Northern Virginia Community College - Overview

Overview

NVCC (formerly NOVA) is part of the Virginia Community College System. Dr. Robert G. Templin, Jr. is the president of the College. NOVA's campuses are: Alexandria, Annandale, Loudoun, Manassas, MEC (Springfield) and Woodbridge. The educational centers are: Arlington, Reston, Innovation Park and ELI.

Northern Virginia Community College was established in 1964 under the name Northern Virginia Technical College. In the fall of 1965, the College opened with 761 students in a single building in Bailey's Crossroads under President Robert L. McKee. To accommodate an ever-growing student body, the college purchased 78 acres (320,000 m2) in Annandale in 1966 to create the first of six permanent campus sites.

The College includes more than 75,000 students and 2,600 faculty and staff members. NVCC is also one of the most internationally diverse colleges in the United States, with a student body consisting of individuals from more than 180 countries. NVCC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and offers more than 160 degrees at the associate's level and certificate programs. NVCC also offers distance learning programs through their Extended Learning Institute and continuing education courses through Workforce Development.

NVCC offers a wide variety of courses, and encourages students to enroll in four-year colleges after completing their NVCC education. To do so, it fosters a system of preferred transfers into public colleges and universities located in the Commonwealth like George Mason University in Fairfax, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and Longwood University in Farmville. Private Washington-area schools recruit at NOVA also, including American University, Georgetown, Trinity Washington University, and George Washington University, as well as out-of-area and out-of state schools such as Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, West Virginia University, and even the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

The College is served by a library system extending across all six campuses and the Arlington Center. NVCC Libraries contain more than 250,000 volumes and subscribe to more than 200 databases, many of these purchased through the Virtual Library of Virginia, meaning that NVCC has access to many of the same resources as the other colleges and universities in Virginia.

The school's fundraising arm, established in 1979, is the NVCC Educational Foundation. Largely through the foundation's efforts, NVCC has been able to fund an increasing number of scholarships, and in 2001 completed the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center on the Alexandria Campus.

In 2009, NVCC hired English professor Jill Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden. Jill Biden is the only Second Lady in United States history to hold the title while still employed.