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January 12, 2016
Vol. 3, Issue 1
Board of Trustees

Chairman of the Board
Anna U. Bustamante
District 3

Vice Chair
Dr. Yvonne Katz
District 7

Secretary
Joe Alderete, Jr.
District 1

Asst. Secretary
Clint Kingsbery
District 8

Denver McClendon
District 2

Marcelo S. Casillas
District 4

Roberto Zarate
District 5

Dr. Gene Sprague
District 6

James Rindfuss
District 9

Sami C. Adames
Student Trustee

Chancellor

Dr. Bruce Leslie
Alamo Colleges
Alamo Colleges - Northwest Vista College Ranked as one of the "Best Colleges in Texas"  
Alamo Colleges - Northwest Vista College was recently
ranked number two among community colleges in Texas.

Alamo Colleges - Northwest Vista College (NVC) was named to the Best Colleges in Texas list for 2015 on the BestColleges.com website. Northwest Vista College is ranked number two in Texas among community colleges for key performance indicators such as acceptance, retention, graduation, enrollment rates and loan default percentages as a measure of graduates' success. The school ranking is based on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and College Navigator data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics.

Northwest Vista College has seen a 5.44 percent enrollment growth from fall 2014 to fall 2015. More than 17,000 students attend the college pursuing associate degrees, certificates and transfer credit. The number of degrees and certificates awarded has skyrocketed by more than 39 percent from 2013-2014 to 2014-2015 academic year.

"Northwest Vista is committed to student success and retention, and we are thrilled that outside entities are recognizing the good work of our faculty and staff ," said NVC President Ric Baser, Ed.D.


Alamo Colleges Awarded $654,536 To Train 300 Adults for High-Demand Occupations
The Alamo Colleges has been awarded $654,536
as part of the Accelerate TEXAS initiative to train
adult students for in-demand occupations.


The Alamo Colleges is one of only four community colleges in Texas to be awarded state funding to provide fast track training that enables adult students to earn certifications for in-demand occupations. The Texas Workforce Commission, in partnership with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, awarded $654,536 to the Alamo Colleges as part of their Accelerate TEXAS initiative. 

The grant allows 300 participants who have not been successful in traditional education programs to enroll in an integrated education and training model in health care, computer support, office technology, logistics and building maintenance. Alamo Colleges is working directly with  Workforce Solutions Alamo, Education Service Center Region 20 and the San Antonio Independent School District to implement the grant.

To be eligible for the training, students must be seeking a high school credential or testing below an 11th grade level in reading, writing or math. They must be eligible to work in the U.S. and willing to work in one of the local high-demand occupations. Those interested in enrolling in the program should call 210-485-0278 or go to accd.nd2no.net. Training is taking place at the Alamo Colleges workforce training centers, the college campuses and in the city of San Antonio's Promise Zone.
 
The Accelerate TEXAS initiative is geared toward helping adults acquire the skills needed to succeed in the workforce by increasing their basic skills and/or earning a high school equivalency and entering career training. High-demand occupational certifications promote sustainable job growth throughout the state of Texas. The Accelerate TEXAS program supports the state's 60x30 goal that at least 60% of Texans aged 25 to 34 will have a post-secondary degree or recognized certification by 2030.

The Alamo Colleges and UTSA are collaborating
on the PIVOT program, a new initiative to increase student engagement, retention and graduation.

Alamo Colleges Partners with UTSA in PIVOT Program to Improve Retention, Graduation

The Alamo Colleges will collaborate with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in the PIVOT program, a new effort to increase student engagement, retention and graduation at the Alamo Colleges and UTSA. The program, which will encompass four initiatives, is funded by a five-year, $3.25 million Title V grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The PIVOT program will bolster student success through four new initiatives:

The Alamo Runners program will support students who were admitted to UTSA but enrolled at one of the Alamo Colleges. The program will guide students to dually enroll in 12 credit hours at one of the Alamo Colleges and three credit hours at UTSA. The goal is that Alamo Runners would graduate from one of the Alamo Colleges, transfer to UTSA and graduate from UTSA at a higher rate and more quickly than in the past.

The Roadrunner Transition Experience (RTE) will employ a program manager and peer mentors to support transfer students. UTSA also will draw from existing student support services while creating new support resources, programs and events to increase transfer student retention and graduation rates.

First to Go and Graduate (F2G&G) advances first-generation students, which comprise nearly half of UTSA's freshman classes. It creates an innovative coaching program comprised of first-generation faculty and first-generation students. 

Math Matters will allow UTSA to redesign MAT 1073, a pre-requisite algebra course for science and engineering majors. Alamo Runners will be eligible to take the course while dually enrolled at the Alamo Colleges and UTSA.


The Alamo Colleges mission is: empowering our diverse communities for success. Our vision is: the Alamo Colleges will be the best in the nation in student success and performance excellence. The Alamo Colleges is one district with five community colleges serving more than 90,000 students annually from Bexar County and seven other counties in our service area. We provide an affordable, quality college education that leads to associate degrees, certificates and transfers to four-year universities. Hundreds of thousands of Bexar County residents who have come through the Alamo Colleges education programs are major contributors to the economy and culture of Sa n Antonio.