Statement from the Leadership of the Alamo Colleges
Regarding Northwest Vista College Faculty Petition of September 12
The Board and administration are proud and grateful for the hundreds of faculty, staff, administrators
and students who have focused their efforts on student success, resulting in the Alamo Colleges
collectively becoming recognized as among the most successful community colleges in the United
States. Some of our faculty released a statement yesterday contending that the Board of Trustees’
Strategic Plan, policies and Charges to the Chancellor, what we call The Alamo Way, are detrimental to
students. They further assert that these same policies may risk our colleges’ accreditation with the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
We agree that student success is our highest priority. This focus on students first frames our Strategic
Plan, policies and Board Charges to the Chancellor. The great news is that our Strategic Plan has
provided the framework and incentives for the Alamo Colleges to achieve remarkable improvements in
student persistence, completion, employment, transfer, and degree achievement. The Alamo Colleges
have strategically adopted a series of best and promising practices, which have yielded exceptional
results for our students.
Our strategies, because they take time to have the full intended effect, will continue to improve student
degree awards. In 2006, 3,707 degrees/certificates were awarded annually. This year 12,003
degrees/certificates were awarded to Alamo Colleges’ students! That’s a 224% increase in
degrees/certificates conferred from 2006 to 2016, preparing more students to achieve their professional
career goals, transferring to a university and meeting the needs of employers. This is the fastest degree
growth in Texas and the best in the history of the Alamo Colleges. Additional outcomes of improved
student performance are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The degrees awarded to students are at an all-time high.
The number of degrees conferred has increased in each of the last five years even with
enrollment remaining relatively flat.
The Alamo Colleges is the fastest degree-producing system in the state.
The 3- and 4-year student graduation rates are at their all-time high.
The student fall-to-fall retention rate is at its all-time high.
The Alamo Colleges’ student grade and completion rates are at an all-time high.
The very nature of accreditation is to promote student learning and achievement. To that end, the
policies, procedures and initiatives adopted by the faculty, staff and Board of Trustees have been
purposefully focused on the advancement of students and the communities we serve.
SACSCOC has indicated its desire to review our compliance with 10 of 94 principles, and a team will visit
in two weeks. This is perhaps viewed as an opportunity by some to influence SACSCOC before its visit.
The Alamo Colleges’ Board and administration continue to be committed to the principles and look
1
forward to any advice that may be provided. This will not, as has been suggested, result in the loss of
accreditation, and we will have ample time to make any adjustments recommended by the visiting
team.
The main purpose of SACSCOC is to enhance quality. Because the Alamo Colleges’ Board is the
governing body by state law of each college, as well as the five colleges, collectively, the Board’s policies
adhere equally to each college and to all Alamo Colleges. The progress this Board, and faculty, staff,
administrators and students have made over the past 10 years has been of substantial benefit to our
students and community and should not be minimized.
Signed by:
______________________________________
Dr. Thomas Cleary, Interim President, Northeast Lakeview College
______________________________________
Dr. Ric Baser, President, Northwest Vista College
_______________________________________
Dr. Mike Flores, President, Palo Alto College
_______________________________________
Dr. Robert Vela, President, San Antonio College
______________________________________
Dr. Adena W. Loston, President, St. Philip’s College
______________________________________
Dr. Jo-Carol Fabianke, Vice Chancellor for Academic Success, Alamo Colleges
_______________________________________
Dr. Federico Zaragoza, Vice Chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development, Alamo Colleges
_______________________________________
Diane E. Snyder CPA, M.S., Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Alamo Colleges
2
______________________________________
Dr. Thomas Cleary, Vice Chancellor for Planning, Performance and Information Systems, Alamo Colleges
_______________________________________
Dr. Adelina S. Silva, Vice Chancellor for Student Success, Alamo Colleges
_______________________________________
Dr. Bruce Leslie, Chancellor, Alamo Colleges
CC: Board of Trustees
Foundation Directors
Attachment: Then and Now
CONTACT: KAY HENDRICKS/LEO ZUNIGA
(210) 485-0049/(210) 485-0035
3