Distance Learning at PVCC: A Flexible Choice
MaKayla Grapperhaus, staff writer
Many students at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) have busy schedules and obligations outside of school that can make getting to campus for classes each week a challenge. However, that does not mean they must put their academic dreams on hold. With a long list of courses offered online, PVCC students can continue to achieve their academic goals from their own homes and at their own convenience.
On PVCC’s official website, the following courses are listed as available distance learning options: accounting, art and dance, biology, business, communications, English, health care, history, and foreign languages. With so many options available, distance learning has become a popular way of taking courses at PVCC.
For Kelsey, a nursing student, online classes are the best option for her while she balances working and being a student.
She said, “Working full-time and also being a student full-time has been very challenging, but it’s a challenge that a lot of us students are facing today, so it’s nice to have options like online classes.”
She continued, “Since I started taking classes here in 2015, I’ve taken at least one or more of my classes online every semester. With my work schedule, I don’t think I would have been able to go back to school without the option of distance learning courses available to me.”
Kelsey’s situation shows the importance of online classes; however, distance learning is not for everyone. Zach, another PVCC student, took one of his required courses through an online class this semester.
He said, “For me, the class has been the most challenging class I have taken here. It’s not that the material is hard to understand, but without the in-person experience, I’ve just lost the motivation needed to complete the assignments by the deadlines.”
Taking online courses require more than just reliable internet access. To succeed in distance learning courses, students must commitment to the personal responsibility that online classes entail. Since the weekly interaction with professors is far more limited than that of classes on campus, students will be fully responsible for keeping up with weekly assignments and for remembering deadlines. While making weekly trips to campus is not required of distance learning courses, professors often require students to take midterms and finals at PVCC’s testing center.
Distance learning students will learn all they need to know about taking an online course by completing the Distance Learning Orientation.
If you are considering taking an online class at PVCC this summer or fall semester, you can complete the orientation at www.pvcc.edu/academics/distance-learning to learn if distance learning at PVCC is right for you.
