GRCC In the News, 12-6-16

Surfin’ 616: The Outer Vibe Returns to Grand Rapids

Dec. 5, 2016; Revue

Two words: surf disco.

… Before The Outer Vibe was a nationally recognized eclectic pop-rock band, its five members met locally on the Grand Rapids Community College campus. Since then, they’ve released numerous EPs, along with a full-length album in 2015 titled Full Circle. For that album, the band worked with producer Brad Dollar (Grateful Dead, The National) and mastering engineer Joe LaPorta (Imagine Dragons, Foo Fighters, Vampire Weekend).

New coach brings championship mindset to East Grand Rapids boys basketball

Dec. 2, 2016; MLive

EAST GRAND RAPIDS — First-year East Grand Rapids boys basketball coach Derrick Owens has a lot of championship game experience at both the high school and collegiate levels.

… (Derrick) Owens coached Detroit St. Martin dePorres to three state titles as head coach, and assisted successful basketball programs at Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University.

Christian Fellowship holds open house for faculty, staff on Dec. 7

Christian Fellowship @ GRCC will be hosting an a Faculty/Staff Open House in the Student Center, Room 20. On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, from 1 p.m.-2 p.m., any faculty and staff members can drop in for cookies and punch.

Older Learner Center tackles mannequin challenge

GRCC’s Older Learner Center took on the mannequin challenge last week — you can catch the video on Workforce Training’s Facebook page.

 

 

GRCC Employees on the Move through Dec. 5, 2016

Please welcome our new employees and congratulate those who have moved and been promoted.

WELCOME TO GRCC

 

Victoria Vicencio

Support Professional, Human Resources

Effective 12-5-16

 

Kristina Cox

Support Professional, Human Resources

Effective 12-19-16

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

 

Brian Moore

IT Customer Support Tech Level 1

Effective 12-5-16

 

Stephen Barton

Assistant Professor, Music

Effective 12-31-16

Payroll improvements and National Payroll Week survey feedback

Thank you to all those who completed Human Resources’ National Payroll Week survey. The feedback you provided was very helpful in making sure we are providing you with useful information that is easily obtained. We hope the following provides answers to some of the comments or suggestions we received:

Holiday Schedule

The 2016-17 Holiday Schedule is now available on our webpage.

Printing Pay Advices

We are currently researching new functionality, and hope to provide an easier print option in 2017.

YTD Totals and Leave Bank Balances

These balances are only available on current pay advice documents, because our payroll software does not store historical balance data with each paycheck. We are constantly monitoring improvements and new functionality and would enable this feature should it be delivered in a subsequent release.

Meanwhile, we recommend saving a copy of your pay advice after each period if you wish to track YTD totals and Leave Bank balances from previous pay periods.

Webpage improvements

A clearer list of deductions and earn codes can be found  on the payroll webpage under the “Understanding Your Paycheck” category on the right.

We will continue to look for ways to improve our webpage, and hope to provide easier accessibility to forms and a page dedicated to retirement information in 2017.

Timing of Adjunct & Overload checks

It is our always our goal to pay adjunct and overload classes as close to the start of the semester as possible, according to the college’s payroll schedule, on the 1^st available pay date following count date.

For example, the first date of classes for the fall 2016 semester was on August 29, and the first pay was on September 23^rd which covered the pay period of August 29^th through September 11^th, making the first pay timely. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as the first date of classes can change from semester to semester, not allowing for enough processing time.

‘Delay,’ ‘closed’: Learn the difference

Inclement weather messages: “GRCC – Delay,” “GRCC – Closed,” and GRCC – Closed DAY Classes.”

One of these messages means cancellation of all GRCC day and evening classes and activities — do you know which one? Find out on the GRCC Emergency Closing Procedures webpage.

Mathematics Seminar looks at calculus, statistics

The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department is pleased to announce that it will host its next Mathematics Seminar on Wednesday, December 7, 3:00-4:00 PM in 107 Cook.  Our speaker, GRCC mathematics student Bethany Austhof, will discuss the relationship between Calculus and Statistics.  Her title and abstract are below.

While Statistics can be successfully studied and applied at a pre-Calculus level, a better understanding of many fundamental concepts and processes hinges on ideas from Calculus.  Bethany’s talk will provide some historical background that will accessible to anyone, so if you know a bit of statistics and not much Calculus, consider this to be an opportunity to learn more!  As always, everyone is welcome to our mathematics seminars.

Pop and cookies will be served at 2:45 PM.

Probability: Curves Inspired by the Cosmos

In this seminar, we will look at the applications of Calculus in the field of Statistics. Topics of discussion will include how we can derive exact probabilities using integration techniques, how to  determine the mean of a continuous random variable using the center of mass formula, and a look at the derivation of the normal curve distribution function.