NOVA Idol 2015 Audition Information

NOVA_idol

Are you the next singing sensation to be named the champion of NOVA Idol?  Northern Virginia Community College is seeking its most talented singers to compete in the College’s annual singing competition.

Winners receive a cash prize!  In addition, NOVA Idol finalists each get free vocal and performance coaching.

The auditions for NOVA Idol 2015 begin on Monday, November 3 at the Alexandria Campus and conclude on Tuesday, November 11 at the Woodbridge Campus.  Auditions will take place on each campus from 4-8 p.m.  The complete audition schedule is below.

Interested participants will be asked to sing without accompaniment for no longer than two minutes.  Please apply online (http://www.nvcc.edu/depts/novaidol/application.htm) to assist with the audition process.  For more information contact Dr. Brenda Lewis-Holmes (blewisholme@nvcc.edu).

For more information visit www.NOVAIdol.com!

NOVA Idol 2015 Audition Information

ALEXANDRIA

Monday, Nov. 3, 2014
4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Tyler 121

 

ANNANDALE

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

CA 302

 

MANASSAS

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Colgan Theater

 

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Faculty Lounge, 304

 

LOUDOUN

Monday, Nov. 10, 2014
4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Fitness Center, LR 111

WOODBRIDGE
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014

4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Theater

 

RESOURCE REVIEW: LEXISNEXIS

Let’s say you wanted to look up the U.S. Supreme Court Case involving Apple Computer and Microsoft. Where would you go? Luckily, NOVA has a database for that!

LexisNexis offers court documents on thousands of American legal cases. You can search by citation (513 U.S. 1184), parties (Apple v Microsoft), or topic (interstate commerce).

However, LexisNexis is not just for legal cases. You can find information on U.S. and world news and research on over 80 million companies!

If you need help using this database, contact me at NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu and/or view this video tutorial. Happy searching!

Picture of LexisNexis Homepage

This week at NOVA Online!

Transfer Sessions – Transfer Counselor, Kim Burkle has scheduled several schools to give presentations on the transfer policies. If you are interested in Excelsior College, University of Mary Washington, or Troy University, check out the calendar and join in to learn more. It’s never too early to start thinking about your transfer plans.

Also, plan to play the virtual Game of Transfer on Thursday, October 30 from noon – 1:00 pm. This game will require knowledge of transfer planning.

Did you miss the Transfer Planning webinar? You can access a recording to get a better understanding of transfer guides and policies! Email NOVA Online Counselor, Kim Burkle, for more information.

Take Back the Night – Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at 6:30 pm at the Loudoun Campus!

Marcus EngelMEC_Speaker will speak on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from noon – 1:00 pm. MEC room 152. This presentation will be recorded and made available to you! After being blinded and suffering catastrophic injuries at the hands of a drunk driver, Marcus Engel witnessed health care form the other end of the stethoscope. Through 300 hours of reconstructive facial surgery and years of hospitalization, rehab and recover, Marcus witness first hand the good, the bad and the ugly of patient care.

Have a great week, NOVA Online!

Parking Changes for Fall 2014

Many of you have heard that NOVA has implemented several changes to its parking policies at the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester. null

The changes are as follows:

• Free Evening and Weekend Student Parking. To minimize parking on neighborhood streets and optimize parking capacity at each campus, students will be able to park for free on all campuses after 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends in Student (B Lots) only. Students are not permitted to park in Faculty/Staff parking lots.

• Parking Permit Fee Reduction. To provide an incentive for students to park on-campus, the price of student parking permits will be rolled back by $15 per semester to $90.00 when purchased in-person or $80.00 when purchased on-line.

• Parking Infrastructure Support Fee. To offset the reduced parking revenue and provide continuing infrastructure support, a new per-credit-hour fee of $0.50 will be applied to support maintenance and construction of streets, walkways and lots, exterior lighting, signage and safety improvements.

• Graduation Incentive. To provide an additional incentive, graduating students will receive a full rebate of their final semester paid parking permit fee.

