You should be reviewing your grades on a regular basis in the My Grades area of Blackboard. Each Blackboard course site has Blackboard Tutorials available to help you navigate blackboard. This tutorial will help you monitor your grades in your Blackboard course site. For more – follow this link!

You can see grades for all of your courses or one course at a time.

To view grades for all of your courses, select the arrow next to your name in the upper-right corner. In the menu, select “My Grades”. You can sort your grades by All Courses or Last Graded. If your work hasn’t been graded, grade status icons appear. Select an item’s title to view details.

To view the grades for the course you’re in, select the “My Grades” link on the course menu or on the Tools page.

Your instructor controls which links appear on the course menu, so if you don’t see if there, click on “Tools” and locate My Grades.

Make sure you are monitoring your grades and your instructors feedback. This is very important to your success in the course.

Once your course ends, check your final grades in your Student Information System (SIS). Your grades will be posted in the “other academics” drop down in your student center.

Tutorial provided by Blackboard Help. Use these tutorials to help you navigate your Blackboard course site. Contact NOVA Online’s IT Helpdesk (24/7) with any questions – 703.764.5051. NOVA Online’s Student Success coaches are available to help you navigate Blackboard. Reach out to them at elisuccess@nvcc.edu or 703.323.3347.

That’s a wrap for our Advising Week blog series, but that doesn’t mean it’s over! Still have questions about summer or fall registration? Let us know!

Take some time to reflect on what you have learned this week. Go back and review past posts to dig a little deeper. Missed any of the live sessions? Request a recording.

Here are a few tips to help you move forward:

Use the Student Success Planner to build your academic plan and compare your plan to program requirements.

Take a moment to facilitate a time study. Summer sessions will run at an accelarated pace, so make sure you are planning your schedule around the shorter session length availability. For fall, you have different options for session length (16, 12, or 8 weeks). Make sure you have enough time to devote to the courses you take on. What has worked in the past? What hasn’t worked? Check out StudentLingo and NOVA Online webinars on time management.

Review your Advisement Report. Access NOVAConnect to run an advisement report to view your progress and outstanding degree requirements.

Take a moment to reflect upon your career planning. If you need more information about career options or would like to learn about a resource to help you build a career plan. Go back and review past blog posts to help you Focus on Career Planning, and take advantage of Free Job Search Tools!

Communicate with your advisor about your academic and career goals. Be sure to take a moment to review your plans for both the summer term (registration is occurring now) and the fall semester. Plan to have your academic plan,  advisement report, and/or career plan handy when communicating with your advisor.

If you have not declared a program of study or are not pursuing a specific program at NOVA connect with an academic counselor or advisor for assistance.

Ready to enroll? Follow this tutorial to help you add your courses in NOVA Connect.

Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Do you know where your time goes? It seems that the older you get, the more responsibilities are put on you. Take this brief quiz via Virginia Tech’s website to determine just how much time you have to dedicate to your studies.

If the time left over is not equivalent to at least twice the number of credits you are enrolled in, you do not have enough time allotted for your studies. But, there are things you can do; such as reducing the time spent on some activities/responsibilities, adjusting your work hours, or adjusting the number of credits you take in a semester.

When one can’t reduce their time on activities or responsibilities or work; that leaves the number of credits one should take in a semester. Many students I talk with want to be able to do it all – work full-time, go to college full-time, take care of their family, etc.

Course load is often the only factor that can be manipulated; but students do not want to delay their educational goals. This is certainly admirable; but, if one does not have enough time to complete their course work accurately and on-time, and study effectively for exams; one’s grades will suffer and it can take longer to reach your goals. Take a look at the weekly study time chart to plan out your schedule.

I encourage you to take the quiz to see where your time goes and ask yourself: Do you have enough time in the week to dedicate to your studies?

Are you using the time efficiently?

Do you find you do not have enough time?

What can you reduce or eliminate from your schedule to make more time?

Watch the Time Management: Strategies for Success video by StudentLingo to obtain some great tips on managing your time effectively!

-Written by NOVA Online Counselor, Kim Burkle

Take advantage of Advising Week events on campus or virtually as you plan your schedule and register for courses. Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Advising Week is offered every fall and spring at NOVA as a time for students to reflect upon their academic goals and career development in preparation for planning and evaluating their schedule for next semester. Advising week for Summer and Fall 2017 will be held this week – April 3 – 7.

Get the most out of Advising Week by following the steps below:

1. Attend the Advising Week Webinar Series: Getting Ready for Your Next Semester webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 5 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm. Learn more about the webinar and register for the session.
2. Use the Student Success Planner to build your academic plan and compare your plan to program requirements.
3. Review your Advisement Report.  Access NOVAConnect to run an advisement report to view your progress and outstanding degree requirements.
4. Take a moment to reflect upon your career planning. If you need more information about career options or would like to learn about a resource to help you build a career plan consider attending part two of our Advising Week Webinar Series: Focus on Your Career Planning webinar on Thursday, April 6 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm. Learn more about the webinar and register for the session.
5. Communicate with your advisor about your academic and career goals.  Be sure to take a moment to review your plans for the spring semester. Plan to have your academic plan,  advisement report, and/or career plan handy when communicating with your advisor.

