Parent FAQs
Welcome, Parents! We have compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions here for you. Whether you are the parent of a current NCVPS student, or a parent seeking virtual school options for your child, you’ll find answers here.
If you can’t find the answer you are looking for, contact our Virtual Support Center. Just click on “Ope a New Ticket” and include all the important details in your question.
General
NCVPS, Virtual Academies, Virtual Charter Schools, and Remote Learning: What's the difference?
We have seen some confusion with the differences and similarities between us (NCVPS), district and school virtual academies, virtual charter schools, remote learning, and student schedules in PowerSchool. Let us give you some details on who is who and what is what.
NCVPS
NCVPS is the state-led virtual school. We are a division of the state agency, the Department of Public Instruction. We do not grant high school degrees. Students can’t graduate with an NCVPS diploma. Rather, we partner with schools throughout the state to provide courses. Students enroll with us through their local public schools. They remain members of that local school, even if they take all of their classes with us, and they will graduate from that local school. Schools across North Carolina enroll students with us for a variety of reasons:
• Expand their course offerings. (We offer over 150 courses that are all taught by certified North Carolina teachers.)
• Resolve scheduling conflicts.
• Provide virtual options for students with health issues that prevent them from attending classes in-person.
• Provide whole-class online instruction when schools lose a teacher.
Course Access – Students access their NCVPS courses through this link: https://ncvps.instructure.com/login/canvas/
Notice that “ncvps” is in the link above.
Virtual Academies
Many school districts now feature a virtual academy or virtual high school. These academies are part of the school district. They are operated by the district. The virtual academy provides the courses and teachers. Here are just a few of the district-led virtual academies:
Person County Schools Virtual Academy
Orange County Schools Online Academy
Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy
Ignite Online Academy
Cumberland’s Academy
Wake’s Virtual Academy
CMS Virtual High School
Pamlico Virtual Academy
Pitt County Virtual Academy
Remember, we are the state-led virtual school. Districts lead their own virtual academies. However, many virtual academies still enroll students with us. Some virtual academies enroll all their students with us, but the academy structure gives the districts a way to manage and better support their online students.
Course Access – Students will have a different weblink to log in to their virtual academy courses. The link may look very similar to ours. Most districts use Instructure’s Canvas as the online platform for instruction. Remember, our login will have “ncvps” in the link.
Important Note: Students who attend virtual academies will have separate logins for courses taught by their virtual academies and courses taught by NCVPS.
Remote Learning
Remote Learning may look like what we do, but it is very different. We saw remote learning when schools closed during the pandemic. This is when teachers and students leave the building and meet online to continue teaching and learning. Transitioning to remote learning usually happens quickly and without much planning. Teachers don’t get much preparation and the courses have very little content in them. Nevertheless, it’s what schools do during an emergency.
Virtual Charter Schools
Virtual charter schools are like regular charter schools, except all of their courses are taught online. Virtual charter schools offer high school diplomas, and students can graduate from them.
There are two virtual charter schools in North Carolina:
NC Cyber Academy
North Carolina Virtual Academy
PowerSchool Schedules
NCVPS is not connected to PowerSchool. Schools must use the NCVPS registration system to enroll students in our courses. A student’s schedule in PowerSchool may indicate they are enrolled in classes with NCVPS, but that enrollment is not complete until school enrolls the student through our registration system. If a PowerSchool schedule indicates a student is enrolled with us, but the student can’t log in, check with the school to make sure they’ve been properly enrolled with us.
Home School and Private Schools
Home school and private school parents can enroll their students directly into NCVPS courses through our Virtual Advantage program. However, parents or the private school must pay for the enrollments. There is no cost for public school parents.
I have technical issues with my log-in or course access. What can I do?
The NCVPS Support Center is able to assist parents with access & log-in issues, course technology issues, and answer general questions about NCVPS.
My student is enrolled with NCVPS, but hasn't received log-in information yet?
If your student is enrolled through a public school, the school will provide the log-in information. NCVPS does not send usernames and passwords to students.
Home or private school students should submit a helpdesk request to receive the information.
Registration
When do your classes begin?
Visit our calendar to see our registration dates.
Can my home-schooled or private school child take your courses?
Absolutely! Non-public school student policies for registration and enrollment can be found on our Home and Private School webpage.
How do I register my child for a course?
Visit our How to Register page to see how to enroll as a parent of a public school, home school, or private school student.
Courses & Grades
What type of courses does NCVPS offer?
We offer over 150 courses including standard, core, honors, Advanced Placement, CTE, world languages, arts, physical education, and OCS. See our catalogs page.
How do students get help in their courses?
NCVPS is a support organization. All of our departments support both students, parents, and schools in their courses.
Students have support from their NCVPS teachers, our Virtual Support Center, the Peer Tutoring Center, and their school’s e-learning advisor. We also have supports for parents and mentors. Visit our Student Help page for the full details.
How do I check my child's grade?
I don't think my child's grade is correct. Who do I contact?
Please contact the advisor at your son/daughter’s school and have them open an online ticket. Due to state and federal regulations, we have to correspond with officials at the local school with grade issues or personal issues. As soon as we receive the ticket from the school, we will try our best to resolve the issue.
Will the NCVPS grade appear on the school report card?
Yes, your child’s final grade will appear or his or her school’s report card. We do not issue quarter grades for report cards, so you may not see the NCVPS grade on a report card until the end of the course. We do, however, do send progress grades to schools every two weeks during the fall and spring terms, and every week during the summer.
NCAA
Do NCVPS courses meet NCAA standards?
Yes, our courses do meet NCAA standards. You can see the approved list of NCVPS courses on the NCAA website and searching STATE: North Carolina, CITY: Raleigh; SCHOOLS: North Carolina Virtual Pub Sch. If you are a school and need more information on how to document the course on a student’s transcript, the following Quick Reference Guide (QRG) shows the NCAA approval process.
Our NCAA High School Code: 341304
Our NCAA CEEB Code: 341304
The NCAA is requesting a transcript from NCVPS. What should I do?
NCVPS does not provide transcripts because the school who enrolled the student in the online course is considered the North Carolina “school of record” and awards the credit for the student. If they are requesting the transcript, please go back to the North Carolina school who enrolled the student and ask them to provide a transcript indicating the student took the online course with NCVPS. The school has been provided information on how to record this information so that the NCAA will accept this information without asking for further information from the student. The North Carolina school must make sure they designate that the online course is from NCVPS for example – Math I and not just ONLINE Math I.
How do I know which NCVPS classes the NCAA will accept?
The North Carolina Virtual Public School is listed as an approved school in the NCAA’s Clearing House. You can find NCVPS by using the following listing for our school: North Carolina Virtual Pub Sch
Should I send my permission form to NCVPS for a transcript request?
No, you must send this form directly to the North Carolina school that enrolled you into the NCVPS Course. NCVPS does not provide transcripts since we are a supplemental program and not considered the North Carolina “school of record”.
