In what has become a finals week tradition, the CCPS-UAC is again offering free snacks, beverages and fun games for CCPS students and faculty to help relieve the stress of finals week. Stop by our office Monday thru Wednesday 10am-4pm! Grab a snack and a beverage... Play a game... Take a break from studying or grading!

The Staff of the CCPS Undergraduate Advising Center would like to thank over 50 faculty and staff of the College of Community and Public Service and other University friends who attended our 6th Annual Holiday Extravaganza last week. Through your generosity, we were able to collect over 40 personal care items to be given to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans . We also collected over 60 pairs of mittens/gloves and hats to support the GVSU PALS student mentoring program collecting items to distribute at Harrison Park Elementary . THANK YOU!!! We'll see you next December!

The Holiday Break would be a great time to read this year's Community Reading Program book selection, The Distance Between Us:  A Memoir, by Reyna Grande.

About the Book
Reyna is two when her father leaves the family in Mexico and crosses the border into the United States, hoping to earn enough money to build a home in Mexico when he returns.  When he sends for their mother but leaves Reyna, Mago, and Carlos behind, the siblings suffer great hardship and poverty under the unforgiving hands of their father's mother, Abuela Evila.  Abandoned by both parents, the three endure but long for the return of their mother and a father of whom they have little memory.  Their mother returns with a baby sister, Elizabeth, setting off a chain of on-again and off-again contact with her children.  When their father returns after an eight-year absence and takes Reyna, Mago, and Carlos with him across the border, a new window of opportunity presents itself; however, Reyna, Mago and Carlos must also deal with their father's alcoholic rages.  Recounted in astonishing detail, this memoir narrates one girl's journey out of proverty and her infinite capacity to forgive and love.

The CCPS Undergraduate Advising Center will have advisors available by appointment 9am-5pm Monday, December 16th through Friday, December 20th. Our office will be open Monday, December 23rd 9am-5pm with no scheduled advising appointments.

The office will be closed December 24th through January 1st. Students may email ccpsadvisor@gvsu.edu with questions requiring a response while the office is closed.

After the holiday break, advisors will be available by appointment 9am-5pm Thursday, January 2nd and Friday, January 3rd. Normal office hours will resume January 6, 2014.

Please have students call  616-331-6890 to schedule an available appointment!

Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for males and females in every educational program that receives federal funding.

Most people who know about Title IX think it applies only to sports, but athletics is only one of 10 key areas addressed by the law. Since Title IX was passed 35 years ago, it has been the subject of over 20 proposed amendments, reviews, Supreme Court cases and other political actions. 

One of the issues that our office is involved with each semester is assisting faculty with understanding policies regarding pregnant and parenting students, as well as helping students understand their rights.

The Division of Inclusion and Equity provides these guidelines on their website

Title IX provides for equal educational opportunities for pregnant and parenting students. It prohibits educational institutions from discriminating against pregnant students based upon their marital status and cannot discriminate against a student because of childbirth, false pregnancy, or recovery from related conditions.

A pregnant student should be granted a leave of absence for as long as it is deemed medically necessary for her to be absent, at the conclusion of her leave, she must be allowed to resume the status she held when the leave began.

If you have any questions regarding Title IX concerns, please contact the Title IX Officer.

Faculty should not request or maintain medical documentation about students as that can constitute a HIPAA violation. Students should be directed to the Disability Support Resources office for further guidance.