If you have not declared a program of study or are not pursuing a specific program at NOVA connect with an academic counselor or advisor for assistance. Open registration for the summer 2017 term began on Tuesday, March 28.  Priority registration for continuing NOVA students for the fall 2017 semester begins on Monday, April 3.

This Advising Week Series will focus on academic planning, connecting with your advisor, and preparing for your upcoming terms. Throughout Advising Week the NOVA Online Student Blog will provide you with tools to plan effectively, resources to help guide your decisions, and answers to frequently asked questions throughout the process. Take advantage of Advising Week events on campus or virtually as you plan your schedule and register for courses. Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Advising week is almost here! To make the most of the interaction with your advisor there are a few things you can do to prepare.

Participate in the Advising Week Webinar Series: Getting Ready for Your Next Semester webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 5 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm. Focus on Your Career Planning webinar will be held on Thursday, April 6 from 12:15 – 1:00pm. Learn more about the webinars and register for the series. 

Verify your program of Study:  First it is important to verify your student record reflects the program of study you intend on completing here at NOVA. Visit the Academics section of your Student Center in the Student Information System to verify your plan. If your plan needs to be updated make contact with an academic counselor or advisor to determine which plan is the best for you based on your goals.

Run an Advisement Report: Once your program of study is accurate there are several tools you can take advantage of to see your progress towards your plan’s requirements and the courses you have left to complete. You can run an advisement report to view your progress and outstanding degree requirements.

Review program requirements: Now that you’ve run your advisement report, review the report to see how the coursework you have completed has been applied towards your degree requirements and what you have left to complete.

Plan your semester: You can use the Student Success Planner to create a plan, allowing you to map out when you will complete your remaining courses. As you plan out these courses semester by semester, strive for balance in your course schedule. Use these tips to help you strategize. Don’t delay in taking courses that are challenging for you, especially math.

Request to meet with your Advisor: Once you have our courses mapped out in the Student Success Planner you can even send a meeting request to discuss your plan to your advisor.

This Advising Week Series will focus on academic planning, connecting with your advisor, and preparing for your upcoming terms. Throughout Advising Week the NOVA Online Student Blog will provide you with tools to plan effectively, resources to help guide your decisions, and answers to frequently asked questions throughout the process. Take advantage of Advising Week events on campus or virtually as you plan your schedule and register for courses. Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Advising Week is almost here!

Advising Week is held every fall and spring at NOVA to help students prepare for their next semester and create an academic plan that works for them! Advising Week for summer / fall 2017 will be held Monday, April 3 – Friday, April 7. 

Follow this NOVA Online Student Blog next week as we help you prepare to get the most out of Advising Week.

Things to watch for to help you prepare for Advising Week:

• Creating a schedule that works for you.
• Connecting with your advisor.
• Communicating effectively with your advisor.
• Taking time for yourself.

Questions to ask yourself as you prepare for Advising Week:

• What is one change I can make to my schedule to be more successful next term/semester?
• When would be a good time for me to connect with my advisor?
• What questions do I have for my advisor?
• What is one thing I can do this week to help manage stress?

Pay attention to the tuition deadline so you are not dropped for non-payment. Contact Financial Aid with any questions.

This Advising Week Series will focus on academic planning, connecting with your advisor, and preparing for your upcoming terms. Throughout Advising Week the NOVA Online Student Blog will provide you with tools to plan effectively, resources to help guide your decisions, and answers to frequently asked questions throughout the process. Take advantage of Advising Week events on campus or virtually as you plan your schedule and register for courses. Reach out to the Student Services offices or Virtual Advisors with any questions you have as you are planning your courses.

Open registration for summer courses begins today, March 28, 2017!

To review a list of available courses, please click here (Select NOVA Online under Campus/Center).

If you need assistance, we are here for you:

Do you need help registering for the course?  For step-by-step online registration instructions, please click here.  If you need additional assistance, please contact us at 703.323.3347 or NOVA OnlineSuccess@nvcc.edu.

Do you need help with course selection? If you have not been assigned a faculty advisor you can contact a NOVA Online Counselor at elicounselors@nvcc.edu for assistance with course selection. If you would like to schedule a phone call with an academic counselor, please include your contact information. Use your VCCS student email and include your student ID# when emailing.

Are you a visiting/transient student? If you are attempting to enroll in a course at NOVA for which you believe you have successfully completed (a grade of “C“ or higher) the required prerequisite(s) at an accredited college or university, you will need to work with an advisor before being permitted to enroll in courses at NOVA. More information at the Visiting and Transient Student webpage or reach out to a Virtual Advisor at AcademicAdvising@nvcc.edu.

Are you new to NOVA Online?  We encourage you to attend a NOVA Online Orientation webinar! The NOVA Online Orientation will focus on answering key questions to getting started. For more information and to register for a session, click here.

Do you have questions about Tuition and Payment? For payment due dates, methods, and online payment instructions, please click here. Make sure to have your tuition paid or financial aid in place before the deadline, so you are not dropped from your courses.

If you are looking for additional resources to help you achieve academic success, the NOVA Online Student Services Team is here for you! You can access free online tutoring,  webinars, and free online workshops to help you succeed in your NOVA Online courses.

We also encourage you to take the SmarterMeasure assessment to gauge your readiness for online learning.

You can reach us at 703.323.3347 or visit us at http://eli.nvcc.edu/