Basic Skills
Reading, Writing, Math, Computer, and Financial Literacy help you:
- Read a newspaper
- Fill out a job application
- Balance your checkbook
- Communicate via email and use the Internet
- Read to your children and/or grandchildren
High School Completion
Finishing your High School Diploma will help you:
- Get a better job that pays more money
- Advance at your job
- Get into an Apprenticeship (Electrical, Plumbing, etc.) or other Training Program
- Go to college
General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
Getting your GED will help you:
- Get a better job that pays more money
- Advance at your job
- Get into an Apprenticeship (Electrical, Plumbing, etc.) or other Training Program
- Go to college
English Language Learning (ELL)
Learning English and improving your English skills will help you:
- Get a better job that pays more money
- Advance at your job
- Get into an Apprenticeship (Electrical, Plumbing, etc.) or other Training Program
- Go to college
College & Career Readiness
Creating a Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) will help you:
- Identify educational and career goals
- Make a plan to work towards your goals
- Get you the help you need to achieve your goals
Online Learning Center (OLC)
VAL’s Online Learning Center (OLC) complements VAL’s in-person educational services. Students can access more teachers, a greater variety of courses, and a more varied schedule. The OLC was created to reach a broader segment of Vermonters, those hard-working individuals who lack reliable transportation, are busy parenting young children, and/or have demanding work schedules. Visit the links below to get started today!
View the OLC Course Catalog
Enroll by contacting your nearest VAL Learning Center.
Helpful Links
Important Dates
Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Calendar (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025)
Resources for Skill-Building and Basic Education
Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom across subject areas. For login information, talk to your educational advisor or instructor.
Universal Class is an online learning platform that allows you to take courses at your own pace while you interact with a live instructor via email
Work Keys is a job skills assessment system measuring “real-world” skills that employers believe are critical to job success. For login information, talk to your educational advisor or instructor.
Northstar Digital Literacy‘s site provides opportunities to test your digital literacy and links to resources to build skills in areas you want to work on. VAL centers are official NorthStar testing sites where you can demonstrate your knowledge and earn NorthStar certificates. Talk to your ed advisor or instructor to sign up!
VSAC advocates for students and their families to ensure that they have the information, counseling, and financial aid to achieve their education goals.
Resources for ELL Students
USA Learns is a free website with lessons for beginners and intermediate students that helps adults around the world learn English.
VOA English is Voice of America’s multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide.
Randall’s Listening Lab provides online English listening comprehension quizzes and activities for ESL and EFL learners.
Many Things is a website for people studying English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Rachel’s English is an online American English pronunciation resource.
engVid offers free English video lessons on many topics, including grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, writing, business English, and more. Some lessons include quizzes!
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University offers General Writing Resources for information on the writing process and academic writing samples. See the OWL Exercises for practice with grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.