Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of many commonly asked questions the Registrar's Office receives, to make any recommendations for additional helpful responses please email us at [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

Your g-number is a unique identification number that is assigned to everyone associated with the Grand Valley community (students, faculty/staff, and vendors) that is used for records-keeping purposes. This identification number replaces all ID numbers assigned prior to 2006.

Need help locating your g-number? Please contact the Records and Registration office at (616) 331-3327 or [email protected].

Your network ID is the first part of your Grand Valley student email address that precedes @mail.gvsu.edu. If you need assistance locating your network ID, please contact the Registrar's Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected].

Your Grand Valley student email address is your network ID followed by @mail.gvsu.edu. You can log in to your Grand Valley-assigned email account here. All official email communication from Grand Valley is conducted through your student email account.

If you are unable to log in to your student email, please contact the IT Service Desk for further assistance.

You will need to use your network ID and password to log in to myBanner. If you are unable to log in, please contact the IT Service Desk for further assistance.

Students can declare their major through myBanner by selecting Student, Student Records, and Change Major. Please contact the Registrar's office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected] if you need further assistance.

Students who need to have their name changed on their academic records due to a legal name change must submit a Name Change form, along with an updated copy of their social security card, to the Records and Registration Office in-person (150 Student Services or DeVos 115C) or through email.

Faculty, staff, and students who wish to be identified by a personal, preferred, or chosen name without undergoing an official legal name change may use the myName process to establish a name that will be displayed and/or used where a legal name is not required.

You can obtain a replacement student ID by visiting the Student Services Centers located on the Allendale (150 Student Services) or Grand Rapids (DeVos 115 C) campuses. Please be advised that there is a $15 fee to replace a lost student ID.

You can view holds currently on your record by logging in to myBanner. You will need to select Student, Registration, Student Registration Self Service, and Prepare for Registration.

Information on what certain holds mean and how to resolve them can be found here.

If you need further assistance, please contact the Records and Registration Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected].

A re-entry hold is placed on a previously enrolled student’s record who has not attended Grand Valley for two consecutive semesters and is in good standing. Students who wish to reenroll at Grand Valley must submit a Petition to Return form to the Records and Registration Office to have the re-entry hold lifted. Students may contact the Records and Registration Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected] for further assistance.

Undergraduate: A dismissed student may apply for readmission after a period of one calendar year. Evidence of maturity and improved attitude toward academics as well as the written support of the student's academic advisor must accompany the application for readmission. Petitions to return are reviewed by the Academic Review Committee on a continual basis. Approval of a petition allows the student to enroll on a conditional basis, as stipulated by the committee. The academic standing for a readmitted student will be jeopardy of dismissal. 

Graduate: A degree-seeking or certificate-seeking graduate student may appeal. If the program does not have a published appeals process, the appeal shall be to the dean of the college in which the graduate program is housed. The student may appeal the decision of the dean of the college to the provost or the provost’s designee. The result of each appeal shall be reported to the Dean of The Graduate School. A nondegree graduate student may petition the Dean of The Graduate School for reconsideration of a decision. If such reconsideration is unsuccessful, the student may appeal the decision to the provost or provost’s designee.

Advanced registration occurs beginning in mid-March and continues through early April. Students are assigned a registration date based on their total number of credits. The total number of credits for advanced registration is calculated by combining both earned and in-progress credits.

Students can view their assigned registration date on myBanner by selecting Student, Registration, Student Registration Self Service, and Prepare for Registration. Students can begin registering for upcoming semesters at 7 AM on their assigned registration date.

A student may repeat any course one time. When repeating a course, the most recent grade earned shall be the grade of record, but the grades of all courses attempted will remain on the student's official transcript. Note that W, AU, I, CR, and NC do not replace earlier grades. Students seeking an exception to the course repeat limit, and wish to retake a course for the second time, may submit a course repeat limit approval form.

Undergraduate students may elect certain undergraduate coursework on a credit/no credit basis (sometimes referred to as pass/fail). Students electing to take a course credit/no credit should be aware of the following:

  • A maximum of 10 semester hours of major, minor, or cognate courses within the major may be taken on a credit/ no credit basis only with the consent of the student's major department.
  • A maximum of 25 percent of a student's hours of Grand Valley courses earned to fulfill graduation requirements may be taken on a credit/no credit basis (Credit = C or above for undergraduate courses, Credit = B or above for graduate courses).
  • Courses that are graded CR/NC as the standard grading scheme (e.g. internships) do not count in the maximums stated above.
  • Approval is unnecessary if the course is an elective, a general education course, or a degree cognate.

Students who wish to take a course as credit/no credit must indicate their intent to the registrar by completing a Credit/No Credit Form by 5pm on the day of the course's 75% refund deadline. Changes from a grade to credit/no credit will not be allowed after the course's 75% refund deadline. This selection is irreversible.

Any student may register to take a course on an audit (or non-credit) basis, provided admission and course prerequisites have been met. Students who wish to audit a course must indicate their intent to the registrar by completing an audit form during the first five class days of the semester. Changes from credit to audit will not be allowed after the first week of the semester. Tuition costs for auditing a course are the same as taking it for credit. This selection is irreversible.

