Faculty Resources

Email is the primary mode for communication at GRCC. All important information will come to you via that medium. All faculty members are expected to have an active GRCC email account and to check it regularly. If you have not yet set up your GRCC email, please contact your Support Professional.

Full-time faculty will be assigned a voicemail extension. Adjunct faculty may request a voicemail extension here on campus. This will be a place for students to leave messages for you only. If you would like a voicemail, request it through your Support Professional. If you decide not to get a voicemail, you should have another way for students to contact you via phone. Some instructors give out their home, office, or cell numbers. If you do not feel comfortable doing that, please request a voicemail so students can connect with you.

You will need to set-up your voicemail once you have received your phone number. For CISCO phones, adjunct must press the * key after the voice mail system answers so it will prompt them for their extension; to access voicemail off campus dial (616) 234-3050.

To dial an outside number while on campus, press nine and then the number. To reach another office on campus you only need to dial the last four digits of the number.

It is your responsibility to check departmental mailboxes, as there are important items that are mailed that need attention, i.e. student evaluation questionnaires. Check with your department Support Professional to the location of your mailbox.

You can get your RaiderCard at Student Life (1st floor, Student Center) or other on- and off-campus locations (visit RaiderCard for a list of locations). This card is your campus ID and is needed for parking and using the copy machine. You are requested to wear your ID at all times on campus. IDs must also be worn at all off campus locations, especially at high schools.

You will be assigned to a parking ramp by GRCC Police. Most likely it will be in Parking Ramp A (formerly Bostwick Street Ramp), (you enter off Fountain). You will need to pick up your parking tag from GRCC Police when you pick up your keys. Faculty and students are not allowed to park under the Applied Technology Center or College Park Plaza.

Once you have been hired and have been entered into PeopleSoft, keys will be requested for you by the Support Professional in your respective department. You will receive keys to your classroom as well as your academic department office for access to your mailbox and copier. Once the request is processed, GRCC Police will contact you via your GRCC email address to let you know they are ready for pick-up. You must pick these up yourself as you will need to sign for them. GRCC Police is located at the northwest corner of Lyon and Bostwick.

You have RaiderCard and/or key access to faculty touchdown spaces. These touchdown spaces are equipped with a copier/printer, phone, and computer(s). The touchdown spaces are located in:

• Cook Academic Hall
  • Room 209 – This room has a copier, phones, large worktable, computer workstations, coffee maker, and microwave.
  • Room 307 – This room has a copier, phones, large worktable, computer workstations, microwave, toaster, refrigerator, and a scantron machine.
  • Room 411 – This room has a copier, phones, computer workstations, and a large table.
  • Room 508 – This room is ADA Accessible. It has a copier, computer workstations, a large table, and phones.
• Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall
  • Room 201 – This room has computer workstations and a large table.
  • Room 234 – This room is only accessible with a key. It has a printer (no copier), computer workstations, and a scantron machine.
  • Room 303 – This room has a copier, computer workstations, a large table and storage lockers for faculty. It also has a small interior room that can be used for student or small group meetings.
  • Room 511 – This room has computer workstations and a microwave. In addition, room 511A is accessible from inside and can be used for student meetings.
• Sneden Hall
  • Room 202 – This room has a copier, phones, computer workstations, large worktables, lockers, microwave, refrigerator, and a scantron machine.
  • Room 316 – This room has computer workstations, phones, a large worktable, and a toaster.
• Lakeshore Campus
  • Room 105 – This room has a copier, phones, computer workstations, a large worktable, refrigerator, toaster, microwave, lockers, scantron machine, and rooms to meet with students.

Your Associate Dean's Office will distribute FIFs. Please review carefully all of the information on your FIF, then sign and return the form immediately. Mark any corrections on the form. Since this form is your official agreement with the College and it is also used to produce your payroll, it must be complete, accurate and legible – address, home phone number and degree verification are also REQUIRED. Your accurate and timely paycheck depends on it. PLEASE double-check your “degree level” listed. If you are new or have recently earned a higher degree, HR must receive your official transcripts in order for payroll to be correctly processed. If your transcripts are not on file, you will be paid at a lower rate and your increase will be effective beginning the following semester.

Absences are reported through the 

Online Center. To report an absence, log into the Online Center and navigate to the Faculty Self Service screen, and select the Submit Absence tile.

Instructions for reporting absences can be found at Faculty Absence Self-Reporting.

