instructional programs and support services to assist all students, including but not limited to low income, first-generation, or under-served students, from a multi-faceted range of customized assistance to enhance their academic success and/or post-graduate outcomes.
Back to Top