To assist in helping community, business and government leaders understand our College, our amazing offices of Strategic Insights, Governmental Relations and Communications and Enrollment Marketing recently worked together to create a “NOVA by the Numbers” one sheet.

This document is linked below. It presents key information about NOVA in an accessible and easy-to-read manner, providing topline information on our enrollment, tuition, budget and student supports. NOVA by the Numbers (Revised) also includes some comparative data, underscoring the way in which our College fulfills its mission of providing accessible, affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs.

As shown in the NOVA by the Numbers (Revised) one sheet, while we receive the same state and tuition funding for all programs, the actual cost of these programs varies significantly. The pathways that have the greatest immediate economic impact for NOVA grads are among the most expensive to deliver. The same is true across the VCCS. Yet growing these programs is essential to connecting students, especially adult learners, to transformational economic opportunity. This is why the VCCS continues to advocate for increased funding for career pathway programs that lead to sustaining-wage employment.

I hope you will share the NOVA by the Numbers (Revised) document as you advocate for our College and our students.

Thank you for supporting our students as they work to build bolder and brighter futures!

Kind regards, Anne

 (NOVA by the Numbers was updated to correct some statistical discrepancies.)

Yesterday afternoon, Administrative Council and I held the last of this first round of listening sessions. I am grateful to all who made the time to share their thoughts at these sessions and to those who sent in written comments.

And, last Friday, I had a chance to meet with members of the 9-Month Teaching Faculty Caucus Executive Committee to hear their concerns and begin to think through a collaborative path forward. I appreciate their willingness to engage in this dialogue.

The listening sessions offered a powerful opportunity to hear directly from you, and one message was consistent: communication at NOVA must improve.

Employees have described the current situation as a real-life version of the old game, “telephone.” Information is getting lost in the layers at NOVA. You have the right to expect better, and as NOVA’s President, changing this situation is my responsibility. While we need to understand more about where, why and how communication is breaking down, we’re committed to taking action now to cut through these layers and ramp up direct communication through the Daily Flyer.

Last week, I shared an FAQ on policy; today, VP Ferrari is sharing one on budget. We also want you to know how we’re communicating with students and will be providing overviews on these campaigns. For example, last week, the Communications Office provided overviews on student outreach for All Access and Enrollment Cancellation. Look for more and more frequent communication from me and Administrative Council in the coming days and weeks. If there is a specific topic you would like us to address, please let me know.

Equally important, I am also working with Administrative Council and others on new ways that information can flow effectively from you to me and all members of Administrative Council so that it informs and helps to shape decisions.

Open communication is essential to all that we do. In a college as large and diverse as NOVA, opinions and perspectives will differ, but all employees at every level should feel comfortable, confident and safe in respectfully sharing their thoughts. If you have concerns about your ability to do so, please contact Employee Relations or the Employee Ombuds.

As I shared in the listening sessions, our commitment is to provide a report out by October 31. This document will identify themes arising from the feedback and include draft recommendations; both will be supported by anonymized examples that illustrate the issues and point to possible solutions.

I described these listening sessions as the “first round”: Administrative Council will hold them once each fall and spring to provide another avenue of direct communication. Your feedback has provided invaluable insight into our challenges and the opportunities we have to work together to drive positive changes.

Thank you for your participation and your commitment to our college.

Kindest regards, Anne

The subject of Policies comes up frequently in the monthly anonymous questions, in meetings on campuses and in College Senate: what are they, where are they, who made them and why do we have to follow them. As I have shared previously in 2021 and again earlier this year, policies are part of a broader set of regulations that govern almost all of NOVA’s actions: VCCS and state policies; state and federal laws and rules; and more. While we can—and do—engage in the process of advocacy and case-making that might, eventually, lead to changes, NOVA cannot simply “opt out” of the policies, rules, laws and more that govern our work. Given that I continue to receive questions on this topic, I wanted to provide a more detailed FAQ today. It will be archived through the Daily Flyer and on the President’s Office NOVAnet site.

Where can I find NOVA’s policies?
All NOVA policies are published to the web. Because we are part of the Virginia Community College System, our policies most frequently refer to VCCS policies. NOVA policies must align with VCCS policies and cannot violate local, state or federal rules, regulations or laws. NOVA students are also governed by the Student Code of Conduct.

Where can I find VCCS policies?
VCCS policies are published to the VCCS Board’s public BoardDocs site.

