ACC Course Sharing Initiative
Since 1997, Austin Community College (ACC) has been actively involved in inter-institutional course sharing throughout the state, benefiting over 50,000 students by providing access to essential courses for credential completion. ACC’s course sharing efforts have been facilitated through two main consortiums.
The first, the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTEX), formerly known as the Virtual College of Texas, is a state-funded consortium comprising fifty community and junior colleges across Texas. The second, the League for Innovation, is a national consortium of higher education institutions with over five hundred members. Additionally, ACC engages in individual partnerships with state, national, and international higher education institutions.
Course sharing is managed through Acadeum, an online platform where colleges and universities list available course sections to assist qualified students when their home institutions cannot offer the necessary classes. Collectively, ACC’s course sharing partnerships have enabled thousands of students to complete their degree programs without unnecessary delays.
Course sharing is managed by the Office of Distance & Alternative Education (DE). Approximately 4-6 weeks before the start of the registration period for the upcoming semester, the Distance Education Acadeum Coordinator (Sofia Suquillo) will contact deans and department chairs with a list of online credit course sections that DE proposes to offer with limited select seats to prospective Acadeum students. Deans and department chairs are given a review period during which they may suggest additional sections or courses for inclusion, as well as identify those that are not suitable for course sharing.
The sections selected by DE are based on information from the online course schedule, with particular focus on:
- Sophomore-level courses
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) courses
- Fully online programs
- Online courses designated as “in need” by other institutions
- Online courses with shorter durations (e.g., 6-8 weeks)
- Online course sections taught by experienced Distance Learning instructors
- Courses utilizing Open Educational Resources (OER)
- Courses meeting online Quality Matters course design standards
Throughout the registration period, DE may also reach out to deans and department chairs with specific requests from consortial partners, including full, dedicated sections for high enrollment requests or emergency needs that may arise.
At the end of the review period, DE will upload the approved list of course sections to the Acadeum online course sharing platform. The Acadeum registration period will commence on the same day as ACC’s registration period and will continue up to approximately one week before the start of the respective course sections
ACC’s participation in course sharing is done as a service to in-need students from other higher education institutions at competitive pricing rates. In addition to the benefits students see in saving money and not delaying their educational plans, ACC departments and faculty see the following benefits:
- Increased Success Rates: Students coming from other institutions through Acadeum tend to be strongly motivated to complete their course(s).
- Program Growth: ACC departments and programs with a growth trajectory may consider utilizing Acadeum to help their courses expand.
- Endangered Section Status Protection: Course sections that are designated as “endangered” may be protected if the section is near the required “make” seat count and has registered Acadeum students enrolled in it.
- Texas Education Goals: Participation in Acadeum will help THECB in reaching the “60x30TX” goal of having 60% of students aged 25-34 in holding a college degree by the year 2030.
Course Section Requirements for Participation
ACC courses must meet certain requirements in order to qualify to participate in Acadeum course sharing. The following are the requirements for participation and listing on the Acadeum platform:
- The course must be taught in Blackboard. Course sections that utilize Google Classroom are not acceptable. Courses that use software and tools that are not locked behind an ACC student email address (ie. MyMathLab, etc.) are acceptable.
- No on-campus participation requirement. Courses fit for the Acadeum platform cannot require a student to come to either an ACC campus or their home college campus. Any visitation must be entirely student-voluntary. As such, only courses taught using the ONL asynchronous or DLS synchronous course modes are typically acceptable.
- No content can be locked behind an ACC student email address. Students coming from Acadeum have very limited access to ACC resources. Because they are NOT entered into Ellucian/Colleague, they are not issued an ACC email address and thus cannot access any content locked behind one. While Acadeum students will thus not have access to common ACC resources (tutoring, library, etc.) they will still have the resources of their home institutions to utilize during the class.
- A publicly-available course syllabus must be supplied. Per the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) rules and Texas HB 2504 requirements, a syllabus is required to be listed in every Acadeum course listing. DE will either request a copy of the assigned instructor’s most recent syllabus or provide a master syllabus from the ACC Master Syllabus Repository (MSR). Syllabi uploaded to the MSR must be publicly accessible and not restricted to ACC. It is requested that the faculty member’s final syllabus for the course be provided as soon as it is ready.