If you are going to attend meetings and other College-related functions off campus, including class trips, you must complete an application for Leave of Absence. We cannot approve requests for a leave of absence after the fact. If you are requesting an expense reimbursement, the approved Leave of Absence form must be on file; otherwise, the reimbursement cannot be approved. Expense reimbursements (especially if grant-funded) should be submitted within 30 days after the activity. Refer to Policy 8.3 College Sponsored Student Travel and Policy 11.4 Travel Policy for additional information.

Grand Rapids Community College's Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education (TLDE) department is the primary provider of faculty professional development opportunities for all full-time and adjunct faculty. Our faculty-led opportunities include one-on-one assistance, small-group workshops, webinars, and online “just in time” resources. The TLDE programs include professional development that focuses on traditional and innovative pedagogies, academic service learning, curriculum development, assessment of student learning, and other practices that support the scholarship of teaching and learning. TLDE also assists faculty in making community connections to guest speakers and other colleagues who seek opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, TLDE invites suggestions and requests for small-group and departmental professional development activities. TLDE is located on the third floor of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall (RJF 373) and offerings are listed online.

Full-time faculty have a professional expense allotment for approved expenditures. 

These funds provide support for faculty in their work:

a. where the expenditure is for the professional development (professional activities, conferences, publications, dues) of the faculty member, or

b. where the faculty member provides assurance that the expenditure is predominately for college or student benefit, not personal use or convenience. Home internet service will not be reimbursed. Some tangible items may be taxable. Taxable items will be reimbursed through payroll.

For more information, consult the Faculty Contract. 

GRCC provides funds for adjunct/part-time faculty professional development. These funds are intended to provide support for adjunct/part-time faculty in their work for the College where the expenditure is for their professional development, including but not limited to professional activities, conferences, publications and/or professional dues related to their assignment at GRCC. For more information, visit Adjunct Professional Development Dollars.

Faculty Commitment: By no later than the second semester of teaching, each faculty member will, at a minimum, use the Blackboard Learning Management System to provide students with the course syllabus and faculty contact information. Use of the Blackboard Grade Center to provide regular feedback (where appropriate) is strongly encouraged.

Institutional Commitment: To support this Faculty Commitment, GRCC will provide each teaching faculty member with access to appropriate technology, training for its use, adequate system capacity, and timely technical troubleshooting.

Blackboard is an easy and effective way for professors to: share course materials online, communicate with students, send and receive assignments, post grades and feedback, and more. Using Blackboard contributes to student success and retention, saves time, reduces paper and printing costs, and provides links to a wealth of academic resources. Additionally, feedback from student surveys reveal that students consider Blackboard extremely useful in helping them organize their work, get feedback, access grades, connect with their instructors, collaborate with their fellow classmates, and access course materials.

To access Blackboard, simply login with your campus username and password . If you would like to learn more about using Blackboard in your courses, you may attend a training session through the Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education or access a wide array of online support resources available on the Help tab in Blackboard. Professors may also email  TLDE@grcc.edu for assistance.

For emergency assistance with technology, contact the IT Help Desk at (616) 234-4357. If you are teaching a class that depends heavily on technology, it is recommended that you have a back-up plan if the technology in the classroom becomes unavailable.

The office of Teaching, Learning, and Distance Education is located in 373 Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall. TLDE provides instructional technology training, resources, and support for faculty. Additionally, TLDE provides training and support in the development and delivery of Online and Hybrid courses. The TLDE team can assist with Blackboard questions as well as the use of other instructional technologies.

For more information, please visit TLDE on the web at or email the department for assistance, training or support at TLDE@grcc.edu. If you are experiencing a technical problem, error messages, etc. with Blackboard, classroom technology, or your desktop/laptop, please contact the IT Help Desk at ithelp@grcc.edu.

IT Media Technologies offers a wide array of services to support student learning and promote college goals. This department provides exceptional solutions to media-related issues throughout the college. For more information, visit Media Technologies.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are course materials that students can access for free or very low cost, that do not have copyright limitations for their use. OER can range from full, peer-reviewed textbooks like those available from Openstax to a course resource that a faculty member elsewhere in the country put together and made available in one of the many repositories for this kind of content. To get started with OER in your course, or to find out how you can start to implement some or all of your materials as OER, email Lauren Woolsey (laurenwoolsey@grcc.edu), the current OER Coordinator for GRCC. Lauren can meet with you one on one or schedule time to meet with larger committees or departments to discuss OER options. Our students come first, and free or low-cost alternatives to expensive commercial textbooks means better access for everyone!