How does VCCS develop policies?
VCCS relies on a series of advisory committees comprised of subject matter experts to inform and advise on systemwide policies (see VCCS Policy 2.4 Statewide Professional Advisory Committees). The 23 colleges are treated as equals in these committees, and when votes are called, each community college gets one vote. The committees are advisory in nature, and the VCCS Board, which governs the system, may enact or change policies without engaging them.

You are represented on the VCCS advisory committees through your dean, director, AVP, VP or provost. One NOVA faculty member serves on the Chancellor’s Faculty Advisory Council (Professor Charlie Errico), and I serve on the Advisory Council of Presidents (ACOP). If you have questions, reach out to the appropriate representative; members of advisory committees related to your role at NOVA should also be updating you on a regular basis. Please note that the chancellor may also form ad hoc committees or task forces and designate membership. Recent examples include the Onboarding Task Force and the Expressive Activity Task Force.

Because the advisory committees reflect the needs and interests of 23 distinct colleges, each with its own context, some proposals do not receive wider consideration within VCCS. When a proposal does move forward, because of the complexity and diversity of the system, it can take more than a year for any item to emerge from the committee process and appear on the agenda of the Advisory Council of Presidents (ACOP). ACOP action represents the presidents’ recommendation to the chancellor.

Are there any other VCCS documents governing NOVA?
Yes. NOVA’s strategic and operational direction is expected to align with and support the VCCS Accelerate Opportunity Strategic Plan, and our performance against these metrics is tracked by the system. VCCS also allocates part of the 23 colleges’ state funding on a performance basis, which encourages the colleges to focus on these metrics. NOVA, like all VCCS colleges, must also respond to system audits of operations and practices.

Are there other state agencies that govern NOVA’s actions and practices?
Yes. We must adhere to the Code of Virginia, which includes laws directly related to higher education and many others that regularly guide our practice. As a state agency, NOVA must follow policies, guidance, regulations, executive orders and opinions, which come to us primarily through the Governor; the Virginia Attorney General; the Secretary of Education, chiefly through the State Council on Higher Education for Virginia; and Department of Human Resources Management. We are also subject to requirements and mandates from other Virginia agencies, such as the Department of Account’s Agency Risk Management and Internal Control Standards (ARMICS), which ensures fiscal accountability and asset controls. Finally, the General Assembly can focus colleges’ actions by restricting funding to only certain programs. For example, G3 funding is restricted to supporting tuition for students in designated workforce programs and their advisors.

What laws govern NOVA at the federal level?
NOVA’s actions are governed by hundreds of federal requirements, policies and laws that go far beyond the U.S. Department of Education. Complying with these intersecting and changing laws, rules, regulations and executive orders has become increasingly challenging. Federal agencies have also increased the use of  “Dear Colleague” letters to define and enforce rules for higher education institutions (see example). And, states are increasing their own use of the courts to pause or block federal policies and rules (see example). The Higher Education Compliance Alliance has compiled this matrix, which gives a good overview of the breadth and depth of federal regulation of higher ed.

Who supports our compliance with all these policies and laws?
Public higher education institutions in Virginia are assigned counsels by the Office of the Attorney General. NOVA is supported by one Assistant Attorney General (AAG) and one Paralegal, and currently, VCCS has one additional AAG to serve the remaining 22 colleges. Our AAG has assisted in the creation and delivery of compliance training to supervisors at NOVA. If you have questions about applicable federal or state regulations, your dean, director, AVP, VP or provost should have the information needed to respond or to refer you to the right source.

Does any other external body govern NOVA’s actions in any way?
Yes. Accreditation—whether collegewide through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges or programmatically through specialized accrediting bodies—requires that NOVA adhere to identified principles, requirements and standards (see SACSCOC example).  Programs leading to a regulated profession have additional requirements set by specialized accreditors, state agencies and licensure boards. For example, NOVA offers programs that lead to regulated health professions.

Kind regards, Anne

In last week’s collegewide office hour, I shared the table below about how NOVA’s re-design and re-implementation of enrollment cancellation beginning in 2023 led to a dramatic decrease in the number of students sent to collections and/or the Attorney General’s Office.

During and after my Zoom office hour, I have heard from faculty and staff who were:

1. not aware of this issue;
2. not aware that VCCS policy prevented students with bad debt of $500 or more from re-enrolling in their current institution or any other VCCS college; and
3. not aware that Virginia law requires colleges, as public institutions, to send accounts receivable to collections and/or the Attorney General’s office (for debts of $3000 or more). In fact, the Virginia Debt Collections Act calls on public institutions to “aggressively collect all accounts receivable.”

