Fall 2016 Apprenticeship Fair.
Thursday, September 15, 2016.
10am-2pm.
FREE and open to the public.
Note: This is an off-campus event.
The event will be held approximately 2 miles from campus.
Click here to view location.
Fall 2016 Apprenticeship Fair.
Thursday, September 15, 2016.
10am-2pm.
FREE and open to the public.
Note: This is an off-campus event.
The event will be held approximately 2 miles from campus.
Click here to view location.
Is today the first day of your online class? Not sure where to start? How to get started? What time to log in? Let us know – 703.323.3347 or try the live chat at eli.nvcc.edu.
* Join our Virtual Student Union– Our VSU has a new look! Are you taking online classes and looking to connect with other students outside of a classroom setting? Check out our Virtual Student Union or VSU. This is an engagement hub where NOVA Online students have access to create a profile, join discussion forums and connect with other students. In celebration of our new site launch, students will be eligible for raffle prizes once they create an account and interact on the site. Drawings will be done weekly and monthly through the fall semester. Join now!
* Engage in your Community! Did you miss our Community Involvement Fair last year? Check out our community volunteer booklet to learn more about the variety of non-profits participating and volunteer opportunities available: Community Volunteer Booklet. Email us at elistulife@nvcc.edu and tell us where and when you are volunteering and we will send you a FREE NOVA Student Life T-shirt to wear!
* Monday – Webinar: NOVA Online Orientation.12:15-1:15pm.This one hour webinar will focus on getting started in your courses, navigating your Blackboard course site, and identifying tips for success and student support services. The NOVA Online Orientation is highly recommended for students who are new to online learning. Register now! Can’t attend live? Request a recording.
* Learn more on this NOVA Online Student Blog. Want to write for the NOVA Online Student Blog? Share your story? Connect with your peers? Send us a writing sample to get started. Email NOVA OnlineStuLife@nvcc.edu for more information.
Are you currently in or interested in pursuing the CyberSecurity program at NOVA. The scholarship mentioned below was posted by SCHEV.
“The purpose of the Cybersecurity Public Service Scholarship Program is to support students who are pursuing an education in programs specifically designed for careers in cybersecurity defense. Students who receive the scholarships — up to $20,000 a year for two years — must commit to work for the Commonwealth of Virginia for one year for each year they receive a scholarship.”
Applications for the 2016-17 academic year will be accepted until September 15, 2016.
Other scholarship opportunities can be found here.
Questions about Financial Aid? Contact them by phone, live chat, or email through the Student Support Center.
Varsity Tutors is a live learning platform for private tutors and students. Students from elementary to graduate school to adult learners can connect with a professional tutor who is able to address their unique needs.Tutors are independent contractors with their own unique teaching style, methods and materials.
Varsity Tutors holds a monthly $1,000 college scholarship contest where students must write an essay in response to a monthly prompt.
Visitors to the Varsity Tutors scholarship webpage are able to vote via social media for submitted entries. The top five entries with the most votes are reviewed by Varsity Tutors at the end of the month and one winner is subsequently chosen to receive the $1,000 college scholarship.
Interested students can enter the contest here: http://www.varsitytutors.com/college-scholarship
Other scholarship opportunities can be found here.
Join NOVA Online’s Career Counselor this week for two webinars this week
Tuesday (9/6) – 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Webinar: Focus on Your Career Planning:
This 45 minute webinar will introduce students to FOCUS 2 an online, interactive, self-guided career and education planning system. The system can help students select a program/major based on their interests and aspirations, discover occupations matching their personal preferences and attributes, map out their career plans – present and future, and make informed career decisions. Register Today!
Wednesday (9/7) – 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Webinar: Exploring Career Options:
This 45 minute webinar will focus on using various online resources to research career options. The relationship between programs of study at NOVA, college majors, and career options will be discussed. Resources presented will provide information on nature of work, educational requirements, job outlook, and wages. Register Today!
Financial Avenue Financial Literacy Contest
Twenty $100 NOVA bookstore gift cards towards educational costs at NOVA will be given-away throughout the 2016‐2017 academic year to randomly selected students NOVA Online who successfully complete Financial Avenue web‐based financial literacy modules!
For more information visit Financial Aid’s Financial Literacy Blog.
Official contest rules and registration to participate can be found here.
Join us for Your Student Success Conference on Tuesday & Wednesday!
(Click on photo to enlarge)
Sessions on Tuesday, August 30:
Stay Strong: There’s an App for That! from 10:00 – 10:45 am
Focus on Your Career Planning from 12:15 – 1:00 pm
Sessions on Wednesday, August 31:
Are Online Courses Right for Me? from 10:00 – 10:45 am
Exploring Career Options from 12:15 – 1:00 pm
Communicating with Faculty from 2:00 – 2:45 pm
Everyone will receive a NOVA t-shirt for joining us! Additional raffle prizes each session! Join us for as many as your schedule allows!
