What you need to know
The community college district shared an update on enrollment Jan. 20, the start of the spring 2026 semester.
Data updated as of Jan. 16 shows enrollment is up 7% year over year. More students are also choosing to remain with ACC semester to semester, the report shows, with returning students up 9% compared to 2025, and 23% compared to 2024.
The details
The report shows that growth in student enrollment is strongest for workforce and health care-focused fields:
- Advanced Manufacturing: +17%
- Skilled Trades: +17%
- Health Sciences: +17%
- Liberal Arts - Humanities and Communications: +13%
“What we’re seeing is proof that when we design college around real lives and real jobs, students respond,” ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said in the release. “More students are enrolling, more are staying, and more are moving forward with confidence and purpose. That matters. It tells us our work to remove financial barriers, align schedules with work and family, and build clear pathways into high-demand careers is changing outcomes — for students, for families, and for the Central Texas workforce.”
What else?
Data also shows growth in full-time enrollment and doubled participation in the community college district's free tuition pilot program. In 2025, ACC had one cohort of participating students totaling 4,894 students. The program has grown to two cohorts of 9,741 students as of this spring, the report states.
