On October 29, the Directors of National Achieving the Dream (AtD), chaired by NOVA President Dr. Robert Templin, visited the Alexandria campus. Part of their visit included a student panel session of twenty students from various academic career paths. Dr. George Gabriel provided an overview of NOVAs preliminary progress with implementing the recent AtD Policy Changes. He discussed some preliminary findings with the program and anticipated our next steps with the process, which went into effect Fall 2014.
With more than 15-students (from various NOVA campuses: Alexandria, Loudoun and Woodbridge) sitting on the panel, the AtD Board members witnessed a conversation with Dr. Frances Villagran-Glover discussing the students varies paths to NOVA, their academic goals, their involvement on campus, as well as the impact of the recent policy changes on students.
Professor Laura Franklin commented, “As a faculty member at the Alexandria campus and at the Extended Learning Institute (ELI), I am always amazed at the determination coupled with hard work that leads to the success for our students. On this particular occasion, it was clear that students from very diverse educational experiences were united in the view that NOVA provides them a truly excellent educational experience coupled with a strong level of preparedness for their professional goals. I am glad that the AtD Board had the opportunity to hear their stories in person.”