Students will receive an email at their Grand Valley student email address once grades are final for the semester. At that time, students can log in to myBanner to view their final semester grades by selecting Student, Student Records, and View Grades.

Students who need an official document confirming their final grades once a semester ends should request an official transcript. Electronic or paper copies of transcripts can be requested through myBanner by selecting Student, Student Records, and Order Official Electronic Transcript-$2.55 Each or Order Official Paper Transcript-Free. Paper copies of official transcripts can also be requested by submitting a Transcript Request form to [email protected].

Please contact the Registrar's Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected] if you need further assistance.

An Incomplete (“I”) grade indicates a student was doing satisfactory work in a course, but due to nonacademic reasons beyond the student’s control, they were unable to complete the remaining requirements of the course. An Incomplete (“I”) grade is only appropriate when all of the following conditions are met: (a) the student is doing satisfactory work in the course, and the unfinished requirements can be clearly defined, (b) the unfinished requirements for the course constitute a relatively small part of the course and the Incomplete (“I”) grade has been requested in the last 20 percent of the semester, and (c) the student has justifiable reason(s) why they work cannot be completed by the end of the semester.

An Incomplete (“I”) grade form must be submitted by the instructor to the department chair and to the Dean’s Office of the college in which the course resides. Students are expected to complete the remaining course requirements by the end of the following semester. For example, if a student receives an Incomplete (“I”) grade for a fall semester course, they will need to complete the outstanding coursework by the end of the winter semester. An extension may be granted by the instructor under exceptional circumstances, such as an illness or call to military service. If a student fails to meet the agreed-upon deadline or an extension is not granted to finish the required coursework, the student will receive an “F” grade, or no credit (“NC”) when appropriate.

Please note that a student cannot graduate with an Incomplete (“I”) grade on their transcript.

Students can locate the name of their academic advisor through myBanner by selecting Student, Student Records, and myPath-Degree Planning & Evaluation. Students can view their advisor’s contact information by clicking the hyperlink containing their name on myPath or through the Navigate system.

If you need further assistance locating your advisor or your advisor's contact information, please contact the Registrar's Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected]. You can also reach out to the advising center for your college for any available advisor if you are in need of emergency assistance.

Students who are enrolled at another institution and would like to take a class at Grand Valley should complete a Guest Application and submit it to their school's registrar's office. Grand Valley students should return their completed guest application to the GVSU Registrar's Office. Additional information can be located on our guest student and transfer credit page.

If you have earned credits at another institution you would like to transfer to Grand Valley, you can contact that institution and request they send an official transcript to:

Registrar's Office 
150 Student Services
1 Campus Drive 
Allendale, MI 49401.

If the institution you attended sends electronic transcripts, you can request they send your official electronic transcripts to Grand Valley at: [email protected].

Visit our Guest Students and Transferring Credit to Grand Valley page for more information.

Grand Valley does not transfer in grades for transfer courses. However, courses transferred to Grand Valley may impact a student's GPA by replacing a grade previously earned while taking a course at Grand Valley. If a student transfers in a course that meets the repeat course policy, the previous grade would appear on the student's transcript, but be excluded from the GPA calculation.

Visit our Guest Students and Transferring Credit to Grand Valley page for more information.

In order to provide the most current information, the Grand Valley catalog is available online at www.gvsu.edu/catalog. The online catalog dates back to 2005-2006. Printed catalogs are also available at this link. If a course description prior to what is available online is needed, please contact the Registrar's Office by phone at (616) 331-3327 or by email at [email protected] for assistance.

Enrollment verification certificates can be printed through myBanner to use when verifying enrollment to insurance providers or other organizations requiring proof of enrollment. The certificate can be printed and then addressed to the recipient in the upper right-hand corner. More details about enrollment verifications can be found here.

We strongly advise that you DO NOT reveal your G number or passwords to anyone. Immediately change your initial myBanner password that you were given and change it again at least once a semester. When you are finished using myBanner, be sure to log off and exit.

Those students who do not desire the release of their directory information can complete a Request to Withhold/Release Directory Information Form and submit it to the Registrar's Office.

You may contact your VA representative by calling (616) 331-3327 or via email at [email protected] . Additional resources can be found on the Veteran’s Network at www.gvsu.edu/veterans.

A list of building abbreviations for buildings located on the Allendale and Grand Rapids campuses can be found here.

A list of course acronyms can be found here.

You can print your own Michigan Voter Registration Application or visit our voter registration page for additional info.

Information about health insurance for students who are currently uninsured can be found on the GVSU Health Hub webpage. Please contact [email protected] with any additional questions.

A drop is when courses are dropped from your schedule by 5pm the Friday of the first week of the course. The course no longer appears on your transcript, and you are granted a 100% tuition refund. 

A withdrawal is when a course is withdrawn from after the Friday of the first week of classes.  The course remains on the transcript with a grade of W. This grade does not affect your GPA or earned credit hours. 

For more information on withdrawals, please see the Course Withdrawals page and the Course Drop/Add and Refund Schedule page



Page last modified May 11, 2020