Student Life

Graceland's student life program joins the academic sector in an effort to educate the whole person. As a partner in the educational enterprise, student life enhances and supports the academic mission. In addition, Graceland’s student life program encourages personal development. A unique housing system offered through Residence Life partners with student government to provide broad based student participation. Numerous clubs and organizations provide students opportunities for involvement that enhance learning and contribute to building a supportive community. The Graceland community helps students learn to work together, make and keep friends, care about the welfare of others, balance freedom and responsibility, and appreciate human differences.

Table of Contents

Residence Life
Campus Ministries
Graceland Student Government
The Career, Academic, and Personal Counseling (CAP) Center
Student Publications
Music Groups
Recreational Facilities
Frederick Madison Smith Library
The Dr. Charles F. Grabske, Sr. Library and Learning Resource Center - Independence Campus
Creative Media Center
Information Technology Services
Instructional Technology Services
Testing Program
Student Health
Student Handbook
Student Persistence
Cumulative Summary of Enrollment
Cumulative Geographical Distribution of Undergraduate Students

Residence Life

The House System
Graceland’s basic unit of student life is known as a “house”. The house system is a unique program based on the principle of inclusion that recognizes the importance of each student attending the university and celebrates the individuality of each person. Members of each house elect six students to hold dual house/student government leadership positions for each house. Under their direction, social, religious, and academic support activities are planned for the house members. In addition, through the leadership of those six student leaders, the student voice is effectively communicated to the six branches of Student Government.

House membership cuts across academic classification, geographic regions, socio-economic backgrounds, racial and cultural backgrounds, as well as across all interest areas. This diversity ensures full-time students have the opportunity to examine long-held belief systems and to learn to appreciate and celebrate diversity in a supportive caring environment.

The Room Placement Process
Graceland University believes a significant portion of a student’s learning experience can be achieved through association with other students in residence hall living. At the beginning of their first year of enrollment, all full-time students (whether living on or off campus) are assigned to a house during the room placement process. They will remain members of that house through the duration of their education at GU.

The process of placing new students in rooms begins the end of May. At that time, the Residence Life Office generates reports about the returning members of each of the 16 houses. Those reports gather the following information: academic areas of study, athletic team membership, and home towns. New incoming students are then placed in a manner which spreads out those groupings as evenly as possible, thus helping ensure the richness of the Graceland residential experience. The first round of placement is completed by mid-June, and is sent out to students via their GU e-mail account. For help logging into GU email accounts, students may contact InfoCentral at 641-784-5167.

Housing requests can be completed online any time after acceptance to the university. Roommate requests are considered when the request is received from both parties and space is available. Chances of being placed with the roommate of your choice are greatest if the request is submitted prior to June 1.

The On Campus Living Policy
On the Lamoni campus, in accordance with the On Campus Living Policy, residence hall living is required of all students unless approval is received from the Residence Life Office. Students exempt from this policy are: students who are 23 years of age or older, military veterans, married students, or students living with legal dependents. Students who qualify for one of these exemptions need to complete an Exemption to the On Campus Living Policy Form along with the necessary documentation to verify their exempt status, i.e.: copy of marriage license, dependent birth certificates, military ID card.

A limited number of returning upper classmen students are approved to live off campus each year – Seniors receive priority. The deadline for returning students to apply to live off campus is April 1 of the previous academic year. The number of upperclassmen approved to live off campus is determined by comparing the total number of current students enrolled, with the size of the graduating senior class, and the current number of off campus students returning for the next academic year.

Students who live with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within a 25 mile radius of the GU Lamoni campus may qualify for a local vicinity exception. Student and parent(s) legal guardian(s) must complete and submit a signed notarized copy of the Local Vicinity Exception Form. Students who are found not living with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be billed full room and board for the semester in question.

Other exceptions to the On Campus Living Policy are rare, but are considered on a case-by-case basis. Students who do not meet the above exemptions to the policy need to submit an Off Campus Application to the Residence Life Office for consideration. Students living off campus are responsible for their own arrangements.

The Housing Contract
Students are required to sign a housing contract. New students’ housing contracts will be waiting for them in their campus box when they arrive on campus in the Fall. Signed housing contracts are valid for the academic year unless cancelled under the terms of the contract. Returning GU students sign contracts in the Spring during the Spring room selection process for the following academic year. Returning students who do not select a room nor turn in a signed room contract during the Spring room selection process, will be placed where rooms are available by the Residence Life Office.

