Good afternoon Warriors,

Many Victoria West High School students are current and/or prospective students of the Victoria College dual-credit program. With the current situation in regards to COVID-19, both Victoria College and VISD are taking steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. I want to offer an update for students currently enrolled in dual-credit or who are in the process of applying to the dual-credit program.

Career & College Center Contact
First and foremost, while the Career and College Center’s physical office will be closed at West until the campus reopens for normal operations, We want to encourage students, parents, and staff with any questions to reach out to me through email or Remind. Both the school district and the college remain ready to assist students as much as possible, especially with the transition of students to online course formats. Contact information for Mr. Loomis and Ms. Vega, the Administrative Assistant for the Career and College Center, are listed below:

Joshua Loomis, Career & College Coach & VC Pre-College Specialist
Joshua.loomis@victoriacollege.edu

Josh.loomis@visd.net

Remind: @c78f4 to 81010 or enter in the Remind app

Alexis Vega, Career & College Center Administrative Assistant & Scholarship Assistance

Alexis.vega@visd.net
West Phone: 361.788.2830ext. 39656
West Remind: @vwhsck1 to 81010

East Phone: 361.788.2820 ext. 38652

East Remind: @vehsck1 to 81010

Students will also want to check the C&C website at https://vwhs.visd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=943684&type=d&pREC_ID=1273038 for information regarding applying to the dual-credit program, requirements, scholarships, and deadlines. Any updates to Career and College Center office hours and contact availability will also be published on this webpage.

College Contact & Dual Credit Services

Victoria College’s Student Services division will also remain open for Victoria College dual credit students needing appointments, these will take place through the Cisco WebEx meeting application. This will allow students to have remote meetings for academic advising, coaching and registration-related needs with Victoria College staff. If you're wanting to meet with Mr. Loomis through this application, you may use his VC email, Joshua.loomis@victoriacollege.edu, to schedule an appointment. Current students at Victoria College will be able to schedule appointments through their Pirate Portal using the Navigate application.

Prospective Dual Credit Students

For incoming students wanting to be in the dual credit program and their parents, group dual-enrollment informational sessions will also be hosted by VC through the WebEx application from Monday, March 30^th to Friday, April 3^rd. There will be one session at 12 P.M. and one at 4:30 P.M. for all VISD students who desire to enroll or are enrolled for the first time in dual credit classes.  (Summer 2020 or Fall 2020) To reserve your spot on one of these sessions, email precollegeprograms@victoriacollege.edu with your full name, the high school you attend, and contact information. If you need help with the WebEx application contact Mr. Loomis or the Victori College Pre-College Programs email above.

Public Events through Victoria College

Per the direction of federal and state health officials, VC has suspended public gatherings for the foreseeable future. This includes upcoming field trips like the Women in Industry event that was scheduled for April 1^st, as well as the upcoming Dual Enrollment Informational Session on April 21^st for students seeking entry to the dual-credit program. As soon as the campuses reopen, Mr. Loomis will reach out with information regarding rescheduled events. Students needing to fulfill the dual-enrollment informational requirement as part of their on-boarding into the dual-credit program can set up a WebEx reservation by reaching out to precollegeprograms@victoriacollege.edu.

On-Site Testing & Exam Proctoring

Because the high school campus has been closed, Mr. Loomis has ceased all exam proctoring sessions on campus until further notice. For students interested in taking the TSI Assessment for college readiness, you can schedule to take the exam at the Victoria College testing center in an environment that has been structured to meet the CDC’s current recommendations. Students not wishing to test in a public setting also have the option to test through the third-party proctoring service Examity. More information for this can be found at https://examity.com. Updates will be released as the situation changes, especially as we approach exams and finals season for students currently enrolled in classes at Victoria College.

Dual Credit Course Drops
If your student does not feel confident in obtaining a passing grade by the end of the semester for their dual-credit class, they may drop the course to avoid receiving a failing grade on their college transcript. Victoria College has extended the deadline for drops to April 13th. For students to receive high school credit on schedule, they must drop and notify Mr. Loomis as well as their HS counselor by Friday, March 27th, so that they may be placed in an appropriate online classroom through high school. For questions pertaining to this, please contact josh.loomis@visd.net.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

• Dual Credit Enrollment is an educational program, available through the partnership between VISD and the Victoria College.The dual credit program is designed to enable high school students to enroll in courses that receive both college and high school credits simultaneously. Dual Credit Enrollment is a great way for high school students to get a jump start on their college education.
• To learn more about dual enrollment, click "Dual Credit Applicants" on the right side task bar.