The Library and Learning Commons (LLC) offers college-level collections and services. You can: check out materials with your RaiderCard;  place course materials onto Course Reserve; request  information literacy instruction for your students at all locations; embed a librarian into your Blackboard courses;  reserve LLC space - with or without computers – where your class can meet in the library;  reserve a desk for office hours in the library; collaborate with your academic department’s liaison librarian; access interlibrary loan and document delivery services; receive copyright assistance; access the Faculty & Staff Resources Subject Guide, and more. For more information, see the Faculty Resources section of the  LLC website.

The academic calendar can be found online at grcc.edu/provost. This calendar has important dates for the current semester.

Submit an electronic copy of your course syllabus to your Department Support Professional within the first two weeks of the semester and to Blackboard. Your students should receive your syllabus during the first class session. Advise your students of exactly what they can expect from you, and exactly what you will expect from them to achieve successful completion of the course. For a syllabus template, visit grcc.edu/syllabus or reference Policy 7.16 Common Syllabus Components.

Information regarding ordering textbooks, course packs, instructional materials and supplies can be found at Textbook Material.

The Bookstore's hours of operation and textbook return information can be found on their webpage. You may want to inform students, particularly those in the evening, weekend, and off-campus classes, that they may order their books online. For information, call the GRCC Bookstore at (616) 234-3880.

Printing Services website is grcc.edu/GRCCePRINT. Under the ‘Links” there are several videos on how to use the GRCCePRINT online ordering system. Please review the proper videos before you register and place an order. GRCCePRINT has different times for delivery depending on your location so check the GRCCePRINT website for your delivery location time.

To make copies on the copier in the office, you will need your RaiderCard or you will need to log-in to the machine using your GRCC login and password. You are asked to not make more than 25 sheets of paper per project on the office copier. Copies exceeding this amount should be sent to GRCCePRINT for copying. Semester start-up is busy so plan ahead as this option may take more than 24 hours during this time.

Copyright Laws of the United States (Title 17 U.S. Code) govern the use of copyrighted materials and making copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material, including graphic images. Although we are a nonprofit educational site, the doctrine of “Fair Use” and/or the T.E.A.C.H. Act do not relieve you as the faculty member of the responsibility to obtain permission for each use. GRCC policy endorses strict compliance with the law, and GRCC provides resources to assist you with compliance. Refer to Policy 3.0 College Operations – Copyright and the Library’s Copyright Subject Guide for additional information.

Use the Copyright Clearance Center RightFind Academic License, found on the Library’s Copyright Subject Guide, to determine if RightFind Academic already covers your reuse of copyrighted materials.

If you personally have obtained written permission to use specific material, please:

• keep the permission in your records and include copies with your course pack order to GRCCePRINT, or,
• when using a scanned copy online, append the permission to the scanned document, or, in a copyright permissions folder in Blackboard. 

Your Library Liaison will be happy to assist you with the ascertainment of precise bibliographic data and provide training on compliance with copyright law, Creative Commons licenses, training on the basics of Copyright Law and Fair Use, and, creating permalinks to link to copyrighted resources rather than copying them.

Faculty who teach day classes are required to be in the classroom during the designated final exam time as listed on the Exam Schedule, regardless if a final exam is administered. This schedule is given to serve our students. Faculty teaching evening classes are required to be in the classroom the last evening the class meets which is designated as the end date of the class, regardless if a final exam is administered. Evening classes are any class that ends after 5 p.m.

Attendance policies must comply with the 14-day absence rule as defined by Department of Education (Title IV administration). When a student has not attended a course during a 14 calendar day period, this absence is reported by faculty to the institution, and this report would initiate a withdrawal of that student from said class. Faculty do not need to report an absence when a student is in communication and there is a shared understanding on how that student is making progress in the course.

You must take attendance at your first class session. Check your class roster often, especially the first day of class, on count date, and whenever a new student appears. No students should be allowed in your class if they are not listed on your class roster. Inform the student that he or she must go to the Associate Dean's Office, if they are not on your class roster. Refer to Policy 8.8 for additional information.

You may access your class list/grade roster via the Online Faculty Center at any time. Students on the class list/grade roster are the only students who have registered and paid for the class and therefore allowed to be in the class. To access the Online Center and type in your user name (your user name is a capital W plus your employee ID) and password.