If you have any questions you can contact the NOVA Online Student Services Team at elisuccess@nvcc.edu or 703-323-3347. We are more than happy to answer your questions, as well as refer you to useful resources and services that will support your online learning experience.
All NOVA Online courses require proctored exams or assignments. Plan ahead for how you will take your exams depending on your location and/or location.
For more about NOVA’s testing policies, view the Testing Information Website.
NOVA Online offers three methods to fulfill this requirement:
Campus Testing Centers
Students that live in the Northern Virginia area can use any Campus Testing Center. All 6 campuses have a testing center, and it doesn’t matter which one you go to throughout the term. When using a Campus Testing Center:
Out of Area: Proctor Request
If you are out of the area, or planning to be out of the area at any point throughout your course, you will need to identify a Testing Location to supervise your NOVA Online exams. If you have not already, you should begin the process immediately.
Virginia residents (outside of Northern Virginia): You may take your exams at any Virginia Community College (VCCS) testing center, via our online proctoring service, ProctorU, if it is available in your course (check the availability of this service in your course under Exams), or at the testing center of another Virginia college/university at which you are a student (submit a proctor request form for approval). Use the College Locator feature on the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) website to find a college near you.
Students in other states/outside the US: You may take your exams at a college/university testing center near you (submit a proctor request form for approval), or via our online proctoring service, ProctorU, if it is available in your course. Check the availability of this service in your course under Exams.
ProctorU Testing Service
ProctorU might be an option for one or more of your classes, and allow you to take your exams from your home computer. Using a webcam with a microphone, speakers, and a reliable high-speed internet connection, you can take your exams anywhere. Courses offering this option will have the ProctorU Information in the course Blackboard under the links, Taking Exams and Using Exam Passes in your course Syllabus. If you choose to use this online proctoring service:
Regardless of your method of testing, the NOVA Online Success Coaches are here to help you succeed in your NOVA Online courses. NOVA Online Success Coaches can be reached at elisuccess@nvcc.edu or 703.323.3347.
We wish you much success on your exams and remind you that when testing, you may only use materials your proctor specifically tells you may be used, based on instructions from the instructor. Also, as a NOVA Online student, you are required to follow the code of conduct as outlined in the NOVA Student Handbook.
For more about NOVA’s testing policies, view the Testing Information Website.
Written by Adrienne, NOVA Online Student Success Coach
Today’s blog is provided by student blogger Aly! Aly has taken a combination of on-campus and online courses throughout her time at NOVA and graduated from NOVA this summer. Aly has provided current and future NOVA Online students with some tips to help students get started in fall classes.
If you are anything like me, trying to keep up with the obligations and requirements of a college course can become somewhat of a task – quite especially if you are enrolled in an online course. Participating in an online course means that, as a student, you will be given much more responsibility over your progress and performance in the class. Not to say that students who attend in-person lectures have it any easier, but I have learned through my experience that not having a professor to meet with on a regular basis required me to be much more attentive to the structure of the class. This includes knowing what the due dates are for assignments in the course, maintaining a study plan, forming a relationship with the instructor, checking email regularly, and preparing for exams.
To help guide you to successful completion of your online course, I have included several measures that I found useful for keeping me in tip-top shape throughout my online course. Below is my recommended approach to staying up-to-date and prepared, not only throughout the semester, but throughout your entire academic experience as an online student:
Knowing Assignment Due Dates
Forming a Relationship with your Instructor
If you ever find that you are having difficulty getting in touch with your instructor, or encounter an instructor that is unresponsive to your emails, visit the webpage for NOVA’s Student Services Division to be placed in contact with an individual who can help you resolve this matter.
Checking Emails and Blackboard Regularly
• Make use of your student email account. This is perhaps the most commonly neglected aspect of being a student. While this task is important for every student to make habit of, it is especially important for NOVA Online students to do so. Keep in mind, that as a NOVA Online student, a majority (if not all) of the communication between you and your instructor will be via email. Instructors frequently send out announcements and assignment updates by email.
Overall, I have learned that checking your student email account (username@email.vccs.edu) and Blackboard on a regular basis is essential to success as a NOVA Online student.
Preparing for Exams
In providing this brief overview, all NOVA Online students must also keep in mind that proficiency and achievement in each course heavily relies upon effort, dedication, and determination on the student’s behalf. With this being said, this post has provided students with a general outline of practices to follow in developing a strong foundation for academic success.
Want to write for the NOVA Online Student Blog? Share your story? Connect with your peers? Send us a writing sample to get started. Email NOVA OnlineStuLife@nvcc.edu for more information.
Good luck in your online course. Make sure you check your VCCS student email regularly so you don’t miss any announcements. Let us know if you have any questions!