Austin Community College Braces for Budget Cuts - Joseph Olivieri, Community Impace

Austin Community College expects to lose about $10 million in state funding for next year’s budget, said Neil Vickers, ACC’s associate vice president of finance and budget. This could mean increased class sizes, higher tuition and limited tuition waivers for students. College leaders will not know the extent of the loss until this summer, when the state Legislature passes its budget to address a projected $27 billion deficit. The college has been preparing for that day with backup plans to compensate for a range of cuts. While there was nothing the school could have done to weather 2012 consequence-free, “the steps we started taking two years ago will greatly minimize the impact of this,” Vickers said. “Those include reductions in technology outlay, reductions in facility build-outs, minimal increases in staffing and salaries,” he said. “We’ve held our belts in the last couple of years.”