As the holiday season approaches, many struggle to balance work, family, and endless tasks, often feeling overwhelmed and disorganized. While responsibility and dependability are crucial skills, few of us have formal training in mastering them, leading to reliance on complex systems that add to the stress.
Everclass: Overcome the Holiday Hustle: Simple Strategies for an Organized Life will focus on simplifying life during the holiday rush by creating easy routines and habits to stay organized and reduce stress. Learn how to align your calendar, to-do list, and priorities without worrying about missed deadlines or commitments.
Join us at 12 p.m. on Thursday, December 12th to discover strategies for surviving the holidays with less stress and more ease! This session will be facilitated by Kristin Economos, Senior Director, Adams Leadership Institute at Drake University.
The Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance (SPARC) office would like to extend our thanks to everyone who completed the Survey of Administrative Services this year. The SPARC team has taken the time to review the responses and commit to enhancing our support for the Drake Community.
The assessment of the SPARC office is difficult to compare to previous years due to the number of transitions that took place over the last few years. However, the survey was able to provide helpful feedback for the current SPARC staff.
The mean overall satisfaction score for services provided by the SPARC office was 4.38 on a five-point scale. Areas of highest satisfaction include professionalism and courteous nature of the interactions with staff (4.79 and 4.77, respectfully) and the provision of valuable grant administration services (4.38). Room for improvement was indicated in funding opportunity identification (3.67) and budget development and up-to-date information (4.08, 4.13, respectfully). Respondents did comment about the significant staff transitions but expressed optimism about moving forward.
Since I started at Drake in May, I’ve also taken the opportunity to meet with Deans, Directors, and Faculty individually and in groups to discuss the experiences, concerns, and hopes for the services we provide. With all this input, we are updating processes (i.e. online proposal routing form, indirect cost waiver request form) and educating the faculty about the services the SPARC office provides.
The SPARC staff are committed to helping you identify grant opportunities, assisting in writing and submitting grant applications, and managing grants once they are funded. We aim to guide you through the entire grant process from start to finish.
Our website offers a wealth of information on grant applications, as well as IRB and IACUC applications. We’ve recently added a News & Updates section to keep you informed about the latest grant-related information, and we’ve launched a new podcast, SPARC’ing a Conversation, featuring interviews with Drake grantees.
In November, we hosted our first grant networking event, providing faculty with the opportunity to discuss project ideas and potentially identify collaborators. We plan to continue hosting these networking events, along with educational workshops and webinars, in the new year. Keep an eye out for future announcements. We can also provide individualized education to colleges and other units upon request.
The SPARC team looks forward to strengthening our relationships with the Drake Community and fostering a supportive, service-oriented grant-seeking environment.
—Lori Byrd, Sponsored Program Administration and Research Compliance
12/10/24 for payroll direct pays and ESFs for the December monthly payroll
Deadlines for biweekly direct pays and ESFs are:
Pay period 12/2/24-12/15/24 direct pays and ESFs are due Monday 12/16/24 at 10:00 AM
Pay period 12/16/24-12/29/24 direct pays and ESFs are due Wednesday 12/18/24 at 10:00 AM
Deadlines for student direct pays are:
Pay period 12/1/24-12/31/24 direct pays are due Thursday, 01/02/25 at noon
Deadlines for the biweekly time sheets are:
Pay period 12/2/24-12/15/24 timesheets must be submitted by Monday 12/16/24 at 10:00 AM and approved by Monday 12/16/24 at noon. Payment date is 12/20/2024
Pay period 12/16/24-12/29/24 timesheets must be submitted by Wednesday 12/18/24 at 10 AM and approved by Wednesday 12/18/24 at noon (remember to estimate your hours for the holiday break). Payment date is 1/3/2025.
*Medical, Dental, and Vision insurances for the biweekly payrolls will be deducted on the 01/17/25 and 01/31/25 paychecks*
Deadlines for student time sheets are:
Pay period 12/1/24-12/31/24 timesheets must be submitted by Thursday 1/02/25 at NOON and approved by Friday, 1/03/25 at NOON
If you will be out of the office, plan ahead to ensure these tasks are completed by the stated deadlines. Instructions to set up a proxy to approve time sheets in your absence are at https://www.drake.edu/hr-internal/managerstoolkit/ under Online Time reporting.
Written communication is important in almost any academic field, but the genres and accepted conventions of writing vary from discipline to discipline. In this project, we will discuss ways to integrate writing instruction into courses for which written communication is not necessarily the primary learning outcome, as well as courses that require students to communicate in field-specific ways (for instance, lab reports or business memos).
Instructors who participate in this project will have a one-semester commitment that will include:
Working with the Director of Writing, Megan Brown, on the development of a writing assignment, writing activities, or a writing project for one of their spring classes.
