Northwest Vista College News

NVC Hosts Dual Credit Information NIght

On Tuesday February 26th, NVC hosted Dual Credit Information Night.   All incoming Northside ISD Juniors and Seniors and their parents/guardians were invited.  Elaine Lang, Director of Enrollment Services, presented information about the benefits of the dual credit program and the enrollment process.  Information on how students qualify for dual credit and campus services supporting dual credit students were covered.  Originally scheduled to be one presentation, the staff presented the information a second time due to the overflow crowd. Over 150 students and their parents or guardians were in attendance.

College Holds Financial Aid Workshops, Launches Website

On March 1, 2008 NVC Financial Aid and recruiting staff conducted the first of two Financial Aid workshops. Students attending were able to get help obtaining their FAFSA PIN numbers, completing ‘07-‘08 or ‘08-‘09 FAFSA’s. Participants could also attend one or more mini session: What Happens after Completing the FAFSA; Comparing College Cost versus Financial Aid; and What about the Free Money: Finding Scholarships. Students could also get assistance completing admission applications. Every attendee completed their FAFSA during the workshop. A second workshop will be held on March 8.

NVC also launched a new scholarship website that will help students identify scholarships that will help pay for college. The site lists scholarships by category such as business, communications, criminal justice and engineering. A synopsis of each scholarship allows students to easily determine if they are eligible and how to access additional information. The workshops and website were created as part of a new objective in the NVC Strategic Plan to increase, through improved processes and services, the number of students applying for and receiving financial assistance. The ultimate goal is to help students concentrate on studies by easing their financial burden.

NVC Conducts Assessments for College Connections

As part of the College Connections program, NVC Assessment Testing staff, coordinated by Abel Ruiz, visited nine Northside ISD High Schools during January and February. These include: Holmes, Clark, Stevens, Jay, Warren, O’Connor, Taft, Communication Arts, and Marshall. These high schools are among those targeted by NVC in the Strategic Plan. 2,279 tests were administered in computer labs at the schools. Taft, Stevens, Warren, O’Connor, Marshall and Jay each had over 300 seniors complete Accuplacer tests for placement in English, Math and reading classes. Over 40% of the students tested indicated they would attend NVC and 62% indicated they would attend one of the Alamo Community Colleges.

NVC Major Mania a Major Success

The spring NVC Major Mania event took place on March 12th. The Career and Transfer Service (CaTS) organized this semi-annual event for current and future NVC students. Each academic area created a booth to provide information about jobs, careers and programs for their program. Over 20 academic areas were represented. Information was also available on workforce programs: Accelerated Teacher Certification Program, Braille, Clinical Research Coordinator, Pharmacy Tech and digital gaming. For the first time this year, students were able to search the newly established NVC Scholarship website, enabling them to examine options for scholarships. Over 125 students were briefed on the contents of the website. Other tables included: student advising, community education, STELLAR, Staff Council, and Phi Theta Kappa. Dozens of students registered to assist community and non-profit groups as part NVC’s civic engagement program.

Over 200 high school students, along with current NVC students, attended the event. Every senior from Kennedy High school participated. Other participating high schools were Southwest, Warren, Taft and CASA. Students also toured the campus and observed one or two classes to familiarize themselves with college classrooms.

NVC Library Reports Results of Key Initiatives

NVC Library staff recently reported on the results for three key 2007 initiatives. These included: expanding Sunday services; increasing services to WETC and Datapoint; and expanding library services to online students.

In the past, the library was not routinely open with full staffing every Sunday. To better serve students, the library desired to provide full library services on Sundays. A part-time librarian was hired and attendance has steadily increased since October.

To expand services at WETC and Datapoint, Library staff distributed brochures on library services; participated in Wildcat Welcome Days to introduce new students to library services; and taught library classes at WETC and Datapoint.

Library staff desired to learn how to design and deliver online library services. They attend training, created tutorials and had staff participate in online classes. Staff created 14 online research guides in areas such as art, chemistry, avoiding plagiarism, government literature, primary sources and psychology. Librarians were also embedded into on-line course curriculum.

These initiatives helped to increase overall library activity in 2007. Library classes increased from 380 in 2006 to 447 in 2007; the number of students increased to 9,248 from 8,455. Reference inquires also increased with the addition of a second reference desk. Staff conducted 10 Noodle tools citation workshops with strong student attendance and feedback.