2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
College of Education and Community Innovation
Administration
Dean: Soman, Sherril
Website
Mission
Educating leaders and professionals to engage, enrich, and transform communities.
Vision
The College of Education and Community Innovation (CECI) embodies principles of democracy, high ethical standards, diversity, and active engagement. CECI builds upon the wisdom, goals, and life experiences of our learners and community partners. We will establish an open and creative culture that welcomes innovative scholarship and service where all CECI learners are successful contributors. Within this culture, we will nurture key innovations, bolster community capacity, and inculcate leaders with the appreciation of applied knowledge toward improved and healthy communities.
Academic Units
- Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling
- Department of Literacy, Educational Foundations, and Technology
- Department of Teaching and Learning
- School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies
- School of Community Leadership and Development
- School of Social Work
Establishment
Founded in 2021, Grand Valley's newest college (CECI, pronounced chech-ee) is the first academic college in the nation to unite the transformative power of education, social work, criminology, philanthropy, social innovation, and legal studies with the community engagement of hospitality, health, nonprofit, and public management and policy. We are dedicated to developing well-rounded and high-quality administrators, educators, social workers, paralegals, peace officers, counselors, community organizers, and civil servants through active, experiential, and community-based learning. Our multidisciplinary environment will incubate innovative approaches to building healthy communities, promoting equity and social responsibility, and providing quality research and data.
Program Information
Graduate Degrees
Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) in Leadership
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.)
Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (M.P.N.L.)
Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)
Master of Science (M.S.) in Criminal Justice
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Professional Master of Arts (M.A.) in Social Innovation (PMASI)
Graduate Certificates
English as a Second Language
Nonprofit Leadership
Online/Blended Instruction and Assessment
Undergraduate Programs
Birth to Kindergarten (B.A., B.S.)
Criminal Justice (B.A., B.S.)
Elementary Education (B.A., B.S.)
Hospitality and Tourism Management (B.S.)
Legal Studies (B.A., B.S.)
Public and Nonprofit Administration (B.A., B.S.)
Secondary Education (B.A., B.S.)
Social Work (B.S.W.)
Special Education (B.A., B.S.)
Minors
Adventure Tourism Management
Cannabis Operations
Criminal Justice
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Information Security Systems
Juvenile Justice
Legal Studies
Nonprofit Administration
Public Administration
Undergraduate Certificates
Cannabis Operations
Paralegal Studies
External Certifications
Military Police Veteran's Academy
Police Academy
School Social Work Certification
Teacher Certification
Badges
Cannabis Operations
Food and Beverage Service
Accreditation and Approvals
Police Academy by Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) since 1970.
Social Work (M.S.W.) by Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1984.
Education (Initial and Advanced Teacher Preparation Levels) by Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) since 1988
Social Work (B.S.W.) by Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1990.
Public Administration (M.P.A.) by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) since 1995.
Legal Studies (B.A., B.S.) by the American Bar Association since 2010.
Health Administration (M.H.A.) by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) since 2017.
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (M.P.N.L.) by the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) since 2019.
Student Resources
Advising and Services
CECI Undergraduate Advising Center: For birth to kindergarten (B-K), criminal justice, hospitality and tourism management, legal studies, public and nonprofit administration, and social work advising.
CLAS Academic Advising Center: For elementary and secondary subject area advising.
Office of Certification and Accreditation: For questions on all education courses, special education, program requirements, or field placement information.
Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships
Each year, the college assists students through the generosity of individuals and organizations dedicated to our students. Please refer to CECI specific scholarships at gvsu.edu/ceci/scholarships for more information, or the university's scholarship website at gvsu.edu/scholarships to apply through myScholarhips, the online application database.
Graduate assistant positions are available in all units within the College of Education and Community Innovation to assist with research, writing, data collection and analysis, grant proposal development, student services, computer projects, and serving on graduate committees. Refer to The Graduate School section in this catalog for additional information on Graduate Assistantships.
Student Organizations
Students in the College of Education and Community Innovation have developed excellent student organizations that fulfill a variety of interests and give opportunities for personal and professional growth. More details can be found on our student organizations website.
Admission
For graduate program admission, see:
Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) in Leadership
Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.)
Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (M.P.N.L.)
Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)
Master of Science (M.S.) in Criminal Justice
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Professional Master of Arts (M.A) in Social Innovation (PMASI)
For secondary admission to the Bachelor of Social Work program, see:
B.S.W. Admission and Academic Requirements
For specific undergraduate education initial certification admission requirements, see:
Undergraduate Teacher Education Program
Community Resources
Art and Science of Aging Conference
The annual Art and Science of Aging Conference offers sessions that educate professionals and consumers with evidence-based prescriptions for healthy aging that they can adopt and adapt to their own circumstances.
Center for Educational Partnerships
The Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) is a service unit committed to supporting and promoting collaborations between faculty, staff, and students and K-12 schools in West Michigan. The CEP provides high-quality programming and resources to school districts and educators, with a goal of supporting student achievement. Projects housed in the CEP include experiential learning initiatives highlighting design thinking and environmental place-based education (Groundswell), promotions and outreach, event planning, and career guidance (Education Alumni Affinity group).
Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20
Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20 is a coalition of individuals and institutions interested in improving outcomes for youth, families, and communities through improvements in the juvenile justice systems.
Rethinking Dementia
Rethinking Dementia is a web resource for improving the lives of people affected by dementia by promoting better access to quality support and services through innovative community collaboration.
Michigan Literacy Project
The Michigan Literacy Project (MLP) was developed to address the needs of our recent graduates and their young students. MLPs mission is to provide quality classroom libraries to recent education graduates teaching three years or less in pre-K through 6th grade classrooms in underserved Michigan public school districts and GVSU charter schools across the state.
Social Work Continuing Education
Through our continuing education offerings, we offer quality courses that are meaningful and applicable to professional social workers. We also provide small, personal, and intellectual environments to optimize your learning experience.
W.K. Kellogg/BCPS/GVSU Education Programs Partnership
CECI partners with Battle Creek Public Schools and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to positively impact education in the region through initiatives such as Early Career Teacher Mentoring, High-Leverage Teaching Practices, Paraprofessional Pathway, Project-Based Learning, and Teacher Intern Pipeline.