It is important to note that while the Act allows colleges as public institutions to “write off” accounts receivable after an extended period of collections, this debt remains on the student’s record, and if the debt is $500 or more, the student remains ineligible to return to a VCCS college. In other words, they walk away with a negative credit history and no opportunity to return to college until that debt is settled.

For a deeper dive into this issue, you may wish to read the 2022 report from the Secretary of Education to the Virginia General Assembly. In that report, data from across the Commonwealth demonstrates that students referred to debt collections are disproportionately African-American/Black and Hispanic, Pell Eligible and 25 years old and above. This data should give us pause regarding the impact of our past practices: providing equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs is at the heart of our mission. It is a reminder that sometimes the ways in which we believe we are helping students may have unforeseen negative consquences–often with lasting impact. Enrollment cancellation impacts students who have not paid for their classes and have no demonstrable ability to pay: they have not been awarded federal, state, or VA aid; they have no third party payer on record (e.g., an employer); they have not signed up for a payment plan. As our own data shows, adding students back into classes when they cannot pay tuition does not help them.

By implementing sound practices grounded in such data, we support our students in doing more than simply enrolling; we support their dreams of earning college degrees. NOVA’s enrollment cancellation process is one part of a bigger picture: it keeps students from accruing bad debt that will follow them in perpetuity and prevent them from advancing in college. By balancing enrollment cancellation with robust, accessible payment plans; comprehensive financial aid and wrap-around services; and advising and guidance, NOVA is putting our students at the center of our onboarding process so that—for more students every year—the walk that begins at the front door of our campuses can lead to the stage at commencement.

Anne

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 each year. NOVA is classified by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) as an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Data from this fall shows that, as of Monday, Hispanic students comprise 25 percent of NOVA’s FTE population (which meets the 25 percent HSI threshold).

The 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month theme, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, is directly connected to NOVA’s E-Summer Bridge Program, which has been made possible thanks to a three-year, $200K grant from HACU and Dominion Energy. The E-Summer Bridge provides underrepresented high school students with an opportunity to take college courses at NOVA over the summer and receive wrap-around supports to encourage their pursuit of credentials that lead to careers in clean energy, STEM and IT fields.

According to a 2021 Pew study, while Hispanic workers make up 17 percent of the workforce overall, they comprise just eight percent of the STEM workforce. Our Inspiring Excellence strategic plan has a focus on connecting NOVA students to pathways leading to high-demand jobs with sustaining wage incomes, which makes the E-Summer Bridge Program so important.

Since 2021, 115 Northern Virginia high school and dual enrollment students have participated in the program; they have earned more than 400 college credits in courses taught by 11 NOVA faculty. Students in the program meet with industry professionals and take a capstone field trip to a Dominion Energy facility to learn more about clean energy careers. 

The program is helping students see themselves as future STEM professionals. As one shared, “The E-Summer Bridge Program undoubtedly helped me acquire skills that will help in my future career as a software engineer. Thanks to the program, I now feel prepared and confident in my abilities to thrive in college and beyond.” Based on the success of the summer bridge, we have been awarded an additional $45K grant to extend the program into a fourth year. I thank Dual Enrollment Coordinator Katie Aimone for her exemplary management of this project, and Drs. Nathan Carter and Eun-Woo Chang for their collaborative stewardship of the grant.

Continuing with the theme, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together,  I am excited to announce that Katya Echazarreta, the first Mexican-born woman in space, will join us for a special Hispanic Heritage Month webinar, Monday, September 30 at 2 p.m. To register to attend the webinar, please see this story posted in the Daily Flyer. This event is made possible by a generous donation from Micron to the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office via the NOVA Educational Foundation, supporting speakers for Hispanic Heritage and Black History months. I hope you will register for the webinar and share information about this event and the other Hispanic Heritage Month activities happening across our campuses.

Together, we can help our students shape stronger futures for themselves and for us all.

Kind regards, Anne

Both NOVA’s Inspiring Excellence strategic plan and the VCCS’ Accelerate Opportunity strategic plan focus on increasing the number of students who complete meaningful credentials; but we know that many students stop just before they reach the completion line. In fact, NOVA has identified all students, 22 years and up, who are within 12 credit hours of the 60 required for degree completion and who have stopped out over the last 18 months. All are in good academic standing, and none have enrolled in or graduated from another college or university.

