New virtual suite of services is a click away for Northern Virginia graduate students

By Jenny Kincaid Boone

Virginia Tech’s expanding footprint in the greater Washington, D.C., region is driving a new model of connecting the growing number of Hokie graduate students in Northern Virginia to the university services they need.

A virtual suite of student services is now accessible online through the Greater Washington, D.C., Area Hokie One Stop website that launched this week.

Need a counseling appointment? Wondering who to contact about financial aid or paying your bill? Looking for help writing a resume or a curriculum vitae? Want resources for international students? Visit the site for information on these topics and more.

“Until now, students had to hunt for this information in different places,” said Robin Jones, assistant provost for planning and resource management at Virginia Tech. “We created Hokie One Stop to cut out the leg work and shorten the path to service.”

There are approximately 1,000 graduate students enrolled in Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia degree programs – including the first class of the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, which launches classes this month with students pursuing master’s degrees in computer science and computer engineering.

The website is an online version of a future in-person location in Northern Virginia that will feature the same variety of services. Hokie One Stop will eventually be co-located with Graduate School staff on the fourth floor of the Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, which houses many of the university’s academic programs. A new counselor for students also will work out of this location.

Hokie One Stop staff will visit and offer services at other Virginia Tech campuses in the region. Plans call for Hokie One Stop to eventually be based at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus after it opens in Alexandria in 2024.

Many of these virtual university services expanded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Virginia Tech to increase remote-access options to all students. This access has been especially helpful for Hokies taking courses and doing research at the university’s sites in Falls Church, Arlington, and Alexandria. These campuses are located approximately 260 miles from Blacksburg.

“The goal is having someone who is based in Northern Virginia who understands the student population and concerns here,” said Kenneth Wong, who is associate dean for the Graduate School and director of the Northern Virginia Center. “Because of the distance between here and Blacksburg, some of the services can seem far away.”