Join The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium or virtually, for our event An Evening with Charlie Cook. Register.
This event is open to Drake University undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff, as well as the larger Des Moines community. This event is free, but registration is required. American sign language (ASL) and real time captioning (CART) will be provided. please contact harkininstitute@drake.edu to request other accommodations.
An Evening with Charlie Cook is an opportunity to hear insight and analysis on the state of American politics by one of the leading authorities on the U.S. political scene. This year Cook will also share important insights about the midterm election. Cook is a political analyst for National Journal magazine, founder of the Cook Political Report, co-author of the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Almanac of American Politics and a National Advisory Council member for The Harkin Institute.
— Lila Johnson, The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement
Give yourself the gift of healthier habits this year with the DU Well Holiday Challenge.
This 5-week program includes healthy steps you can build on each week and continue through the new year. Each week you will receive an email newsletter with that week’s challenge, along with supporting tools to help you succeed. You will also be given a personal success tracker to track your progress throughout the challenge. For those interested in maintaining their weight over the holidays, there’s a section to record your weight. This is completely optional, but a great way to help keep you on pace. And of course, there will be prizes!
To get started, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to register is Monday, Nov. 28.
This is your final reminder. Employees on Drake’s health plan, who want to receive the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2023 – a savings of $32 per month – need to complete a physical with their primary care physician (PCP) by Nov. 30, 2022 and submit a Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form by Dec. 2, 2022.
If you had a physical since Dec. 1, 2021, but haven’t turned in your completed form, please do so now. If you haven’t scheduled your annual physical yet with your PCP, you are running out of time. Please email linda.feiden@drake.edu with questions.
As many of you know, Drake’s health insurance plan is a self-insured plan. While Wellmark facilitates the claims process, Drake pays the claims. We have certain fiduciary obligations in administering the plan. We must act solely in the interest of our employees for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and defraying reasonable expenses relating to plan administration. Part of these obligations include ensuring that only people who are eligible for coverage are on the plan—this includes employees, dependent children, spouses, and domestic partners.
If you decide to elect coverage, you can include eligible children on the health insurance plan until they reach age 26. Our health plan will discontinue coverage on the last day of the month in which your child turns 26. Certain exceptions apply for disabled dependent children older than age 26 who meet specific criteria.
If your spouse or domestic partner is enrolled in our plan, and you experience a divorce or dissolution of a relationship, your spouse’s/domestic partner’s health insurance coverage will be discontinued when the divorce/dissolution is final. The plan requires you to inform us of such changes and there are penalties if you do not.
Requirement to Notify Group Sponsor: You must notify your employer or group sponsor within 60 days of most events that change the coverage status of members and within 60 days of events related to divorce or annulment, legal separation, your dependent child losing eligibility for this coverage, Medicaid or CHIP eligibility. If you do not provide timely notification of an event that requires you to remove an affected family member, your coverage may be terminated. If you do not provide timely notification of a coverage enrollment event, the affected person may not enroll until an annual group enrollment period.
As part of our diligence in administering our health insurance plan, we will be conducting a dependent audit in 2023. That means, we will be ensuring that only eligible children, spouses and domestic partners are on the plan. If you have failed to report any changes in status, you still have time to make corrections for 2023. If you have enrolled a dependent in the plan who is not eligible, you still have time to make that correction, too. If you have a dependent child who is under age 26, they may remain on the plan through the end of the month in which they turn 26.
If someone is covered by our plan and they lose eligibility during the 2023 plan year, please contact Drake Human Resources (drakehr@drake.edu), so we can make necessary changes and determine whether access to coverage through COBRA may apply.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
We have updated the digital benefits guide for plan year 2023. This one-stop resource will serve as a handy reference for employees throughout the coming year and as a helpful recruitment tool for applicants. In fact, the digital benefits guide was created for two primary audiences: with prospective employees during the recruitment process and with current employees as an “any time” reference.
While no guide can anticipate every question or outline every benefit detail, the digital benefits guide was designed to address the most frequently asked questions posed by prospective, new, and existing employees. If you have not yet reviewed the digital benefits guide, please consider taking a look as you are bound to learn something new about the great benefits offered to Drake employees and their families.
