In fact, it's less than 20 miles.
I find it helpful to have counseling help here, Merten said recently during an academic advising session in the Muskegon Center for Higher Education. The Montague resident was meeting with Patricia Opel, a GVSU program counselor. I hope to take as many of my classes here as I can because it's closer.
Merten is not alone. Enrollments--the total number of course registrations--are at 565 in 1999, up 55 percent from 1998. In addition to elementary education, GVSU offers undergraduate degree completion programs in business administration, criminal justice, and nursing. Master's degree programs are offered in business, education, public administration, nursing, and social work.
Opel sees about 35 students per week in Muskegon, where she is director of the Muskegon Partnership Program, an agreement between GVSU and Muskegon Community College. MCC students from under-represented groups--such as racial minorities, low income households, first-generation college students, or students with disabilities--qualify for the program. The program helps students make a smooth transition from the community college to GVSU.I listen to what students are saying when I advise them and if they qualify, I bring up the program, says Opel. She talks with all Grand Valley students who take classes in Muskegon, and says most are transfers from Muskegon Community College. She is also seeing an increasing number of non-traditional students.
A lot of post-degree or graduate degree students are looking to change careers, she says. Just this morning I spoke to a dental hygienist who wants to go into teaching.
Opel is assisted in the growing responsibilities of GVSU's Muskegon office by Shawn Watson, office coordinator, and by student assistant Benika Chambers, a criminal justice major. The office also serves as Grand Valley's front door for Muskegon area students who plan to attend classes in Allendale. Opel recently took a group of seven students for a tour of the Allendale campus and for financial aid advising
Opel, who came to GVSU in the fall of 1998, thoroughly enjoys her job.
I was pursuing a master's degree in counseling at Western Michigan University, she says. But after some experience as a major advisor in the art department, I decided advising was the way to go.
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