Residence Hall Closures

University-owned traditional residence halls are closed during the official breaks of the university, with the exception of Fall Break. However, if students have no other alternative, arrangements can be made to stay in the residence halls for a fee. As the dining facilities are closed during breaks, meals are not provided. Students living in the Small, Thomas or Tower Apartments are not required to leave their residences during official breaks of the university.

Meal Plans

All of GU’s

housing facilities are located near the Floyd M. McDowell Commons. Students living in the four traditional residence halls (Graybill, Gunsolley, Tess Morgan and Walker Halls) are required to purchase a full board plan in the Floyd McDowell Commons. For more information on GU’s dining options check with Sodexo Marriott. Students residing in the Small & Thomas Apartments are required to purchase the 5-meal plan, but may also choose to purchase the full board plan. The full board plan, the 5-meal plan, and Gbucks are available to students who reside off campus. Gbucks are dollars which can be loaded onto a student’s Graceland ID card and can be used on campus for food, or at five Lamon

i restaurants for food, as well as the Lamoni Coliseum movie theater. Gbucks are available to all students.

Students living in the Tower Apartments, designed for married students and students with legal dependents, are not required to purchase a meal plan.

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Campus Ministries

The Graceland community - students, faculty, and staff - is diverse. While many students are Community of Christ, students and staff profess a variety of different religious preferences. Campus Ministries recognizes that each life has its own story. Each person emerges from a community and is on a unique journey with God. In Graceland Campus Ministries, we strive to share our journey with others to grow as persons and deepen our unique sense of community. Through exploring faith and sharing with others, we learn more about the rich diversity of faith traditions as well as deepen our experience and understanding of our own.

Graceland shares a rich heritage with the Community of Christ. Reflecting the mission and vision of Community of Christ, Graceland Campus Ministries strives to be an inclusive Christian community. We celebrate unity in diversity. All are important and valued members of our on-campus family of faith.

Graceland Campus Ministries offers a variety of weekly religious activities on campus that are student led and supported by Graceland's Campus Ministers, faculty and staff. Several styles of Christian worship are provided on-campus each week at various times to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff. For students who want to attend worship off campus, we provide assistance in locating a house of worship or community that will be familiar and meet student needs.

The Campus Ministers’ offices are located in the Memorial Student Center (MSC). Graceland has two Campus Ministers and two graduate interns. Office and staff are virtually always open to students who wish to meet and chat. In addition, each residence house has a student Chaplain whose job it is to be available to students who need further or immediate peer support.

The success of Graceland Campus Ministries depends on the involvement of students who provide leadership in personal relationships as well as ministry activities. In addition to worship, Graceland offers religion and philosophy courses, Peace and Justice events, Spiritual Wholeness activities, and small group ministries available on campus.

Community of Christ Church Leadership Program
The Community of Christ Leadership Program (CCLP) is a cooperative effort between Graceland University and the Community of Christ. It is designed to create an intentional track for persons desiring to pursue their giftedness in ministry and church leadership. Please go to the CCLP website for more information.

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Graceland Student Government (Lamoni Campus)

All students enrolled at Graceland are members of the Graceland Student Government (GSG). Student government is involved in all campus areas which affect students. The GSG is organized to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. The branches of student government and their corresponding bodies include:

• Executive — composed of Graceland Student Government President, Executive Advisory Committee (EAC), and Council of House Presidents (CHP)
• Legislative — Student Senate
• Academic — Academic Student Council (ASC)
• Social — Campus Organization for Social Activities (COSA) and Intramural Athletics (IM)
• Judicial — Council on Student Welfare (CSW)
• Spiritual — Council of House Chaplains

Each body has specific functions and responsibilities.

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The Career, Academic, and Personal Counseling (CAP) Center

The CAP Center is located in the north wing of Patroness Hall. Its purpose is to help students understand themselves and realize their career, academic and personal goals by integrating three services:

CAREER PLANNING — Career Development Specialists guide students through the process of self-assessment, choosing a major, exploring possible career fields, and then the job search process. They help students locate resources for securing internships and summer jobs. A career resource library and a computerized career guidance program are available at the CAP Center. Students may enroll in a career exploration experience during the winter term. Career planning courses are offered each semester as well as resumé and interviewing workshops for job seekers. Graceland has their own resume and job posting site to aid students in the job search.

