General FAQs
Please see our Tuition page for up-to-date tuition and registration fees for New Hampshire and national students.
Virtual schools are available through the Internet and provide students the flexibility of anytime, anywhere access to rigorous, personalized education. In the virtual classroom, every student is actively engaged directly with the instructor, thereby offering a comprehensive and thorough understanding of each course taken.
Charter schools are public schools that operate without many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. In exchange for this increased freedom, charter schools agree to greater accountability. The ‘charter’ that establishes each school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, usually a state or local school board, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract.
The Exeter Region Cooperative School District (SAU 16) initiated the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School as an independent organization. The Academy has its own employees and teaching staff, Board of Trustees, and financial statement.
The charter for the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School was unanimously approved by the New Hampshire State Board of Education on May 9, 2007. The school is authorized as a charter school, public school, and 501(c)(3) non-profit. New Hampshire students attend the Academy free of charge while out-of-state students attend on a tuition basis. Both full-time and part-time students are welcome to attend VLACS.
Many NH high school students cannot take advanced placement or specialized classes because their school district cannot afford the course or there is not enough student interest for a school district to justify funding a course. Since its inception, VLACS has provided students and schools options to reduce drop-out rates, scheduling flexibility, expanded course offerings, and credit recovery options. An additional benefit we offer is the one-to-one communication between the instructor and student, which is vastly different from the instructor-student relationship in the traditional classroom environment. The virtual environment enables the instructor to get to know each student and challenge each student based upon his/her learning style, strengths and weaknesses.
Virtual Learning Academy Charter School is New Hampshire’s first statewide, online high school. It provides students with flexibility, choice, a personalized learning environment, and the opportunity to learn using the latest technology. Most importantly, VLACS provides every NH high school student with an equal learning opportunity.
The Virtual Learning Academy is funded through the New Hampshire’s Education Trust Fund, which exists solely to benefit NH’s charter schools. State law gives the NH Legislature the authority and job to fund the state’s charter schools.
Any high school or middle school student who resides in New Hampshire, up to the age of 21, may apply to VLACS. VLACS will accept national high school and middle school students on a tuition basis.
Part-time students may enroll in VLACS for academic enrichment, accelerate their progress in a traditional high school program or finish uncompleted coursework. Students who intend to graduate from VLACS may apply to pursue full time studies. Students may also pursue college credit while still in high school through our dual-credit partnering programs with several colleges.
We purchase most of our curriculum from the Florida Virtual School, a successful virtual school that has been operating since 1997. During the past 10 years, the FVS curriculum and coursework has been evaluated and revised to meet rigorous academic standards. In addition, FVS’ instructors, administrators, students and parents continually evaluate the curriculum and coursework.
If you would like to apply to be a full-time VLACS student, please review the information on our full-time students admissions page. If you would like additional information you are welcome to attend one of our open house sessions or to contact our office by email (info@vlacs.org) or phone (603-778-2500).
If you would like to be a part-time VLACS student, there is no application process. You can enroll today. See our Enrollment page to learn more.
The charter for the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School was unanimously approved by the New Hampshire State Board of Education on May 9, 2007. Advanced Placement courses are audited and approved by the College Board on an annual basis. VLACS course courses have been approved by the NCAA.
Admissions FAQs
The admissions process at VLACS is intended to help support students as they transition to online learning full-time. Prospective students will follow the steps below as part of the admissions process:
- Complete the Application
- Attend an Information Session
- Participate in an Admission Plan Review Meeting
- Meet Admission Plan goals, which involves completion of online coursework including one or more core academic courses
The first step in the admissions process is to complete the application and Admissions Plan Supplement (included in the application). After VLACS receives your application, the office will contact you via email to schedule an online Information Session. After you attend an Information Session, you will receive a link to schedule an Admissions Plan Review Meeting. During this meeting you will discuss your course completion goals, course selection, and course requirements, as well as develop a timeline for acceptance to the full-time program. The last step in the admissions process is to meet the goals outlined in your Admissions Plan, which involves the completion of online coursework. Once you meet these goals, you will be accepted to our full-time program.
The length of the admissions process varies depending upon students’ individual circumstances. If a student has successfully completed VLACS courses previously and is currently enrolled in courses, they may progress through the process within four weeks. The process may take longer for a variety of reasons, including: 1) If the student is struggling to meet admissions goals; 2) If the admissions team is waiting for the student’s transcript; 3) If the student has not yet attended an information session or Admission Plan Meeting.
Students will work with an admissions counselor during the Admissions Plan Meeting to create a personalized plan. Although the details of the plans will vary, every applicant shares these common goals (“The Three Cs”):
- Consistency (weekly submissions, working in sequence, following pace charts)
- Competency (meeting/re-doing competency assignments)
- Communication (attend scheduled meetings, reach out with questions/concerns)
Log into your account as often as you wish, using your username and password. Once you are placed in your desired course, you will be contacted by your instructor.
