It is part of the Alamo Colleges District and is located in the Westover Hills neighborhood of San Antonio's Far West Side.

With over 800 students enrolled in classes being held at various businesses and schools in Westover Hills and the surrounding area during its early stages, the college started to expand.

[citation needed] The college achieved Candidacy status for accreditation in June 1999 and in August of that year, began a rigorous self-study.

[citation needed] At its meeting on June 21, 2001, SACS granted initial accreditation to Northwest Vista College.

The district's newly revised master plan included construction of seven new buildings and parking to accommodate over 14,000 students by 2010.

The two new buildings, Live Oak Hall and Cypress Campus Center, were home to additional classrooms and a cafeteria.

Enrolled students also have the option to take courses that are transferable to many institutions of higher education.

The current catalog of Northwest Vista College consists of a 46-hour core curriculum mandated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).

The THECB requires that all public colleges and universities in Texas instill at least 42 hours of core curriculum studies into a student's degree plan.