Hispanic Student Organization Hosting Food Drive in November

The Hispanic Student Organization is having a food drive from 11/2/09 – 11/20/09 with collections going to benefit the Kids Food Baskets and Dégagé Ministries. Bins are located in the Enrollment Center, the Calkins Science Center and the Student Center. They request that all donations be of nonperishable food items.

Information Sessions on Mandatory Placement (11/5, 11/6)

Those interested in learning more about the implementation of mandatory placement in developmental education courses (EN 097, MA 095 and MA 097) for Winter 2010, then please attend one of the following information sessions to be held in 129 Main (the Enrollment Center Meeting Room).

• Thursday, November 5 at 1:00
• Thursday, November 5 at 3:00
• Friday, November 6 at 10:00

Lori Cook, Jody Graves, and Laurie Chesley will be available to answer questions you may have about the mandatory placement policy, our testing and enrollment procedures, how this all works in PeopleSoft, and how students can appeal their placement.

Updates From IT Regarding Web Site

The IT department has announcements regarding website development at GRCC:

• WebBuilder Service Update – Wednesday, 11/4/09 at 8:00pm
  Webbuilder will temporally be down for service from 8:00 pm until 8:00 am Thursday morning. You will not be able to make updates to WebbBuilder web pages during this time.  It is important to note that this will not affect access to the College Website, Blackboard etc.
• The W: Drive is Coming Back 11/7/09
  On Monday, November 9, 2009 the “W” Drive will be reinstalled. Thanks for your patience with this temporary outage.

United Way Food Drive Competition

As part of the United Way campaign, GRCC departments are invited to register (by by 5pm on Friday 11/6).  Prizes will be awarded to the top three departments who collect the most food. The food drive will officially begin on Monday, 11/9 and end Friday, 12/4.  Registration is online at www.grcc.edu/servicelearning, just click the “Live United: Give a Ton!” icon on the bottom left.  Food will be delivered to two pantries: North Kent Service Center and SECOM (South End Community Outreach Ministries).  The campaign encourages donations of the items that one would like to receive oneself. Winners will be determined by the pounds of food per person on the team (Weight of food ÷ # of Members). Large bags of wheat, grain, rice, salt, and sugar will not be counted toward an organization’s total.

IIPD Grants Due November 11/20/09

The deadline for submission of grant applications for the Instructional Improvement & Professional Development (IIPD) program is 4:30 p.m., November 20 , 2009. The revised application packet and IIPD Guidelines are available in the GRCC Internal Grants area of the Grants Office website at www.grcc.edu/grants. Applications should be delivered to the GRCC Foundation Office, 1^st floor, College Park Plaza.  If you have any questions about IIPD grants, please contact Judith Larsen, Director of Grants and Resource Development at 234-3910 or at jmlarsen@grcc.edu.

GRCC in the News: 11/4/09

Greater Grand Rapids Figure Skating Club member Chelsea Morrow to compete in France
By The Grand Rapids Press | November 04, 2009, 8:30AM | Kelly Hill | The Grand Rapids Press

Local figure skater Chelsea Morrow is preparing for her first international competition later this week in France. Morrow, 18, a member of the Greater Grand Rapids Figure Skating Club, is scheduled to skate Friday and Saturday in the Coupe Internationale de Nice. […] The Grand Rapids Community College freshman, who also won the Eastern Great Lakes Figure Skating Championships in Carmel, Ind., two weeks ago, qualified for the international meet in Nice at the August Collegiate Nationals.   (More)

Solving a car break-in takes luck: Public’s help, tips to police
Tuesday, 03 Nov 2009, 5:54 PM EST | By Anne Schieber

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – You’ve often heard car alarms, in parking lots or on the street. But when was the last time you called the police about it? […] But my laptop is long gone. “It’s all electronics,” said GRCC computer security chief Bob Ouchart. “And in the end, it means money.” That was a surprise to me because I had the serial number and it was locked with a password. But Ouchart knows how thieves can retool it and sell it to someone else.   (More)

Results of Community College Survey of Student Engagement: Using Technology to Engage Students

From the Institutional Research and Planning Department comes this example of using technology to engage students:

Just as technology opens doors for careers, it broadens avenues for engaging students. There are so many competing demands for students’ time — work, child care, commuting, and other responsibilities — that our opportunities for engaging students are limited. Finding new ways to engage students is critical.

We all are accustomed to using technology more to conduct day-to-day business, and GRCC  is no exception. We are taking advantage of technological advances to better engage our students by extending our interaction with them.