NVC Receives Many Different Accolades in 2017

Northwest Vista College has received a number of nationally acclaimed accolades within the past fall semester. After receiving a nomination for the prestigious Aspen Prize; being named on a top 10 finalist list for the Bellwether Award; and receiving the coveted No. 1 Community College ranking in Texas; NVC was recently ranked No. 8 when it comes to the most degrees earned by Hispanic students in all disciplines at a community college in San Antonio, according to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

According to Diverse: Issues In Higher Education’s analysis of U.S. Department of Education, NVC is the highest ranked community college among Hispanic graduates in San Antonio. While NVC is ranked No. 8 in all disciplines combined, the college is also ranked No. 1 in Business Administration, Management and Operations, and ranked No. 3 in Education and Registered Nursing when it comes to Hispanic graduates. Across the U.S., NVC is ranked No. 16 out of 100 colleges that produced the most degrees to all minority students.

Bellwether Award

NVC is among an elite group of community colleges competing for a prestigious national award – the Bellwether Award. Only 10 community colleges from across the nation have been chosen as finalists for the 2018 award in the Instructional Program & Services category.

The Bellwether award annually recognizes outstanding and innovative programs and practices that are successfully leading community colleges into the future. As a finalist, NVC will have to present its program, “Dismantling the Great Math Barrier: A College-Wide Approach” at a Florida conference on Jan. 29. The winner of the Bellwether Award will be announced on Jan. 30.

Aspen Award

NVC has been nominated for the prestigious Aspen Award (2019) for Community College Excellence for a $1 million prize based on four categories: learning; certificate and degree completion; employment & earning; and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.

NVC was selected from a group of nearly 1,000 community colleges nationwide, and in Texas NVC was one of 15 community colleges selected from about 125 institutions. The college will move onward to the next round of competition by submitting an application to be evaluated through an arduous assessment for a spot on the top 10 Aspen prize finalists list in 2018.

Besides the reputation and merit of being listed among the most accomplished community colleges across the country, the Aspen Award is only given out every two years. In addition to NVC, three other institutions in the Alamo Colleges District ­- St. Philip’s College, Palo Alto College and San Antonio College, have also been included in the national list of 150 community colleges.

Best Colleges.com

Earlier this year, NVC was ranked as the No. 1 community college in Texas for 2017 by BestColleges.com. This marks the first time that NVC has earned the top spot on the state’s list. The previous two years, NVC was listed second among Texas community colleges.

The ranking is based on key performance indicators, such as acceptance, retention, graduation, enrollment rates and loan default percentages as a measure of graduates’ success. The data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics. It includes the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and College Navigator.