Daily Archives: October 6, 2016

GRCC In the News, 10-6-16

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How more affluent families get welfare for pricey private colleges

Oct. 5, 2016; MLive

Albion College is one of the most expensive private schools in Michigan and many of its students come from families of means.

(GRCC is included in a chart.)

Crowded field of nine vie for 4 Grand Rapids School Board seats

Oct. 5, 2016; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Nine candidates are vying for four, four-year seats on the nine-member Grand Rapids Board of Education in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election.

… (Raynard) Ross, 47, associate dean of Student Success and Retention Service at Grand Rapids Community College, said it is increased graduation rates, test scores, and rates of college attendance, and the potential for more growth, that has him encouraged to seek a second term.

Ferris State, Grand Valley coaches weigh in on hype and over-hype of rivalry

Oct. 5, 2016; MLive

Ferris State vs. Grand Valley State went from a game to a rivalry once Tony Annese arrived in 2012, even though the Bulldogs coach downplays its significance.

… Annese, who has re-energized the Bulldogs program as a whole, brought intrigue to the Grand Valley State game just by his local connection. He won three state championships at Muskegon, was head coach at Grand Rapids Community College and was well known throughout West Michigan before he was hired at Ferris State.

Dominant middle hitter Rachel Brown leading MCC volleyball to a big season

Oct. 5, 2016; Local Sports Journal

MUSKEGON — Opponents have come to respect, and even fear, Rachel Brown on the volleyball court.

… Brown is a big reason by the MCC volleyball team is having another big year, with a 19-9 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference. The team is one game behind first-place Grand Rapids Community College in the conference.

Students to present summer research on October 19

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All GRCC faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the GRCC Scholars Poster Presentation.  This event will take place on October 19 from noon – 4:00 p.m.

GRCC students who participated in summer research and traveled on a Study Away program will be presenting their work. Staff from Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan summer research programs will be at hand to provide information on their programs. We hope to see you there!

About ALEKS PPL, the new GRCC math assessment

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This winter semester a new math placement policy will be in effect requiring students to take the Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces Placement, Preparation and Learning (ALEKS PPL) mathematics assessment prior to enrolling in a GRCC math course.

How it works

Current GRCC students who do not have a valid math prerequisite course and who scored 24 or lower on the SAT, 17 or lower on ACT, or had a high school cumulative grade point average below 2.0 will be required to take ALEKS PPL in a proctored environment. Students who do not have a valid math prerequisite course and scored higher than these levels may log into their Online Center and take ALEKS PPL on their own.

In addition to being a placement assessment, ALEKS PPL provides a free tutorial before the assessment begins, and free customized practice and learning modules to help students improve their math readiness levels if they choose to retest.

Once students take ALEKS PPL they will be provided an initial GRCC math course placement level and may enroll in that math course.

Retesting to place in a higher level course

From the time of the initial assessment, students have one year to improve their math readiness levels and change their placement – by working within the customized ALEKS PPL practice and learning modules and retaking the assessment (up to 4 additional times at no cost).

The exception

The only exception to this policy is if a student has already established a college level math course pre-requisite.  For example, if they have taken MA 131 – Precalculus as a dual enrollment student they are eligible to take MA 133 – Calculus with Analytical Geometry 1 without first taking ALEKS PPL.

The benefit

Although this is a significant change in our placement policy, we are excited to provide ALEKS PPL for our students because of the significantly improved math curriculum student success rates at GRCC that can be attributed to ALEKS PPL.

Successful students not only stay on track to graduation, but save money by bypassing lower level math courses, or avoiding retaking advanced math courses to earn a passing grade.