Teaching faculty (full time) must be on campus a minimum of five (5) office hours per week (for student consultation) in addition to the faculty member's normal teaching load. These hours should be in both a.m. and p.m. modules and in locations accessible to your students. Please list your office location and office hours on your syllabus. Please also provide office hours to your APSS.

To best serve our students, office hours should be scheduled in units of no less than 30 minutes in length. If you will not be in your announced location during these hours, you must communicate the new location.

There are three ways to check your scheduled classroom:

1. You can view a photo of your classroom by logging into 25Live:
   1. Open 25live in your browser.
   2. Log in with your GRCC network username and password
   3. Locate the "Quick Search" module on the Dashboard tab
   4. Enter your classroom (e.g. ATC 113) in the "Search Locations" field
   5. Click on the name of the location to view images and details about that location.
2. Capacity Cards are located in all classrooms indicating the number of seats for the room. If you find furniture missing or in need of repair, contact the office of your Associate Dean of Operations.
3. For non-technology classroom concerns, please contact the office of your Associate Dean of Operations.

Faculty members must seek approval from the appropriate Associate Dean of Operations for all guest speakers one week in advance via email or via a Classroom Speaker Request Form.

Any staff member who wishes to use a college vehicle to transport students or other college employees to an off-campus destination must submit a College Vehicle Driving Form to receive clearance to drive the vehicles. The form can be obtained online at grcc.edu/police. Please plan on submitting the form 30 days prior to your departure date. These forms are sent to the Michigan State Police for clearance. The return of information takes approximately three to four weeks.

The GRCC faculty member:

l. Maintains current content knowledge.

1. Demonstrates current knowledge and practice in the discipline.

2. Shares knowledge to help students anticipate future trends.

ll. Promotes an environment conducive to learning.

1. Uses the learning environment to promote faculty-student and student-student interaction.
2. Adapts the environment to meet the needs of the course.

3. Maintains an environment that cultivates respect, care, and rapport among students.

4. Creates an environment in which students are comfortable asking questions, stating opinions, challenging ideas/content.
5. Understands their student’s background, culture, needs, aspirations and goals.
6. Manages conflict and differences of opinions.

lll. Designs courses to promote learning and success for students.

1. Incorporate available information about student’s initial knowledge and needs into the course.
2. Clearly defines the course objectives and expectations for both faculty member and students.
3. Teaches to course objectives.
4. Assesses student achievement of outcomes and/or experience.
5. Provides timely feedback to students.
6. Provides opportunities for student feedback to faculty member.
7. Considers teaching practices in light of current research and best practices.

lV. Establishes a professional relationship with students and between students.

1. Demonstrates authenticity in his/her interactions with students.

2. Encourages students to be authentic and able to express themselves.

3. Demonstrates compassion and encourages students to demonstrate compassion.

4. Accepts others and their viewpoints and lifestyles in the learning environment.

5. Knows his/her own strengths and areas for improvement.

6. Encourages students to recognize their own strengths and areas for improvement.

7. Recognizes strengths of students and helps them capitalize on them.

8. Cares about students and their success in the classroom and in life.

V. Creates and maintains a community of learners.

1. Supports colleagues in his/her own Department or Program

2. Communicates and interacts constructively with those in other Departments and Programs.

3. Values contributions of all College staff.

4. Shares expertise and resources with colleagues.

5. Takes responsibility for the whole; supports consensus decisions and actions.

6. Collaborates with community partners to enhance learning experiences when appropriate for achieving course outcomes.

FERPA stands for Federal Right to Privacy Act. Please be familiar with this act as there is very little information you can give to a student's family, friends or other students. FERPA policy can be viewed at https://www.grcc.edu/generalcounsel/policies. The policy number is 8.6.

Grand Rapids Community College is fully committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities for students with disabilities as mandated by federal law. Please be aware that as a faculty member you are required to make and/or permit reasonable accommodations with regard to all aspects of the learning environment. Failure to do so could result in an Office of Civil Rights investigation or legal action.

It is strongly recommended that the following statement be placed in your syllabus:

“Students with disabilities who wish to request accommodations must be registered with the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office in Room 368 of the Student Center. You may contact them at (616) 234-4140 or (616) 234-4155 for more information. Once you are registered with the DSS Office, you will be given an Accommodations Agreement to present to me to verify your registration. Please see me as soon as possible so we may have a private conversation to discuss accommodations.