Students may opt to work at an accelerated, traditional or extended pace; however, regular work submission and communication is required in all VLACS courses in accordance with the student’s pace chart.
If you choose to meet competencies through projects, teams, experiences or a combination of these and course work, you will not have the option to earn honors or advanced designation. However, learning through projects, teams, or experiences provide students with the opportunity for more authentic, student driven, and in-depth learning.
VLACS has on-going registration. You may enroll in at any time throughout the year. Please check our learning catalog to see if there are waiting lists for the course, project, experience or team project in which you are interested.
Please see our Tuition page for up-to-date tuition and registration fees for New Hampshire and national students.
Art Education; 0.5 credit, ICT – Technology; 0.5 credit, English; 4.0 credits, Mathematics; 3.0 credits (1 credit of Algebra, 0.5 Geometry), Physical Science; 1.0 credit, Biological Science; 1.0 credit, US and NH History; 1.0 credit, US and NH Government; 0.5 credit, Economics; 0.5 credit, World History; 0.5 credit, Health Education; 0.5 credit, Physical Education; 1.0 credit, Electives and Advisory (.5 credit of Advisory per year of enrollment – up to 2 credits); 7.0 credits, Career Exploration Experience, Dual Credit or AP (must include Segment 1 of Career Exploration Experience); 1.0 credit, TOTAL: 22 credits.
All VLACS full-time students are required to complete community service each year.
Student FAQs
Please see our Tuition page for up-to-date tuition and registration fees for New Hampshire and national students.
Yes, a student can earn a half or full credit on every course taken. Additionally, college credit can be earned through our dual credit, college partnering programs such as eStart and the New Hampshire College System.
VLACS supports an open source, Web-based course management system that enables students to communicate with each other. Students can upload and share materials, hold online discussions and chats, and review assignments. This invaluable experience prepares students to easily adapt to a future academic or career environment in an expanding digital world.
If you would like to apply to be a full-time VLACS student, please review the information on our full-time students admissions page. If you would like additional information you are welcome to attend one of our open house sessions or to contact our office by email (info@vlacs.org) or phone (603-778-2500).
If you would like to be a part-time VLACS student, there is no application process. You can enroll today. See our Enrollment page to learn more.
Students may register anytime at the school’s website.
Start times are flexible for all learning journeys except for Teams. During the registration process, students will be asked to select a proposed start time that meets their educational goals.
Yes, these students are encouraged to apply to the Virtual Learning Academy. The Academy is available 24/7, offers flexible scheduling to complete coursework, and provides one-to-one interaction between the student and instructor, and as such is a viable option for older high school students who wish to earn a high school diploma without returning to the traditional classroom environment.
Full-time students take a full course load of six credits per year. Part-time students can be active in no more than six classes at one time and may not take more than seven credits between July 1st and June 30th of any year. Most of the courses are one-credit classes; however, 0.5-credit classes are also offered.
VLACS offers more than 200 courses including basic middle school and high school courses. There are many subjects available that may not be offered in your school. The Academy offers Competency Recovery for a student needing to just complete a few fundamentals in a course. Additionally, there are many Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Virtual Learning Academy also offers dual-credit courses that provide high school and college credit simultaneously. A complete list of courses, along with course descriptions, can be accessed at http://catalog.vlacs.org.
VLACS instructors guide students through the online coursework, and students can complete the work at their own pace, however, regular work submission and communication is required in all VLACS courses in accordance with the student’s pace chart. For example, a strong math student can complete an Algebra course in 15 weeks, whereas a struggling Algebra student may take up to 38 weeks to complete the course. The virtual environment enables the instructor to get to know each student and challenge each student based upon his/her learning style, strengths, and weaknesses.
The timeline for course completion will be flexible to meet the needs of students. Typically, students will complete a 1-credit course in about 36 weeks or complete a 0.5-credit course in 18 weeks. Students could opt to accelerate the pace of these courses or request additional time if they find the coursework too challenging.
If you have questions about enrollment, registration, or courses, visit our web site www.vlacs.org and select the Contact Us page for an email contact. You may also contact us at (603) 778-2500 and the operator will direct you to the appropriate staff person.
High school and middle school students who reside in New Hampshire are eligible to apply and attend VLACS free of charge. VLACS accepts out-of-state students when seats are available; these students will be charged tuition for attending the school.
Parents FAQs
Please see our Tuition page for up-to-date tuition and registration fees for New Hampshire and national students.
In the virtual classroom, every student is actively engaged with the instructor. Each student is directly accountable for every query, question or exercise. Unlike the traditional classroom where instructors communicate with several students at all different levels, at one time, virtual instructors are in constant, one-to-one communication with each student. This environment enables the instructor to become familiar with the student’s learning style and skills, and facilitate an effective, challenging learning opportunity for each student, at their own pace.