Separate from the digital benefits guide is a list of perks and discounts available to Drake employees. This list is regularly updated and worth a look periodically to check out what is new.
To explore these documents: Visit Drake HR’s internal Benefits Page. The digital benefits guide is always featured at the top of the page. You can find the Perks & Discounts link under “Benefit Information Resources,” by scrolling down. For applicants, we also have these items posted on the public-facing website (no my.drake log in necessary) here.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
In collaboration with our benefits partners, Drake Human Resources hosted in-person and virtual benefits overview sessions on Nov. 18. Our speakers provided an overview of what remains the same and what has changed and fielded questions from those in attendance. The virtual session was recorded, and you are welcome to watch that session. Find the video link and presentation slides on our internal Benefits page under “2023 Open Enrollment Information.”
With only a little over a week left of Open Enrollment, we hope that you have had opportunities to ask questions, review changes and enhancements being made to benefits for plan year 2023 and completed your benefits enrollment in the online benefits portal.
If you have not yet done so, we urge you to complete this process ahead of the November 30 deadline. This is a once-a-year task that warrants time and care. Procrastinating is like tempting fate—you may get busy, you may forget, there could be a technological glitch.
If you were unable to attend either of these informational sessions and have questions, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu or Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu. As with the enrollment process, if you have questions, we urge you not to delay in seeking answers. We are happy to assist you. However, if everyone waits until the end of the month to ask questions, getting back in a timely manner becomes a challenge.
Important Reminder about FSAs: Your enrollment in an FSA does not automatically continue from year-to-year. If you want to participate in Drake’s FSA plans during 2023, you must make a new election during Open Enrollment this month. If you forget to enroll or re-enroll, you will not be able to enroll once Open Enrollment has closed (these are Plan rules, not Drake HR rules). For more FSA details, review the Oct. 31 OnCampus on FSAs here.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Drake’s EAP utilization rate fell from a high of 3.97% in 2018 to 2.38% in 2021 (our most recent year of complete data). According to the National Business Group on Health, the national average for EAP utilization is around 5.5%. This means that Drake faculty and staff are underutilizing this great benefit. The question is, why?
According to Mental Health America, the three main reasons employees may not use their EAP services include: 1) not being aware that EAP exists, what services they offer, and how to access them; 2) being fearful that their employer may be tracking an individual’s usage of services; and 3) the stigma of mental health and its association with EAPs.
Let’s address these concerns.
Awareness. Drake’s EAP provider is Employee & Family Resources (EFR). EFR offers a wonderful range of freeEAP resources, including confidential counseling, webinars, podcasts, a blog, self-assessment tools, and a free mobile app for employees and their immediate families. Services also include financial and legal consultation, child/elder care resources, and life coaching by a licensed professional counselor. If you are unsure whether EFR is the right place to go with your question or concern – please reach out to them and ask. You may reach EFR by phone (800-327-4692) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or visit their website.
Confidentiality Concerns. All EAP services are confidential. No one at Drake will ever be given details about your use of EAP benefits. In fact, the confidentiality of EAP records is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the identity and details of employee using EAP services. The only information shared with Drake is a very high-level, general report showing the total aggregate number of people who used EAP services over the course of the year and the percentage by categories (financial, legal…). No names or other identifying information are ever disclosed.
Mental Health Stigma. As noted, the EAP offers a broad range of services to faculty, staff, and their families, including counseling. Yes, confidential mental health counseling is an important part of any EAP (and most of us could benefit from it), but unfortunately there remains some stigma around it. You do not need to be in a crisis to use or benefit from the EAP services. The intention of an EAP is to help you maintain a positive work-life balance and serve as free, convenient, and readily accessible support when life matters keep you from being your best. We could all use a little extra support now and then.
If you would like to learn more about EFR and their EAP services, representatives from EFR are available to attend a department or staff meeting (in-person or virtually) to highlight their resources and help answer any questions. They will present to groups of any size. If you would like EFR to speak during one of your meetings, please send an email to Renee Larsen, EFR Account Manager, at rlarsen@efr.org or phone 515-471-2402.