Research Series: Refining Your Topic

Sometimes when we choose a topic to research, our topic is too broad. For instance, you’re assigned a 5 page research paper. This might seem like a lot, but once you start researching you will need to  narrow your topic to fill those 5 pages. With  a topic that is too broad, you could write an entire book with the amount of research you can find!

To begin, start with your broad topic and add extra elements to it. For example, the ‘Civil Rights Movement’ can be narrowed to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. To focus it even further you might look at the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s in Washington, D.C.

Picture demonstrating narrowing a topic

 

See how I’m adding these extra elements to focus my topic? First I add a time period and then I add a place. The extra elements are not limited to time frames and locations; sometimes they are specific people or themes.

Starting with a good topic will make researching a lot easier!  As always, if you need more help with your topic or research please contact the NOVA Online library at NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu.

This Week at NOVA Online!

Good Morning, Monday!MondayTransfer Sessions – Transfer Counselor, Kim Burkle has scheduled several schools to give presentations on the transfer policies. If you are interested in Grand Canyon University, Georgetown University, Strayer University or West Virginia University, check out the calendar and join in to learn more. It’s never too early to start thinking about your transfer plans.

Fall Fest at the Loudoun Campus! Join us at the Loudoun campus for fall festivities, food, prizes, and to learn more about taking classes at NOVA Online! Will you be on campus? Stop by the LC Cafe Lounge between 11-2 to say hi!

Know Your Course Due Dates

One assumption that some online students make is that all NOVA Online courses are self-paced. To that end, students may put off getting started and learn that their instructor has withdrawn them for not meeting course deadlines.  Don’t let this happen to you!DeadlineIt is very important to understand that all NOVA Online courses have weekly or even mid-weekly due dates. There are critical enrollment dates, that include your First Assignment Due Date – requiring you to log into your Blackboard course site and complete your First Assignment by the due date. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in being dropped from the course without a tuition refund. Online courses may be 16 weeks, 12 weeks, 10 weeks, 8 weeks, 6 weeks, or 4 weeks in length; each course has specific start, refund, first assignment due date, withdrawal, and end date that you should be aware of when you select a particular course.

In addition to logging in and completing your first assignments (as referenced in your Quick Start Syllabus and Blackboard Course Site), NOVA Online courses also have regular weekly assignment deadlines.

When taking a NOVA Online course, it is important to understand that assignment due dates as well as test and quiz due dates come quickly. Due dates are firm and in some NOVA Online courses, assignments and tests/quizzes are sometimes removed after the due date.

To be successful in your course:

Read through your course syllabus on the first day of class. Understand all the deadlines that apply to your course and record them in your planner.

Establish a Routine – Visit your Blackboard Course Site daily and read all of your emails and announcements.

Make Note of your Course Deadlines, and turn your assignments in on time.

If possible, take your test prior to the testing deadline—you never know what might come up at the last minute!

To ensure that you understand the NOVA Online course deadlines, please review your course specific critical course deadlines and stay on top of weekly assignments.

Stay Healthy and Safe This Fall

3 pumpkins on fence

Fall is here! Now is a great time  to start or maintain healthy habits. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  1.  Be proactive about the flu. Here are some great tips about flu prevention.
  2. Prepare for cold weather.
  3. Have a happy and safe Halloween.
  4. Start a fitness routine.

For more tips on fall health and safety, visit the CDC website.

If you are interested in learning more about the Ebola virus, please visit NVCC’s library guide.

October is NOVA Online’s Transfer Awareness Month!

Did you miss the transfer planning webinars this month? If so, you can request a recording of this webinar at NOVA Online’s webinars page.

More events have been scheduled for this month. You can attend the Transfer Q&A this Thursday, October 16th from 12 to 1pm. You can also join us for the Game of Transfer and win a prize on October 30th from 12 to 1pm. Register via the webinars page.

Check out the transfer information sessions we have scheduled too! If you can show you attended three or more of these sessions, you will earn extra points at the Game of Transfer. Looks for upcoming sessions on NOVA Online’s calendar.

Questions? Email Kim Burkle at kburkle@nvcc.edu.