INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS -- Continuing Education, Workforce Development, and Community Education Services

The Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development on each campus helps to plan and provide many types of credit and non-credit programs to meet special interests within the community. The topics vary from job skills to personal enrichment interests. Various community education programs and seminars focus attention on social issues. Workforce development services for business, industry, and professional organizations provide special courses at NOVA for their employees. These programs can be taught at the College or in your workplace.

Many non-credit programs are offered each semester to serve special community services needs. A listing of the continuing and community education courses offered at each campus can be found online at http://www.nvcc.edu/ce.

Courses and workshops often result from requests by individuals or groups within the community. The programs pay for themselves through fees charged to participants. State funds are not used for setting up or offering a course or paying the instructor. Fees for community education courses vary depending upon the actual cost of each course. Community education course information and registration instructions are available at each campus Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development.

Payment for courses may be made by cash, check, money order, contract, VISA, MasterCard, or American Express. Checks and money orders (payable to NVCC or NOVA) can only be accepted for the exact amount due. A service charge of $20.00 is charged to you for any check that is dishonored, except when the bank is at fault. Requests for refunds must be made at least four calendar days before the date of the first class meeting.

Cultural affairs are available through short courses, special lectures, music presentations, and art festivals. Community groups and organizations may also make special arrangements to use facilities of the College for their own programs or meetings.

To qualify as a community education college course, the following standards must be met:

1. The non-credit activity is planned in response to an assessment of educational needs for a specific target population.

2. There is a statement of objectives and rationale.

3. Content is selected and organized in a sequential manner.

4. There is evidence of pre-planning.

5. The activity is instructional and is approved by an academic or administrative unit of the institution best qualified to affect the quality of the program content and to approve the resource personnel utilized.

6. There is provision for enrollment for individual participants.

7. Evaluation procedures are utilized.

8. Criteria are established for awarding Continuing Education Units to individual students prior to the beginning of the activity.

Continuing Education Units (CEU) for Non-Credit Courses. The College awards Continuing Education Units (CEU) upon completion of most non-credit courses. One CEU represents ten hours of participation in continuing education courses. CEUs are a nationally recognized standard unit of measurement that has been adopted for post-secondary courses not carrying academic credit. Permanent CEU records are maintained by NOVA. CEUs are increasingly accepted as evidence of educational accomplishment and for professional certification.