American Association of Community Colleges

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), headquartered in the National Center for Higher Education building in Washington, D.C., is the primary advocacy organization for community colleges at the national level and works closely with directors of state offices to inform and affect state policy.

About
In addition, AACC is a member of "The Six" large, presidentially based associations dealing with higher education policy, and it collaborates with a range of organizations within the higher education community to monitor and influence federal policy and to collaborate on issues of common interest. The association has ongoing interaction with key federal departments and agencies including the U.S. departments of Labor, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, and Commerce and the National Science Foundation.

The AACC represents nearly 1,200 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions that have an enrollment of more than 12 million students. The association's board of directors consist of 32 institutional members who serve three-year terms.

History
AACC was founded in 1920, originally named American Association of Junior Colleges (AAJC).

Since February of 2023, the AACC Board has elected, Tracy Hartzler, president of Central New Mexico Community College, Dawn Lindsay, president of Anne Arundel Community College, Charlotte Warren, president of Lincoln Land Community College, Jermaine Whirl, president of Augusta Technical College, and Lin Zhou, president of Bates Technical College.

The AACC announced that Drake State President, Dr. Patricia Sims, was elected to the AACC Board. In April of 2023, the AACC named Mott Community College President Beverly Walker-Griffea CEO of the Year.

Scholarships
The AACC awarded scholarships to the top twenty community college students. Each student received $5,000 and will be named the 2023 All-USA Academic Team.