Online students represent 46% of ODU’s 1,638 total Fall 2025 graduates, which includes online students from 39 states and seven countries.
Genna Vannoy '25 rarely has hours of her own.
The 44-year-old military spouse has four children, works in real estate and as a personal trainer.
“I needed to find education that worked for my schedule,” said Vannoy, who lives in Virginia Beach. “There was no way I was going to be able to go on campus. I found ODUGlobal and the online format, and it really unlocked this opportunity for me to find a program that worked for me.”
Vannoy will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in psychology on Dec. 13, 2025, closing the first chapter along her path in higher education. She’s already headed next to a master’s program in social work.
Vannoy said the program through ODUGlobal helped her find her voice as an advocate for those in similar situations to her. She wants to help military families and spouses who have felt isolated in the military lifestyle of constant change. She also wants to empower other women who’ve felt like they didn’t have a voice to advocate for themselves and their families.
“The education I’ve received has given me a clear purpose in life and really helped me figure out what I want to do,” Vannoy said. “It’s been very liberating, because now I can speak with clarity and assurance, and that has made the biggest impact.”
While her journey follows the path of a nontraditional student, Vannoy very much fits the mold of the adult learners who make up a large part of the ODUGlobal student population.
Vannoy will be one of 756 online students to graduate through ODUGlobal in Fall 2025. The commencement class represents 46% of ODU’s 1,638 total Fall Commencement 2025 class, which includes students from 42 states and 36 countries.
As ODU celebrates its latest class of graduates through ODUGlobal, here’s an overall look at the graduating class of online students for Fall 2025 by the numbers.
756 – Total number of online graduates
46.2 – Percentage of the overall graduating class who are online students, a 12% increase from Fall 2024
7 – Nations represented among graduates (Canada, El Salvador, Germany, Lithuania, Nepal, Nigeria, United Kingdom)
39 – States represented in Fall Commencement
3.49 – Average GPA for graduates
32.7 – Average age of graduates this semester
20 – Age of the youngest graduate
69 – Age of the oldest graduate
455 – Total number of undergraduate students
213 – Military-affiliated graduates
48 – Active-duty military members
197 – Online graduates from the College of Education, the largest group of any of ODU’s colleges
80 – The total number of cybersecurity graduates, including both undergraduate and graduate programs; Cybersecurity is the most popular major among undergraduates and the second-most popular among graduate students
59 – Graduates with master’s degrees in library and information studies, the most popular major among graduates
8 – PhD candidates in this graduating class