Technically, instructors communicate with students through the Academy’s open source, Web-based course management system. The system enables instructors to upload and share materials, hold online discussions and chats, give quizzes and surveys, and gather and review assignments, and post grades. The system is password protected and meets stringent privacy and security standards to protect users.
Parents are encouraged to become involved in their child’s academic career at VLACS. Full-time admitted students are assigned an advisor who maintains regular contact with parents about the student’s progress. The advisor’s role is to serve as a contact person for the student or parent regarding questions about courses, procedures, college placement.
In addition, students and parents receive a welcome call from the instructor of each course and then monthly communication from the instructor including regular progress reports. The instructor will return all emails and phone calls from students and/or parents within 24-48 hours.
High school and middle school students who reside in New Hampshire are eligible to apply and attend VLACS free of charge. VLACS accepts out-of-state students when seats are available; these students will be charged tuition for attending the school.
No. The state’s Adequacy Education Fund and local property taxes fund New Hampshire’s public education system. The state manages and distributes monies from these income sources to public school districts.
Educator FAQs
All VLACS instructors are either New Hampshire certified or are in the certification process and deemed as highly qualified according to state standards. Administrators conduct a specialized, comprehensive hiring process for all instructors to ensure they are willing to accept and enjoy the unique and demanding challenges of online teaching. Currently, VLACS employs over 190 certified instructors from five New England States.
Home Education FAQs
Just over 15% of our students indicate that they are home educated.
Information about home education is available on the New Hampshire Department of Education website. You can also contact your local school district for additional resources. Additionally, there are a number of organizations dedicated to helping families who want to educate their children at home. Many of these organizations along with additional information about home education can be found by conducting a web search.
If your child is under the age of 18 and you choose to withdraw them from your local school prior to acceptance as a full-time student at VLACS, you must submit an intent to home-school letter to your local superintendent, principal of a non-public school, or the Commissioner of Education within 5 business days of the official withdrawal from your local public school. A sample intent to home-school letter is provided below.
In most cases this is an option. Please contact your local school or SAU office for details. The law governing access to public school programs by non-public or home educated students can be found here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XV/193/193-1-c.htm
No. Only full-time VLACS students may earn a VLACS diploma. In order to become a full-time VLACS student a student must successfully complete the full-time admissions process which is outlined here.
All students taking VLACS courses are considered to be part time unless they apply and are formally accepted to our full-time program. If you have completed the formal VLACS admissions process you and your child will be notified when acceptance to the full-time program is official. More information about the application process is available here.
In accordance with the New Hampshire Department of Education rules, VLACS does not grant credit for prior work/accomplishments completed by a home educated student. However, VLACS may waive credit requirements based on work completed as part of a home education program. To have credits waived a parent/guardian must supply one or more of the following:
- A transcript from an approved school
- Certification from a state approved and/or accredited education program
- Certification issued by the commissioner of education, resident school district superintendent or non-public school principal pursuant to a home education program established in accordance with RSA 193A, or (for students located outside of New Hampshire) certification from a home education program recognized and/or accredited by the Department of Education, or equivalent state agency, in the student’s home state.
- Any other documentation that VLACS believes will allow it to determine proper grade placement (such as test scores).
For more information please review the VLACS grade placement policy or visit the New Hampshire Department of Education website.
Once a student is accepted to VLACS or their home education has ended, written notice of termination should be sent to the same entity with whom you filed your home education plan within 15 business days.
Home-schooled students may take up to 6 courses at one time. Students may not exceed 6 credits per year (July 1st – June 30th).
Programs FAQs
À la Carte:
- Go directly to ourlearning catalog, find a course, and enroll today.
First year of associate degree or first year of college:
- Complete application
- Student will receive an email regarding admission to the early college program within ten business days of submitting an application in most cases
No. For decades, high school students have been meeting the demands of Advanced Placement and dual credit courses. In many instances, however, these programs have been available only to top performing students or such programs have been available only to students in large or affluent school districts. We believe that any student who is motivated by the challenge of meeting high academic standards should have the opportunity to take a single college course, complete a year of college, or to earn an associate’s degree.
Many courses will transfer to other colleges, however, to be sure, students must consult with the college or university you are planning to attend after high school to get a definite answer.
- All SNHU courses have required text books. Text books range in cost from $10-$85. Students will purchase these books after enrolling in the course. Course specific textbook information can be found on the SNHU Bookstore for VLACS website.
- Students who qualify for an associate’s degree will need to submit an intent to graduate form along with a $150 graduation fee.
The traditional pacing for these courses is 16-18 weeks. However, you may complete the courses over a longer period of time, if needed, or you may opt to complete courses on an accelerated pace.
