After they have signed their ADVANCE Agreement.

A student should complete the requirements of their Associate’s degree prior to transitioning to Mason. Some situations may allow for a student to transition to Mason and reverse-transfer (co-enroll at NOVA) to complete the last remaining credits of the associates degree. However, the actual conferring of degree may come while the student has already become a degree-seeking Mason student.

There is no statute of limitations, but the programs aims for 2 years at NOVA and 2 years at Mason. Students are not removed from ADVANCE if they take longer, and we expect many students to be part-time. For continuous enrollment, student will have to apply for exception or leave of absence.

It will be made clear to ADVANCE students that their Success Coach should be their first stop for advising, and the Success Coach will refer them to the right office or person for more specific/higher level needs.

If a Mason ADVANCE student wants to take a NOVA course, they can do so as long as it fits into their predefined curricular plan. The student will need to consult with their Success Coach and receive approval.

The Success Coach should always be student’s first stop for advising.

The Success Coach will monitor students’ progression milestones and communicate with them about this.

There will not be a success coach for each pathway, but ADVANCE students may end up working with the academic advisors within the units.

Success Coaches will be co-located at Mason and each of the NOVA campuses. A percentage of their time each week will be spent at both institutions

The Success Coach serves as the primary point of contact for all ADVANCE students. They connect students to campus resources and services such as financial aid, career counseling, and disability services. They also monitor students’ progress towards ADVANCE milestones, assist with course enrollment at NOVA, and contribute to ADVANCE program recruitment.

The Success Coach should always be students’ first stop for advising. Success Coaches can refer students to advising by academic units if needed.

The student notifies their Success Coach. The Success Coach works with the administrative staff to inactivate non-degree record (if still at NOVA) and remove attribute in Banner for that term. NOVA would also remove any ADVANCE student groups that is assigned.

ADVANCE plans to offer more majors in the future but students not interested in one of the 20+ ADVANCE majors cannot declare for ADVANCE.

Students can change major within ADVANCE and remain part of the program, but this change might affect their graduation timeline. To do so, they will need to meet with their Success Coach and sign a revised ADVANCE Agreement for the new pathway.

If students change to a major that is not an ADVANCE pathways, they are no longer part of the program, whether they are at Mason full time or not.

The ADVANCE Agreement is designed to commit students to ADVANCE and their pre-defined curricular pathway that advances them through NOVA to Mason. It designates a system of support and additional services/resources that they have access to in exchange for their commitment to follow the ADVANCE pathway.

After finishing your Associate’s Degree, you will start Mason with a new GPA in bachelor’s degree status.

Approval from Mason academic advisors in the units and the Success Coach is required in order for a Mason ADVANCE student to take courses at NOVA after they have completed their associate’s degree.
The maximum number for ADVANCE has not yet been decided, but total transferrable credits from two-year institutions to Mason are capped at 75.

ADVANCE students do not have to take Mason classes prior to officially becoming Mason students, post-Associate’s degree. Some classes may be recommended to take at Mason as per the curricular pathway.

ADVANCE students can take Mason courses once they have at least 15 native NOVA credits. The courses they take at Mason prior to earning their Associate’s degree will be limited to 9 credit hours total and must be accretive to the associate’s degree in order to receive financial aid from NOVA.
Students should consult with their Success Coach before co-enrolling.

Each pathway will determine criteria/restrictions for swirling between institutions.

Yes, students can take classes at both schools at the same time. NOVA students would (behind the scenes) have credits transferred back to NOVA and Mason students would have their credits transferred back to Mason. Any courses taken would have to be part of the overall curricular pathway for their program.

ADVANCE students will take the same courses as general population.

Regarding UNIV and SDV, Financial Aid will only cover 1 student success course at NOVA.  NOVA will continue with having SDV/UNIV during first term and possibly add in ADVANCE specific workshops/seminars (nothing extensive) closer to student’s transition time and possibly make attendance required in their ADVANCE Agreement.

The pathways will be available on the ADVANCE website.

Pathways will be added each academic year.

ADVANCE is not intended to be a pathway to other schools. If a student has declared their intention to be part of ADVANCE, they will attend Mason, and therefore the established course requirements will transfer in and not waste credits.

ENG 111 and ENG 125 are the required English courses for ADVANCE because they transfer in as a composition course and a literature course. An ADVANCE student may take ENG 112, but it is not required as part of the Pathway, and they will still have to take both 111 and 125.

Yes. If the previously numbered course met Mason requirements, the new course will also.

ADVANCE students will graduate from the NOVA and Mason catalogs in place during the first semester of ADVANCE enrollment. Any future changes to Mason degree requirements will not affect ADVANCE students.

