ColleaguesPlus.com is a virtual destination that serves as a news and opinion hub, a research and policy center, a resource room, and an issues forum for the educational community. Conceptualized and administered by the Community Outreach office at Grand Valley State University’s College of Education, the website is an extension and expansion of Colleagues Magazine. This periodical of GVSU’s College of Education invites students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members to contribute articles relating to the field of education.  ColleaguesPlus.com is the next step in creating an educational community where people from many areas of the educational spectrum are truly connected, and where all voices are heard.

The website is a service provided by Grand Valley State University’s College of Education, which offers highly regarded programs in the field of education. We believe that schools function as social and political entities as well as for the growth of individuals.  The College of Education is committed to ensuring that students, in their chosen academic fields and in their professional education programs, gain the knowledge, skills and resources to become quality educators who lead and serve in local and world communities. The purpose of ColleaguesPlus is to create a dynamic web-based education community promoting our mission.

The Community Outreach office at GVSU’s College of Education administers ColleaguesPlus. Community Outreach is led by Director Claudia Sowa Wojciakowski, Ph.D., Associate Director Clayton Pelon, Assistant Director Forrest Clift, Project Coordinator/Web Editor Jaymes Pyne and Office Coordinator Veda Hodges.  The mission of the office is “to create and facilitate service connecting the College of Education to local and world communities and individuals.”  Because of this charge, the Community Outreach office is involved in numerous and varied operations that involve the college and the larger community.  These operations include:

• Colleagues Magazine. Colleagues is a bi-annual publication produced by the office, and sent to COE alumni, faculty, and students highlighting articles submitted by faculty, staff, students, and alumni.  This magazine informs its readership of COE happenings and current practices in the field of education.  Special ‘topic-driven’ issues (race, poverty, special education, etc.) are produced on an intermittent basis.
• College of Education Convocation. The COE Convocation is a twice-yearly special recognition ceremony honoring those who are graduating and receiving certificates from the GVSU College of Education.
• Service-Learning Initiatives. The COE promotes service-learning in West Michigan schools by actively seeking partner schools to participate in service learning activities.
• Alumni Association. Volunteer organization that performs services and keeps alumni informed of COE events and news
• Other Special Projects. The office takes on special projects as requested by the Dean of the College of Education.