Northern Virginia Community College Hosts International Visitors to the ATD DREAM Conference

Ahead of attending the national Achieving the Dream (ATD) DREAM conference, NOVA hosted 60 university faculty from South Africa and New Zealand at on the Annandale campus as part of ATD’s International Delegation. NOVA planned the pre-conference trip for the delegations to explore and learn more about an American community college.

As a member of the ATD network, NOVA shared its successes, challenges, and best practices to help these international visitors make informed decisions about joining the ATD network. Members of the ATD Core Team reviewed and chronicled NOVA’s progress in developing policies, practices, and programs that are part of the institutional commitment to student success. Members representing the ATD Campus Teams joined the visit to welcome and connect with the international visitors.

Dr. Ellen Fancher-Ruiz, Dean of Student Services, lead a team of Annandale Campus Student Services members to represent the College by sharing information about their departments and how NOVA supports our students. Presentations by the Student Services team included topics such as: Pathway to the Baccalaureate program, Care Team and Retention, ADVANCE, Transfer Partnerships, and GPS for Success.

Following the Student Services presentations, Ms. Jen Daniels, Dean of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences lead a group of teaching faculty to share how they have fostered student success in their classroom and aligned their best practices with the mission of the institution. Ms. Nicole Tong shared important information about the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and their role in fostering student success by ensuring that faculty have the tools they need to deliver instruction to our diverse group of student learners.

“This is really central to helping students. That’s something that I felt sitting here today in Annandale. That is something that we do in America. Achieving the Dream colleges take the initiative to monitor the numbers and take the responsibility of completion and student success,” said Carol Lincoln, Senior Vice President at Achieving the Dream while she was visiting NOVA.

Following the overview of the College, groups of student leaders provided a well-rounded tour of the Annandale Campus. The tour included visits to classrooms, a Biology lab, and the pottery studio. NOVA representatives attended the tours as well and were available for additional questions and discussions.

The ATD Core Team would like to thank everyone who participated in this event to host a successful American community college experience for our international peers.