Mason tuition is charged for co-enrollment courses. Students on federal financial aid are packaged by NOVA with co-enrollment tuition and fees factored in. All co-enrolled students are responsible for direct payment of tuition to Mason.

Be proactive and schedule an early appointment with your Success Coach to plan your co-enrollment.

If you are interested in health professions advising, please connect with your assigned Success Coach. In addition to providing you with academic information regarding your options, your Success Coach can also connect you to further health professions advising resources at Mason.

Please visit your campus counseling center. Contact information for each campus can be found at the bottom of the advising page. NOVA Online students (distance learning) should contact a NOVA Online counselor. Virtual advisors are not able to provide enrollment assistance to students on academic probation.

Virtual Advisors do not program place students for the purposes of receiving financial aid. If you are taking classes to fulfill prerequisites please complete the following financial aid form: https://www.nvcc.edu/forms/pdf/125-384.pdf

Degree seeking students who take at least six credits in an semester and earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher merit placement on the Dean’s List.

To obtain permission for a credit overload (over 18 credits) you must contact the Student Academic Affairs office of the school or college of your major and complete the appropriate request form. If approved, you will need to take the appropriate paperwork to the Registrar’s Office.

Students seeking pre-law advising should view the Pre-Law advising website for more information and how to schedule an appointment: http://spgia.gmu.edu/current-students/undergraduates-advising/undergraduate-advising/law/pre-law-advising/

To access grade reports, log onto http://patriotweb.gmu.edu.

An NA represents failure of a course due to never attending class. NC represents no credit for a completed course. To find the meaning of other grade notations see the university catalog section on the Grading System.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences website and the University Catalog both contain a list of the courses that fulfill the non-western course requirement.

To obtain the list of courses that fulfill the General Education Requirements, please visit: University General Education Requirements

Credit for prior learning is individualized and therefore a standard across the board for accepted credits can not be defined. Mason will assess on a case by case basis if requested to accept credit for prior learning.

We will work through the regular transfer system for what gets counted, such that Mason will do transfer credit evaluation at Declaration for ADVANCE.

Mason will examine transfer credits from schools other than NOVA by conducting the same transfer credit evaluation that is done for all transfer students. A benefit of ADVANCE is the evaluation will occur at the time the student becomes a part of ADVANCE and not at the time of transition to Mason.

Yes, as long as they have 0-30 degree-applicable credits.

A student must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA. There will be one semester of warning if the cumulative GPA falls below a 2.5—a student must then meet with an Success Coach and complete an academic success plan. Students will be dropped from ADVANCE if their cumulative GPA falls below 2.5 for two consecutive semesters. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The institution(s) will be responsible for upholding the curricular pathways so that the burden of course substitution does not fall on the student.

Any registration for Mason courses while at NOVA will be coordinated and approved by the Success Coach. There will be clear curricular pathways that define what courses are acceptable to take at each institution.

Yes, it is expected that a growing number of ADVANCE programs will be available online. Currently, a small handful of programs (5) are available in a completely online format.

Please see here for the updated list of Mason Online undergraduate offerings. If you have any questions on whether your ADVANCE pathway is available online either at NOVA and/or Mason, please contact your Success Coach. https://masononline.gmu.edu/programs-courses/undergraduate-programs/

Yes, an ADVANCE student can pursue a Mason Online degree if their bachelor’s degree of choice is offered through Mason Online. Please see here for the updated list of Mason Online undergraduate offerings. Please note that some Mason bachelor’s degree programs can be pursued either fully online or in a hybrid format. If you are in ADVANCE and are interested in pursuing a Mason Online degree, please let your Success Coach know as soon as possible. https://masononline.gmu.edu/programs-courses/undergraduate-programs/

Yes, an ADVANCE student can be a Mason Online student if their bachelor’s degree of choice is offered through Mason Online. Please see here for the updated list of Mason Online undergraduate offerings. Please note that some Mason bachelor’s degree programs can be pursued either fully online or in a hybrid format. If you are in ADVANCE and are interested in pursuing a Mason Online degree, please let your Success Coach know as soon as possible. https://masononline.gmu.edu/programs-courses/undergraduate-programs/

No, we do not provide transfer advice. You will have to talk to your respective transfer counselor.

Connect with your Success Coach to determine eligibility and obtain approval for your co-enrollment request.

While enrolled at NOVA, ADVANCE students will be enrolled at Mason as non-degree seeking students. They will become degree-seeking students once they complete their Associate’s degree. The student pays the tuition rate for the school at which they are enrolled in the particular course. For example if a student co-enrolls at Mason while at NOVA pursuing their associates degree, then the student will pay NOVA tuition for their NOVA classes and Mason tuition for their non-degree Mason classes.

No.

