Substitution Requests

In general, students should complete the curriculum outlined in the college catalog for the program in which they are placed.  Sometimes, though, it is appropriate to substitute another course taken at NOVA or transferred in for a required course.  Course substitutions should be made only if the resulting substitution maintains the integrity of the program.

Check the student’s Degree Progress Report before you go to the trouble of initiating a Substitution Request.  You may discover that no substitution is needed.  If it is, submit the Substitution Request as soon as possible; do NOT wait until the student applies for graduation.

Read the directions below carefully before clicking the button on the bottom of this page to complete the online Course Substitution Form.

Directions to Complete the Course Substitution Form

Who can initiate a substitution request?
Students begin the process by asking their advisor to approve a substitution, but only an advisor can submit the actual form.

How do I, as the advisor, initiate a substitution request?

• The form is password protected. When prompted,
  • Type nvcc\ (be sure you use a backslash \ and not a forward slash /) before your User name
  • Then type your User name (ex. nvcc\jdoe)
  • Next, enter your password in the space provided. Your NOVA User name and Password are what you use to sign on to your office computer (It is not your NOVAConnect/SIS/AIS User name and password.)
• Remember to type nvcc\ before your username (ex. nvcc\jdoe) and then enter your password in the space provided.
• When the form appears, enter the student’s information.
• Enter the course information.
• Enter the reason for the substitution.
• Select the deans who must approve the substitution from the drop-down menus.
• Click the Submit button to submit the form.

What happens to the form after I submit it?

The form is sent to the deans who either approve or disapprove the substitution.

Advisor:

• The advisor will receive a confirmation email with the Subject: Online Course Substitution Confirmation. When you click the URL in the email, you initially see the online course substitution form as you submitted it.
• Keep this email.
• You can track the approval of this form by clicking the URL in this email.
• Once the dean(s) have checked Approve or Disapprove, you will see this on the form.

Deans:

• The dean(s) will receive an email with the Subject: Approving Course Substitutions Email Notification.
• The body of the email contains a link allowing the dean to Approve or Disapprove the course.
• When the dean clicks on the link to approve the form, a prompt window asks the dean to log on. Make sure to use the following format:
  • username : nvcc\your nvcc login name
  • password: your nvcc password
• The dean will need to click on either Approve or Disapprove. If the dean selects Disapprove he/she must provide a reason why.
• Press the Submit button. 
• If a dean receives two emails, he/she must approve or disapprove both.

When both deans have responded, the form goes to the Central Records Office (CRO) and if the substitution is approved, it is posted to the student’s record.

• CRO staff can view, edit and delete the forms.

Click Here for the FAQ

To complete the Course Substitution Form click the button below.