FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Q. What is Virtual Virginia (VVa)?
A. Virtual Virginia offers online Advanced Placement, world language, elective, and core academic courses to students across the Commonwealth, the nation, and throughout the world. The courses utilize course management software to maximize the interactivity of each class. Each course contains video segments, audio clips, whiteboard interaction, multimedia activities, and online discussions, as well as text. Instructors are available for telephone and online communication with students throughout the day. Full-time instructors are online with students at least 40 hours per week. Adjunct instructors have posted office hours. Virtual Virginia courses offer a rich multimedia learning environment that appeals to a variety of learning styles. Virtual Virginia courses can be scheduled flexibly throughout the day, as courses do not have to be taken in 'real' time.
Q. Who can enroll in Virtual Virginia courses?
A. Students in middle and high schools who meet the course prerequisites and have approval from the local school counselor may enroll through their schools. Course prerequisites are found on the Course Offerings page. Only home school students are registered by their parents. The deadline for registering students is the end of the first week of the student’s course start date.
Q. What is the tuition for 2012-13 Virtual Virginia courses?
A.Virginia Public School Students
There is no charge for Virginia public school students participating in the Early College Scholars (ECS) program. Tuition is paid for all ECS students. There is a tuition charge per course for non-ECS Virginia public school students enrolled in AP courses of $375 times the Local Composite Index. There will be no tuition charged for world language, core, and elective courses for Virginia public school students.
Textbooks and other materials are the responsibility of the local school.
Virginia Private and Home School Students
Tuition for Virginia private and home school students is $500 per 1 credit course and $300 per 0.5 credit course, for all courses. Textbooks and other materials are the responsibility of the private school or home school parent.
Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Students
Tuition for out-of-state and out-of-country students is $650 per 1 credit course and $450 per 0.5 credit course, for all courses. There is a $75 communications surcharge for all out-of-country students. Textbooks and other materials are the responsibility of the enrolling party.
There is a $75 withdrawal fee for ALL students who drop the course after 21 calendar days. Schools will receive an invoice for this fee. Students are considered withdrawn from a course when they are removed from the Virtual Virginia registration system by the local school or by VVA administration. If the student is administratively withdrawn after the 21 calendar days have passed, the withdrawal fee will apply.
Q. Who pays the tuition and other fees?
A. Tuition for Early College Scholars is paid directly by the Virginia Department of Education. Tuition for non-ECS, private school, home school, national, and international students is paid directly to the Virginia Department of Education. Any tuition charges are the responsibility of the enrolling party.
For the 2011-12 school year, school divisions are reimbursed for the AP exam fees for Virginia Early College Scholar students who are enrolled in a VVa class. Schools must submit reimbursement requests to Anne Feild (anne.feild@doe.virginia.gov) and include a copy of the receipt of the exam order, a list of the students' names, and the courses and exams completed by June 1 of the academic year. Reimbursement requests can be sent to:
Virginia Department of Education
Virtual Virginia Program
P.O. Box 2120
Richmond, VA 23218
Attn: Anne Feild
Q. What is the Early College Scholars Program and how does one enroll?
A. The Early College Scholars (ECS) Program is the Virginia Education for a Lifetime initiative. High school students are encouraged to get a head start on college by taking college level courses before graduating high school. Early College Scholar students must have at least a "B" average, be pursuing an Advanced Studies Diploma, and be on course to complete a minimum of 15 college credit hours (through AP, IB, Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses) by graduation. Students, parent or guardian(s), principals, and school counselors sign the Early College Scholars Agreement to participate. For more information, see the Early College Scholars page.
Q. Who teaches Virtual Virginia courses?
A. Virtual Virginia has both full-time and adjunct instructors who are Virginia-licensed, highly-qualified, have experience in distance learning, and reside throughout the Commonwealth. Virtual Virginia provides appropriate professional development training in specific content areas and best practices of online instruction.
Q. What are the responsibilities of the school and school division?
A. Schools must provide a local mentor, an adequate study area for distance learning students, access to computers, high speed internet access, a scanner, headphones with microphones, a telephone, as well as other required hardware and software. Textbooks and lab materials must also be purchased and are not paid for by the Department of Education. Schools are strongly encouraged to order textbooks early so that students have the necessary materials on the first day of class.
Q. Does the mentor need to be a licensed teacher?
A. No. Mentors will proctor tests, be available to handle communication between the student and teacher as needed, monitor student progress, and assist students with technology issues. Ideally, the mentor is in the classroom with the students to promote an optimal learning environment. For more information on Virtual Virginia mentors, visit the Virtual Virginia Mentors page.
Q. Are online Advanced Placement courses as rigorous as conventional Advanced Placement courses?
A. Yes, Advanced Placement courses offered through Virtual Virginia cover the same content and are just as rigorous as conventional AP® courses.
A. Online courses will start course sections at the same time as typical start dates for Virginia schools. For fall block, fall semester, and full year courses, one section will begin on Monday, August 16, the next on Monday, August 23, another on Tuesday, September 7 and the final section on Monday, September 13. Spring block and spring semester courses will start in a similar pattern in January 2011.
Q. Can students work at their own pace?
A. No, students move through the course material at the pace of their cohort/start date. Benchmark due dates are established to ensure that students stay on pace to complete the course by the end of school year, but students have flexibility between those due dates.
A. Yes, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses can count. See the Early College Scholars website for more information or visit www.virginiamentor.org.
Q. Are there any restrictions or other requirements for private schools?
A. Private and home school students may enroll in Virtual Virginia courses but are not eligible for the Early College Scholars Program and therefore are not eligible for tuition remission or AP® exam fee payment.
A. Yes; home school students are eligible to take Advanced Placement exams; however, it is the responsibility of the home school parent to coordinate with a local school. Please review the College Board website for home school students taking AP® exams.
Q. Should students register as a group through the school or individually?
A. Students should confer with their school counselor. The school counselor will register the school and enroll the students using Virtual Virginia's online registration system. Virtual Virginia will send a semester grade report to the school counselor at the course semester mark. School counselors may download a final grade report at the conclusion of the course. Interim, six, or nine week grades are pulled by the mentor and submitted to the appropriate authority in the building.
A. Virtual Virginia does not limit the number of courses a school may offer; however, schools are limited to 15 students per course. If a school has a need for more than 15 seats in one particular course, the school must send a request to the Virtual Virginia Supervisor of Curriculum and Student Services, Gail Warren, at gail.warren@virtualvirginia.org. These requests will be evaluated on a space available basis.
Q. Does Virtual Virginia have a grading scale?
A. No, Virtual Virginia provides a numeric average which represents the students' performance in the course. The local school determines the letter grade based on the grading scale used for students in local Advanced Placement courses.
Q. Are Virtual Virginia Advanced Placement courses approved through the College Board audit process?
A. Yes, Virtual Virginia Advanced Placement courses are approved through the College Board. Information regarding Virtual Virginia courses is located in the College Board register.
A. While VVA students are strongly supported by the instructor and school mentor, students need to be self-motivated so they do not fall behind. Students must be able to stay on task, meet deadlines and ask for assistance when needed. Some keyboarding skills and knowledge of email and using a web browser are also helpful.
For futher information on these or other questions, please contact info@virtualvirginia.org.
|
 |
 |
 |