You will be able to switch majors once you are a degree-seeking student at Mason. However, there is a possibility that not all credits will transfer to your new major.

Potentially yes, but first confer with your Success Coach to determine how your AP, CLEP, and/or IB credits will transfer into Mason.

Potentially yes. We will accept up ot 75 credits from the community college level. And up to 90 credits from the 2-year and 4-year combined.

Yes, you are still eligible for ADVANCE so long as you remain within one of the ADVANCE curricular pathways. Please note that some of the previous credits may not be applicable/transferable to your new curricular pathway.

You are still eligible for ADVANCE so long as you take SDV 100 or 101 during your first semester as an ADVANCE student.

No.

Please contact your Success Coach as soon as possible to discuss your enrollment plans!

Review the Mason transfer credit matrix. Submit official transcripts to the Office of Admissions for review.

The Registrar’s offices at both institutions will insure that the appropriate credit is applied to your associate’s degree. ADVANCE students do not need to request transcripts.

Students who fail to meet milestones are generally placed on probation for the following semester and counseled on how to improve.

Students who fail to meet ADVANCE progression milestones can be terminated from the program.

Contact your Success Coach.

ENG 112 fits into all NOVA associate’s degree programs and transfers to Mason. ENG 112 and ENG 125 are distinctly different courses. If you have completed ENG 111 and ENG 112 before ADVANCE, your Success Coach may waive the requirement for completing ENG 125 at NOVA. Please note that all students must complete an approved English literature course to graduate from Mason. If you choose not to take a literature course at NOVA, you may do so once you transition to Mason.

ADVANCE milestones are steps that you must take to achieve success and continue in the program. All students must complete the following courses within the first semester at NOVA:

• SDV 100 or SDV 101
• Begin all developmental coursework (ENF 1-3 and MTE/MTT 1-4) if placed

All students are required to complete the following courses within their first 30 college credits:

• ENG 111 and ENG 125
• College-level (100-299) MTH course required for your pathway
• Engineering pathway students must complete MTH 263 and MTH 264 with grades of B or better in each course

Other Milestones:

• Complete at least 6 credits required on the curricular pathway each fall and each spring semester
• Maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average
• Completion of the ENG 111 and the first college-level MTH course in the fall or spring semester immediately following ENF and/or MTE/MTT courses

Both NOVA and Mason faculty and administrators worked very closely to align the specific associate’s and bachelor’s degree pairings. The result of that analysis was to produce a very detailed curricular pathway for your chosen major. The pathway tells you precisely what to take and in what order you should complete the courses. You may enroll part-time or full-time or mix that up, depending upon your schedule. Obviously if you enroll full-time every semester, you will graduate sooner.

Your Success Coach provides you with continuous support and guidance from your enrollment at NOVA to your graduation from Mason. Coaches serve as your link from the College to the University. A dedicated team of Coaches are available to help you. Coaches hold office hours on the Mason Fairfax campus and each of the NOVA campuses.

Yes. All degree-seeking students enrolled at least half-time (six credit hours) each fall and spring semester are eligible for consideration for federal student aid. Be sure to complete the FAFSA by the priority deadline.

No. You may apply for regular transfer admission to your intended major at Mason. While the program currently features a limited number of associate’s/bachelor’s degree offerings, more will be added for fall 2019 and fall 2020.

A curricular pathway is a specific roadmap outlining each course required for the completion of the associate’s degree that leads to the Mason bachelor’s degree. Faculty have carefully aligned degree, general education and elective requirements to be mindful of course pre-requisites and learning outcomes. ADVANCE students receive a customized curricular pathway with their ADVANCE Agreement. https://masononline.gmu.edu/programs-courses/undergraduate-programs/

No. You may apply for regular transfer admission to your intended major at Mason. While the program currently features a limited number of associate’s/bachelor’s degree offerings, more will be added for Fall 2019 and fall 2020.

All students must complete the following courses within the first semester at NOVA: SDV 100 or SDV 101; Begin all developmental coursework (ENF 1-3 and MTE/MTT 1-4) if placed. All students are required to complete the following courses within their first 30 college credits: ENG 111 adn ENG 125; College-level (100-299) MTH course required for your pathway; Engineering pathway students must complete MTH 263 and MTH 264 with grades of B or better in each course.

We are not building ADVANCE pathways into Degree Works for now. Non-degree students (ADVANCE students at NOVA) will have access to Degree Works, but won’t see anything. Success Coaches will create customized degree plans from the curricular pathway document and 4-yr plans.

Once the student transitions to Mason, their record will be changed to degree-status, they will keep the ADVANCE attribute, and they will be reported to the NSC.

Not for ADVANCE 1.0 (Fall 18), but considering options for future.

Yes, the student will receive the catalog year in which they signed the ADVANCE agreement.