No. If you are a full-time student at a traditional school you will need to meet with a school guidance counselor in order to determine if you can fit these courses into your schedule.
If you are a VLACS full-time student, you will earn one credit. If you are a full-time student at a traditional school, please contact your guidance counselor to find out how many credits will be transferred to your transcript.
The tuition and fees for an SNHU or CCSNH course is outlined on the Tuition page.
eStart is a partnership between VLACS and the Community College System of New Hampshire. Credits earned through eStart are dual credits: high school and college. Any New Hampshire junior or senior from high school, private school, alternative school or home educated can take 100% online courses taught by CCSNH instructors. Tuition is just $150 per course and the credits can be used toward a degree program at CCSNH or other post-secondary institutions. Please email estart@ccsnh.edufor more information.
Learning Journey FAQs
No. At VLACS, you can earn a credit in English through a variety of options as long as you master all of the competencies for that English credit. For example, you can choose to achieve 2 competencies by doing 2 projects. Then, you can take care of the rest of the English competencies through courses.
Projects are designed to take 3 to 4 weeks. If you want to earn an entire credit through a project, that would typically consist of 7-8 projects taking approximately 32 weeks.
Don’t worry, you can still “recover” a competency through projects or by enrolling in a single course competency.
If you would like to apply to be a full-time VLACS student, please review the information on our full-time students admissions page. If you would like additional information you are welcome to attend one of our open house sessions or to contact our office by email (info@vlacs.org) or phone (603-778-2500).
If you would like to be a part-time VLACS student, there is no application process. You can enroll today. See our Enrollment page to learn more.
No. At VLACS, you can earn traditional “course” credit through a variety of learning journeys as long as all of the competencies in a competency group or course are mastered. For instance, you could master two English and two science competencies during an internship. Then you could master the rest of the English and science competencies by enrolling in and completing the remaining competencies in a course or a project.
This depends on the Experience that you design and the amount of time you have to commit to your experience. It usually takes about four weeks to complete an experience that satisfies a single competency or 32-36 weeks to master the competencies for a full-credit.
Courses, Projects, Teams and Experiences are alternative ways for you to learn, meet competencies, and earn credit toward graduation. Courses are organized by traditional subject areas and take you through the materials in a similar way to traditional courses in school. Projects provide the opportunity for you to learn more independently, through web resources, and demonstrate your learning by completing a project. Experiences allow you to work with a VLACS instructor to design your own method for learning and demonstrating competency. Teams gives you the opportunity to work together with other students in a virtual team to explore and develop skills and techniques in an area of common interest. The important idea to understand is that that competencies can be met through a single journey or by combining Courses, Projects, Teams, and Experiences. Regardless of the journey, students work closely with a VLACS instructor.
Experiences can happen through internships, service learning, travel, independent study or entrepreneurship.
Credit is earned by learning and meeting a group of our existing competencies. So, the answer is maybe. Students have to demonstrate that competencies have been mastered in order to receive “credit” for the Experience.
No. Experiences must be designed with a VLACS instructor and then activities and tasks are completed.
No, a VLACS instructor will work with you to design an Experience. You will ultimately be responsible for setting up the Experience.
Yes, provided you meet all of the course competencies. You might meet them all through the Experience, but more commonly most of them are met through the Experience and the remainder are completed through project or course work.
Students work on Experiences on a regular basis. This may mean each week day or a few week days for an extended period of time. Students will be expected to meet with their instructor weekly and meet due dates for their assignments.
Students will need to be able to access and use Google Drive and Documents. The VLACS instructor and student will decide if a mentor is needed. A mentor is an expert in the field who coaches the student. The mentor can be a professional in the field, someone with specific expertise or knowledge, or a teacher. Mentors must complete a Criminal Records History Check and Fingerprinting.
You will start working on your chosen competencies after completing an introductory unit that focuses on designing your Experience. In this unit, you will, among other things, identify the competencies you will pursue, determine what you will do to demonstrate mastery of each competency, and conduct some initial research on the competency skills and concepts.
No. Although it is a group task, each person will be assessed based on his/her individual work and will not be penalized for someone else not doing their work.
Team offerings start periodically throughout the year. Please see the learning catalog for specific information on start dates.
Enroll in Team offerings as you would for any other VLACS offering. Select ‘Enroll’ from the VLACS website and follow the instructions. A student must enroll in the entire competency grouping (segment 1).
The total estimated completion time is 16-18 weeks.
Each Team Course consists of 4-5 competencies bundled as 0.5 credit.
No, you will need to meet with the members of your Team periodically, but all meetings will be held online in the virtual meeting room.
Contact Us
Have a question about the curriculum, tuition, or how VLACS can give you more freedom to pursue an education? Reach out to us, we can help.
