June 27, 2014 | SharkAdmin As everyone is probably aware a key priority for Northwest Vista and the Alamo Colleges is student degree completion. Each year since 2010 we have established targets for increased graduation numbers. Since 2008, we have increased from approximately 600 graduates for the 2007-08 academic year to over 1,400 for 2012-13. While the final numbers are not in for 2013-14, we are projecting that we will achieve our target of 1,500 graduates. That is a 250 percent increase in six years. Hurray for the work that has been done! Clearly, a focus on graduation makes a difference. Raising awareness of available degrees, degree requirements and the value of associate degrees and certificates has occurred with PR marketing campaigns, in the SDEV classes, in advising sessions, through faculty in and out of the classroom. Folks working on the awarding of degrees have improved processes and reached out to potential graduates. But we are not done. I want to provide an update on where we are as a college and district with new initiatives that will hopefully take us to the next level in supporting student completion. Advising is a major strategy. The Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees has a vision that every student will be advised at multiple points during their educational journeys with us. To that end, we are working to establish infrastructure and systems to turn that vision into reality. A Northwest Vista team has been developing the infrastructure and processes needed for student success and faculty advising to be expanded, with an eye toward every student having an assigned advisor to guide them. NVC will be adding 12 new professional advisors to support that system. It will take time to get to scale, but the prospect is exciting, in spite of the challenges. AlamoINSTITUTES may be something you heard about but do not fully understand. The institutes are actually a model to create clear pathways that help students know exactly what is needed to pursue various career goals, and what the specific educational requirements are for that pathway. Currently we are working with a state model that creates six categories of pathways – or what Alamo Colleges are calling “institutes.” (Click on this link to view the model [file 1].) An AAS degree program aligns relatively easily with one of the six categories. Aligning potential transfer educational and career options for students in AA and AS degree paths will be more challenging. The work will unfold over time but as it unfolds, the idea is to provide tools for advisors to help students select careers and majors and to create clear degree plans for students that minimize unnecessary coursework. There will be more information shared as this project begins to take shape. I can envision that a few years from now we will have 3,000 graduates a year. After all, my Northwest Vista colleagues, YOU HAVE CAN-DO SPIRIT it takes to make that happen!