Please join us in congratulating our most recent recipients of the True Blue Award. Here is a little information about our honorees with excerpts from their nominations.
Rob Ebel, FPM Construction Manager, Facilities Planning and Management
“Managing construction projects also means that you manage change. It is with a servant’s heart that he strives to help our clients (faculty, staff, students) through the changes that construction progress brings.”
Sara Heijerman & Erica McGowan, University Book Club Leaders
“Although the book club is not part of their regular responsibilities at Drake, they show their generosity of spirit by joyfully taking on this project, and carefully planning it out to make sure the book selections are diverse, all participants have a say in the selections, and that the social gatherings are varied to accommodate both on campus and remote employees.”
Terry Janssen, Mechanic, Facilities Planning and Management
“To Terry these Core Values are more than words on paper they are the foundation of which we stand. Terry is a dedicated and valued employee whose abilities are truly a blessing to the Drake community.”
Kevin Moran, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Management
“Instead of asking me to find another location or make do with what was available, he sought out the information and approvals he needed to meet the needs I had expressed for myself and my students. This was not just Kevin doing his job, but going above and beyond with a spirit of generosity, all in this together, with a commitment to mission at the core.”
Do you know of a staff member or department that has gone above and beyond to exemplify True Blue spirit? Nominate them today!
Smishing attacks use short message service (SMS), more commonly known as text messages, to manipulate people into turning over sensitive data. Like phishing emails, smishing texts are social-engineering scams pretending to come from a trusted source and urging action to secure a benefit, resolve a problem, or avert a threat.
This form of attack has become increasingly popular because people are more likely to trust a text message on their phone than from a message delivered via email. According to RoboKiller, a company that provides call-blocking and other phone security services, bad actors sent over 87.8 billion fraudulent texts in 2021 – up 58% from the previous year. The company estimates those phishy messages cost consumers nearly $10.1 billion.
Variations of smishing abound. A scam text might say you’ve won a gift card or promise a break on a student loan. Other texts may appear to be alerts from a government agency such as the IRS or link to a phony invoice or cancellation notice for a product or service you supposedly bought. Many smishing messages warn of package delivery issues from Amazon, FedEx, UPS or the United States Postal Service.
In more targeted attacks, a text message may appear to come from your boss, or a top-level executive within your organization. The text will report some type of action that needs to be taken immediately as a favor to them or to avoid some type of crisis at the company.
Warning Signs
A text message requests personal information, such as your Social Security number or an online account password.
The message asks you to click a link to resolve a problem, win a prize or access a service.
The message claims to be from a government agency. Government bodies almost never initiate contact with someone by phone or text, according to the FCC.
The text requires immediate action from someone in your company that has been sent from an unknown phone number.
How to protect yourself
Contact the person, company, or organization that supposedly sent the text using a phone number or website you know to be legitimate
Forward spam and scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), the spam reporting service run by the mobile industry. This sends the text to your carrier so it can investigate. Here is a guide to the process.
Don’t provide personal or financial data in response to an unsolicited text or at a website the message links to.
Don’t click on links in suspicious texts. They could install malware on your device or take you to a site that does the same.
Don’t reply, even if the message says “text STOP” to avoid more messages. That simply confirms your number is active so it can be sold to other bad actors.
Don’t assume a text is legitimate because it comes from a familiar phone number or area code. Spammers use caller ID spoofing to make it appear the text is from a trusted or local source.
Please be wary of any attempts to obtain sensitive data via text, email, messaging apps, or unsolicited phone calls. ITS will continue to simulate phishing and assign training to those most susceptible. If you believe you’ve been targeted by phishing, see Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).
The Office of Residence Life is accepting Resident Assistant Applications for the 2023–2024 academic year. RA’s must be leaders, role models, and resources for their residents; however, just as important, they must be team players that work with and support other staff in their own hall as well as other halls on campus.
The application deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (during J-Term).
If you have any questions regarding the application or interview process itself, please contact Randy E. McMullin (randy.mcmullin@drake.edu). We would encourage you to reach out to your own RA or another RA should you have questions about the position from a student perspective.
