Northwest Vista College leaders from across the college attended a college-specific Strategic Planning Retreat on May 5 to address Vista’s priorities for the next five years as a Hispanic-thriving institution.
Dr. Vanessa Sansone, assistant professor at UTSA, was the guest facilitator for the one-day event. She shared her research, Bexar County demographic data and engaged college teams in a dialogue on “servingness” and accountability for becoming a Hispanic-thriving community college.
Dr. Sansone shared examples of feedback gathered from NVC stakeholders by the Strategic Initiatives Team prior to the retreat. She provided suggestions for continued learning and growth. In the next two weeks, Dr. Sansone will send NVC recommendations and the next steps from the Retreat to the Strategic Planning Team leaders: Dr. Janie Scott, Dr. Eliza Hernandez, Dr. Russ Frohardt, Dr. Bobby Ayala, Jennifer Comedy-Holmes, Robin Lund, Felix Salinas Jr., Dr. Yolanda Reyes-Guevara, and Renata Serafin.
In preparation for the Strategic Planning Retreat, spearheaded by Dr. Eliza Hernandez and Dr. Janie Scott, leaders from across the college spent several weeks reviewing NVC data, revisiting NVC’s mission, vision, values and touchstones as well as reading articles, book chapters, listening to podcasts and engaging in online conversations on the role of higher education and the unique position of community colleges in the current climate.
The information studied by the Retreat attendees was prepared by the Strategic Initiatives Team (SIT) in a Canvas course format that included four modules on the strategic planning framework, an external and internal scan, and other pertinent regional, state, and national data.
In addition, the Strategic Initiatives Team, led by Dr. Janie Scott, gathered input from all college stakeholders to include students, faculty, staff, college partners and community members, throughout the Spring semester on the state of the college and the vision for the future.
“The collaboration in preparation for and during the Strategic Planning Retreat placed NVC at the forefront of the current state of community colleges,” said Interim President Debi Gaitan. “There was a lot of rich dialogue that was both honest and proactive. I’m grateful for the strategic work that focuses Vista toward becoming a Hispanic-thriving institution.”
The goal is to have a new 2023-2028 Strategic Plan for the fall semester.
