March 23, 2016 | SharkAdmin In an effort to ease the transition of students transferring from Northwest Vista College to the University of Texas at San Antonio, there is now a full-time UTSA transfer specialist housed at the Cypress Campus Center. For the last few months, Matthew Torres, has been assisting NVC students with their transition process to UTSA. He said many of the questions he's been getting from students include if classes they take at NVC will transfer. Matthew knows first hand about the community college and transfer process. He received an associate degree from Palo Alto College and a bachelor's degree from Our Lady of the Lake University. Before joining UTSA, Matthew was a Palo Alto College Transfer Services adviser and also worked at Texas State University for a few years. Christina Brown, NVC director of Advising, Career and Transfer Services, said in the past, we have had UTSA transfer advisors that would come on a fairly regular basis during the semester, but their appointments would be booked up far in advance. “Having Matthew here full time shortens that wait, and provides a consistent, dependable source of UTSA transfer assistance for students,” Christina adds. “He also provides a great source of updated information for the NVC Advising team. Beverly Woodson Day, Ph.D., director of UTSA's Undergraduate Admissions, said right now there are full-time UTSA employees both at NVC and at San Antonio College. She said the hope is to add more UTSA Admissions staff to the other Alamo Colleges' campuses. “With this collaboration, students will hopefully see a seamless transition and get support from both (institutions),” Beverly added. “If students know there is someone there on a regular basis, this will be instrumental in moving them forward.” Christina added this new partnership came about with the help of UTSA administrators, and NVC students should first seek out their NVC advisor before visiting with Matthew in order to make sure they are on the right path here. Once they are ready to transfer, some of the things Matthew can assist students with will include helping them with the enrollment and financial aid processes at UTSA. “We are excited that he is here, and foresee many positive outcomes from this collaboration,” Christina added. “His role is to add to what the NVC advisor provides, not take the place of the NVC advisor. Students will go through their assigned academic advisor when requesting to meet with Matthew. This will ensure that the student is provided the necessary NVC services (addressing any holds or issues, graduation audit, registration PIN) and is able to build a relationship with their NVC advisor, and is then fully prepared to discuss their plans for transfer to UTSA.”
