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Division of Enrollment Development and College Futures

Impact

Here we highlight the important and impactful work happening across all units in the Division of Enrollment Development and College Futures.

Admissions & Recruitment

 

Financial Aid & Scholarships

 

Records, Registration and Institutional Analysis

  • 2026: Compiled and submitted the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS), the largest expansion of data collection in the history of IPEDS.
  • 2025: Work with Admissions and Recruitment to implement AIRR transcript processing from OneOrigin.
  • 2024: Provided option for e-diploma for all students
  • 2024: Rolled out major enhancements in online tools for forecasting and monitoring course demand
  • 2024: Spring/Summer course schedule viewable in Banner in December (2 months earlier than normal) allowing students to make summer plans earlier
  • 2024: Created multiple PowerBI student success dashboards for OSSB and TRIO
  • 2024: Collaborate with Admissions and Recruitment and Padnos International Center to streamline international student I-20 processing.
  • 2024: The GVSU LakeHouse data platform launched.  This will become the mechanism by which GVSU stakeholders access analytical data in the future.
  • 2023: Bill Widmaier awarded AP Award for Service to Community—was there an article about this we can link to (maybe in GVNext)?
  • 2023: Revised Tuition Refund Appeals application in CMS and created an OnBase workflow.
  • 2023: Dan Vainner awarded “Best of the Best” for a presentation at the 2023 MACRAO conference
  • 2022: Streamlining of criteria for undergraduate graduation honors
  • 2022: Implemented Banner waitlist functionality allowing students to add their name to a waitlist if a course section they wanted to enroll in was at capacity
  • 2022: Collaborated with the Office of the Provost to create the classrooms website
  • 2022: GVSU Data Governance and Data Advisory Committees created to oversee the expansion and enculturation of data and analytics throughout the university.  The committees are co-led by OIA and the Office of Data and Analytics.
  • 2021: Implemented Coursedog schedule building software
  • 2020: Won the AP Innovation Award (with staff from IT and Housing) for the Encoded Student ID project. This involved encoding the student ID so students could use it to access their housing, no longer needing an additional key card for housing.

 

Office of Student Support & Belonging

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

  • 2025: TRIO programs transition to the Office of Student Support and Belonging, reflecting strategic alignment that builds on the longstanding impact of TRIO at GVSU and further integrates its work within the university’s broader student success efforts. 
  • 2024: Fostering Laker Success receives $250,000 from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to continue the work of the Fostering Laker Success grant.
  • 2024: GVSU is awarded $619,010 to host a TRIO Priority 4 Training grant. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) this grant will enhance the skills and knowledge of project directors and staff employed in TRIO programs nationwide. This makes the 12th TRIO grant hosted by GVSU.
  • 2023: Fostering Laker Success, a grant funded program that supports students formerly in foster care or other out-of-home placement is moved under the Office of Student Support and Belonging
  • 2023: The Office of Diverse Populations and Retention Initiatives is reorganized and re-envisioned as the Office of Student Support and Belonging.
  • 2022: GVSU earns the designation of a First-Gen Forward Institution, joining 268 designated institutions across the nation that are committed to supporting first-generation student success.
  • 2022: GVSU receives three five-year DOE grants: TRIO Upward Bound-Detroit, Upward Bound Math Science-Detroit, and Upward Bound Math Science-Wyoming. Increasing TRIO programs at GVSU from eight to eleven. Grand Valley State University’s TRIO Federal Programs establishes a presence in SE MI. In combination, these three grant were funded for 5-years receiving a total of $4,485,570.
  • 2021-2025: The number of students in scholarship programs (Challenge Scholars, Kalamazoo Promise, Pickard Scholars, Pheonix Pact Students, Wade H. McCree Students) grow from 66 in academic year 21/22 to 168 in 24/25
  • 2021-2025: The Oliver Wilson Scholars Program sees an increase from 128 students in the 21/22 academic year to 682 students in the 24/25 academic year.
  • 2021: GVSU receives the Laker Educational Opportunity Center grant awarded by the Department of Education - expanding the number of TRIO programs from seven to eight.
  • 2020: As part of a reorganization, the Federal TRIO Programs were integrated into the Division of Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach, under the leadership of Vice President B. Donta Truss.
  • 2020: The Office of Diverse Populations and Retention Initiatives is created, and Oliver Wilson Scholars and other scholarship programs, as part of a reorganization, are moved to the Division of Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach under the leadership of Vice President B. Donta Truss.

ADDITIONAL GRANTS & FUNDING:

  • 2024: GVSU’s Upward Bound programs are awarded $357,840 for the Michigan Department of Education Out-of-School Time (OST) grant. This is the second consecutive award from the MDOE.
  • 2024: Laker Educational Opportunity Center receives the COE Financial Aid Workshop grant for $2,000. The purpose of this grant is to provide financial aid program services to parents and students who have not completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
  • 2024: GVSU received, a $286,000 Michigan Department of Education Out-of-School Time (OST) Grant for Upward Bound Grand Rapids, Upward Bound Math Science – Wyoming, Upward Bound – Detroit, and Upward Bound Math Science – Detroit with the purpose of providing additional programming to UB students and provide services to other students in our target schools.
  • 2024: GVSU’s Federal TRIO programs, the Admissions and Recruitment Office, and the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships received the Michigan College Access Network’s FAFSA Frenzy Grant for $30,000. The grant was used to support incoming and returning college students in completing their FAFSA applications.
  • 2023: GVSU welcomed $25,000 from Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI) for UB GR seniors who participate in Mercantile Bank financial literacy programming to be used for college expenses. This was the first year of a 3-year, $75,000 commitment.
  • 2023: GVSU received another $10,000 from Mercantile Bank for all UB GR students who participate in Mercantile Bank financial literacy programming. The funds were prioritized as stipend matching that students would save until they graduated to help pay for expenses as they transition to college.
  • 2022: $10,000 was received from Mercantile Bank for all UB GR students who participate in Mercantile Bank financial literacy programming. The funds were prioritized as stipend matching that students would save until they graduated to help pay for expenses as they transition to college.
  • 2021: The Upward Bound Grand Rapids partnership with Mercantile Bank continued and UB GR received $10,000 for program participants who participated in the bank’s financial literacy programming. The funds were prioritized as stipend matching that students would save until they graduated to help pay for expenses as they transition to college.
  • 2020: Senior and Assistant Directors for Pre-College Programs established a partnership with Mercantile Bank to support their Upward Bound Grand Rapids students. In 2020, they received $5,000 from Mercantile Bank for UB GR graduates to assist with expenses as they transition to college (i.e. laptop, dorm room supplies, first tuition payment, etc.)

TRIO IN THE NEWS:

 

Strategic Enrollment Management Plan

Page last modified July 17, 2026