Here to Help: Sarah Rose partners with students to explore their interests and values, and helps them connect with GRCC programs

Sarah Rose smiling.

Always remember, at GRCC, you are surrounded by people who want you to be successful and are ready to walk with you on your educational pathway. We are here to help!

Meet Sarah Rose. Sarah is here to help you learn about in-demand, high-skill and high-wage jobs that you can qualify for with a certificate or associate degree. Those occupations include electronics, heating and cooling, culinary arts, automotive, supply chain management, computer programming and more.

As program director and academic adviser of the Occupational Support Program, Sarah advises GRCC students to help them identify and reach their goals.

“Many students don’t realize the income potential that they have with one or two years of training, or how badly local employers need skilled graduates,” she said.  

“I partner with students to explore their interests and values, and help them match those to GRCC programs. Then we create academic plans and I teach them more about that career. I also connect students to financial and community support to keep them moving forward! Bottom line, the occupational support team is developing and graduating students into the future employees they want to be!”

As a long time GRCC adviser, Sarah’s favorite part of her work is getting to know her students’ stories and dreams, and finding ways to get them to their goals.

Sarah grew up close by in Wyoming. There, she watched her family, friends and neighbors struggle with making financial ends meet all without having a clear path of how to improve their living wage. She has seen how fitting college into busy lives can feel impossible.

So, at GRCC she helps students make a long-term plan to make career progress while in college, not just once they graduate. 

“College can be a time for building the stepping stones of our careers so we are ready to launch successfully,” she said.   

“I’m proud that with every Occupational Support Program student we work with we discuss academics, financial needs, gaps in work history, and more. We tackle real-life concerns like managing sick kids, trying out a first job, criminal backgrounds, bravely expanding our networks, and talking directly about stress. We make it a team effort to look for additional support on campus and in the community so our students keep going!  Success is often about who you know and who knows what you need!

See Full Article

Earn your Doctorate in Community College Leadership (DCCL)

Join an informational session on Wednesday, October 27.

To learn more about our program, drop in anytime between 3:30 – 5 PM in the Student Center, room 234. A formal Presentation will be held at 4:00 PM.

Register by emailing ccleadership@ferris.edu.

Presentation by:

Sandra J Balkema, PhD
Professor of English, Department of English, Literature, and World Languages
Dissertation Director, Doctorate in Community College Leadership (DCCL), EdD program

Psychology and Social Work Transfer Fair

Please join the Psychology Department for their sixth annual Psychology and Social Work Transfer Fair. This event will take place on Tuesday, October 19 from 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in Room 108, Sneden Hall.

Representatives from GVSU, Aquinas, Calvin, CMU, MSU, U of M and Ferris will be on hand to discuss admissions, enrollment and transfer opportunities. 

There will also be the opportunity for individual drop-in advising with GRCC’s Psychology Departments current full-time professors from 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. both in person and via Zoom. The Zoom link can be found on our website. 

Should you need anything additional or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Stacey Herrick at your convenience, either by phone at (616) 234-4283  or email at sherrick@grcc.edu.

How to run an academic advisement report- changes coming at the end of October

My Degree Path will no longer be available to staff and faculty once October 2021 ends. Academic Advisement, known to students as Academic Progress will be the degree audit tool used moving forward. Academic advisement includes degree plans beginning in the 2017-2018 academic catalog.

The good news is that academic advisement/academic progress is available now!

So… how do you locate academic advisement and run a report?

If you are teaching a class and you are advising students you can request access to academic advisement through your faculty center in your online center tile.

Run a WHIF report type to view a “what if” degree audit with an academic program different from what a student is declared in.

Run an ADVIP report type to view the real-time degree audit for a student’s declared academic program.

If you are staff or faculty that requires access to academic advisement for your work but are not teaching classes you can access it in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions (grcc.edu/cwis).

Navigating to academic advisement in the CWIS:

From the Navigation Bar: Academic Advisement>Student Advisement>Request Advisement Report

Requests for access to the report may be emailed to valeriebutterfield@grcc.edu.

Requests for individual training may be submitted here.

Join us for a CTE training session on October 20 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. If you cannot attend, it will be recorded and made available through CTE.

Tech Tip: Hide all your Windows apps at once

Are you in a hurry and need to get to the desktop really fast? Windows has a nifty shortcut that will allow you to hide all your apps at once.

On your keyboard, select Windows key + D. All your windows will instantly hide to display your desktop. If you made a mistake and need to reopen them all, select Windows key + D again to undo the action. The action will not undo itself if you shut down your system or open a new app.

For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Customer Support Portal or contact the IT Customer Support Desk at x4357.

If you have a suggestion or a Technology Tip you think can be useful, you can submit them by emailing techtips@grcc.edu