The center has also seen a change in the nature of student needs in which we serve, which has further increased the department work load. Our student population has recognized the value of the services and as such utilizes the front desk to get a wide variety of their needs met. In an effort to increase appointment attendance, front desk staff administers reminder calls for all counseling & advising appointments. Due to changes in the Academic Foundation Program, all designated mandatory placement students (MND) must meet with an advisor for registration of classes. The front desk staff is also required to maintain two calendars for counselors and advisors – “Groupwise” for college wide commitments and opportunities, and “Advisor Trac” for student appointment scheduling and data collection. The front desk has also been given the added responsibilities for the scheduling and data entry of all Academic Success Workshops, Classroom Presentations, General Workshops and Orientation as well as assistance and support to the counselors and advisors who serve on a wide variety of faculty committees across campus. Considering the volume of calls, e-mails, visits and other direct student contacts through our front desk, as well as all the coordination of functions they service, we rely heavily on student employees. Students are by circumstance, transient employees; professional staff resources are spent to train and continuously supervise our students and turnover is consequently frequent. The department is a high volume, high energy, work space and staff must possess strong interpersonal skills as well as technical competencies to manage a highly diverse and complex set of staff and student needs. We need additional employee resources (not just student employee hours) to proficiently run the department and be proactive in our initiatives rather than reactive. Accomplishments/Professional Activities The Counseling and Career Center faculty members are a skilled and diverse group of professionals who are thoroughly involved across all aspects of the college. All counseling and advising faculty have advanced degrees; three of the 14 also have a PhD/EdD (with three more in progress), and 12 are Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), and four are National Certified Counselors (NCC). The combined total years of GRJC/GRCC service is approximately 180. In total, we have over 250 years of collective experience in higher education when combining prior institutions of higher learning. The following list of accomplishments, college service and professional development activities demonstrate the expertise and commitment of this group. This list highlights some of the areas of involvement of our team, but by no means is a comprehensive, complete listing. Search Committees
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Preparation for Change Students continue to be impacted by economic and employment trends, and the necessity of accurate information and solid planning skills. The Counseling and Career Center goals to communicate and connect with students include the following: Enhanced New Student Orientation Procedures and Delivery Mandatory for all new GRCC students Identified transfer component Offered online Increased collaborations with area higher education and professional programs. to offer career information and planning seminars to students. For example: Pre-med planning with M.S.U College of Medicine/Grand Rapids, Pre-law planning with Cooley Law School/Grand Rapids and Federal Career Day with the US Attorney’s Office. Improved access to job and career information with the EM.S.I Career Coach software. This will link career descriptions and guidelines to academic programs. and available employment opportunities. Academic Advising availability on a “drop-in” basis. Collaborations with other Student Affairs offices to use the CRM student communication system. External Standards/ Requirements GRCC Lansing CC Washtenaw CC Ford CC Macomb CC Oakland CC Students FTE (FYES) 12,413 14,649 9,512 13,330 16,653 19,858 # Counselors/ Advisors 12 FT, 2 PT, 5 summer contingency 4 FT (counselors only), 9 PT (20 on call) 6 FT, 10 PT 5 FT, 24 Adjunct unknown See below
2012 70 974 957 4809 7588 3217 295 222 4510 1893 4321 1891 20710 14542 1078 549 22314 % 99% 54% 52% 91% 51% 70% *the yellow squares reflect accurate data through fall 2011, we are still tabulating winter 2012 numbers. The data below is from fall 2011: Time To Flag Attendance Performance Behavior Last Log In Average Days to 13 15 5 5 Department Use MA EN CO BA PY PS BI GE # Flags Fall 2011 1314 1283 1209 958 527 343 292 249 % of Flags 14% 13% 13% 10% 6% 4% 3% 3% Specific Use EN 101 PS 110 MA 098 MA 107 EN 097 CO 101 MA 215 EN 102 BI 101 MA 095 CO 116 BA 103 CO 152 GE 135 CLS 100 # Flags Fall 2011 653 343 341 294 291 279 252 249 199 180 173 151 149 147 137