(2007-2010) Step back in time to an exciting era at NVC! Discover how groundbreaking expansions, prestigious national recognitions, and a surge in student enrollment transformed the campus from 2007 to 2010. From new buildings and a central lake to innovative parking solutions, learn how NVC laid the foundation for its remarkable growth and success. Earth Day 2007 was exciting at NVC – the college broke ground on Juniper Hall and Redbud Learning Center and pledged preservation alongside expansion. The northeast side of campus began changing daily, and NVC was getting ready to serve more students from Alamo Ranch and other new neighborhoods growing nearby. Recognitions Two significant recognitions for NVC that year included the Texas Award for Performance Excellence from the Quality Texas Foundation and a recognition for NVC’s development math program from the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE). At the time, NVC’s developmental math program was the only one in the nation to receive the NADE recognition at the Distinguished Level. In 2007, 96% of students surveyed said they would recommend NVC to others. This, along with other factors, may have helped the college with the Fall 2008 enrollment, which soared to 11,961. That was a 4% increase over the projected enrollment for 2015. A year later, NVC was recognized by Community College Week as one of the Top 100 associate degree producers. The publication ranked NVC 10th in the nation among those colleges that saw the biggest increase in students’ degree attainment between 2003 and 2007. This was based on data from the U.S. Department of Education Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS. Another college accolade came in 2009 when NVC was recognized for exemplary practices in integrating academic and career advising by the National Academic Advising Association, an organization that promotes quality academic advising in institutions of higher education. Expansion Through the collaborative work of NVC’s College Services and other departments, the college opened five new buildings in 2009: Redbud Learning Center, Juniper Hall, Live Oak Hall, Cypress Campus Center (now the Cypress Cultural Center), and the Palmetto Center for the Arts. This added 319,947 square feet to the existing campus. The lake, Lago Vista, in the heart of the campus, united the surrounding buildings and became a central point of campus life for employees, students, and visitors. As new buildings opened, the existing buildings were renamed for Texas native trees, while the parking lots were named for native flowers. The Learning Center became Manzanillo Hall, the Academic Building became Mountain Laurel Hall, the College Commons became Huisache Hall, the Community and Technology Center became Pecan Hall, and the physical plant became the Texas Persimmon Physical Plant. During this period of expansion, the Northwest Vista College community encountered considerable parking challenges. NVC leadership promptly addressed this by collaborating with neighboring SeaWorld San Antonio, securing a temporary parking lot and providing shuttle services for students, faculty, and staff. This effective solution remained in place until the Prickly Pear Parking Garage was completed a couple of years later. This growth mirrored NVC’s academic achievements: in 2009, students earned 827 associate degrees and certificates, a figure that surged to 1,289 just one year later. By Fall 2010, student enrollment climbed to 15,921. These impressive growth figures underscore NVC’s commitment to accommodating its expanding community while consistently elevating student success.  Watch for next month’s Retrospective: 2011 – 2014. Do you have a 30 Year story to share? Please send a short summary of your story idea to NVC-News@alamo.edu. We will contact you for more information. VISIT NVC'S 30 YEAR CELEBRATION WEBPAGE

A recent Northwest Vista College (NVC) workshop empowered faculty to transform courses for an enriched student experience. NVC faculty found that a well-designed Canvas course, interactive activities, and even a reduced first-week workload can make all the difference. Eleven brave faculty members this summer took on the challenge to redesign their Canvas course in an attempt to help students be more successful. The summer workshop was the first iteration of its kind from NVC’s new Center for Teaching and Learning. The course was co-facilitated by Chad Mueller and Sarah Ball, who are also co-directors of the new Center, located on the second floor of Manzanillo Hall. “I was blown away with what I saw,” said NVC President Dr. Amy Bosley at the Aug. 7 presentation event. “Think about what this will mean for the student experience? If we can just help three more students be successful in class, then this program was worth the investment.” Mueller said the new program was meant to give busy faculty a fresh look at their course from a compassionate lens. He added that faculty were encouraged to use a sleek new Canvas template, buttons, and navigation prompts to help students easily get through the course, along with a variety of technology tools to enhance learning. The course included expert speakers: Migdalia Garcia, Veronica Luna, Melinda Zepeda, and Alamo Colleges Online Instructional Designer Diana McCurtain-Talbert. For instance, English and reading instructor Britt Posey incorporated resources and links into her Canvas shell to help parenting students by connecting them with needed resources and sharing mentoring opportunities. She also incorporated compassionate language from a caring perspective. Hector Trevino said the summer workshop allowed him to focus on the student experience in his college algebra class, particularly on the students’ experience interacting with peers. To ease math anxiety, Trevino uses numerous videos and assigns no work during the first week of class.Yvette Uresti, a pre-calculus instructor, said redesigning her online course involved significantly shortening her syllabus and using AI to make the language more compassionate. She also appreciated using a modern, well-organized Canvas template. NVC Vice President for Academic Success Dr. Sara Lozano expressed her gratitude to the faculty who spent time in this workshop, noting their dedication to continuous improvement. “Even small changes make a big difference for students,” Lozano added. To learn more about this workshop, contact Sarah Ball or Chad Mueller.