Acts, Rights, and Entitlements

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) forbids discrimination based on disability in the areas of employment, public accommodations, government services, transportation and communications. Qualified individuals are those with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individuals hold or desire. Those protected by the ADA include but are not limited to persons with such conditions as hearing, speech and visual impairments, paraplegia and epilepsy, past alcoholism, past drug use and AIDS if there is no direct threat to the health and safety of others. Grambling State University takes affirmative action to ensure that the provisions of this Act are implemented at all levels of administration.

Grambling State University provides equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities participate in curricular and non-curricular activities. For additional information contact the Student Counseling Services at 318-274-3277.

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), students enrolled at Grambling State University are hereby informed of their right to access their official records as described in the Act.

FERPA allows each institution the right to designate certain information concerning students as “directory information.” This information can be released without the student’s permission unless the student has informed the university in writing that such information should not be released. Directory information at Grambling State University includes the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards/honors and dates received, classification, photographs, full or part-time status, e-mail address, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student. A student may request at any time, in writing, to the registrar that directory information be withheld.

Parents may access a dependent child’s records either by the student providing written permission to the Registrar’s Office or parents can provide their current 1040 tax form (front and back) to show that the child is their dependent.

For more detailed information concerning FERPA and the release of student educational records, please contact the Registrar’s Office or go to www.gram.edu.

Sexual Harassment

Grambling State University does not tolerate verbal, nor non-verbal sexual harassment. Its policy is to provide an educational environment free of unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct or communications constituting sexual harassment, as defined by state and federal statutes. Sexual harassment may include:

  1. Sex-oriented verbal teasing or abuse,
  2. Subtle pressure for sexual activity,
  3. Physical contact such as patting/pinching, or constantly brushing against another’s body, and
  4. Outright demand for sexual favors, accompanied by implied or overt promise of preferential treatment or treats.

The university protects the rights of all students and staff members to enjoy an educational environment that is free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment. Any form of sexual harassment of students or staff members is prohibited.

Drug-Free Workplace

In compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, “The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, consumption, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited by students and employees while on property owned or leased by the university.” Grambling State University will impose disciplinary sanctions on students and employees (consistent with local, state and federal law), up to and including suspension or expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, for violation of the standards of conduct. A disciplinary sanction may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program.

Organization

Grambling State University is organized into five major divisions:  Office of the President, Academic Affairs, Institutional Effectiveness and Enrollment Management, Finance and Administration, Student Affairs, and Advancement, Research and Economic Development.  The academic programs of the university are offered through four colleges and three schools in the Division of Academic Affairs.  Excluding the Office of the President, each division is administered by a vice president who also serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet.

Buildings and Grounds

The physical plant of Grambling State University occupies approximately 375 acres. A continuous program of expansion of academic and residence halls has produced over 75 permanent buildings, a five-mile nature trail, an outdoor study pavilion, and an all-purpose assembly building featuring a state of the art basketball arena. The structural motif of many buildings is colonial, with red brick, stone, and glass construction. Shrubbery-bordered walks, convenient drives, and beautiful lawns provide a tranquil atmosphere.

Facilities

The major university facilities and residence halls are listed below.

Administrative: Lee Hall, Long-Jones Hall, University Police Station, Campus Purchasing Building

Academic: Woodson Hall, Charles P. Adams Hall, Army ROTC Building, Brown Hall, Carver Hall, Carver Hall Annex, Criminal Justice Building, Dunbar Hall, T. L. James Hall, Nursing Building, Performing Arts Center, Jacob T. Stewart Hall, A. C. Lewis Memorial Library, Washington-Johnson Complex

Academic Support: Facilities Annex, Grambling Hall, Judicial Affairs Building, T.H. Harris Auditorium

Athletic: Fred C. Hobdy Assembly Center, Men’s Gymnasium, Robinson Stadium, Stadium Support Building

Student Life: Dining Hall, Favrot Student Union, Food Court, Foster-Johnson Health Center, Intramural Center

Residential Student Housing: Martha Adams Hall -300, Crispus Attucks Hall, Mary McLeod Bethune Hall - 600, J.D. E. Bowen Hall - 900, Frederick Douglass Hall - 800A, Garner Hall, Simmie Holland Hall - 400, Hunter Hall, Jeanes Hall, Jewett Hall, Mildred Jones Hall - 100A, Robert Knott Hall -500, PinkneyPinchback Hall - 700, Richmond Hall, Robinson Hall, Sojourner Truth Hall - 100B, Harriet Tubman Hall -200, Phyllis Wheatley Hall -800B, Tiger Village Clubhouse

Other:  Alma J. Brown Elementary School, Grambling Middle Magnet School, Grambling High School, Eddie G. Robinson Museum, West Campus

 

University Police 

Grambling State University’s Police Department provides police and security services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the entire university community. The university’s rules and regulations, as well as state and federal statutes and all local laws, are enforced by the University Police Department.  Grambling State University Patrol Officers are commissioned Louisiana Police Officers with all the authority and responsibility of any police officer in the state of Louisiana. They are empowered to make arrests in the matters concerning felonies and misdemeanors. The enforcement authority is ACT 269 of the 1974 Legislature, Section 1805 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

University Police Officers are responsible for a full-range of public safety services including crime reports, investigations, medical emergencies, traffic accidents, parking violations, enforcement of laws regulating consumption of alcoholic beverages, the use of controlled dangerous substances, weapons, and all other incidents requiring police assistance.  In addition, University Police Officers offer students, faculty, and staff safety classes as well as other crime prevention seminars.

