Mar 18, 2024  
2014-2015 Catalog-EXPIRED 
    
2014-2015 Catalog-EXPIRED [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Extended Learning Opportunities


 

 


Athletics

(616) 234-3990

GRCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and participates in sports for men and women. These sports include state, regional and national competition in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, volleyball, and softball.  The annual Equity in Athletics Report for GRCC is available upon request and posted on the College’s website.

The Bob and Aleicia Woodrick Diversity Learning Center

(616) 234-3390

The mission of The Woodrick Diversity Learning Center (WDLC) is to ensure an inclusive and flexible learning environment in support of personal growth and respect for individual differences. The WDLC embraces and promotes the celebration of human differences through its programs and activities. The Center is a major resource for bringing people together and linking the campus community. The Woodrick Diversity Learning Center is located on the first floor of the Learning Center.

 

Experiential Learning

(616) 234-4162
Room 59, G2 Main Building

www.grcc.edu/experientiallearning

The Department of Experiential Learning creates and administers systems to support experience-based teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students that promote best teaching practices and student success. Three essential programs are administered through the department (Service Learning, Honors, and Study Away).

 

  • Service Learning – is a teaching strategy that allows faculty to create learning opportunities for students to serve the community while also meeting course and institutional learning outcomes.
  • Honors - The Honors Program consists of a variety of learning opportunities aimed at challenging academically talented students and preparing them for a lifetime of achievement.
  • Study Away – This program allows faculty to create learning experiences facilitated off-campus as part of a credit-bearing course or series of courses.

Ferris State University–Grand Rapids

(616) 451-4777
(800) 998-3425

A unique partnership between Ferris State University and Grand Rapids Community College enables a student to transfer a complete associate’s degree into one of 17 bachelor’s degree programs or move effortlessly into a Professional Development Certificate program. Skills will be honed on state-of-the-art equipment and materials in the Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center, in small classes led by instructors with contemporary field knowledge.

 

This partnership allows the student to:

  • Take Ferris classes on the GRCC campus in the Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center.
  • Learn to do what he/she loves. Ferris’ approach is hands-on, so students learn by doing and take what they’ve learned to work with them the next day.
  • Learn in small classes. Students receive the individual attention they deserve from Ferris faculty, not graduate assistants.
  • Earn a quality education at an affordable price.

Call for more information about Ferris State University-Grand Rapids programs or to schedule an appointment with an advisor to complete an unofficial evaluation of credits completed at GRCC.

 

Honors Program

(616) 234-4547
www.grcc.edu/honorsprogram

The Honors Program is an excellent alternative for students who have both the academic ability (3.5 GPA) and desire to take their education to a higher level. Opportunities include Honors Courses of smaller class size, service learning, guidance for scholarships, designation of Honors on the transcript and interaction with expert faculty. For more information, contact the Honors Program at (616) 234-4547 or visit www.grcc.edu/honorsprogram.

Honors Recognition

President’s List

 

The President’s List is compiled for the Fall and Winter semesters and Summer session. Full-time and part-time students in good academic standing carrying six or more credit hours and earning a 4.0 GPA are eligible. A grade of “I” will disqualify students. This honor is not retroactive prior to the Fall 2011 semester. A student will not be named to both the President’s and Dean’s list.

Dean’s List

The Dean’s List is compiled for the Fall and Winter semesters and Summer session. Full-time and part-time students in good academic standing carrying six or more credit hours and earning a 3.50 to 3.99 GPA are eligible. A grade of “I” will disqualify students. Honor is not retroactive to Summer sessions prior to 2011.

Delta Pi Alpha Honor Recognition

 

The Delta Pi Alpha Honor Recognition honors those students graduating with superior scholastic achievement. Recipients are selected from the top five (5) percent of the graduating class for the academic year. To be considered for the honor, students must file a graduation audit by the second Friday in February of the year they petition to graduate and must complete all graduation requirements by the end of Summer session of the graduating year. Letter grades X, N, WF, I and E on the student transcript on t the audit date will disqualify students. For more information, contact the Dean of Student Affairs office at (616) 234-3925.

Phi Theta Kappa (Alpha Upsilon Kappa Chapter)

www.grcc.edu/ptk

Students who have completed 12 or more college credits with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for membership in the Alpha Upsilon Kappa Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of the Two-Year College. Membership entitles students to list this honor on their resumes and to participate in activities that revolve around Phi Theta Kappa’s four hallmarks: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship. Entering freshmen with a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher may join as provisional members.

Additional information may be obtained from the Director of Student Life or from the Phi Theta Kappa advisor via e-mail: ptk@grcc.edu.

 

 Older Learner Center

(616) 234-3483
Room 137, Learning Resource Center

The Older Learner Center offers adults 45 and older opportunities for life-long learning and life enrichment. These include a Computer Club, Encore Reading Club, Health Club, and Health Education Programming; Life History Club and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Educational Support Group. The Older Learner Center has produced Successful Aging, an award-winning television program, that is distributed nationally on video; administers a number of community-wide program initiatives including Senior Leadership Grand Rapids and the Encore Careers project; has a leadership/support role in the Caregiver Resource Network and sponsors public forums, conferences, trainings and events within the community on issues relating to an aging America.

Online Learning

Distance Learning & Instructional Technologies
(616) 234-3205
online@grcc.edu

GRCC meets the needs of students and the community by providing convenient and flexible learning opportunities such as online and hybrid courses. In fact, more than 4,000 students each semester take online courses at GRCC in a wide array of over 130 courses.

 

Online and hybrid courses follow the semester schedule, have weekly assignment deadlines, require regular participation in discussion boards, and are as rigorous as on-campus courses.