We want to re-engage these students to provide them with the opportunity to complete their NOVA degrees.

To do this, we are partnering with InsideTrack*, a nationally-recognized non-profit coaching organization, to provide personalized re-enrollment coaching. In their outreach to these recent stop-outs, coaches will highlight the value of completing their NOVA degree. They will also help these students develop strategies to balance work, family, financial and academic obligations, along with giving the students a sense of belonging — putting them on course to success and graduation. 

NOVA’s re-connect initiative is modeled on the successful North Carolina Re-Connect, a national model for re-engaging adult learners who have stopped out of community college.

Beginning next week, InsideTrack coaches will be working to contact, coach and support learners who may be interested in returning to NOVA to complete their degrees. Their efforts will be complemented by a NOVA team led by VP for Student Affairs Joel Frater; this group will be working on-the-ground to assist and ease the students’ return. The team will meet regularly with the coaches to gain insights into the challenges and barriers that led the students to stop-out and to understand what they need to return to NOVA. This ongoing feedback loop will do more than help us help these students: we will take the lessons from this first pilot and make changes both to reduce our stop-out numbers and to develop an ongoing re-engagement strategy.

Should you hear of students who are re-enrolling and mention being coached, please join us in continuing to support them in ways that encourage their return and retention as they seek to complete their programs at NOVA.

If you have questions about our NOVA re-connect initiative or would like to get involved, please reach out to VP Frater.

*If the name “InsideTrack” sounds familiar, it may be because the organization was an early-stage partner in developing the highly successful NOVA-GMU ADVANCE coaching model.

Kind regards, Anne

One of the anonymous questions submitted last spring asked if NOVA could do more to recognize the achievements of our staff and faculty who complete their own degrees while supporting our students and balancing responsibilities at home and work. In response, during that month’s zoom, I thanked the individual who submitted the question and said to “stay tuned.”

The success of our colleagues in pursuing their degrees is definitely boldly NOVA and well worthy of commendation. Beginning this year, NOVA will celebrate your outstanding academic accomplishment annually by sharing an announcement of your degrees with the college community via the Daily Flyer in December and May, and with our Board Members at their May meeting. (I’ve also got a couple surprises in store, but I’ll keep those under my hat for now.)

This first year, I’ll do a look back to when I joined NOVA in January 2020. So, if you completed (or will complete) your degree—associate through doctorate—between January 2020 and June 2025, please send an email to presidentsoffice@nvcc.edu with the following information:

• Your name as shown on your degree(s)
• Degree(s) earned
• Year(s) earned
• College/university conferring the degree(s)

You can send me this information at any time through April 30, 2025 (I will post periodic reminders in the Daily Flyer).

I look forward to honoring your “stop at nothing” journeys and hard-earned degrees!

Kindest regards, Anne

First, let me back up, welcome to fall! Thanks to your commitment, talents, care and belief in our students, this is certain to be another fantastic, boldly NOVA year. I am grateful for every moment you spend helping students succeed.

Second, while I’m certain this might not be the welcome back message you were expecting, this topic is one that was on the minds of faculty and staff as the spring semester concluded. So, in response to your concerns about disruptive student conduct at NOVA, an ad hoc task force on campus safety and student conduct, which I co-chaired with College Senate Chair Jack Lechelt, spent the summer meeting. Given the importance of this topic to you, as the new year begins, I want to update you on the outcomes of the task force’s work. In addition, on Friday, the VCCS released an addendum to each college’s Student Code of Conduct, so I want to ensure you are aware of this document, too.

With that background…

Ad Hoc Taskforce on Student Conduct and Campus Safety
The work of the ad hoc taskforce is documented in agendas and meeting notes on NOVAnet. Among the action items the group completed, put in process or provided input on this summer are the following:

• an updated Student Code of Conduct
• a renewed commitment from the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to active communication
• a process map for reporting student conduct violations to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities
• a process map for reporting Title IX violations
• campus-specific info sheets identifying resources and reporting paths for conduct concerns
• resource sheets from the Office of Wellness and Mental Health
• 988 Crisis Line signage across campuses
• an updated Faculty Handbook that includes information related to student conduct concerns
• a template for reporting incidents to NOVA Police
• freedom of expression training videos for faculty and staff
• student videos on values for use in SDV and other courses
• presentations from student conduct-related offices at fall campus convenings

In addition, the group reviewed recommendations from the ISSC and PSC and looked more deeply into the recommendation to require orientation of all students. A survey on orientation went out to VCCS and other community colleges. The majority of VCCS colleges do not require orientation, but several have made the completion of new student orientation a required assignment in SDV—thereby dramatically increasing participation. I will be recommending that the group currently reviewing SDV curriculum consider following this practice.

