Frequently Asked Questions

Any student in grades 9-12 enrolled in a Prince William County Public School with counselor and VPW administration approval. Middle school students with special academic needs or conflicts with scheduling may be approved to enroll – please see your middle school counseling office for approval. Students in grades 9-12 can take courses for new/initial credit, grade replacement, or credit recovery.  The number one reason students take Virtual Prince William courses is for first-time, initial credit.

Rising 9th grade students can take high school classes for course credit during the summer before entering 9th grade. Prerequisites may apply. Additionally, Prince William County home instruction students can take online courses if their parents enroll them in their zoned school for the purpose of attending the VPW.

There is no fee for current PWCS students to take a VPW course during our fall, spring, or summer terms.

Virtual Prince William is a supplemental program and does not provide a full-time solution. Students are typically still taking courses at their base school. Students are permitted to take up to two virtual courses per term: fall, spring, or summer, with VPW admin and counselor approval. However, students cannot take more than nine total courses for the academic year (including in person and VPW classes).

VPW teachers are fully certified in their content area and are either currently or formerly employed with Prince William County Public Schools. Instructors have online office hours for daily contact. Daily and weekly student attendance in the course is closely monitored by instructors and VPW admin. A student may be withdrawn from their VPW course due to inactivity in the course and/or failure to access the course within a certain number of consecutive days.

Yes, students will receive high school credit when a course is successfully completed. The credit is placed on the PWCS transcript and is maintained by their base school.

The Prince William County Public Schools grading scale. VPW courses conducts its terms into two semester grades; semester 1 and semester 2. All course content must be completed within the given dates and deadlines of each semester. VPW uses and communicates its late policy.

VPW terms have two semesters, weighted 45% each, and a cumulative final exam weighted at 10%.

Yes. The online summer program runs concurrently with the regular PWCS summer school schedule, and students may participate in the summer graduation ceremony in late July/early August.  Note: VPW is highly used for first-time, initial credit where PWCS Summer School is best suited for credit recovery.

Yes, the course will count towards a student's overall GPA. All grades are submitted to the base school counseling department to be placed on the student's transcript. If a student is taking the course for repeated credit, the grade for the second attempt will be the one used for GPA calculations, regardless if it is better or not. Both grades will appear on the transcript.

The online gradebook helps students keep track of their grades. Inside the learning management system (Canvas), there is an icon for grades. Student can also view a progress report at any time by clicking their name in the top right corner of the screen. Grade reports are provided twice during the term to both student and parent. Final grades are submitted to the student's base school for application to the official transcript. Parents are enrolled as auditors and can log in to view student progress at any time. During the fall and spring terms, students and parents may utilize StudentVUE and ParentVUE as well. These resources are not available during the summer term.

Final exams are taken online within the VPW course on the set day during the term. This set day is typically the Thursday of the last week of the term. Final exam information will be communicated during the corresponding term.

Students are regularly asked to complete online benchmark assessments, which contain a student video assignment for authenticity. A webcam, as well as a headset (or computer with a microphone and speakers), is required for all courses.

SOL exams will be coordinated by the student and taken at their base school during the fall and spring terms. During the summer term, VPW will coordinate all SOL testing at a PWCS location. This information will be communicated during the summer term.

Yes and no. The courses have deadlines (daily or weekly) established by the instructor. Students are expected to meet those deadlines. The courses are self-paced in terms of the time of day and the location where students complete their work. Students can choose to spend more time on a topic by viewing a lecture a second time or thinking about a question for a while, without the fear of holding back the rest of the class. Students are not given a specific time to be online; they are expected to pace themselves to complete the work on time according to the course schedule/calendar. The average amount of time most students spend on their VPW course is 5-7 hours per week during the fall and spring terms and 4-6 hours per day during the six-week summer term. Students can log in and work at any time during the day.

If a student fails to make adequate progress (daily in summer and weekly in fall/spring), they can be withdrawn from their VPW course(s).

Yes, they probably do. Because online courses demand that the student be self-motivated, goal-oriented, and independent, they may actually value the VPW course higher. Colleges and universities themselves offer many online courses, and they know the value of this type of course.

Yes. Our courses meet the criteria for the NCAA Nontraditional Course Standards and are approved for credit. The HS Code is 851138, and the school name should be entered as The Virtual High School at PWCS. You must register yourself as a student in our school. VPW courses are shown on the PWCS transcript as an online/nontraditional course. (Enter VPW courses in the "My Coursework - Addl. Coursework" area)