ACADEMIC ADVISING — Academic Advising Specialists help all new students with the academic planning process as well as to explore life and career goals. Advisers share information about campus resources, educational options including choice of major, and academic policies and procedures. Students begin to work with their Academic Advisers during New Student Orientation prior to the beginning of classes.

PERSONAL COUNSELING — Personal Counseling staff helps all students with problems such as depression, anxiety, and other behavioral concerns that interfere with their academic and social life on campus through individual, group or couples counseling, crisis intervention, or brief problem-solving sessions. Through the counseling process, students may explore their interpersonal relationships and their college experience. Personal Counseling staff is also available to talk with students or groups on personal development topics such as assertiveness, eating disorders, date rape, and conflict resolution. The personal counselor(s) may refer students to other professional services when necessary.

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Student Publications

The Tower is a weekly newspaper published by the students which atte

mpts to keep the university community in touch with Graceland happenings, and student and faculty opinions. The Acacia is the yearbook of the university, and is also published by students. Both of these publications are under the supervision of sponsors.

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Music Groups

Graceland’s organized musical groups are the orchestra, band, jazz ensembles, choir, chamber singers, and other choral and instrumental ensembles. Some ensembles perform both on and off campus.

Choral and instrumental chamber music ensembles are organized and scheduled individually according to available instrumentation and voices.

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Recreational Facilities

The Eugene E. and Julia Travis Closson Physical Education Center includes an indoor junior Olympic-size pool; indoor track; weight room; and racquetball, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts. Outdoor facilities include two small lakes, an 18-hole disc golf course, the Hal McKain Tennis Courts, and the Bruce Jenner Sports Complex with the Ackerley 200M outdoor track, the Rasmussen soccer field, and the football field. By special arrangement, Graceland students are welcome to join the Lamoni Golf and Country Club.

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Frederick Madison Smith Library

The Frederick Madison Smith Library offers a selection of print and electronic materials for students, faculty, and members of the community. The library’s collection includes more than 100,000 book volumes, a government documents repository, 240 periodical and newspaper subscriptions, and a very large number of electronic titles available online.

There are computer workstations available throughout the library, and 3 computer labs on the lower level. They provide access to many databases, internet, and Graceland’s online catalog, and are also available to off campus users. They are open during all library hours, and also available for classroom use.

Audiovisual equipment is available, with viewing and listening areas provided in several locations.

The library provides free interlibrary loan services through the OCLC international database and SILO, the Iowa State Library system. Students may order books, articles, and AV materials.

The library staff provides classes and individual instruction in the use of library resources. Reference assistance is available for most of the library’s open hours at the Information Desk on the main floor.

The Writing Center is located on the lower level. There is professional staff available during the day to assist students with their papers and research projects.

There are lounge areas, locations for group study or meetings, and designated quiet study areas on all levels of the library, and a free hot chocolate/coffee bar located on the lower level. Coffee service is available in the evenings.

The library houses a special collection of books, documents, photographs, manuscripts, oral history tapes, and administrative records dealing with the history of Graceland University, Community of Christ, and the community of Lamoni. The collection is available by appointment.

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The Dr. Charles F. Grabske, Sr. Library and Learning Resource Center - Independence Campus

The Charles F. Grabske, Sr. Library and Learning Resource Center is open 45 hours per week with additional hours available as requested by students. It is staffed by a professional librarian and one support staff member specializing in document delivery.

Grabske’s holdings focus primarily on medicine, science, and allied health, although nursing is its core collection. Grabske holdings include professional journals and periodicals, ready reference titles as well as monographs. Its electronic collection includes over 3,000 electronic jourmals in the health sciences with CINAHL with full text, Health Source Nursing Academic, the Cochrane Library, Ovid Total Access, Nursing Essentials and Science Direct College Edition. These databases facilitate the research of Graceland’s School of Nursing.  Grabske also houses the historical archive of the nursing program.

Grabske Library is a full member of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and a participating lender/borrower of Health Sciences Library Network of Kansas City, which is a consortium of 26 area cooperating medical libraries in Missouri and Kansas. Interlibrary loan is available to all students and faculty. Usually, it is free of charge. Most articles are electronically delivered throughout the network. A daily courier service also serves the entire Kansas City Health Sciences Library network, facilitating timely delivery of all print materials.

Twenty-two computers are available to students in the library and learning resource area. There is a wide variety of titles in interactive programming and instructional videos.

