Laker Life Briefs

“Keep Calm and Study On” with the SASC

Final exams are just around the corner, as most of us are unfortunately aware. As the semester winds up, the stress of the season can have a profound negative impact on students with essays, research projects and final exams on their plates.

It’s important to have strategies for approaching these end of the year endeavors without exhausting yourself physically and mentally. That’s why the Student Academic Success Center is hosting their “Keep Calm and Study On” event, a workshop that teaches students effective skills to help them prepare for final exams.

The event takes place Tuesday, Dec. 3 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center room 1104 . Those with questions about the event can contact SASC graduate assistant Arianna Fikse at [email protected].

College of Nursing works with Grand Rapids Public Museum

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is hosting the traveling Bodies Revealed exhibition, a scientific exploration of the human body featuring real specimens — hundreds of organs and almost a dozen full bodies — preserved using the revolutionary “polymer preservation” process, which permanently preserves human tissue using liquid silicone rubber.

On Thursday, Dec. 5 GVSU’s Kirkhof College of Nursing will be teaming up with the museum to combine presentations from graduate nursing students with the exhibition. The presentations will last from 6-8 p.m. and feature explanations of how disease affects the structure of the human body. To purchase museum tickets or find more information, visit the museum website at www.grpm.org/bodies.

Faculty evaluations come to a close

If you’re a student and you’ve checked your school email at all over the last week, you’ve probably noticed the flood of messages from LIFT (Laker Impressions of Faculty Teaching) concerning instructor evaluations. Though the 5-10 minute process can feel like an unnecessary pain the more classes you have, student responses truly are important to faculty and administration. Grand Valley State University strives to use student comments to illustrate evidence about teaching effectiveness, but they can only do that if they have enough responses to make a statistically accurate argument.

The task force for Universal Student Evaluation of Teaching Implementation strongly recommends that 70 percent of enrolled students have to participate for faculty evaluations to be a truly accurate representation of classroom effectiveness. In 2017, Grand Valley as a whole had a 66 percent response rate. Those interested in helping them reach their goal this year can follow the LIFT email links until Sunday, Dec. 8.