The next Drake social, open to all faculty and staff, will be on Thursday, Feb. 23, 4–6 p.m. in Shivers Hospitality Suite, adjacent to The Knapp Center. Attendees will receive one complimentary ticket for beer or wine. Water, soda, etc. are also on the house. Nearby parking is available.
—Kim Lammers, Dean of Students Office
The new Preferred Name Policy offers all students the option to use a preferred first name that will display in many, but not all, University documents. The goal of the Student Preferred Name Policy is a consistent preferred-name experience across University systems and use of one’s preferred name wherever legal name is not absolutely necessary. At this time the preferred name would be used in the following places:
You will see changes to students’ first names when the update process is implemented Feb. 6–8. Any student who has indicated a preferred first name on Drake documents (such as the application for admission) will see that preferred name in the documents indicated.
This process and policy is especially important to help us create safe and engaged learning environments for transgender students. Questions? Please feel free to contact Tony Tyler, director of student engagement, equity, and inclusion; Carlyn Marron, assistant director of international programs; or Kevin Moenkhaus, director of student records.
—Melissa Sturm-Smith, Academic Excellence and Student Success
Lynda.com is an online subscription library offered free to all Drake students, faculty, and staff that teaches the latest software, creative, and business skills through high-quality instructional videos.
With more than 3,700 courses, Lynda.com is designed for all levels of learners and is available whenever you’re ready to learn—even on your mobile device.
Benefits to using Lynda.com include:
To get started, visit the Campus Life tab in blueView.
—Carla Herling, Information Technology Services
Drake will host a free conference examining how local, state, national, and international demographics will change in coming years. Though the theme was chosen long before the presidential election, organizers say the conference is particularly relevant in the weeks after President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order restricting immigration and travel.
The 2017 Engaged Citizen Experience Conference, “Demographic Opportunities and Challenges: Domestic and International,” will be held Friday, Feb. 24, beginning at noon in the upper level of Drake’s Olmsted Center. The event is free and open to the public; advance registration is requested via the conference website. Learn more about the conference in the Drake Newsroom.
Drake Public Safety has partnered with the 911 Cell Phone Bank, a nonprofit organization providing emergency-only cell phones to those who otherwise may not have access to an emergency line when it matters most. If you have an unused cell phone you would like to donate to help those in need, please drop it off at the Public Safety Office.
—Brett Niederhauser, Drake Public Safety
Did you know Cowles Library has more than 250 databases available to Drake students, faculty, and staff? We’re highlighting these valuable resources on the Cowles Library blog. Learn more about how JoVE Biology (and JoVE Neurology) 2017 and MathSciNet can help you!
—Leslie Noble, Cowles Library
Following months of preparation for the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations, the injunction issued on Nov. 22, 2016, halted implementation. This created significant uncertainty, particularly on the threshold of a new presidential administration. Drake made the decision to suspend planned changes until more was known about the outcome of the injunction and response of the new administration.
As of the writing of this communication, there has been no change in the status of the FLSA overtime rules. In the injunction lawsuit appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Department of Justice recently asked for more time so the new administration could consider the issue. The Trump administration also issued a freeze on new or pending federal regulations, with various advocacy groups debating over whether the freeze would apply to the FLSA rules made final and published before the freeze.
However, we are working to ensure we are able to respond once an outcome is known. We are analyzing various scenarios including abandonment of the new rules, modification of the new rules, or full implementation of the rules. While this rule affects how we classify job—as either exempt or non-exempt—the work over the course of the past year has also focused on ensuring positions are properly placed in Drake’s staff compensation structure consistent with the Staff Salary Guidelines. (These can be found on the HR tab of blueView under the “Manager’s /Toolkit”.) This analysis will prove useful regardless of the outcome of the proposed FLSA rule.
Anyone with questions about this process or next steps are encouraged to reach out to Gary Johnson at 271-4804.
—Gary Johnson, Director, Human Resources
On Saturday, Feb. 4, Drake launched its new homepage and revamped look and feel for the top four sections (primarily those pages targeted at prospective students) of the website.
Over the last eight months, Information Technology Services (ITS), University Communications, and the Office of Admission have been working to update the design and technology behind the top-level webpages with the following goals:
The updates were tested externally with prospective student and parent groups, as well as internally reviewed by President’s Council, Deans Council, and other leadership groups around campus.
This milestone represents the first phase in a number of web improvements being implemented this year. It is important to note that the pages affected by this first phase are mainly the prospective student targeted pages. More relevant to most of campus will be subsequent stages of this project. After the homepage launch, the Terminal Four Content Management Software (CMS) will get a major version upgrade, which will add performance improvements and the ability to edit pages on mobile devices. The final phase will be to upgrade college/school and department templates.
Special thanks to everyone involved in the project thus far from the IT Infrastructure and Application Services Teams in ITS; our designers, photo/video, and writers in University Communications; and the entire Admission team.
—Jeremy Sievers (x2795)
Director of Web Communications
ITS is taking seriously President Martin’s call to focus on continuous improvement. Last fall, we collaborated with Chief Administration Officer Venessa Macro’s division to conduct a survey of satisfaction with administrative services. The ITS portion of the survey asked 14 questions, divided into three sections. Respondents rated each question on a 1-5 (low to high) scale. The survey results were both encouraging and constructive.
Satisfaction with ITS staff—Total Average 3.98: Respondents assessed their satisfaction with ITS staff including their courtesy, professionalism, knowledge, timeliness, and resolution of issues. Satisfaction with ITS staff was generally high, but was lowest for timeliness (3.60) and satisfactory resolution of issues (3.59).
Satisfaction with ITS support and communication—Total Average 3.72: In general, satisfaction was not as strong, particularly regarding training support (3.52) and informing campus about changes to technology (3.42).
Overall satisfaction—Total Average 3.71: Overall satisfaction is above average, but we clearly have room for improvement.
In reviewing the data and reflecting on the comments provided by the more than 450 respondents, I have concluded that:
Addressing these issues will take time, but we are actively developing strategies to improve our service to the campus community
Over the coming year, ITS makes the following commitments to you.
We will:
In May, ITS will be introducing a new service request and management (ticket) system. We anticipate that campus satisfaction with ITS will improve as we adopt this new system. Watch OnCampus and the ITS website for more information beginning in March.
Finally, please save the date for an ITS all-campus town hall to be held on March 23 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. It will be your chance to learn more about ITS and our strategic vision, and to ask questions. The town hall will take place just before the provost’s all-employee social. We look forward to seeing you there.
—Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer
Want to help welcome new students to Drake? Want to get involved? Want an on-campus job this summer? Consider becoming an orientation leader!
Orientation leaders are dedicated to providing incoming students and their families with all the information and resources necessary to ensure their transition to Drake is a smooth and enjoyable one.
Please visit the Orientation website to learn more about the position, but if you have any questions, contact Marina Verlengia at marina.verlengia@drake.edu. Applications are due this Wednesday, Feb. 1.
—Marina Verlengia, New Student Programs
