GVSU in Photos: Celebrating Laker graduates at December 2025 Commencement
See the images at Van Andel Arena that caught our eye.
Dec 9, 2025
The Enrollment Development and College Futures Division Overview
The Enrollment Development and College Futures Division is responsible for providing leadership in enrollment development and educational outreach by implementing comprehensive strategies to improve student retention, academic excellence, and learning while employing the use of data-driven, evidence-based enrollment practices. The division will work to inspire others within our community to work collaboratively in achieving the university’s enrollment and retention goals.
Mission Statement
The Division of Enrollment Development and College Futures values cooperation and interconnectedness with each functional unit at Grand Valley State University. The division contributes to the enrichment of our society by implementing enrollment planning and services that value diversity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility; identify, recruit, and enroll capable learners; offer services to support and promote equitable enrollment, retention, progression, graduation and overall success for all learners.
Vision Statement
The Division of Enrollment Development and College Futures will be recognized as a national model for enrollment management programs, services, and practices. We will be a learner-ready and evidence-based division utilizing an inclusive approach to encourage learners from all backgrounds to become leaders and complete their educational pursuits. Utilizing a coordinated care approach, we will provide comprehensive services to lifelong learners at every stage of their educational career.
Guiding Principles
- Recruiting, admitting, retaining, and graduating a diverse learner population with equitable outcomes as the goal
- Placing learners’ welfare ahead of other institutional goals by advocating for their needs
- Involving cross-divisional stakeholders from across the institution to think through a lens of transformation to ensure optimal results
- Utilizing asset-based, abundance thinking, about our learners and the varied gifts and talents they bring
- Supporting all learners in ways that honor and respect their diverse and multiple social identities
- Delivering intrusive, inclusive, and intentional education and experiences
- Investing in the ongoing learning and development of faculty and staff as they seek to serve learners, recognizing their invaluable influence
- Providing comprehensive and high-quality academic advising and coaching in a supportive learning environment
- Designing course sequencing and course availability within our curriculum to meet the needs of our traditional, non-traditional/adult, and graduate learners
- Using systemically-gathered data to inform our decision making
- Seeing the local, state and global community as valued partners in providing educational opportunities for our learners
- Working to be a learner-ready institution, recognizing and acknowledging our faculty and staff's role in understanding and supporting our learners
Featured News
Grand Valley Pledge will help first-generation students pay for college in Calhoun County and beyond
Through development of recent pipeline and financial aid programs, Grand Valley leaders have opened the university’s doors even wider to diverse students and, in turn, helped diversify West Michigan’s workforce.
B. Donta Truss, vice president for Enrollment Development and College Futures, led establishments of these programs and said he drew largely from his own experience as a first-generation college student to create programs that make it easier for students to attend college. Truss earned three degrees, including a doctorate in educational leadership, policy and law, from Alabama State University, one of the country’s oldest Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCU).
GVNext News
New location, same mission: Annual symposium moves to Battle Creek for 2026
The fifth annual Black Boys and Men National Symposium will convene in Battle Creek June 10-12.
Dec 8, 2025
Grand Valley unveils GVSU Military Promise program during Veterans Day Luncheon
The initiative guarantees admission to the university to all servicemembers who have committed to serve, are serving or have honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Nov 11, 2025