The gates to Mason opened even wider Monday when we officially unveiled our new Mason in Loudoun site, in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).
NOVA President Bob Templin (scissors in hand with me in the photo) and I share a philosophy: the more talented students we can help earn college degrees, the better we all are, because an educated society is a stronger society.
By co-locating our Loudoun operation with NOVA (21335 Signal Hill Plaza in Sterling), we hope to strengthen our efforts to find accessible and affordable education options for students of all ages and backgrounds and explore new collaborations and integrated programs.
Only 1 in 4 college students fits the description of what we normally think of as a traditional student. By working together with NOVA, we hope to find ways to better serve the other 3 in 4 students, who find it hard, if not impossible, to adapt to a traditional college experience–be they right out of high school, working adults or lifelong learners. There is no start date or expiration date for an education.
Through the years, there have been tens of thousands of students who have leveraged their NOVA and Mason educations to write their own success stories. In fact, NOVA students account for more than half of Mason’s transfer students each year. We offer guaranteed admission to NOVA graduates who meet certain requirements.
Mason in Loudoun has offerings from our School of Business, College of Education and Human Development and the Volgenau School of Engineering, as well as executive, professional and continuing education. It is also the Loudoun home of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
My thanks to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the Loudoun business community for their support of Mason in Loudoun. There is so much that we can accomplish together.