Please see Policy 7.13 Course Format and Credit Hour.

If you are not using the “gradebook” on Blackboard, grade books are available from your Support Professional. Grades must be submitted via the Online Faculty Center. Grades for 14-week courses are due 60 hours from the end of the last scheduled exam.  Early ending classes (e.g. 7, 10 and 12-week) grades are due within 72 hours.  Please contact IT Help with password or login concerns.

Incomplete Grades (I)

An incomplete (I) grade can be temporarily assigned in the event of extenuating circumstances such as illness, injury, birth of a child, death of a family member, jury duty or other situations that are beyond the control of the student and prevent completion of the course requirements during the semester. The following requirements must be met in order to receive an incomplete (I) grade:

1. The coursework up to the time of the absence has been satisfactory and in the instructor’s judgment, the student can complete the required work without repeating the course or attending any class sessions in subsequent semesters.
2. Approximately 90% of the course time has elapsed or coursework has been completed as determined by the instructor.
3. An incomplete form has been completed. This form will indicate the actions the student will take to finish the course, when those actions will take place (not to exceed one year), and the grade the instructor will submit (A, B, C, D, or E) should the work remain incomplete after the allotted time. Both the student and instructor will make every effort to sign the form and a copy will be provided to the student and the instructor’s Department Head/Program Director.

Once the coursework is completed or the allotted time lapsed, the instructor will submit an official grade change within 10 business days. If the course work is not completed and/or the instructor does not submit an official grade change, the incomplete (I) grade will default to a grade of E one year from the end date of the class. In the event of further unforeseen, extreme or unusual circumstances, a written appeal for an extension can be made to the Associate Dean of Hiring and Evaluation of the School where the course resides. Incomplete grade forms may be obtained from the Registrar's office.

Audit (V Grade)

Students may choose to receive an audit grade of V for classes in which they enroll. Students may audit a class for enjoyment, for personal exploration, for gaining insight into a new subject, or for other reasons. Audit status does not count toward full-time enrollment or graduation. The course will appear on the student’s transcript.

Students pay full tuition for classes they audit and are expected to participate in all class activities. However, they are not compelled to take tests or examinations or to write term papers, but they may do so voluntarily.

Students must declare their audit or graded status to their instructor during the first 25% of the class. Graded status may not be changed to audit status, and audit status may not be changed to graded status after this time limitation. Students may make arrangements on an individual basis with their instructor to change from audit to graded status. If they expect to do so, they must take all tests and examinations and write all assigned papers.

Withdrawal

Students may withdraw from a course and receive a W grade until the 70% date of course completion (as noted on the class roster) through the Online Center or at the Enrollment Center. After the 70% date, students may not initiate a course withdrawal or receive a W grade and the final course grade (A, B, C, D, or E) will be assigned based upon all graded and missed assignments. Instructors may not assign a W grade. 

However, during the last 30% of a course, students who have a documented extenuating circumstance such as an illness or injury, or the illness, injury or death of a significant other or family member may apply for a Hardship Withdrawal through the Office of the Dean of Students. Students may apply to withdraw from a single course or multiple courses. There is no impact on the student’s GPA for receiving a W grade in the Grand Rapids Community College grading system; however, other institutions may have different policies governing the impact of W grades on transfer student acceptance and/or their calculated GPA. In addition, W grades may have a negative impact on financial aid eligibility.

Federal Compliance Financial Aid Attendance Confirmation

Faculty should confirm participation for individual students in each of their classes per the dates provided by Financial Aid for each semester. This process must be completed within the provided time frame because only students with confirmations in all classes will be eligible for financial aid disbursement. For additional information regarding this process, contact the Associate Dean of Operations in your respective area.

Please note that all faculty are required to list the students' “last date of participation” for all "E's” in their grade records. The College is required by law to certify student participation so that GRCC students may qualify for federal financial aid and/or veterans benefits. There are financial consequences to the College for not maintaining and producing such records. Therefore, it is important that you have a method to track student participation.

The Code of Conduct clearly outlines your rights and responsibilities in regards to academic honesty and classroom conduct. The code can be found at grcc.edu/studentconduct. If you note behaviors of concern on campus, please contact the Conduct Office at (616) 234-3531 or GRCC Police Department at (616) 234-4010.