Attending hour-long meetings of all participants in the program in February, March, and April (or early May) 2025. These meetings may be structured as two sessions each month, with half of the group at each session, to facilitate more in-depth discussion.
Requiring all students enrolled in their class to attend tutoring sessions at the Writing Center at least twice during the semester.
After completing the project and attending the final meeting, participants will receive a $500 stipend.
Participation is limited to 10 individuals.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Madison Bemus (madison.bemus@drake.edu) by Monday, January 6.
While Harlaxton Manor is abuzz with holiday decorating and awaiting the arrival of Santa, Professor McCarthy and the amazing Drake cohort (never has she met such an enthusiastic group!) enjoyed a Christmas afternoon tea at Petticoat Vintage Tea Room in Grantham, England.
This is the culmination of a fascinating semester of local activities like visiting the parish council and attending monthly meetings of the local history society, along with school trips to places like Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Stonehenge, and personal trips to Ireland, Switzerland, and more. To follow one student’s journey, with some great laughs along the way, read student Samantha Pollack’s blog.
All Staff Council and Human Resources invite faculty and staff to attend this year’s Holiday Cheer gathering on Tuesday, Dec. 17, by the Pomerantz stage in the Olmsted Center. You are welcome to come and go as you please from 9 to 11 a.m.
Relax and enjoy some tasty holiday treats and beverages with friends and colleagues. Griff II is going to stop by, so bring your phone for a chance to get your picture taken with him in your favorite holiday attire. And we encourage everyone to bring at least one non-perishable food or other goods for Drake’s Free Little Food Pantries. We would love to stock it up prior to the holiday break.
This event is a chance to give back to others in the Drake community, while mingling with coworkers. Please take a moment to stop by, grab some cheer, and drop off a donation.
As the end of the Fall 2024 semester is nearly here, preparations for ‘final exams’ of a different sort continue at the Johansen Student Center (Morehouse). Flooring, wall finishes, mechanical systems start-up, and building inspections are all scheduled for the coming weeks ahead of furniture installations and thorough cleaning.
When the campus community returns from winter break at the end of January 2025, the entire project team is excited for students and staff to begin using their newly revitalized building.
Go check out the Johansen Student Center website for more information.
ITS staff will be performing routine maintenance on our Oracle databases on Sunday, Dec. 22 between 7 – 9 a.m. During this time, Drake systems including Self Service, Banner, ProcessMaker, eTranscripts, and TouchNet may be unavailable. This work is necessary to maintain the security of University data.
If you experience issues after the maintenance is complete, contact the ITS Support Center for help by visiting service.drake.edu/its, calling 515-271-3001, or visiting the lower level of Carnegie Hall.
On Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024 2 – 8 a.m., Blackboard will be fully unavailable to all users while required maintenance is being performed on the back-end database. This maintenance is necessary to ensure optimal system security and performance.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Survey of Administrative Services. Your insights help us align ITS services with the needs of our students, faculty, and staff. I’m pleased to share this summary of the 2024 findings.
Survey Participation and Satisfaction Trends
This year, 266 community members responded to the survey to provide invaluable feedback. Overall satisfaction reached 4.42 on a 5-point scale—the highest we’ve ever seen—demonstrating strong, positive growth.
Staff and Service Quality
Across all service areas, including staff courtesy, professionalism, knowledge, and timely resolution, satisfaction has trended upward. These results reflect our commitment to providing responsive and reliable support that meets your needs and resolves issues to your satisfaction.
Communication and Access to Resources
Satisfaction with communication and support services continues to rise as well. Respondents reported improvement in key areas, such as having the right tools, accessible training, regular updates, and clear communications on technology changes.
Please note that our Internal Site has been updated with new information on ITS policies, project management, cybersecurity awareness, and more. We’ll continue to keep you informed about the status of your tickets and upcoming changes to campus technology. This is a key priority area for us in the coming year, and we are committed to ensuring you stay updated on all developments.
Commitment to Core Values
We’re also pleased to see that satisfaction with how ITS embodies Drake’s core values—joyful accountability, generosity of spirit, all in this together, and commitment to mission—continues to grow. These values guide our approach to service and foster collaboration across campus.
Looking Ahead
We’ll use your feedback to guide future improvements, focusing on effective training options, clear communication, and seamless service. Thank you for your engagement and trust in ITS as we work to provide reliable, responsive technology solutions for our campus.
In addition to the annual survey, we gather regular feedback through ticket surveys sent after each support interaction. This continuous feedback loop helps us quickly identify and address issues while validating trends seen in the annual survey, such as improvements in staff professionalism and communication. Your responses to these surveys enable us to respond promptly and effectively to your needs year-round.
If you have additional feedback or questions, please reach out. Together, we’re building a better ITS experience for everyone.
