The spring semester is upon again and it means welcoming our new and continuing students back to the campus.
While we have a lot to accomplish this semester, we must not lose our focus on encouraging our students to finish a degree and/or certificate and cross the graduation stage in May. We will all celebrate their successes with them.
We had an exciting and early start to the spring term last week with the faculty convocation. We were able to provide important updates on academic initiatives and the accreditation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. There was also an update on the May 2017 bond election for a Capital Improvement Project. If approved by voters, new funds will help to build and improve new and current facilities at Northwest Vista College and its sister colleges.
However, with existing College funds, we were able to add 350-plus new parking spaces as well as complete much-needed safety improvements near the Cypress Campus Center.
Additional projects that were completed over the break included a new faculty suite in Pecan Hall, new lobby furniture in Mountain Laurel Hall and a student lab expansion in Live Oak Hall. We will be significantly upgrading the furniture in the cafeteria next month, completing some classroom renovations in Mountain Laurel Hall and will begin a new elevator project in March for Live Oak.
In January of last year, Mini Vista Central was created in a small classroom in Juniper Hall to advise and guide students on selecting the best math pathway for their pre-major and intended transfer university. Now, the home for the new Vista Central (no longer so “mini”) is scheduled for completion in March and the college is gearing up to celebrate its grand opening in the Cypress Campus Center, room 126, near the cafeteria. The Vista Central team is comprised of Student Success members from Enrollment, Advising and Math faculty.
Vista Central is a central focus of our Title V Math Path grant and will be the location where all first-time NVC students will receive support through the onboarding and enrollment process. Vista Central is the culmination of NVC’s Project Math Paths, which was brainchild of NVC Math faculty Anna Harwin and operationalized by a host of math faculty and Student Success staff. Project Math Paths has since received a multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education and special recognition from the distinguished math think tank – the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways at the University of Texas in Austin.
This will no doubt be an important semester to improve our processes and continue to find new innovative ways to maintain our role as a national model for student success among two-year colleges. At Northwest Vista College, we offer a quality and high value college experience that rivals that of any four-year or private institution.