Laker to Laker
Dear Colleagues,
This Laker to Laker note is co-authored by three of your Vice Presidents, B. Donta Truss (VP for Enrollment Management and Educational Outreach), Jenny Hall Jones (VP for Student Affairs), and Fatma Mili (Provost and Executive VP for Academic Affairs) to share in our excitement about the upcoming year and update you on the collective efforts undertaken to promote student success.
First, we would like to join President Mantella in thanking all of you for all the work you do. Thanks to your impact and to President Mantella’s advocacy, the Board of Trustees has approved a 4.5% performance-based compensation pool increase for regular faculty and AP staff.
Another reason to celebrate is the approval of one of the most Higher Education-friendly budgets the state has passed in years. It includes a 5% increase in operating support and an acceleration of the floor of $4,500 per student from disbursing it over three years to disbursing it over two years. As a result, GVSU has received $7.4M more than projected. The third reason to celebrate is the enrollment growth this coming Fall. We are all working in tandem to make sure that we are Lakers Ready for both new and returning Lakers.
Thanks to the efforts of all university stakeholders, we are poised to have one of the largest incoming classes in years. As of July 8, applications, admissions, and orientation reservations exceed last year. This year has the potential of being a great recruitment year and an incoming class that looks similar to pre-covid years and beyond. It is an exciting year at GVSU. We ask that you keep spreading the good news and helping us to “close the deal on students” and eliminating summer melt. We are almost at the end of the road and the goal is to finish strong, it is truly an exciting time to be a Laker!
With the large first-year class and an increased interest in living on-campus for our upper-class students, the living centers will be very full this upcoming year. So full in fact, that we are currently contracting with an off-campus partner to secure GVSU spaces in nearby apartment complexes. These spaces will now be GVSU apartments on the Laker Line and we will staff them accordingly, with both RAs and GVPD presence and jurisdiction.
The three divisions have worked closely to restructure orientation adopting several national best practices. We have been monitoring together the enrollment throughout the summer adjusting course schedules by mostly adding new sections where needed and identifying new and existing faculty to teach these new sections. Between May 8 and July 7, 95 new sections were added, and 37 scheduled sections were canceled. Special thanks go to everyone involved in this work: in particular, the Registrar’s office, Associate Deans, and unit heads. This cross-divisional collaboration, the agility and responsiveness of adding sections in real time during orientation is truly exemplary of what it means to be Laker Ready.
With the majority of orientation sessions now complete, we are turning our attention toward welcoming students for the fall semester! On August 1, incoming students will receive an online module focused on life at GV including community expectations, health and well-being, getting involved on campus, and a range of other topics. And when students begin to move in on August 22, we will officially launch our Laker Welcome program which will include a wide range of events and experiences for students both during Welcome Week and the first six weeks of classes, including Convocation as the signature experience to launch their Laker era.
We are deeply humbled by the faith placed in GVSU by every one of the new and returning Lakers. It is the greatest privilege and the greatest responsibility. We strongly believe that we have the best team and would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to every one of you for everything you do.
Best regards,
Donta, Jenny, Fatma
