About Virtual Prince William

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is a pioneer in online learning through our Virtual Prince William (VPW) program. VPW provides a world-class online learning experience, with accelerated courses taught by highly-skilled and certified PWCS teachers. Virtual Prince William offers students the opportunity to take courses online for the completion of graduation requirements, to recover credits, and to balance academic and extracurricular opportunities. These courses are delivered via Canvas, PWCS’ learning management system, and coursework is completed outside school hours. Students and teachers communicate within the learning management system and via PWCS Office 365 email accounts. VPW courses are NCAA approved as nontraditional courses.

VPW courses are fully asynchronous (self-paced). Students are expected to be able to work independently and collaborate with their teachers and peers.   Asynchronous instruction is designed for students to complete course work independently at a designated pace. While students have some flexibility to choose when they complete asynchronous tasks, they must adhere to course pacing, schedule, due dates, and deadlines.

Courses offered in any given school year are dependent on student enrollment and the availability of qualified and appropriately endorsed instructional staff. View VPW course offerings and schedule.

VPW Fall 2024 Term Information

• Our Fall 2024 Term will be September 3, 2024 through January 17, 2025 (18 weeks).
• VPW courses are fully asynchronous, self-guided courses with course instructors offering evening, open office hours throughout the fall term.
• Students may be permitted to register for up to two courses.  We highly recommend only one course, so students do not overload themselves.  VPW courses will be taken in addition to their base school schedule.
• We recommend that students contact and discuss VPW plans with their school counselor.
• On average students spend 4-6 hours per week to successfully complete the course within the 18-week term.
• Each VPW term will be broken down into two semesters which VPW instructors will report a final semester grade after each semester which will be used to calculate the student's final course grade.
• HPE Students - it is a requirement for students interested in HPE to wear and use the provided heart rate monitor to track their fitness hours.  Students must have access to a smart phone for this course.

Registration does not guarantee enrollment into the course.   Each course has a certain number of available seats and may become full.  A course may be canceled due to low enrollment.  In addition, students need to be eligible to take their course request. For example, a student who has not successfully completed English 10 yet cannot take English 11.