[image 1]Love was in the air for the February Bragging Breakfast – that is much love for Northwest Vista College. For a class assignment, students wrote on red hearts “They Love NVC Because….
– “It (NVC) helped me realize what I'm capable of.”
– “It is not a waste of my time. I've wasted time with other places, but this isn't one of them.”
– “I never feel like a burden asking for help.”
NVC President Dr. Ric Baser also expressed love for NVC by starting off the meeting talking about spring enrollment results and targets with the college at about 16,555 students, which is approximately 500 students ahead of last year's spring enrollment.
[image 2]”This is pretty darn good,” Dr. Baser said. “We are looking to hold onto a 3 percent growth. We are well within reach and this is coming after a significant growth from last fall.”
He also talked about NVC's new graduation target, which is to reach 2,719 students compared to 2,487 the previous year. He added this goal will be a lot more challenging to reach, and it's going to take the whole campus to help. The deadline for students to turn in graduation applications is March 24.
Dr. Baser went over some key statistics from the Legislative Budget Board that tracks community colleges in Texas. NVC's 2,487 degrees awarded last year ranked the college No. 4 in the state for total degrees and certificates awarded. To see more stats from the LBB, click on the Power Point at the end of this article.
[image 3]”We have grown a lot,” Dr. Baser said. “We are making national growth records, which is really impressive. No one has the percentage of 60-hour completes as we do. They (students) are staying for the entire program. We have a culture that is unique among community colleges.”
Celebrations:
– Several members of the NVC Workforce Advisory Committees attended the Bragging Breakfast. Dr. Baser thanked them for their service to NVC and helping the programs stay current and relevant for students.
– NVC was among the top “100 Minority Degree Producers“ list published by “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education” magazine. NVC has made the list since the rankings began in 2010.
– Vet2Vet Success Story – Dr. Baser read a letter from NVC math faculty Dennis Gittinger on the connection veterans have. To see the letter, go here [file 1].
– Deborah Rankin and Dillon Rau were awarded Employee of the Month awards.
– Don Lucas, faculty in the NVC psychology department, along with former NVC psychology students, Callie Roberts (now at OLLU) and Gerona Nylander (now at Texas A&M), and their colleagues, Alexandria Cosma and Jon Cool (from Texas A&M University, Texarkana) and Mary Hall (from the University of Louisiana at Monroe) have been invited to present a symposium titled, “The Culture and Evolution of Human Sexuality Education in America” at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association.
– Edward Wiggins of Teaching & Learning Facilitation was awarded a $50 gift card from the NVC Bookstore for his act of kindness for a student. Read about it here.
Here's the Power Point presentation: [file 2]. To view the meeting, go here.