Frequently asked questions

No. Complete an online registration and a staff member will contact you to schedule a start date.

Not yet. Don't withdraw from your current school until our office reaches out with next steps and a start date.

Courses are assigned in half-credit increments, and your attendance is measured from your GOVS start date - so you begin right where you are.

GOVS processes transcript requests at no charge, with a typical turnaround of 24-48 hours. Requests must come through the transcript request form - not by phone or email.

Please send all graduation verification requests to docs@mygovs.com.

GOVS students meet the State of Ohio minimum, with specific credit requirements within subject areas. See the Program of Studies for the full breakdown.

Most courses are made up of units; complete all units and earn an overall passing grade to earn the credit.

After receiving your transcript, your counselor builds your schedule. You have a window after your start date to request changes before courses are locked in.

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.

If a transcript has not yet been received from your previous school, your counselor will assign one course (in which you are unlikely to have earned prior credit) until records are received.

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 Full attendance requirements must be met until a student is withdrawn as a graduate, even if few courses are assigned.

Contact your counselor prior to running out of work, so that a plan can be made and additional classes added.

GOVS has three kinds of extra credit classes. The units within these extra credit classes do not count toward the totals in the upper right hand corner of the VLA screen or toward the bare minimum attendance expectation of one unit of work per school day.

The three classes are:

• GOVS Success A & B: These classes will be completed on a student's first day with us. Success A is a traditional orientation class, while Success B has activities the student must complete.
• GOVS Mentoring: Every GOVS student is assigned a mentor to help them throughout their time with us.
• Independent Reading and Documentary/Film: These classes serve as a way for students to log offline hours. They are optional, but highly encouraged. Students can do independent reading and/or watch a documentary.
  

• Students may earn up to .25 elective credits and 12.5 hours per week of attendance time through the GOVS Work Study Program.
• 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.
• Students can earn .25 elective credits for every 30 hours of work completed (up to 4 credits) when the course is completed.
  

Yes. You may take all preliminary work required to be accepted to a Career Center.

Students should apply to the CT school that serves their district of residence or may choose to open enroll into the CT school of their choice.

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.

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.

The only testing students take at home (on their own computer) is the STAR test. STAR 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.

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.

All GOVS teachers are certified in each subject they teach, and are available via email within the Virtual Learning Academy system.

The Greater Ohio Virtual School offers three hours of FREE tutoring per week. This tutoring is virtual -- the tutor will work with you via Google Meet on your computer. We also have drop-in tutoring labs where students can stop by and get help from a tutor. Click HERE for tutoring information.

• ONLINE hours are when a student is actively logged into VLA and completing course work. This is also known as computer seat time.
• 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.

There may be several reasons that your hours might not be logging as expected. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Time spent on the home page of VLA is not logged or counted toward student attendance.
• Save buttons are provided after each question; save often. If you are automatically logged out of the school system due to inactivity, your online time is only recorded up until the last time you saved your work. When you’re finished working, click on the “x” in the upper right-hand corner of the VLA screen to log out.
• Poor WiFi connectivity may affect the system logging hours properly. Please be sure you have a strong connection.
• Offline hours are added to a student’s account many times during the week, once the teacher approves them.

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.

No. GOVS provides caps and gowns to all graduates free-of-charge. Sizing information is gathered from graduates and the items will be issued at the Graduate Luncheon prior to the ceremony.

Diplomas are handed out at the GOVS graduation ceremony or may be picked up in the office after that date if a student chooses not to attend.

GOVS will provide detailed information on the graduation ceremony in the Spring via OneCall and the website.

Students may re-enroll with GOVS the following year if necessary, as long as they have not yet turned 22.

You may choose to be withdrawn from GOVS as a graduate or be assigned additional work, assuming you have met both coursework and testing requirements.

• 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.
• Upon withdraw, any equipment borrowed from GOVS must be returned to the main office immediately.

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.