Students interested in online learning may visit GRCC’s Online Learning web site at: http://www.grcc.edu for more information. For students new to Online Learning, an online readiness survey and self-assessment is available at: http://cms.grcc.edu/dlreadiness

The Benefits of Learning Online

Learning online minimizes the barriers of time, place, and cost by allowing students to attend class without coming to campus. Online courses often fit into busy schedules through saving travel time and managing work and family obligations around class meeting dates.

 

Learning Online…

  • Creates additional opportunities for students to continue their learning
  • Extends learning beyond the classroom walls
  • Fits into busy schedules
  • Is flexible and convenient

What are Hybrid Courses?

  • Hybrid courses are online courses that include scheduled classroom instruction on campus. Scheduled classroom instruction will not exceed fifty percent of the contact hours for the course.

What are Online Courses?

  • Online courses are delivered over the Internet through Blackboard®. Instruction occurs entirely online.*

    * Note: Some online courses may require a series of on campus visits for proctored assessments. Please review the syllabus for the course for details and required on campus meeting dates if required.

Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative

  • GRCC offers many courses online, however, if there is a course that we do not currently offer online, you have the option of taking the online course from one of the other community colleges in Michigan.
  • All courses and credits are easily and seamlessly transferred.
  • For a list of courses available this semester through the MCCVLC, please visit the MCCVLC web site at: http://www.mccvlc.org/

  

 Theater

(616) 234-3998
www.grcc.edu/theater

GRCC Players

Have you always wanted to be on stage? The Grand Rapids Community College Theater Department produces three faculty-directed productions each year during the Fall and Winter semesters. These productions are open to all GRCC students. (One need not be enrolled in a theatre class to audition for the plays.)

Students may also earn college credit for their participation in the plays–either onstage as an actor, or working backstage on a crew or as a technician. Credit is flexible and is based on the number of hours the student can commit to the project. Students who are not interested in participating in a play for credit may become involved on an extra-curricular basis.

Spring Student-Directed One Acts

Each year the spring theatre production is an evening of one-act plays directed and performed by students. Students enrolled in the Theater Directing Class are eligible to propose a directing project. Casting is open to any GRCC student.

Dance

Feel the need to work up a little sweat, develop muscular coordination, flexibility and stamina while having fun? The GRCC Theatre Department also offers theater dance classes. Students need no previous dance experience to enroll. Classes are open to general students who enjoy dance as a recreational activity, and as an added bonus these courses carry Wellness credit.

Tickets

GRCC students with valid IDs are allowed discount tickets to each GRCC production. In addition, all other productions at Spectrum Theater (those produced by Actors’ Theatre, Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, and the Heritage Theatre Group) offer discount student rates for all performances. Call (616) 234-3946 for details.

Actors’ Theatre, Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, and Heritage Theatre Group

These three community-based theatre groups produce award-winning plays on campus at Spectrum Theater. They all welcome and encourage student participation both as performers and backstage technicians. Casting is open to anyone in the Grand Rapids community and beyond.

Workforce Training/Training Solutions

Customized Training and Continuing Education for the Business Community
(616) 234-3600
www.grcclearn.com

Workforce Training serves its customers by providing high quality, cost-effective, results-oriented training and services.

Training programs are developed to meet employer needs and the general workforce needs in collaboration with community partners. They are designed for specific desired outcomes (results). Workforce Training utilizes a wide range of needs, skill, and job assessment tools. Training programs use a variety of learning methodologies: instructor-facilitated, self-paced, online learning and/or hands-on instruction. Training can be held at an employer’s site or at any of the world-class GRCC workforce development locations in Kent and Ottawa Counties.

Apprenticeships and Cooperative Education

Construction Trades, Apprenticeship Training
(616) 234-3009

GRCC offers non-credit apprenticeship training for the construction industry that meets the Related Training Instruction (RTI) requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office (OA), for registered apprenticeship programs. Employers who have apprenticeship programs registered with the OA can send their apprentices to GRCC’s Leslie E. Tassell M-TEC for an established sequence of trade-related courses or can contract with the College to develop a customized training program.

Most of the Construction Trades programs are accredited through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), utilizing curriculum materials based on a national skill standard that requires both written and performance testing.

Upon completion of the program, the apprentice will receive a Certificate of Completion from the OA, the NCCER, and GRCC.

For a complete description of the Construction Trades apprenticeship program, visit www.grcc.edu/ConstructionTrades.

Cooperative Education
(616) 234-3660

Cooperative Education (Co-op) is a unique educational program that offers students an opportunity for paid on-the-job training related to their major field of study. It provides a blend of classroom theory and practical job experience through periods of on-campus instruction and supervised off-campus employment.

The program is called Cooperative Education because it results from ongoing cooperation between area employers and the College faculty. Through Co-op, students majoring in business, technology, culinary, computers, and certain public service curricula can earn academic credit while gaining valuable work experience. Full-time and part-time students are eligible to participate.

The following guidelines have been established to help ensure a work experience that is beneficial to the student’s academic goals:

  1. No more than six credit hours may be used toward graduation requirements.
  2. Before enrolling in Co-op, the student must first successfully complete at least 15 credits in program specific courses.
  3. The student must be actively pursuing a degree at Grand Rapids Community College, and the Co-op job must be directly related to the degree.
  4. The student should be able to identify specific job responsibilities that will provide experience relevant to the student’s occupational program.

Manufacturing Trades Apprenticeship
(616) 234-3660

GRCC offers apprenticeship classes to meet educational requirements for apprentices, journeypersons, and employees-in-training. The Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, United States Department of Labor, and participating employers agree upon the requirements for apprenticeship. The participating employers set standards and monitor progress of apprentices. Certificates of Completion are issued by the United States Department of Labor to persons who have met their employer’s program requirements.