SALT helps with financing higher education, managing student loans

The Financial Aid Office has contracted with American Student Assistance to deliver  a dynamic, multichannel educational program to GRCC Students and Alum called SALT.  SALT assists students with making financial decisions during and after attending, with financing higher education, and with managing student loans.

SALT educates, empowers, and engages students and alumi to truly own their finances, by making it immediately rewarding, easy, and fun to make smarter student loan and financial decisions. It’s offered free and more information on this program is available at www.saltmoney.org, or by calling 855-469-2724. If members have questions about their student loans, they can call a SALT loan counselor at 877-523-9473.

Two Online Courses Added: CO 122 & CO 155

The following courses were recently approved to be offered online.

• CO 155 – Microsoft Word; Course Developer/Professor – Cheryl Kautz.
• CO 122 – Adobe Illustrator; Course Developer /Professor – Judy Bezile

The Department of Distance Learning and Instructional Technologies would like to recognize the hard work of the professors and the support of their departments in the work to advance online learning at GRCC. Distance Learning at GRCC has grown by over 16 percent from fall 2011 to 2012, with over 21 percent of all GRCC students now taking online classes. More information about becoming certified to teach online or to develop a course not yet online is available here: http://www.grcc.edu/teachingonline

All 25 Police Academy graduates pass licensing exam; 2 have job offers

Dr. Ender will give the keynote address to GRCC’s Police Academy recruits during their graduation at 7 p.m. Friday, November 16, 2012, in the FFH Gordon Hunsburger Arena. Awards will be given during the ceremony, and a five-minute video will show the recruits in action. All employees are invited to attend.

All 25 recruits in the latest session of passed their licensing exam last week, and two already have conditional employment offers. Of the students, who entered the academy in January, while 18 will receive a GRCC degree. Many of them are undergoing background investigations in preparation for possible employment at several local police departments.

Raider Golf team achieves national ranking

Congratulations to the Raider Golf team, which was ranked No. 8 in the country in the latest Nike/Golf World Coaches Poll.

Exotic Flavors Featured in Fall In Love – A Bakery Tasting on November 15

Devil’s Food with a little chocolate frosting is nice, but how about the “Mounds Wannabe,” a coconut cupcake with buttercream dipped in chocolate and toasted almonds? Or get your taste buds prepped for the holidays with “Holiday Cheer,” an eggnog cupcake with rum buttercream and spiced pecans.

Art and Bev’s will showcase cupcakes designed for wedding, holiday and kids’ tastes during Fall In Love – A Bakery Tasting, from 10:15-11:45 a.m.on Thursday, November 15, 2012.

A $2 Tasting Selection ticket will get you your choice of  6 mini cupcakes. A $5 Full Size Selection ticket purchases a gift box of 6 full-size cupcakes. For $6, you can have both. Tickets are on sale now from the Art and Bev’s cashier.

Blackboard features Eric J. Kunnen’s blog post

Eric J. Kunnen

Blackboard recently highlighted a blog post by Eric J. Kunnen, our director of distance learning and instructional technologies.

In his post, Eric, who serves as part of the Blackboard Idea Exchange, discussed how Blackboard Learn helps engage community college students by promoting active and collaborative learning and student-faculty interaction.

Photos: Honors Program students volunteer with the Salvation Army

Honors Program students spruce up the walls of the Salvation Army Community Center.

Honors Program students volunteered at the Salvation Army Corps Community Center on Saturday, November 10, 2012. They painted a portion of the community center used for after-school programs and other events.

The Department of Experiential Learning would like to thank all the students who participated, especially Katie Feikema and Jessica Lewis, who coordinated and planned the event. We appreciate their leadership!

More photos can be found at the GRCC Honors Program Facebook page.

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Testing (Assessment) Center hours to change during Thanksgiving week

Testing (Assessment) Center hours will change during the week of Thanksgiving.

During the holiday week, the center’s hours will be:

• 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, November 19.
• 7:30 a.m.  to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 20.
• closed from Wednesday, November 21 to Saturday, November 24.

The center’s regular operating hours will resume Monday, November 26, 2012. Call extension 3413 with any questions.