Public and Agency Libraries – Mid-Continent Public Library serves the metropolitan Kansas City area with 30 branch locations across three counties. The needs of students and faculty for general research are well-served by this large system with access to their extensive collection. Mid-Continent is in the top 10 library systems in the nation, according to the American Library Association’s HAPLR rating system.

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Creative Media Center

The Creative Media Center (CMC), located in the lower level of Zimmermann Hall, is a center for the design and production of printed materials as well as electronic media used by the university community. Services include graphics, web design, publication design, photography and printing.

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Information Technology Services

Graceland’s Information Technology Services department provides information services to Graceland University in many different forms. Those provided directly to all students include:

• Network logon for access to university systems
• Student email account
• Network file storage (50 Megabyte limitation)
• Customer service support from InfoCentral by phone, email or stopping by the Memorial Student Center
• Access to My Graceland website
• Personal web page space (by request)
• Access to course management software system when required
• Access to Unix for programming classes
• Access to campus computer labs (Macintosh and Windows) and lab printing services
• Access to public machines located in the Memorial Student Center, F.M. Smith Library, The Helene Center for the Visual Arts, Resch Science & Technology Hall and the Nursing Arts Building on the Independence Campus.
• Access to online library services
• Wireless access (see coverage map)

In addition, students staying in residence halls receive the following information services:

• Cable TV connection
• Data network connection for personal computers, which includes access to the Internet. (Peer-to-peer (p2p) sharing software not allowed access to the Internet.)

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Instructional Technology Services

Instructional Technology Services provides the following services for students:

• Software questions answered on individual or group basis (workshops can be arranged) via the STA+ program.
• Audio/Visual support for hooking up presentation equipment for class presentations.
• Audio/Visual equipment to loan for class projects (Data Projectors, VHS and digital camcorders, digital still cameras, VHS and DVD players, tape recorders, Portable PA System, etc.)
• Audio/Visual work including video and sound taping, editing, producing and copying.
• For questions please email sta@graceland.edu or call #5400 or #5496.
• More information is available on the STA+ resources page on My Graceland.

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Testing Program

Graceland University participates in both the ACT and SAT testing programs. The ACT or SAT must be taken at an approved test center during a student’s junior or senior year in high school. In extreme circumstances, a student may be able to take the ACT on the Graceland campus during new student orientation.

The Academic Policies & Procedures section provides information about credit by examination accepted at Graceland.

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Student Health

The University maintains an outpatient Health Service Center where students may be seen for all illnesses and injuries. Graceland’s Health Service is staffed full-time by a nurse practitioner and an office manager. All records are kept confidential. Student Health Services works closely with the medical clinics located in Lamoni. Students will be referred to health care providers outside of Health Services when necessary.

Students attending classes on the Lamoni campus must have a completed health form on file at Health Services. In addition, students living in the University’s residence halls are required to have written documentation of two MMRs (Mumps, Measles, and Rubella) given no less than one month apart after the first birthday. Exemption from the MMR will be permitted to those for whom immunization is contradicted and verified by a doctor. Students from countries with a high risk of tuberculosis will be tested for TB.

Students may purchase low-cost injury and sickness health insurance. All International students are required to purchase this policy. The insurance provides coverage for 12 months and protects insured students while traveling in and outside of the United States.

Students in the Nursing major are required to have another physical examination prior to entrance into the clinical nursing courses. At this time the student must show evidence that they have current immunizations for polio, tetanus, diphtheria, MMR, and Hepatitis B. A Titer must be documented to prove immunity to varicella. A two-step TB skin test is also required. A chest X-ray is required only if the TB skin test is positive.

Effective upon enrollment in nursing courses and every year thereafter, all nursing students are required to provide proof of hospitalization insurance. Nominal charges are assessed by Health Services for physical examinations and diagnostic tests.

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Student Handbook

A student handbook is available online. This handbook includes the Code of Conduct, campus policies, academic calendars, and general information.

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Student Persistence

49% of new high school graduates who entered Graceland University in Fall 2006 graduated by 2012. 67.8% of the transfer students who entered Graceland in Fall 2006 completed the baccalaureate degree at Graceland by 2012.  Graduation rates of students with athletically related aid are available here.

2012-2013 Cumulative Summary of Enrollment

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Cumulative Geographical Distribution of Undergraduate Students for 2011-2012

(Lamoni and Independence Campuses - Fall and Spring Semesters)

39 States plus District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are represented. 40 Countries are represented.

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