Title: Associate Dean for Academic Support
Office: B-4-253 MAK
Phone: 616-331-3583
Email: [email protected]

Academic Advising and Student Success

1. Provide direct supervision and support for the Acting Director of the CLAS Academic Advising Center.
2. Provide direct supervision and support for the Director of the CLAS Tutoring and Reading Center.
3. Support the work of the CLAS Voyage as it pertains to Student Success.
4. Support CLAS faculty mentors (advisors).
5. Maintain CLAS web based advising materials, including the Faculty Advising Repository
6. Facilitate the implementation and maintenance of the major-specific Career Guides by Major in collaboration with Career Services.
7. Provide leadership and outreach to facilitate course registration for students who have stopped out, recently returned to GVSU, have yet to register for the next academic year, or who have accumulated a high number of credits but have not yet earned a degree.

CLAS Liaison for Student Academic Services, Policies and Procedures

1. All grade reporting and incomplete grade resolutions
2. Final approval for all grade changes
3. Student registration issues, including the approval of all late adds.
4. Coordinate outreach to CLAS Units as it pertains to the prerequisite override system, prerequisite error reports and waitlist reports.
5. Final approval for all myPath exceptions and updates as it pertains to graduation and degree requirements as well as course substitutions including the Bachelor of Science requirements.
6. Liaise with Vice Provost for Academic Advising and Student Success on possible exceptions to university-level graduation requirements.
7. Liaison with the Admissions Office
8. First point of contact for faculty seeking information on GVSU graduation policies and procedures.
9. Transfer Student Initiatives

Workday Student Implementation Team – CLAS Representative

Student Academic Grievances – Support and Information

Curriculum Change/New Program Implementation Support

Committee Work for CLAS and the University

1. CLAS Student Advisory Committee
2. CLAS Voyage Steering Committee
3. CLAS Voyage Embarking Experience/Learning Communities Team
4. CLAS Gateways to Completion/Gardner Institute Team
5. John Allegrina Scholarship Selection Committee chair
6. Tuition Refund Appeal Committee
7. Associate/Assistant Dean Committee
8. First-year Learning Communities Committee
9. Student Success Network Committee
10. SEMP Taskforce – FTIAC and Transfer Student Teams
11. Workday Student Subject Matter Expert
12. First Year Advising and Registration (Orientation) Planning Committee

Colleen Lewis is a Professor in Health and Physical Education in the Department of Movement Science.  She was Assistant Department Chair for Student Development and Chair of both the CLAS Faculty Council and CLAS Personnel Committee as well as a member of CLAS Curriculum Committee prior to joining the CLAS Dean’s Office. Before GVSU, Colleen was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and the National Institutes of Health. Colleen received her Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University, an M.S. In Anatomy from Wright State University and a B.S. in Biology from Denison University. Colleen also worked at SUNY Cortland in Cortland New York.

She is actively involved in collaborative scholarship with students and faculty.  Colleen’s research and teaching expertise is focused on individuals with disabilities, motor learning and motor control as well as instructional physical activity programs in higher education. She has presented locally and nationally as well as published in a variety of journals. Colleen was coordinator for Health and Physical Education, a liaison with CLAS Advising and involved in New Student Orientation.  She directed a complete curricular update to the Fitness, Skill and Activity (FIT) courses as well as developed a Unified Sports class bringing students with disabilities in local Transition Programs to campus to take a FIT class with GVSU students.  Her primary focus in teaching is ensuring that individuals with disabilities are included in all facets of life, have opportunities to be physically active with their peers and have teachers, family and friends that support them.