Things have been really busy in our office as we closed out the fall semester and began the winter one. Unfortunately that meant we were unable to deliver a December or January newsletter. We're sorry if you missed us...but we are back with a packed issue for February. Please take a few moments to catch up with what is happening in our office!

Congratulations to Kathryn Timm and Amanda Clark for being recognized for their outstanding contributions to their profession.

Kathryn Timm has been selected by the ACPA Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education as their Outstanding Graduate Student for this year. The awardee must demonstrate outstanding work in the field of academic support and be enrolled in a masters or doctoral program.

Amanda Clark was selected to receive the Excellence in Advising Award for NACADA Great Lakes Region V – New Advisor. This award is given for outstanding work in the field of academic advising by an advisor within the first three years of working in the profession. Ms. Clark’s achievements are a testament to the value given to academic advising and commitment to student success by Grand Valley State University. 

Undergraduate Advanced Registration for the next academic year (including Spring/Summer 2016, Fall 2016 and Winter 2017) begins on March 22, 2016. We sent out a message to all CCPS undergraduate students so they could begin preparing for this process. Preparation for the advanced registration period is the key to securing a schedule that best meets student's needs and interests.

Our volumes are higher in March and can cause delays if students don't plan ahead. We are asking you to help us by encouraging students to meet with us now. Students should review our process for advanced registraton preparation and schedule an appointment with our office as soon as possible.
MORE INFORMATION

If a student's cumulative GPA is below a 2.000, a hold will be placed on their record preventing them from registering for the upcoming academic year during the March advanced registration period.

In order for this hold to be removed, students with CCPS majors must follow the process outlined below to receive the signature of their academic advisor. This means they will not be permitted to register until they have a signed registration form for each semester they intend to register for in the upcoming year. This process is the ONLY way to have the hold lifted for College of Community & Public Service students. Holds will not be lifted over the telephone or by email!

To avoid registration delays the student should begin the process immediately by meeting with an academic advisor, or reviewing the plan they previously created with an academic advisor. This process should be completed prior to their registration day in order for them to register on time. MORE INFORMATION

As we said earlier, we are hoping that most students can get into our office in February, but for those that can't we will again be offering two Saturday express advising sessions.

Saturday, March 19, 2016
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: 205A Richard M. DeVos Center - Pew Campus

Saturday, April 2, 2016
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: 113 Henry Hall - Allendale Campus

Students can meet with an academic advisor for up to 15 minutes to review their myPath and create a course plan for the upcoming year. No appointment necessary!

"Let's Chat" is like virtual walk-in advising for those "quick" questions that might not need a traditional appointment. "Let's Chat" will be available during the chat hours scheduled below.

Winter 2016 "Let's Chat" hours:
Wednesdays 2:00-4:00pm

If the questions students ask require a significant review of their record or advising file they will be asked to schedule an appointment or email their request due to privacy restrictions.

This function should not replace regular advising appointments.Regular in person academic advising appointments can be scheduled at www.gvsu.edu/ccpsadvising/schedule

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out to our eighth annual holiday extravaganza in December...it was a huge success! We had over 60 people attend and collected many needed items for our community partner, the Pregnancy Resource Center - Family Support Services. It was a great afternoon with tasty food and catching up with everyone! We hope that you will continue to support this annual event and join us next year!

Photo credit: Victoria Stubbs - HTM department (THANK YOU!)

Deb from the Pregnancy Resource Center - Family Support Services accepts our much needed donations. We received a thank you card from the agency which is in our office if you'd like to see it!