In this work, the college utilizes Early Alert to provide the ability for professors to raise flags (concerns) for students that are at risk. In addition, automated flags can be raised based on data in Blackboard such as not logging into an online course. These flags can be raised for a wide array of factors that can affect a student's retention and success. To use Early Alert, log into Blackboard and select the Early Alert tab. Additional information on using Early Alert can be found there.

This system has been designed to provide students, staff, and members of the community with multiple means of reporting concerns regarding possible ethics violations. Every person has a responsibility to report facts giving rise to possible ethics violations to enable the college to conduct a prompt investigation and implement a timely and appropriate response. This system has been designed to ensure that reporting ethics concerns can be done easily and with assurance of confidentiality to the extent allowable under the law.

Anyone who has reason to believe that an ethics violation has occurred should immediately report known facts in one of the ways listed below. When reporting a violation, it is important to include the following information:

• Explain the facts of the incident
• Provide the name of the alleged offender
• Give the date the incident occurred
• Optional: Provide a contact name, number, and e-mail to allow for confidential follow up.
• Reporting Options (It is not necessary to provide a name when making a report.)
• Contact the GRCC Ethics Hotline at (616) 234-3169
• Report Information to a staff member of the Human Resources Department (ext. 3972)
• Report the incident to GRCC Police (ext. 4010)
• Report incidents regarding students to any of the above or the Student Life Office (ext. 4160)
• Send a written statement of facts to the Office of the General Counsel (please note on envelope: Ethics Officer)

Ethics Monitoring System

Equal Employment Opportunity

Members of the GRCC community, guests and visitors have the right to be free from all forms of gender and sex-based discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual exploitation and stalking. All members of the campus community are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others.

 Please know, all staff and faculty are considered “Responsible Employees”, which means you must report allegations of sexual misconduct or other violations of the GRCC Sexual Misconduct Policy to the Title IX Coordinator, Title IX Deputy Coordinator or designees (and GRCC Police if appropriate). Please report as soon as you are able, so we can take appropriate action to support our students and respond to the concern.  

 Please note: Only licensed personal counselors serving in a counseling role at GRCC are considered “confidential employees” and are not required to report information to the Title IX Coordinator. You are welcome to point students to the licensed professional counselors in the Counseling and Career Development Center, who can be reached at (616) 234-4130 or by visiting the front desk on the 3rd floor of the Student Center. Employees may access counseling resources by contacting GRCC’s Employee Assistance Plan, administered through Pine Rest.

• Sexual Misconduct Policy
• Sexual Misconduct Policy resources and information
• Title IX Information
• Title IX Public Reporting form

What this means for you

As a responsible employee, if you become aware of possible violations of GRCC’s Sexual Misconduct policy, including sexual harassment, stalking, sexual assault, domestic or dating violence, sexual exploitation or any other form of gender- or sex-based discrimination, you MUST inform the Title IX Coordinator or a Deputy Coordinator listed below. Reporting is required regardless of whether the discrimination involves students, faculty, staff, or visitors at GRCC, and regardless of where the incident occurs. After you report, the Title IX Coordinator will reach out to offer support, resources, and options related to moving forward.

Deputy Coordinator
(616) 234-4160                                            

Deputy Coordinator (GRCC Police), Chief Rebecca Whitman
(616) 234-4012 or (616) 234-4010
rwhitman@grcc.edu

Additional Deputy Coordinators may also receive reports.

In speaking with a victim or witness, you should not promise confidentiality. You can share with individuals sharing concerns that you are required to share incidents with the Title IX Coordinator if there are possible violations of our Sexual Misconduct policy, no matter who the perpetrator is or where it occurred. You can pass along to the Title IX Coordinator any requests from the student, which may include a request not to participate in the process or a request that their name is not shared with the perpetrator. The Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Coordinators will reach out to the individual who is experiencing the situation first, to discuss options and resources with them, before any follow-up or discussion is done with the accused.  Any questions should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator. For more information on Title IX, please visit: https://www.grcc.edu/generalcounsel/titleix

Behavioral Intervention Team

The Behavioral Intervention Team provides preventative measures on campus to reduce the risk of student or employee incident. Members intake and assess information, take action when necessary and track details about behavior concerns noted on campus.

Reasons for a BIT Referral:

1. Person states intent to harm self;

2. Person states intent to harm others;

3. Student demonstrates erratic behaviors that significantly disrupt the learning/work environment.

Examples could include, but are not limited to:

• Any behavior, gestures, or words that cause some apprehension or pause

• Displaced anger 

• Discussion of weapon/bomb collection, use, etc.

