About the Alexandria Campus

In 1965, Northern Virginia Technical College opened for classes with 761 students in the Carlyn Springs Road warehouse, located in Bailey's Crossroads. To accommodate an ever-growing student body, the college purchased 78 acres in Annandale in 1966 to build the first campus site. The following year saw the opening of the new building on the Annandale Campus and the purchase of three more campus sites in Sterling, Manassas and Woodbridge. In 1969, the College purchased 22.5 acres in Alexandria for $450,000.

First-time known as the Eastern Campus, the NOVA Alexandria Campus began construction of the Bisdorf Building in 1971. In the summer of 1973, classes were moved from the original Bailey's Crossroads warehouse to the NOVA Alexandria Campus. By the fall quarter, more than 6,000 students registered for classes.

Today, the NOVA Alexandria Campus has the second-highest enrollment at the College and boasts five buildings, including the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, which opened in the fall of 2001. Our latest addition, the Center for Design, Media and the Arts is a state of the art facility currently houses programs in music, arts, photography, communications studies, cinema, theater, graphic design, early childhood education and physical education. The 80,000 square feet center provides flexible uses and a visually exciting architectural environment that will support creative teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students. In addition, this three story facility includes the campus bookstore, a fitness center and a multipurpose gymnasium. The campus offers more than 70 programs and degrees, including nine foreign languages and an ESL program.