GOVS: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Questions
(1) Do GOVS students earn high school diplomas?
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Yes. GOVS is a public high school for Ohio, and our graduates receive a high school diploma. The high school diploma a student earns certifies that they have completed all of the state and local requirements for graduation. All GOVS students graduate as a member of the Greater Ohio Virtual School; they do not receive a diploma from their home district.
(2) Where do your online courses come from?
(3) What classes does GOVS offer?
(4) If I become a student of the Greater Ohio Virtual School, can I work at my own pace and even finish earlier if I want?
- Yes! Because the school is an Internet-based school and curriculum, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While our students are required to make certain levels of progress, we encourage them to “get ahead of the game” and complete more than the minimum. Our guidance counselor must approve extra coursework, ensuring that quality performance is maintained. Students are permitted to graduate at any point throughout the school year, providing they have met all coursework and testing requirements
(5) What does a typical day look like for a GOVS student?
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At the start of your school day, students should log-in to their computer and head to www.mygovs.com, which is our school website. Read the daily announcements and write down any important information. From there, log into VLA, read and respond to any new messages, and start working on units.
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Our most successful students create and maintain a daily routine. In order to get your required 25 hours a week, most students complete five hours a day from Monday through Friday.
(6) How do I know if I am doing well as a student, or as a parent/guardian, if my student is doing well?
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Since we are an online school with an online curriculum, students (along with parents/guardians) have real-time access to their grades. Once they submit a lesson to be graded, the teacher will grade in a timely manner and post the grade. Students can keep track of their progress by watching the top-right corner of their VLA screen to see how many more units they are required to complete.
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GOVS sends out a weekly attendance report to all students and their parents/guardians each Monday through the OneCall system. This report will compare a student’s actual hours of participation with expected hours (based on five hours required per school day) and give a daily average, as well as report total units of work completed vs. the one unit per day bare minimum for attendance. The one unit per day requirement is for participation consideration only and does not guarantee that a student will complete all assigned work.
(7) Does GOVS offer summer school classes?
(8) How do I complete Physical Education in a virtual setting?
(9) Can a GOVS student participate in sports?
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Yes. Students may participate in sports and/or extracurricular activities through their home school district (also known as their district of residence). Approval from the district must be granted and eligibility requirements must be met. In addition, the student’s GOVS counselor should be notified, as course pacing is an important component of eligibility.
(10) I forgot my username and/or password to log in to my Chromebook or to the VLA system. What do I do?
(11) I’m a minor and need a work permit. How do I go about getting one?
Enrollment
(1) Do I need permission from my local school district to enroll at GOVS?
(2) Once I submit the registration form, am I officially a GOVS student? Can I stop attending my current school?
(3) I’m starting at GOVS after the school year has begun. How will this affect me?
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It is highly recommended that students start with GOVS at the beginning of a new school year or at the semester mark, as courses are assigned in half-credit increments. For example, if a student started a school year at another district and transferred to GOVS in October, he or she would start back at the beginning of first semester classes.
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Attendance is measured based on a student’s days of enrollment with GOVS, so the weekly Attendance Report only takes into account a student’s actual GOVS school days when reporting hours and units of work expected.
Records
(1) How do I go about getting a copy of my transcript or a transcript sent to somewhere?
(2) How do I verify the graduation of a former GOVS student?
Credits & Scheduling
(1) How many credits does GOVS require for graduation?
2) What do I need to do in order to earn credit?
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The vast majority of GOVS courses are made up of 18 units (worth 0.5 credits), with the occasional 9 unit course (worth 0.25 credits). In order to earn credit for a course, students must complete all units and earn an overall passing grade of 60% or better.
3) How does my counselor schedule my classes?
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After receiving a transcript from your former school, your counselor will build a schedule and have classes added to your VLA homepage.
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Students have two weeks (from their start date) to request any changes be made or bring up any concerns. After that point, students are then held responsible for completing all assigned courses by the final day of school.
4) On what type of schedule does GOVS operate?
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GOVS is different from most traditional schools in that we operate on a year-long schedule. Although classes are split into semesters (with second semester classes locked at the start of the year), students are not issued a final grade in any incomplete class until the end of the school year. This method allows for greater flexibility in facilitating credit recovery.
