Policies and General Questions
What is the website for Virtual High School?
What is the application process?
The application process starts with a conversation between the student, parent and guidance counselor. Students will then fill out an application and submit it to Lindsey Deptula, the GRHS VHS site coordinator. Administrators and the guidance department will review applications and determine which students are eligible to register for VHS courses.
Does a student receive credit for taking a Virtual High School course?
Yes, a student will receive 5 credits for a full-year course and 2.5 credits for a semester course. The student’s grade will be incorporated into his/her GPA. If the VHS course is taken as an Honors or Advanced Placement Course, students will receive the respective weighted GPA points for that course.
If I take an AP course, do I need to take the AP exam?
The same GRHS AP guidelines apply to VHS AP courses. Students must take the AP exam in order to receive AP credit on their transcript. If they do not take the AP exam, the weight drops to that of a honors course.
How many Virtual High School courses can a student take?
A student is permitted to take one Virtual High School course per semester. Students taking a VHS course must have a study hall in their GRHS schedule.
What happens if a student drops a Virtual High School course?
We do not expect students to drop a VHS course once they have made the commitment to enroll. Students will be carefully pre-screened to ascertain their level of motivation and ability to succeed in an online environment.
For VHS courses, students will follow the VHS Add/Drop Calendar. VHS add/drop dates and deadlines are outlined on the VHS Calendar. During the add period, students may change or add courses. During the drop period, students may drop courses without receiving a penalty. After the drop period ends, students who withdraw will receive either a 'WP' for 'Withdraw Pass' or 'WF' for 'Withdraw Fail' on their report card/transcript. Students who drop a course after the VHS drop period has passed will be required to pay $150.00- half the cost of a VHS course.
Plagiarism
Submitting work that you claim as your own original work but is taken from a source other than yourself, without properly giving credit to (citing) that source, is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism can take many forms, from copying another student's discussion post or other work, to rephrasing words without acknowledging the source, to cutting-and-pasting a paper or other information from the Internet as your own work without proper citation.
VHS expects students to take responsibility for the integrity of their work and to work to the highest level of academic honesty. Not only is plagiarism dishonest practice, but ultimately, students who plagiarize cheat themselves from learning the course material and being an equal contributor to the class.
An important aspect of The Virtual High School’s mission is to prepare students for college and beyond, where plagiarism is considered a serious act with often severe consequences (for example, being expelled from college or fired from a job). We expect our students to attend class regularly, find adequate time to complete assignments and master the proper form of citation. VHS takes incidents of plagiarism very seriously. If a student plagiarizes, there will be consequences for that student. Our widespread use of plagiarism detection tools in our courses demonstrates our commitment to identifying and preventing acts of plagiarism.
What happens if a student fails a Virtual High School class?
Again, we do not expect students to fail a VHS course once they have made the commitment to enroll. Students will be carefully pre-screened to ascertain their level of motivation and ability to succeed in an online environment.
However, if a student does fail a VHS course, he/she will receive an “F” on their transcript. If a failed VHS course is taken as a graduation requirement, students will need to make up that graduation requirement in order to graduate.
If a student fails their first semester course, they will not be permitted to take a second semester course.
What kind of courses does VHS offer?
Virtual High School offers over 200 full semester courses in Arts, Business, English Language Arts, Foreign Language, Life Skills, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Technology. In addition, VHS offers full year Advanced Placement (AP) courses. (Virtual High School courses using the AP designation have been approved by the College Board's AP Audit). Visit the website for a full course catalog.
Who can a student contact if he/she is having concerns about their class of VHS course?
Mrs. Lindsey Deptula, in the guidance office, is the VHS site coordinator. She acts as a liaison between GRHS and VHS. She will have constant communication between the student, VHS and the student’s guidance counselor.