FreeMindsAustin

Welcome class of 2013-14! This year is going to be jam-packed with reading, writing, discovery, and community building. We are so thrilled to be on this nine-month journey with you. Below are some resources which you may find useful over the course of the next two semesters.

Course Documents

2013-14 Class Policies
Master Syllabus: Fall 2013
Academic Writing Syllabus
Fall 2013 Essay Assignment

ACC Application and Registration

Free Minds students who have never taken ACC classes before should start the process by filling out ACC’s online application here (scroll to the bottom of the page and click “begin”). Once you have submitted your complete application online, fill out your residency form. You can turn this form in to the Free Minds staff or to Christina Chapa, our dedicated ACC advisor.

Free Minds students who have taken ACC classes in the past should begin by filling out the residency form; You should submit this form to the Free Minds staff or Christina Chapa along with a copy of a photo ID and a copy of some correspondance that proves your address, such as a utility bill or cable bill, etc. Please make copies of these documents beforehand, as we do not have access to copiers at M Station.

After this, all students should submit either your GED certificate or official transcripts. If you have never been to college before, simply submit your official high school transcript or your GED certificate. If you have been to college before, you must submit official transcripts from every college you’ve attended, but students who have taken college classes before do not have to submit GED information or high school transcripts. When you call your school to have records sent, you may either have them sent directly to you and then bring them in person to Free Minds staff or Christina Chapa OR you can have them mailed them to:

Austin Community College Admissions and Records
PO Box 15306
Austin, TX 78761

Official transcripts are sealed and unopened. Your school may ask you to pay a small fee to process these.

Free Minds students who are under 30 years old will have to get a shot for bacterial meningitus or get an exemption for that shot. ACC’s bacterial meningitus page has information about where you can obtain that shot, what records you need for proof of immunization, as well as how to fill out and submit an exemption form.

Once you’ve completed all of the necessary steps, check in with Christina to make sure that you do not have any other holds and that you are registered for the Free Minds class. If she confirms that you are registered, you may go to any ACC campus to get your ACC student ID. You can also get a bus pass or “Green Pass” at this time, which allows all registered ACC students to ride Capital Metro for free. Click here to learn more about the Green Pass.

Online Resources

• Riding CapMetro to class? Plan your trip here.
• While we strongly encourage you to use Free Minds faculty, staff, and your fellow students as your number one resource in writing and revising your essays, Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) has a wealth of helpful information about writing arguments, what to do when you get stuck, and how to improve your sentence structure.
• Check out ACC’s Arts and Humanities Calendar for upcoming events and performances.
• Ready for some light reading? Lose yourself for a while in the Stanford Encycolopedia of Philosophy. You can look up a brief history of thought on identity, in case you want to get a head start on this year’s theme: Who do we think we are? And you can also look up time machines and zombies! (which may have nothing to do with this year’s theme, but hey, everyone needs a break now and then.)