The Division of Student Services is committed to creating co-curricular connections that enhance classroom learning with out-of-class learning opportunities. We have developed these programs and initiatives around a robust set of LEAP learning outcomes as articulated by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and GVSU’s student learning outcomes of the General Education Program. Among them:

• Foundations and Skills for Lifelong Learning
• Civic Responsibility Integrative Learning
• Critical Thinking
• Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Ethical Reasoning
• Information Literacy
• Integration
• Oral Communication Problem Solving
• Quantitative Literacy
• Written Communication

https://www.aacu.org/leap/vision.cfm
https://www.gvsu.edu/gened/

The integration of academic and student affairs can take many forms,
from individual efforts to university-wide initiatives. Examples
include:

• Utilizing programming as a tool for classroom learning (e.g. organizing a speaker around specific course content, co-creating experiential learning that highlights classroom themes, etc.).
• Partnering to increase student engagement through support programs, internships, service-learning, tutoring, student organization membership, Laker leadership programs, Laker for a Lifetime effort, etc.
• Mentoring students through tailored programs that serve underrepresented students (e.g. Laker Connections Programs; mentor programs for Students of Color that include Brothers, Hermanos, Niara).
• Participating in bridge programs that introduce new students to college life or develop specific skills.
• Involvement in living-learning communities where students choose to live and learn together in order to expand their knowledge through shared learning experiences. Each community builds upon a specific theme, major or area of interest and faculty and student affairs educators work to create a rich learning environment.

Collaborations between academic and student affairs highlight the importance of learning both inside and outside the classroom and GVSU students benefit from this dynamic partnership!