Virginia Wesleyan College Virginia Wesleyan College is a small Methodist liberal arts college on the border of Virginia Beach and Norfolk , Virginia . Academics . Virginia Wesleyan offers majors in a wider range of fields than many small liberal arts colleges , ranging from traditional liberal arts programs to more pre - professional programs . Students at Virginia Wesleyan may major in : Students at Virginia Wesleyan benefit from the individualized attention and close mentoring relationships typical of small liberal arts colleges , developed through a number of distinctive programs . Each first - year student at Virginia Wesleyan enrolls in a First - Year Seminar that focuses on intensive exploration of a specialized topic , in a class no larger than fifteen students . Another recognized feature of the academic program at the college is its Winter Session , a three - week term between the fall and spring semesters that offers innovative and experimental courses , including travel courses to locations ranging from Belize to New Zealand . Students may also participate in the Honors and Scholars Program and the PORTfolio Program , which promotes the exploration of the liberal arts through real - world applications . The college has recently begun a major commitment to making Living & Learning Communities available to first - year students . In these communities , groups of fifteen first - year students , all of whom live in the same residence hall , immerse themselves in intensive study of a topic of mutual interest , dedicating two of their first - semester courses to that subject . The fact that the students in each community live in the same residence hall allows for opportunity to integrate these studies more thoroughly into the fabric of campus life , providing for group activities , external speakers , and out - of - class activities focused on the chosen topic . Recent and current topics of Living & Learning Communities include American Politics , Women in Science , and the Environment . The college has also begun a transition from a 3 credit system to a 4 credit system . Under the old system , the students participated in 3 hours of one class per week totaling 5 classes for a total of 15 credit hours per semester . This system was amended in Fall 2011 to include an extra hour per class and to remove one class from the work load . This change was made as a hope for improvement in individual class experience . With one less class for the students schedule , the students could put more focus into 4 classes . Professors are given discretion as to how to add the 4th hour . The 4th hour ranges from extended class time to outer class projects . Greek life . North - American Interfraternity Conference Fraternities : National Panhellenic Conference Sororities : National Panhellenic Council Sororities : Campus . Virginia Wesleyan is separated into four different villages over a tract . Villages I and II offer combined living - learning environments on the Jeffersonian model , in which dormitory space , classrooms , and faculty and staff offices share the same buildings . In the summer and fall of 2008 , the college ' s Hofheimer Library underwent a major renovation and modernization that included expanded wireless internet access , twenty - four hour study space , and an art gallery . Soon after renovations were also done to the school ' s cafeteria during the winter break of 2009 . These renovations included a pizza and pasta bar , an improved salad station , a dessert bar , and new seating . Athletics . Virginia Wesleyan competes in Division III of the NCAA , as a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference . The men ' s basketball team won the national championship in 2006 , and the following year returned to the championship game , which they lost . The women ' s soccer team made it to the final four in 2006 after winning the ODAC tournament for the first time in program history . Men ' s Sports : Women ' s Sports : PORTfolio Program . The PORTfolio Program is a selective four - year curricular innovation that allows students to extend and apply their in - class education through progressive learning experiences and off - campus opportunities . The program is open to any incoming first year student and can supplement any major by engaging the student in reflection , reaction and adjustment of her / his personal and educational and career goals . PORTfolio students chronicle their journey , self - discovery , experiences , skills and growth continually through their four years by developing an electronic portfolio posted on the web . An integrated set of specially designed liberal arts seminars , Winter Session courses , co - curricular activities and experiential learning opportunities , offer our students a distinctive path to connect the best of a liberal education with real - world applications . PORTfolio is one of the most exciting new developments in higher education in many years and this unique program is only available at Virginia Wesleyan College . Realizing that today ' s students will spend all of their working lives in the new millennium , the PORTfolio Program prepares students for long term success by emphasizing the vital ties between the liberal arts and the world . It shows students that the liberal arts are both enriching in terms of personal development and enabling in terms of future careers . Our focus is to share the liberal arts perspectives on the world and encourage the ability to question , deal with change , solve problems , and utilize critical thinking , working independently or in a group . The curriculum of the PORTfolio Program is designed so that participants will explore themselves — their analytical , practical and creative intelligences as well as their strengths in leadership and scholarship . They will explore the community ( in the broadest sense of the word ) , the history and tradition of the liberal arts and the independent American college . The program also provides opportunities for the perfecting of oral , written and technological communication skills .