Northwest Vista College is well on its way to meeting the Smart growth enrollment target of 21,068 students this fall. Earlier this year, the Strategy and Planning Team (SPT) reviewed our trend data from previous years, including last fall’s enrollment of 18,808 students, and projected an enrollment growth of 12%. This spring semester, the SPT members, with support from academic chairs, developed several strategies to help us achieve our bold growth goals.
The current enrollment strategies include the Adjunct Faculty Summer Initiative in Student Success. This initiative allows Vista’s part-time faculty to work in Student Success this summer and provide enrollment and advising support to students. This allows our adjunct faculty to get to know students, learn about the enrollment process, and create connections across the college that benefit students and boost NVC’s enrollment.
Another strategy includes our partnership with the Northside Independent School District (NISD), which we have strengthened this summer. Vista has hired NISD partners to work part-time as senior advisors in Student Success. These additional part-time employees provide a welcoming environment to NISD students entering college for the very first time.
These and other strategies are creating positive results in the growth of our new applications which is currently at 26%. NVC is also seeing a 27% growth in admitted students, which means we’re doing a great job of processing applications and helping students reach their first milestone in their commitment to pursuing higher education.
Another great milestone we can celebrate is the number of continuing students. Vista is currently running ahead of our target by 841 continuing students compared to this time last year. Keeping students at Vista and providing a high-quality, low-cost education helps to ensure that students are on the pathways to earning their degree and getting closer to earning family-sustaining wages.
Each of you plays an important role in students’ decisions to return next semester. Vista faculty and staff often share great stories of encountering Vista students while at the checkout in the grocery store or a restaurant, at a doctor’s office, or at the movie theater. Vista students are working students, and we need to remind them to register and pay for fall classes. We can also tell them how to apply for scholarships. You can still have impact and support the Alamo Colleges District’s moonshot of eliminating poverty in San Antonio by being a great Vista ambassador and sharing the inspiring stories of our students with other prospective students. Thank you for your support!