University Police compile information, prepare reports, and submits data to state and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Department of Education. These reports and data are used by the Department of Education regarding the safety of our campus (Clery Act).  The Federal Bureau of Investigation uses our reports for statistical purposes for their Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). Computer checks of warrants for wanted persons can be conducted through computer link up with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety. The terminal provides access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which accesses the computer files of all criminal justice systems within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Canada.

Potential criminal or suspicious activity and emergencies on University property can be reported directly by any student, faculty, staff, and/or visitor. University Police can be reached at (318) 274-2222 or (318) 274-2219.

 

Library and Learning Resources Center 

The A. C. Lewis Memorial Library serves as the information hub and knowledge repository system for Grambling State University (GSU) students, faculty and staff where patrons stay connected and informed, and continue to have access to current research information.

The primary purpose of the library is to provide quality services and equitable access to resources that support the undergraduate, graduate, professional, and the continuing education programs. 

The library’s mission is to lead the collaborative development of an academic information infrastructure that meets the changing needs of information creation, preservation, dissemination, and the application of knowledge to help support research needs of the greater Grambling community.

The library pursues its mission through a quality collection, shared resources, agreements and cooperation with other libraries, and inclusive access to electronic resources. The library is committed to excellence in meeting the information needs of a diverse clientele through a competent and courteous staff, student and faculty involvement, and a total commitment from the university.

Values: The A.C. Lewis Memorial Library strives to follow the standards recommended by the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Library operations are automated on the SirsiDynix Symphony Integrated Cloud System. The Library is guided in its operation by standards recommended by the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), as well as the guidelines from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Library collection: The Mary Watson Hymon Afro-American Center houses the African-American special collection.  It contains a cross-discipline of resources by and about African Americans and people of African/Caribbean descent.  Rare and/or special editions are housed in the restricted collection. 

The Microtext & Media Research Collection contains micro-format resources that include microfiche, microfilm, films, video tapes, cassettes, filmstrips, slides, loops, DVDs, CD-ROMs, recordings and other audio-visual resources for academic research and inquiry.

Other library services include Interlibrary Loan (via eLibrary or in-person), document delivery, online and in-person reserves, online library tutorials and in-person bibliographic instruction that incorporate a hands-on orientation to both electronic and print resources.

A.C. Lewis Memorial Library houses a diverse and substantial collection of 1,613,929 books including periodicals, research journals, films, filmstrips, microform resources, electronic resources, and media materials. The library extends access to library services and resources beyond the physical building through the library’s digital collection via the Internet.

Document delivery services: The Library provides a broad array of services which include interlibrary loan, delivery services, in person reserves, and remote access to resources. 

Internet/Computers: The library has approximately 128 public computers connected to electronic databases through an Internet network connection and about 32 computers for library staff and student workers. Library electronic resources are accessible to patrons from any computer/smartphone on or off the campus via the Internet. Wireless technology allows students to use laptops or smartphones anywhere in the Library. The library’s electronic or digital resources include full-text journals, electronic books (e-books), and newspapers as well as bibliographic citations, indexes and abstracts. 

Digital Access: The library electronic resources are accessible to patrons from any computer, iPhone, or related devices with internet access on or off campus 24/7 regardless of time, day, or location. Electronic resources include full-text journals, electronic books (e-books), and newspapers as well as bibliographic citations, indexes and abstracts, and numeric data. Grambling Online Public Access Catalog (eLibrary) provides bibliographic access to all GSU library resources and all academic library resources statewide.

EBSCOhost Discovery Service (EDS) and eLibrary: EDS provides thousands of direct links to full-text electronic books and journals. Through Louisiana Library Connection, the GSU Library has equitable access to the Library of Louisiana Integrated Catalog Portal System (LOUISiana Union Catalog) powered by SirisDynix.

Computer Labs: The library has Information Commons Technology Lab on the first floor with approximately 15 computers with open access application, this lab has Microsoft Office application installed for students to do their homework and related research assignments.  This lab provides open access to the Internet and to software that students can use to prepare and print their work. Students are able to make photocopies and/or email articles from electronic databases regardless of time or location.

A student-operated computer lab with approximately 27 computers and free printing is also available to students in the GSU library student lab.  This lab provides open access to the Internet and software that students can use to prepare and print their research assignments.

Laptop Lending Services: The library provides a laptop lending service to GSU students for homework assignments. The laptop computers were provided by the ITC for students to borrow during the semester for a period of 3 days. These laptops are wireless-enabled and loaded with Microsoft Office suite.

