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Marketing Messages

Integrated Marketing at Grand Valley State University

Find out what integrated marketing means at Grand Valley, what our messages are, and how you can help communicate them in your daily work. Download the Living Grand PDF for a six-page brochure about integrated marketing at Grand Valley.

 

Talking Points

Download the Talking Points PDF for a handy reference regarding quick facts about Grand Valley State University.

 

Grand Valley State University has five key institutional messages.

The messages below were derived from Grand Valley's mission, vision, and values, as well as research with the university’s constituency groups.

Integrated into all facets of Grand Valley's verbal and written communications, these messages help create a strong and consistent image of the university and are personified by using real students, faculty members, staff members, and alumni in advertising, Spotlights, Success Stories, and admissions publications.

By knowing, understanding, and sharing these messages, anyone can help accomplish the goal of enhancing the image and visibility of Grand Valley State University.

We encourage you to use these messages whenever possible in all personal and professional communications related to the university.

1. At Grand Valley, we believe the future depends on people acting from a strong foundation.

2. At Grand Valley, value matters.

3. We're an ideal educational destination.

4. We're a community defined by momentum.

5. We're committed to exceeding your expectations.

 

1. At Grand Valley, we believe the future depends on people acting from a strong foundation.

The Grand Valley experience is built on small classes with personal attention from faculty members who teach while enhancing the knowledge in their fields. Our award-winning facilities offer the most effective learning technology. Grand Valley students don’t just learn skills, they learn how to think — for a lifetime. Through academic excellence, internships in leading-edge companies, and collaborative service projects, they discover that personal engagement is the cornerstone of the greater good. Grand Valley’s graduates leave campus with experiences that prepare them well for success — in life, on the job, and in the community. 

  • Grand Valley’s liberal education foundation spans all 81 undergraduate and more than 31 graduate programs, integrating disciplines so students connect topics and view the world from a broad perspective — better equipping them to make both personal and civic decisions.
  • Our liberal education, whether through foundation courses or the liberal studies major, allows personalization through electives, clubs, and events — ensuring no two students receive the same education.
  • The middle 50 percent of Grand Valley’s entering class for Fall 2012 earned high school GPAs ranging from 3.2 to 3.8 and ACT composite scores of 21 to 26.
  • We offer undergraduate students opportunities to act as key members of graduate-level research teams in state-of-the-art facilities.
  • Faculty members care about students, frequently developing mentoring relationships that last long after graduation.
  • The Peter Cook Leadership Academy at the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies is one way Grand Valley inspires potential leaders to serve their community, state, and nation.
  • Grand Valley is ranked 13th among U.S. master’s degree-granting institutions for total number of study abroad students, according to the Institute of International Education in New York. During the 2011-2012 academic year Grand Valley had 807 students study abroad.

 

2. At Grand Valley, value matters.

We know Grand Valley tuition is a real investment, and we’re sensitive to actual family budgets. Grand Valley costs much less than other public universities of comparable quality — and has been named one of America’s 100 Best College Buys for 17 years in a row. And we believe that an affordable education can be rich in experience. You’ll see that commitment everywhere you look — from the quality of our people and resources to the exceptional beauty and liveliness of our campuses. Grand Valley provides a great return on investment.

  • Outstanding faculty members, not graduate students or teaching assistants, give personal attention in small classes of big thinkers. (Average class size is 27 students.) 
  • Grand Valley’s beautiful campuses are home to vibrant student life, including 356 student organizations.
  • Grand Valley is committed to economic, social, and environmental sustainability and thousands of students participate in sustainability or service learning projects in the local community and abroad each year.
  • An inclusive campus that values diversity is one of Grand Valley’s stated goals. 
  • Grand Valley provides high-quality education opportunities at an affordable tuition rate.
  • In the 2011-2012 academic year, 95 percent of our full-time dependent students received financial aid — with an average award of $12,739.
  • Grand Valley provides high-quality education through research mentoring and opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

 

3. We're an ideal educational destination.

And it’s not just because West Michigan is a great place to live. Grand Valley helps drive our region’s economic growth. Grand Valley students and alumni have unique opportunities to learn and work in up-and-coming industries — because Grand Valley is involved in advancing those new industries. Undergraduate and graduate students alike can be assured that their instructors are real-world focused and their coursework relevant. They can gain firsthand experience in some of the most exciting and rewarding fields of the 21st century. At Grand Valley, we build futures that you can take anywhere.