One key lesson from the task force’s biweekly meetings was the significant impact of including, directly, perspectives and experiences of our students, faculty and staff on this topic. For this reason, I will be moving the ad hoc task force to a standing college committee, to be co-chaired by the Vice President for Student Affairs and a representative elected by the College Senate. Look for more on this committee in future issues of the Daily Flyer.

I thank co-chair College Senate Chair Jack Lechelt and the taskforce members who dedicated their summer to this important topic. It was an honor to work with such outstanding colleagues.

Addendum to the Student Code of Conduct
After the challenges experienced on campuses across the nation and the Commonwealth last spring, VCCS, like many colleges and universities, reviewed its policies on student conduct and facilities use. The system has provided a code of conduct addendum to the 23 community colleges, and we have adopted it provisionally pending formal approval by our local board. You will find the addendum here. All NOVA students enrolled this fall have received notice of the additions to the code of conduct.

The new document addresses four topics—disruptive acts; violations of local, state and federal laws; masking to conceal identity; and encampments—providing definitions and examples, identifying prohibited conduct and behaviors and stating student responsibilities.

In anticipation of questions, I want to clarify the masking provision of the addendum. Virginia Code prohibits the wearing of a mask with the intent to conceal one’s identity; this prohibition has been in place for over 70 years and was waived temporarily by emergency order during the pandemic. The new code of conduct provision requires that individuals on our campuses who are masking to conceal their identities must produce valid identification when requested by a designated college official. Neither NOVA nor the VCCS is seeking to prevent individuals from wearing face coverings for medical or religious/cultural reasons, and the conduct provision does not prevent individuals from doing so.

If you have questions about student conduct or the code of conduct, please reach out to Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities Director Matthew Coats.

And, again, welcome to fall!!

Anne

Thank you for joining in Friday’s energizing and inspiring Fall Convocation! As I shared in my remarks, in lieu of a common read this year, my office is leading a study of The Science of Well-Being, a common course. I hope you’ll join with colleagues on your campus and across the college in an opportunity to learn more about creating a culture of self-care and habits of wellness.

Taught through Coursera by Yale Psychology Professor Laurie Santos, The Science of Well-Being is free and structured into 10 online, self-paced modules. Dr. Santos’s approach is not “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Instead, she focuses on the science behind what makes us happy and provides practical, evidence-based steps to take and choices to make that increase our sense of well-being.

As with last fall’s common read (Belonging), you will again have in-person and virtual options to discuss The Science of Well-Being. Provosts on the Alexandria, Annandale, Manassas and Woodbridge campuses have offered to lead in-person conversations; and AVP for Human Resources Charlotte Calobrisi and I are leading virtual meet-ups.

If you’re interested in participating, please send a note to PresidentsOffice@nvcc.edu by next Tuesday (August 27) that includes your choice of group-type (campus or virtual). Nothing would make me happier than hearing you will be joining the discussion.

Kind regards, Anne

Last week, Chancellor Doré formally launched the new Virginia Community College System strategic plan, Accelerate Opportunity, which has an overarching goal to Award 300,000 cumulative meaningful credentials by 2030 across all regions through accelerated access and success for every student.

The “meaningful credentials” referenced in the goal include all degrees, diplomas, certificates, career studies certificates, FastForward credentials reported within the academic year. I encourage you to review the full Accelerate Opportunity plan before this week’s convocation, which will feature a keynote from Chancellor Doré. You will quickly see that NOVA’s mission, values and Inspiring Excellence strategic plan share much in common with the new VCCS plan and support the vision for One VCCS.

To ensure that our work at NOVA fully aligns with the Accelerate Opportunity metrics and definitions, we are reviewing the Inspiring Excellence metrics and definitions and updating some aspects of our plan. I want you make sure the impact and scale of your outstanding efforts and amazing dedication to student success are fully recognized as the system accelerates toward the 300,000 goal. My remarks at convocation will include updates on our strategic plan, so stay tuned.

I look forward to seeing you Friday!

Anne