Library Liaisons: The Library strives to develop user-centered library services with collaborative action that supports the creation and dissemination of knowledge. The library pursues this mission through the assignment of liaison staff to help cultivate two-way communication and to build effective working relationships and collaboration between the University Library and the faculty in order to help increase awareness of and the use of library resources and services. With this process, faculty members are given the opportunity to recommend titles in their respective disciplines each year in an effort to purchase relevant up-to-date materials for the collection.

Memberships: The A.C. Lewis Memorial Library is a member of the State academic library consortium called Louisiana Academic Library Information Network Consortium (LALINC), the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), LYRASIS, which is the nation’s largest regional non-profit membership organization serving libraries, the Louisiana statewide library consortium (LOUIS), and the Louisiana Library Network.  The consortium is a partnership of participating libraries and organizations joined together under the general governance of the Board of Regents. 

The library's participation with LALINC gives the students and faculty of GSU equitable access via cooperative borrowing to over 15 million books, periodicals, microforms, audio-visual materials, and electronic resources in the collections of 47 libraries within the State of Louisiana. Importantly, the library has the same equitable access to research resources as that of LSU and has access to all state integrated research resources and/or lending system through the Interlibrary Loan and through the LALINC membership network.

LOUIS supports members with unique subscription needs by providing negotiation and contract services. More than 6 million searches are processed against the subscriptions annually.  LOUIS offers members a federated search engine which allows users to search across any or all of a library's electronic resources from a single web interface. LOUIS provides an encrypted authentication mechanism to protect access to electronic resources. This service authorizes patrons to access electronic resources from off-campus. LOUIS also provides users with the capability to view and search the holdings of all Louisiana academic libraries using a single web interface. Combined collections in the virtual LOUIS Union Catalog/EBSCOhost Discovery Service (EDS) total over 15 million items.

Statistically, the library online resources usage statistics/visits record shows 1,391,259 visitors, while the web browser shows a record of 2,066,561 page views (2014). Visitors were from various local, regional and national areas, such as Grambling, Ruston, Monroe, Shreveport, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and New York.

Additionally, there is a written agreement between Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech University under which students at both institutions can access each other’s resources.  Under this program, students at Grambling State University have full access to all the library resources at Louisiana Tech University.  The universities are located at close proximity. Additional information can be found on the university website at www.gram.edu.

With the library users instruction classes in relation to locating research information quickly and effectively, over 39 bibliographic instruction classes were taught yearly with over 1,134 participants. Comprised of students, staff, and faculty, these classes help keep the patrons informed and educated about the importance of the library research resources.

 

Campus Media 

KGRM-FM Radio Station

KGRM-FM is a non-commercial, educational radio station licensed to Grambling State University, a public educational institution governed by the State Board of Trustees. KGRM- FM began broadcasting in 1973 with an effective radiated power of ten watts and a frequency of 91.3 megahertz, as assigned and authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C.  Prior to 1973 the station was only broadcasted in the dormitories. Now KGRM-FM is broadcasting with 50,000 watts on the 91.5 megahertz frequency. The station’s radius reaches Shreveport, LA, Alexandria, LA, El Dorado, AK, and Vicksburg, MS.  KGRM-FM is also accessible via the university website.

91.5 KGRM-FM radio station offers a unique service to students and to the staff of Grambling State University. The station not only serves as an instructional tool, but also provides an informational and entertainment medium for the community. This media is influential, educational, informational, and entertaining. All programming is designed for, and aired with the listening audience in mind. 

 

The Gramblinite

The Gramblinite is an award-winning weekly newspaper published during the academic year by the students of Grambling State University as a laboratory function of the Department of Mass Communication. As a student-operated publication, The Gramblinite is written, edited, and designed by students under the guidance of faculty and staff. It is published every Thursday during the academic year.

 

Television Center

The Television Center serves as a laboratory function in the Department of Mass Communication. Operated by students under the guidance of faculty and staff the Television Center broadcasts public service programming during the academic year. The Center’s broadcasting covers educational, cultural, entertainment, news and information needs of the University and the larger community.

 

Public Relations and Communications

The Office of Public Relations and Communications is primarily responsible for maintaining a continuous flow of communications among the university’s various internal and external publics and broadening and strengthening the university’s ties to them. Towards this end, the Office of Public Relations and Communications works closely with news organizations throughout the state to insure that newsworthy campus events are properly reported.

 

Alumni Affairs

The Office of Institutional Advancement: (1) maintains files on all graduates or students who spent at least one academic year at the university, (2) fosters cooperation among alumni; and (3) communicates with the branch chapters throughout the United States. In addition, the Office is affiliated with the Louisiana Alumni Council and the American Alumni Council.

 

Athletics Department

Grambling State University has a storied history in intercollegiate athletics for men and women. The University athletics program is certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The University competes in fifteen sports, six for men and nine for women, in Division I of the NCAA. Grambling State University is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The intercollegiate sports for men in which the University competes are baseball, basketball, cross country, football, and indoor and outdoor track and field. The intercollegiate sports for women in which the University competes are basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball.

Although the University recruits students with interest and talent in sports, opportunities are made available to all interested students to try-out for a given sport. Athletic scholarships are made available to a select number of student athletes in each sport based on ability.