5) Why do I only have one class?
6) I’m a senior and only need a couple of classes to graduate. What are my options and responsibilities?
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Seniors are initially only scheduled for the courses that they need in order to graduate, but may choose to be assigned additional coursework to complete the year. Full attendance requirements must be met until a student is withdrawn as a graduate, even if few courses are assigned.
7) What if I run out of scheduled work before the end of the year?
8) Why do I have classes on my screen labeled “EXTRA CREDIT?” Am I responsible for completing these?
9) How do I earn credit through the Work Study Program? Will participation affect my attendance?
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Students may earn up to three elective credits and 13 hours per week of attendance time through the GOVS Work Study Program.
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After completing the application at THIS LINK, our Work Study Coordinator will review it and, if approved to participate, have the first 9-unit class added to your screen.
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Students will complete this class and provide verification of 30 hours of employment via paycheck stubs in order to earn a quarter credit. They will then be assigned an additional 9-unit class and may continue the process.
Career-Technical (CT) Options
(1) Do CT Schools accept GOVS credits for enrollment into their schools?
(2) To what CT school should I apply?
(3) Can I attend a CT School and GOVS at the same time?
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Since GOVS is a State-wide program, we work with a variety of CT schools. Allowing a student to split time is at each CT school’s discretion. Some schools do allow GOVS students to attend a lab in person, while completing academic coursework online through GOVS. In this case, required attendance through GOVS is reduced.
Testing
(1) If I am enrolled at GOVS, do I still have to take all required state testing?
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Yes. All GOVS students have the same testing requirements as all students in the state of Ohio. We employ a full-time Test Coordinator, a Student Support Coordinator, and a Guidance Counselor to monitor the graduation requirements for each student.
(2) What kind of state testing is there and where do I take the tests since you are an online school?
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The only testing students take at home (on their own computer) is the MAP test. MAP tests are designed to measure what a student’s reading & math level is. Students take these tests twice per school year (on their first day & after approximately 13 weeks). Any other testing (Ohio State Tests, ACT for 11th graders, and OELPA) are taken with proctors at secure sites. These tests cannot be taken at home on your own computer. Please see our TESTING PAGE for complete descriptions of required tests.
(3) How do I know what tests I need to take?
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GOVS will notify students and their families of in-person required tests no later than two weeks before a session begins. Instructions are posted at www.mygovs.com and a OneCall message is sent to families.
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Students can also visit our Test Information Page HERE and enter their 4-digit GOVS Student ID to see which test(s) they need to complete (if any).
Student Support
(1) If I have a question about one of my classes, how do I contact the teacher?
(2) I am struggling with my classes and need some help. How do I get assistance?
Logging Hours
(1) What is the difference between ONLINE and OFFLINE hours?
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ONLINE hours are when a student is actively logged into VLA and completing course work. This is also known as computer seat time.
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OFFLINE hours are for activities students complete while not logged into VLA (some examples include hours earned for working your job, testing, independent reading, watching a documentary/film). Students can also complete activities within certain VLA units and add the offline time in the last question.
Offline hours are added to a student’s account many times during the week, once the teacher approves them.
(2) Why aren’t my hours logging?
Graduation
(1) Does GOVS have a graduation ceremony?
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GOVS looks forward to celebrating graduates and provides a full graduation ceremony in early June each year. Any student who has met requirements throughout the school year is invited to attend. In addition, a small summer ceremony is available for students who meet testing requirements over the summer.
(2) Do I need to order a cap and gown?
(3) When do I receive my diploma?
(4) When can I expect information on graduation?
(5) What if I don’t meet graduation requirements?
(6) What if I meet graduation requirements before the end of the school year?
Withdrawing
(1) How do I withdraw from GOVS?
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Parents of minors must enroll their child in another district. The child will remain a student of GOVS until an official request for records is received from the new school.
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Upon withdraw, any equipment borrowed from GOVS must be returned to the main office immediately.
(2) Can I transfer my credits from GOVS to another school if we move or if I decide I want to return to my home district?
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Yes. Your credits are Carnegie Unit credits and are transferable to any other school, if for any reason you feel you need to withdraw. Approved credits are at the discretion of the receiving school district, but in general, all GOVS credits are widely accepted.