Juniors, Seniors Can Take Free NOVA Community College Classes

ALEXANDRIA, VA — While school closures cut the school year short for high school students, they can get a head start on college courses this summer. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is accepting applications from local high school students to take free summer classes and earn college credits through May 15. The JumpStart classes are available through federal stimulus funding.

Current juniors and seniors in participating school districts and private schools are eligible to sign up for one or two JumpStart classes. Participating school districts are Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church City, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Prince William County. Participating private schools are Paul VI, Christ Chapel, Fairfax Christian, Bishop Ireton and Wakefield School.

The six JumpStart courses will run between June 1 to July 15. According to NOVA, these six classes fulfill NOVA degree requirements and can be transferred to most colleges and universities. Course options include ITN 257 (Cloud Computing: Infrastructure and Services) MTH 154 (Quantitative Reasoning), ART 101 (History and Appreciation of Art), CST 110 (Introduction to Communication), ENG 111 (College Composition I), HIS 112 (World Civilization II). The course in cloud computing is offered in partnership with Amazon Web Services as a strategy to boost the local tech workforce.

All courses will be conducted virtually by dual enrollment instructors and other NOVA faculty. Textbook and other coursework material purchases may be required.

Interested students must apply to NOVA before completing the JumpStart application process, which requires a current high school transcript. Each course has its own academic requirements. Students under 18 will need a parent or guardian's permission to register.

For more information, visit www.nvcc.edu/jumpstart.