Essential Info for New Students

Visit our New Student Orientation (NSO) and SOAR website!

Within this website, you’ll find lots of valuable new information on everything you need to know before you register for classes -- broken down into easy to find and read sections.

At New Student Orientation, you’ll be provided with an opportunity to meet fellow students, faculty and staff. You’ll learn more about our resources for academic success, career/transfer information and our First Year Experience program. You can now sign up for orientation directly online. Click on the NOVA campus of your choice to view session dates and times, then click on the Sign Up link, fill out the form and press submit.


SOAR sessions are designed for student participants who are first-time college students. You can now view online SOAR sessions by clicking on the NOVA campus location convenient to you. The panel will expand revealing detailed steps along with a button leading you to session dates and times. With this information, you can then go to the Student Services Center closest to you to register in person for a session.

Career Services Web Renovations

Check out our greatly improved Career Services website!

The main page is divided into four block sections tailored to our target audiences – students, employer/community, faculty and staff and alumni. Simply click on the image for the category you wish to access.

On the student page there is a dynamic color-coded looping graphic that leads you through the four easy steps of the Career Development Process. The four steps include Understanding Self, Exploring Careers, Making Decisions and Finding Employment. When you click on one of these steps you are taken to a matching section that reveals informative and valuable content organized in tab format.

There are links to many internal and external resources such as NACElink, a national recruiting network that provides Web based recruiting and career services automation tools serving the needs of colleges, employers and job candidates. There are also links to a variety of helpful assessment tools for students and faculty.

Blackboard Update

Blackboard Web pages have been added to the NOVA website for students and faculty.

The new student page reveals how to obtain information and instructions on using Blackboard for online, hybrid or classroom courses.

The new faculty page explains how Blackboard can improve communication, make important information easier to share and support student learning for online and classroom courses. There is also a list of Blackboard resource links:

• Bb 9 Intro Video
• What's New in Bb 9 Quick Guide
• Bb Quick Guide
• VCCS Bb Tutorials (video and print)
• VCCS Bb 9 Tutorials (print)
• Bb Quick Tutorials Library
• USC Bb 9 How to Movies
• UT Bb Support Page