• Sudden change in demeanor

Concerns are reviewed during normal business hours, when GRCC is open.

If your concern involves an immediate safety risk to self or others, please stop and call GRCC Police at (616) 234-4911 or 911 immediately.

To file a BIT report, please fill out the form or call (616) 234-3337.  

For more information please visit the Behavioral Intervention page.

GRCC policies are located at grcc.edu/policies.

Staff, faculty and students are increasingly being asked to participate in research projects. In addition, in the course of pursuing advanced degrees, some staff members are using GRCC as the site for research projects to fulfill course requirements. To monitor the research conducted at the college, to ensure that college students and personnel are treated with the respect and care outlined by the American Psychological Association guidelines for research with human subjects, and to maintain the integrity of the institution, proposals for all research projects conducted on the GRCC campus involving its students, faculty or staff must be submitted to and approved by the GRCC Institutional Review Board for Research at GRCC. Please contact Erika Bolig, Director of Institutional Research and Planning, by calling (616) 234-3914 or erikabolig@grcc.edu for details or visit the department's webpage.

Grand Rapids Community College is committed to protecting the health of students, staff, faculty and guests by prohibiting the use and/or sale of tobacco products, medical marijuana and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) at any time or in any place on GRCC properties, including sidewalks within the boundaries of any GRCC campus. This policy shall extend to all properties owned, operated, leased or maintained by GRCC, including all Regional Centers, and MTEC properties.

Employees shall not use, chew, smoke or sell tobacco products, e-cigarettes or medical marijuana during their paid work time. Students shall not use, chew, smoke or sell tobacco products, e-cigarettes or medical marijuana at any time while subject to the jurisdiction of the GRCC Student Code of Conduct.

Refer to Policy 3.5 Tobacco/E-Cigarette Free Environment for additional information.

GRCC understands the effect of energy consumption on both the environment and the budget. With the cost of energy rising and environmental concerns growing, the college is proactively limiting energy consumption whenever and wherever possible. The energy conservation program is designed to reduce utility energy consumption primarily when buildings are unoccupied. However, it also seeks to make students, faculty and staff more conscientious with conservation procedures for thermostats, lighting, computers and other resource-consuming systems. By all of us working together, GRCC can become a model of thoughtful stewardship, not only of natural resources and the environment, but also taxpayer and tuition dollars. Visit the Facilities webpage for energy guidelines which outline methods and procedures to reduce energy consumption in campus buildings.

GRCC offers a text message service to notify students and employees in emergency situations and other important notifications. Now you can be notified anytime, anywhere when GRCC is closed or other critical announcements via your mobile phone. For instructions on how to activate this service, visit grcc.edu/textmessage. 

The GRCC Police office is located in room 25 Lyon. The phone number is (616) 234-4010 and the office hours are:

• Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Friday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Saturday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

If you have an emergency, please call 4911, which will ring directly into GRCC Police.

If you need to contact GRCC Police, the dispatcher is reached at (616) 234-4010. There is also a phone in each classroom for emergencies with students or equipment problems. You may press CODE 2 in a police-emergency. GRCC Police will be able to hear what is going on in the classroom and respond.

In the event of an emergency, there are several methods the GRCC Crisis Management and Response Teams will deploy to communicate with faculty and students. The primary method for classroom communication will be:

Emergency Phone Alert System

Classroom and office phones will broadcast an emergency alert message twice. Please listen for emergency instructions and assist your students if you are in a classroom.

Other Communications Methods for Emergencies may include:

• All-staff email messages
• Pop-up messages on computer network stations
• In-person notification by Crisis Response Team members
• Messages on the college web site, www.grcc.edu
• Messages on campus TV monitors
• Text messaging
• College phone switchboard
• If appropriate, local media outlets and college cable channel 28

Visit Emergency Plans and Procedures for additional information.

When GRCC closes due to inclement weather, the campus is closed for everyone. Please assist in making students aware that if GRCC is closed, no services will be provided or available to them. Let your students know that they can call (616) 234-GRCC after 6 a.m., or check www.grcc.edu for information about closing due to inclement weather. Closure of the Lakeshore Campus will be decided and communicated separately. Due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, weather conditions can be quite different at that campus.

Mileage reimbursement is available for faculty members who teach at off campus/regional sites. For more information regarding mileage reimbursement, refer to the Faculty Contract.