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Asynchronous Instruction, Grades 6–12

Asynchronous instruction diagram: Mentor supervises. Students access VVA courses, complete work, and ask instructor for help

For asynchronous instruction of VVA courses in a school setting, students access their online courses, complete work, and ask their instructor for help. A mentor is present to support students and interact with the VVA instructor.

Asynchronous Enrollment Option

A student refers to a book while working on a laptop with headphones

Virtual Virginia acknowledges that not all students in grades 6–12 may be able to attend scheduled synchronous sessions during the academic year. Therefore, VVA now offers an asynchronous option for students in grades 6–12 who need increased flexibility in their schedules. 

Asynchronous students may watch session recordings in the place of live attendance and set up regular 1:1 meetings with their teacher(s) during the teacher’s student support hours to review the material and address any questions. 

Note that each asynchronous course section requires a minimum of 15 enrollments. If an asynchronous course section doesn’t meet this minimum, then any enrollments in that section will be moved to another asynchronous course section, possibly with a different start date.

Expectations of Asynchronous Students

For students in grades 6–12 who are enrolled with the asynchronous option, attendance is reported based on daily activity in students’ individual VVA course(s) within the learning management system.

Below are the expectations of students in grades 6–12 who are enrolled with the asynchronous option:

  1. Students must log in regularly to their course(s) on designated class days. Attendance will be measured through Canvas LMS course activity and reported via the VVA SIS.
  2. Watch daily recordings in the Course Video Library.
  3. Students must stay current with their course pacing and assignments and demonstrate consistent progress each week.
  4. Students must engage/connect with each of their instructors quarterly via Zoom to check for understanding.
  5. Students may attend group synchronous or set 1:1 meetings during the week.
  6. Students not maintaining an overall course grade above 70% or with consistent late work may be assigned a required synchronous meeting time.

How to Enroll with the Asynchronous Option

Designated school counselors and division/school coordinators may request an exception to attending synchronous sessions for students in good standing. In this case, the counselor or coordinator will select “Asynchronous” for the available meeting time during course registration. 

If you have already registered students and would like to change their course meeting time to asynchronous, please follow these instructions:

  1. Using your counselor ID and password, log in to the Genius SIS. If you can’t remember your password, click the “forgot password” link.
  2. Click the Students tab at the top of the page.
  3. Click the name of the student for whom you wish to request an enrollment change.
  4. Click Enrollment Change Request under Enrollments on the left side of the page.
  5. Click the Pencil/Paper icon to the left of the course for which you wish to request an enrollment change.
  6. Click the dropdown menu and select “Live Session Time-Slot Change.”
  7. Change the time slot to “Asynchronous.”
  8. Click the Save Changes button.
    • The following confirmation message should appear: “Thank you for your request. You will receive an email when it has been processed.”
    • Please allow up to 48 hours (excluding weekends) to receive an email notification about approval or denial of your request.
    • If the change you request is a duplicate request, a message containing the text “already under review” will appear.
  9. Click the Close button.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].