Student Expectations for Participation
Students coming from Acadeum institutions will operate exactly the same as their ACC counterparts and, for the most part, should be indistinguishable in contact and quality of their work. Acadeum students will not receive (or be expected to receive) any special treatment throughout the length of the course.
They will also need to meet the same registration requirements an ACC student would, including all prerequisites, in order to be enrolled in the course.
At the start of the course, these students will be required to begin participating in the class within the first 24 hours. Failure on their part without providing adequate reasoning for a delay will result in them being involuntarily withdrawn.
Faculty Expectation for Participation
Faculty teaching course sections with Acadeum students typically will not have additional responsibilities. The only exception is the final grade entry. Faculty must create a new column in their Blackboard grade book titled “ACADEUM” and enter the letter grade equivalent for Acadeum students.
Since these students are not listed in Ellucian Colleague, this replaces the standard grade entry process.
No further action is required. If instructors encounter any difficulties or have questions, they can contact the Office of Distance & Alternative Education at [email protected] for assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the course load expectations?
Seats for ACC courses listed on Acadeum are limited according to the seat caps specified in the course catalog, determined in consultation with deans and department chairs. For courses with a seat cap below 30, we allocate 2 seats on Acadeum. For courses with a seat cap of 30 or more, we allocate 3 seats. This approach helps maintain seat availability within a 10% margin above regular capacity and aligns with projected LEH (Lecture Equivalent Hour) estimates.
If additional interest arises beyond the 2-3 seats listed on Acadeum, we will reach out to department chairs to discuss the possibility of adding more sections. Department chairs have the option to either lower the seat cap for ACC students to accommodate Acadeum students or to increase the cap above the current limit.
What about prerequisites for ACC courses?
ACC enforces the exact same expectations for enrollment from Acadeum as we do for regular ACC students. Acadeum students will be required to meet the same prerequisite requirements and no substitutions that aren’t already accepted by ACC department program maps will be admitted. Students coming from Acadeum institutions will be in-need and will have already had to demonstrate to their home college or university that they cannot otherwise wait to take the class in a different semester and that they meet the qualifications to enroll. Acadeum students will also meet TSI requirements.
How do I identify an Acadeum student in my course?
Acadeum students are provided Blackboard and OKTA access approximately two weeks prior to the start of a course. These students will be issued unique ACCeID numbers that begin with “vct”. They will not have an ACC email address but instead will show up in your users list in the course Blackboard as having a student email address from their home institution. Rosters are provided by DE to the respective faculty at the close of each Acadeum reservation period for the various session lengths.
Course sections that utilize First Day Access for course materials are very common. As Acadeum students are not entered into Workday/Ellucian and are not charged the additional First Day fees, the materials are not provided to them automatically at the start of the class. Instead, the Acadeum course listings specifically note First Day Access courses and instruct prospective students to purchase the “opt-out” materials listed in the ACC bookstore.
Do Acadeum students have access to Student Services and other support systems?
Acadeum students enrolled at ACC are not charged for or given access to internal ACC services and tools that our regular students receive as part of their formal enrollment. This includes areas such as advising and tutoring, with the exception of academic testing. The operating expectation is that the Acadeum student will use the services at their home institution to augment their learning experience at ACC.
For accessibility and Student Accessibility Services (SAS) matters, please contact the Office of Distance Education ([email protected]) to discuss the options available.
I require proctored testing for my courses. How does this affect Acadeum students?
Students enrolled through Acadeum are expected to follow the same requirements set by their instructor and department, whether they are ACC students or from another institution. ACC’s Acadeum enrollment process provides students with access to OKTA and Blackboard, enabling the use of all proctoring tools outlined in the TLED Testing Guideg Guide.
No special testing arrangements are necessary for Acadeum students if the rest of the class is permitted to test from home.
For more information, visit the DE Proctoring Faculty Portal or contact the Office of Distance Education at [email protected]