  • The Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus is located in the heart of Michigan’s second largest city, close to internship, employment, and community outreach programs.
  • Grand Valley also offers bachelor’s and master’s degree courses in Holland, Muskegon, and Traverse City.
  • The Allendale, Grand Rapids, and Holland campuses are located just a few hours from Chicago and Detroit.
  • Students from across Michigan choose Grand Valley — the top six counties of origin for incoming students are Kent, Ottawa, Oakland, Wayne, Muskegon, and Macomb. 
  • The campuses are located in Michigan’s West Coast, close to the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan and the cultural opportunities of Grand Rapids.
  • The total economic impact of Grand Valley’s faculty members, staff members, and students in Kent, Ottawa, and Muskegon Counties during the 2010-2011 fiscal year was $732.3 million.
  • Top employers of Grand Valley graduates include well-known West Michigan companies such as Spectrum Health, Gordon Food Service, Amway, Crowe Horwath, and Steelcase.

 

4. We're a community defined by momentum.

U.S. News and World Report has named Grand Valley an “up and coming” university, a designation for institutions who are “worth watching because they are making promising and innovative changes.” We think our students — who come from every corner of Michigan and the globe — share that mindset. That’s why we have just one prevailing benchmark for success: the success of our students.

  • Grand Valley’s liberal education focus emphasizes critical thinking, creative problem solving, and cultural understanding –– preparing students for life in a fast-changing world.
  • Nearly 90% of recent grads are employed or pursuing advanced degrees; of those working, 84% of them are employed in Michigan.
  • More than 7,000 students participated in internships, co-ops, practica, and student teaching in 2011-2012.
  • Because of Grand Valley's presence, more than 10,800 permanent off-campus jobs have been created.
  • Grand Valley’s Sustainable Community Development Initiative connects students, faculty members, and staff members with sustainability best practices through courses, internships, activities, resources, and the Sustainable Agriculture Project.
  • During the 2011-2012 academic year, Grand Valley students performed nearly six million community service hours through the Community Learning Service Center, classroom assignments, student organizations, and personal volunteer work.
  • From 2003-2011 the university grew 60% in square footage, yet reduced its consumption of utilities per square foot by 24% in electricity, 27% in natural gas, and 38% in water.
  • Two new facilities are scheduled for completion in 2013. The four-story L. William Seidman Center that will fully house the Seidman College of Business. And the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons that will house a knowledge market with experts to provide research, technology, and presentation coaching. As well as 150,000 books on open shelves and 600,000 books in an automated retrieval system.

 

5. We're committed to exceeding your expectations.

You’ll find the hallmarks of an established institution at Grand Valley — more than 200 areas of study, championship athletics teams, and exciting student life. You’ll also find resources that might surprise you, such as our alternative energy and health care business incubators, our commitment to sustainability, and a nationally acclaimed center for philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. One thing is certain: whatever the future demands, we create.

  • Grand Valley was named one of the country’s greenest universities by the Sierra Club. The university placed 16th and is the highest-ranking Michigan institution on the list.
  • The free campus shuttle links students, faculty members, and staff members to the entire Grand Rapids transit system reducing the number of cars on the road. In the 2011-2012 academic year, the shuttles carried nearly 3 million riders within and between the Allendale and Grand Rapids campuses.
  • Our commitment to sustainability and the environment is evident in our meeting LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) specifications in all our new construction projects.
  • Grand Valley is listed as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S.A. and Canada in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition.
  • Grand Valley earned first or second in the Directors' Cup for being the best NCAA Division II athletic program in the nation 11 straight years
  • Grand Valley is the only university in Michigan to offer diagnostic medical sonography as a bachelor’s degree program, and the only university in the country to offer pediatric echocardiography as part of a bachelor’s degree program.
  • Academically motivated students can choose the Frederik Meijer Honors College where they can live in premium housing in the Glenn A. Niemeyer Learning and Living Center.
  • Grand Valley libraries have employed the first commercial adoption worldwide of a Web discovery service, which simplifies the task of searching the libraries’ more than 250 databases.
  • Grand Valley offers interdisciplinary, cutting-edge programs that prepare students for careers in today’s demanding workforce. Biomedical engineering teaches students to apply engineering training to the medical science and research community. And our Professional Science Master’s program allows advanced training in science or mathematics, while providing students with professional skills valued by employers.



 

Page last modified May 13, 2013