Northwest Vista College Granted Accreditation by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

At its meeting on June 21, 2001, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) granted initial accreditation to Northwest Vista College. The accreditation is retroactive to January 1, 2001. According to SACS, "(Accreditation) is a recognition that an institution or program has been evaluated and that it meets a set of standards of quality that are determined by the members of the association or agency granting the accreditation."

"This is a milestone achievement in the history of the college," said Dr. Jacqueline Claunch, Northwest Vista College President. "It acknowledges the excellence, as well as the extraordinary commitment and caring of our faculty and staff."

Northwest Vista College, a college of the Alamo Community College District, achieved Candidacy status in June 1999 and in August of that year, began a rigorous self-study. At the completion of the self-study, a 12-member accreditation team visited the college in October 2000 for four days -- reviewing documentation and interviewing faculty, staff, students, district personnel, community members and trustees of the Alamo Community College District. The committee made ten recommendations, to which the college had to submit a written response to SACS by mid-April. This report was reviewed by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which granted Northwest Vista College initial accreditation at its June meeting.

"As a result of this action by SACS, Northwest Vista College will now submit its application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to receive approval to accept education assistance benefits from those individuals that qualify under federal guidelines," said Dr. Claunch. "We are looking forward to being able to welcome the many retired military personnel who are wanting to pursue their education at Northwest Vista College." According to SACS, after an institution is initially accredited, it is required to conduct a self-study and undergo an evaluation after five years and every ten years thereafter. After each self-study, it is visited by a Commission peer review team consisting of persons from other colleges and universities. The team evaluates the institution to make sure it is in compliance with the minimum standards for accreditation (the Criteria for Accreditation, is available at www.sacs.org ) and that it has conducted a satisfactory self-study. If so, it is eligible for reaffirmation of its accredited status. During the years between these visits, the institution is required to submit annual reports and may be visited by other teams if it undertakes any significant changes, such as offering programs off-campus or through distance education.

Northwest Vista College was established in 1995 with 12 students. In October 1999, the college celebrated its Grand Opening at its newly-completed campus in northwest San Antonio. Enrollment in the Spring 2001 semester was 4335 students compared to 2873 in the Spring 2000 semester. Northwest Vista College offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees for transfer to four-year institutions. The college also offers programs in nine different technical/occupational fields: Biotechnology, Community Health, Computer Programming, Computer Support, Customer Service, Multimedia Technology, Network Administrator, Pharmacy Technology and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology.