Tag Archives: summer

Summer Registration opens today!

Posted on by

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/

Prepare for Summer Registration

Posted on by

Thinking about an online class for Summer 2017? Summer Registration opens for all students on Tuesday, March 28. The online catalog is available in NOVAConnect now, however, you will not be able to load courses to your cart or complete enrollment until Tuesday. Search the online catalog to see what options you have for online courses.

NOVA Online offers courses that begin on May 16, 22, and June 5.

old wooden pier on the sea in sunset

Review & Understand your NOVAConnect Account

Plan ahead – Have any holds? Need to update your contact information? Request a final transcript or view your final grades? Run your advising report before working with your advisor? Log into your Student Center account (in NOVAConnect) for more information.

Be cleared of any prerequisites (if needed)

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 another regionally accredited institution, you will need to work with an advisor before being permitted to enroll in courses at NOVA. Any questions? More information at the Visiting and Transient Student webpage or reach out to a Virtual Advisor at AcademicAdvising@nvcc.edu.

Get Ready to Start your courses

Each course has a course site in Blackboard. Students are given access to the course specific link on the first day the course is scheduled to begin. Once you have access to your course in Blackboard, make sure to thoroughly review the course syllabus and course calendar (Overview of Assignments) to map out a plan for the course. Summer courses run at an accelerated pace, so make sure you plan ahead and stay on track.

Understand online learning through NOVA Online

Participate in the NOVA Online Orientation webinar to get off to a strong start. This one hour live online instructor session 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. Live session dates will be posted soon.

Make sure you know your course start date and critical enrollment dates! Don’t miss your first assignment due date!

Take the Smarter Measure assessment to see how your personal learning styles will work with online courses.

Establish a Routine! All online courses, regardless of session length, are based on the full 16-week course material, so summer courses (12, 8, and 4 week classes) will move at an accelerated pace. Review this blog post for more information about pacing in online courses.

If you need assistance with your course selection, NOVA Online Counselors can be reached at, elicounselors@nvcc.edu.

NOVA Online Student Spotlight

Posted on by

The Be SAFE Around Water Campaign

My name is Abigail and I am a competitive swimmer, swim coach, and lifeguard. Teaching people, particularly children, how to swim is my passion. Drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4 and the second leading cause of death in children under the age of 15. By educating children on what to do if they fall in the water we could play a part in saving lives. I visited over 200 kids at various organizations, such as church and VBS groups, and gave my presentation.

The Be SAFE Around Water Campaign is designed to give children simple steps to follow if they fall into water. I created an acronym of the word “safe” to give children something easy to remember.

Be Safe Around Water (002)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be SAFE Around Water

Stop. When you approach water stop and look around for an adult or lifeguard. If no one is around then do not enter the water or go near the edge of the water.

Ask. If you accidentally fall into the water call out and ask for “help” as loud as you can.

Float & kick. Kick your feet and get your head above the water. Then push your belly up and lay on your back so that you are floating. Then kick your feet to the nearest wall or land.

Exit. Exit the water and go tell an adult or lifeguard what happened.

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.

How is online learning different from on-campus courses?

Posted on by

How is online learning different from on-campus courses? As some students are considering NOVA Online as an option for a summer course, we want to point out some of the differences between online and on-campus courses.

  • Format
  • Technology
  • Time Required

Although online learning and on-campus courses cover the same content, the format is different. With online learning, you see the entire course from the beginning. NOVA Online courses are flexible, with stated deadlines, meaning, you can work on your course at any point throughout the week, but will need to meet weekly or even mid-weekly due dates. NOVA Online requires proctored exams to be completed within the stated course deadlines. Some courses may also be accelerated with the instructor’s permission.

Technology provides content and interaction. NOVA Online courses use Blackboard as the course management system to communicate and facilitate class discussions. Students are required to use their VCCS student email account to communicate with the instructor.

Online learning courses usually require at least as much time as you would spend taking a campus-based course. You should plan to study at least 2-3 hours a week for each credit. In other words, for each three-credit course, you would study 6-9 hours per week. When you compare this time with what you spend in class and studying outside of class, it is about the same.

Here is a chart that illustrates the general amount of time per week you should expect to study per credit hour based on the course length. For example, if you enroll in an 8-week, 3-credit class, you can expect to spend 12-18 hours per week studying for this class. In general, the shorter the class length (6-, 8-, 12-, or 16-week), the more hours of study time you can expect to spend per week per credit.nullWe encourage you to participate in an NOVA Online Orientation to help as you are getting started in your first online course. You can view short videos from Blackboard to review how to submit an assignment, post on discussion board, check grades, etc.

For more information about getting started at NOVA Online, please email your name and student ID to elisuccess@nvcc.edu or call 703.764.5076. Have a question, but not sure who to ask? Start with a Success Coach!

Preparing for an 8-week Summer course

Posted on by

Today’s blog post is written by a former NOVA Online Student when they enrolled in their first summer 8-week course. Summer registration for all students begins on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Follow this tutorial to search NOVA’s online courses.

I’m enrolling in my first eight-week course this summer. This got me thinking about how it might be different from the sixteen-week format I am more used to. Succeeding in an online course always requires good management of time. I must carefully balance school, work, and personal responsibilities. When the online class is an eight week or six week course, I am thinking that managing these elements will become much more critical.

Summer spring backgound with stack of books and open book and bokeh. Back to school. Open book fanned pages. Copy Space

Since an online sixteen week course should take three hours of coursework per credit each week, an Eight-week online course should take six hours of coursework per credit each week. For a three credit class, that works out to as much as an 18-hour a week part time job! Because of this, I decided to take only one class at a time until I see how I can integrate this workload with my work and social schedule.

I expect that the deadlines will also come much faster. Just eight days into my course, I will already be at the refund deadline, forcing me to decide whether or not I can handle the workload and get the grade I want or to drop the course and try the longer format in the Fall.

Because of this, I’m planning on logging into Blackboard on the course start date and completing the first assignment quickly. I’ll also need to look over the assignments and syllabus and see if I have any questions. Usually, I think for two or three days before I email my instructor, but with this class, I expect that if I have questions, I’ll need to write the instructor immediately—procrastinating even a few days would probably not be a good idea.

I’m really looking forward to the pleasant feel completing the course more quickly. I’ll get to feel the sense of accomplishment which keeps me motivated that much faster. I’m also telling myself I can deal with almost any schedule for two months—so it actually feels much more flexible than the traditional four-month courses. I’ll let you know if my opinion changes once the course actually starts.

How many of you have already taken a six or eight week course? Do you have any advice for me? I would love to know a little more about what to expect!

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.

Prepare for Summer Registration

Posted on by

Thinking about an online class for Summer 2016? Summer Registration opens for all students on March 29. The online catalog is available in NOVAConnect now – search the online catalog to see what options you have for online courses.

NOVA Online offers courses that begin on May 30, June 13 and June 27! Enroll today!

old wooden pier on the sea in sunset

Review & Understand your NOVAConnect Account

Plan ahead – Have any holds? Need to update your contact information? Request a final transcript or view your final grades? Run your advising report before working with your advisor? Log into your Student Center account (in NOVAConnect) for more information.

Be cleared of any prerequisites (if needed)

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 another regionally accredited institution, you will need to work with an advisor before being permitted to enroll in courses at NOVA.  You can visit the Visiting and Transient Student webpage for more information. Any questions? Reach out to a Virtual Advisor at AcademicAdvising@nvcc.edu.

Get Ready to Start your courses

Each course has a course site in Blackboard. Students are given access to the course specific link on the first day the course is scheduled to begin. Once you have access to your course in Blackboard, make sure to thoroughly review the course syllabus and course calendar (Overview of Assignments) to map out a plan for the course. Summer courses run at an accelerated pace, so make sure you plan ahead and stay on track.

Understand online learning through NOVA Online

Participate in the live NOVA Online Orientation webinar to get off to a strong start. This one hour live online instructor session 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 or Request a Recording Today!

Make sure you know your course start date and critical enrollment dates! Don’t miss your first assignment due date!

Take the Smarter Measure assessment to see how your personal learning styles will work with online courses.

Establish a Routine! All online courses, regardless of session length, are based on the full 16-week course material, so summer courses (12, 8, 6 and 4 week classes) will move at an accelerated pace.

If you need assistance with your course selection, NOVA Online Counselors can be reached at, elicounselors@nvcc.edu.

How to be Successful in a Summer Course

Posted on by

Summer courses can be extremely beneficial to your academic plan.  Taking courses during a non-traditional semester, such as summer, can help you knock out classes you need for graduation. Other perks of taking courses during the summer are that class sizes can be smaller and sessions are shorter.

But, as the days lengthen and the sun lures you outside, it can be difficult to stay focused on studying.  And, after being outside and finding fun in the sun, you could feel sluggish when it is time to study.  To help you stay focused and be successful in your academic endeavors, try these simple tricks:

  • Be Awake: Eat breakfast each day.  Keep your meals throughout the day light (include lots of fruits and veggies). Avoid heavy meals; they will make you feel drowsy.
  • Take Good Notes: Because summer sessions are often taught in a shorter session, their pace is often more vigorous then a traditional course.  Take lots of notes and review them often to help you remember the material.  Creating your notes in outline format or using colored pens or markers on your notes can help you remember how topics are related and help you remember the facts.
  • Sleep Well: During the summer, the days are longer. More daylight could cause you to not sleep as soundly as usual. To deter this, buy darkening blinds or curtains to help block out light.
  • Stay Positive: You are your biggest critic.  If you have an “I can do it” attitude, you are more likely to succeed.
  • Attendance: Go to class or sign into your online class every day.  Being present and up to date on any changes or announcements in the class is key to your success.

As you take steps to follow through on these recommendations, consider exploring the following ELife Blogs for further tips on healthy eating, note taking and attendance. And, be sure to reach out to your NOVA Online Success Coach with your questions or concerns. The Success Coaching Team can be reached at elisuccess@nvcc.edu or (703) 764-5076.

-Kristin, NOVA Online Student Success Coach