Remind Your Students About Virginia’s REV Funds

November 25, 2020 / Faculty/Staff Highlights

NOVA is intently focused on ensuring that unemployed and under-employed Northern Virginia residents can access the new Re-Employing Virginians (REV) tuition vouchers announced by Gov. Northam on Oct. 30. According to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), in our region, the overall unemployment rate is 5.6%, which is about two and a half times the rate at this time last year. In real numbers, over 90,000 Northern Virginians are unemployed. The allocation of REV funds is based on enrollment in the covered FastForward and G3, and NOVA’s allocation is $5.8M. You will find the VCCS REV FAQs here, and below are some specifics about the program:

  • REV vouchers are for VCCS-authorized FastForward and G3 programs and can cover only tuition and fees. No funds go directly to students, and these are not general scholarship dollars.
  • The amount of the voucher varies by enrollment status: FF students – up to $1,500; G3 part-time students – up to $1,500; G3 full-time students – up to $3,000. Because the voucher covers only tuition and fees, it may be less than the amount listed. The voucher does come in as first dollar, meaning that students who might have needed loans to cover this part of their educational cost might opt to forego this student debt.
  • Some of the credit programs on the eligible program list have restrictions on class sizes, clinical availability and acceptance dates, so they offer very limited opportunities for new enrollments within the REV timeframe identified by the state.
  • While REV students can begin their program of study in spring 2021, they must be enrolled in their FF or G3 program by Dec. 14 of this year.
  • Applicants must be receiving unemployment benefits as of August 1 OR have lost a full-time job due to the pandemic and be working part-time at a wage below $15/hour.
  • Applicants are required to attest to meeting the above employment criteria, to meeting Virginia domicile requirements and—because these are CARES Act funds—to being U.S. citizens.
  • Current NOVA students who meet the above criteria and are registered in one of the eligible programs can qualify for REV for classes begun on or after Oct. 30, 2020, and we will be reaching out to students in these programs to let them know about REV.

NOVA has a team of eight virtual advisors that is already helping applicants who email NOVAREV@nvcc.edu, or visit Here. VCCS is partnering with the Virginia Employment Center to inform unemployed residents about REV, and we are contacting our network of community partners.

Access to REV funds ends Dec. 14, so please remind your students about REV funding. Contact Associate Director for Government and Federal Relations Tykesha Myrick.

Thank you for helping NOVA help those in need in our region!