The results of this year’s Great Colleges to Work For employee survey are available. View the results. Thank you to the 578 employees who participated. 

We believe sharing this information is both important and consistent with our Core Values; embracing transparency and communication. The results also serve as a powerful resource as we reflect on what is working well and what needs improvement.

These results serve as a reminder for what’s going well: dedication to our students, flexibility, supportive colleagues, and more. The results also help focus our efforts on areas for improvement. It serves as a continued reminder that we’re all part of creating a great workplace culture.

As you look through the results, you’ll see that overall scores from across multiple benchmarks in higher education have declined from the prior year. While this does show that there are issues bigger than Drake at hand, it does not preclude us from taking action.

To fully understand these results and to determine action areas, every campus unit leader participated in a two-hour session dedicated specifically to these results. As we start a new fall semester, the prior COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and we will have a more ‘normal’ campus experience than we’ve had since the fall of 2019. It’s with this opportunity for reconnection, that you’ll also be invited to participate in a listening session with President Martin. These are being scheduled for every campus department. We all have an opportunity to (re)engage in the vibrant campus culture we strive to be a part of.

All unit leaders have the detailed survey results for their respective areas. In addition to University-wide responses, unit leaders are adopting goals to address the specific results from their areas. In this way, the Great Colleges to Work For survey is particularly helpful—it provides big picture feedback for institutional efforts, while also drilling down into the unique circumstances of individual units.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, reach out to Nate Reagen or Maureen De Armond.

— Nate Reagen, President’s Office; and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Drake is establishing an affiliate relationship with the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) that will strengthen our on-campus diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

You are invited to join the team of trainers being created to lead this collaborative campus-wide, culture shifting initiative!

The Office of Equity and Inclusion is in the process of identifying 35 people interested in becoming NCBI trainers. All Drake staff (exempt and non-exempt) and faculty are eligible to participate in a three day Train-the-Trainers learning experience.

The training will take place in person on September 21, 22, and 23rd. Trainers will learn to co-facilitate two modules: “Welcoming Diversity” and “Controversial Issues.”

To be eligible for this 3-day training, you must participate in an all-day Exposure Workshop (virtual) on August 10th.

All NCBI trainers will be provided a $500 stipend during the 2022-23 academic year to acknowledge and appreciate this vital work (both exempt and non-exempt employees). The commitment includes the 3-day training, along with agreement to co-facilitate three trainings during the 2022-23 academic year. All trainers will be directly supported by the Office of Equity and Inclusion. More details will be disseminated to interested parties after the August 10^th Exposure Workshop.

If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity or want more details, please contact both Jen Harvey (Jennifer.harvey@drake.edu) and Drinda Williams (drinda.williams@drake.edu).

— Jen Harvey, Associate Provost, Campus Equity and Inclusion

Recent changes to the PSLF Certification process remain in place, but are temporary. This means, if you have federal student loans, you should submit an application for loan forgiveness. The sooner the better, but no later than Oct. 31, 2022—no matter where you are in the repayment process.

Current waiver guidelines currently apply:

• Payments made on repayment plans other than income-driven repayment plans will count; including payments made in the past.
• Payments made to federal loans borrowed from private banks (FFEL) and Perkins loans that previously did not count towards PSLF will now retroactively count (FFEL and Perkins). These would need to be consolidated into the Direct Loan program by October 31, 2022.
• For those who have previously consolidated their loans, payments made prior to consolidation may count toward the 120 payments required for forgiveness.
• Previously denied PSLF applications will be reviewed a second time for eligibility under the new guidelines. Even if you were denied previously, reapply!
• Borrowers who qualify for loan forgiveness under the new temporary guidelines who also have made excess payments may qualify for a refund.
• Student Loans in COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid deferment (set to end 08/31/2022 by the way) may be counted toward the total 120 payments.

As a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, Drake University is a qualifying employer. Drake HR is committed to helping you through this process. Be sure to send page 2 of the PSLF Form to DrakeHR@Drake.edu without your SSN (never email your social!). We will promptly complete page 2 and return it (if you have worked for more than one qualifying employer, ask each of them to complete page 2).

The PSLF website recommends that you submit loan forgiveness form, even if you have not made all 120 payments. They will be able to calculate the total number of eligible payments, credit you with any payments eligible under the current waiver guideline and give you an exact number of how many additional payments are needed. This, in turn, will make the process easier when you do meet all requirements.

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to DrakeHR@drake.edu.

— Trevon Smith, HR

The Global Engagement Office is excited to welcome new international students to campus this fall. To assist these students in their arrival in Des Moines for the first time, the Global Engagement Office is looking for faculty or staff members interested in volunteering to transport these students to campus. Most international students will arrive at Drake between Aug. 18–22. They are always excited to be greeted at the airport by someone from Drake as a first friendly face of the University!

If you are interested in volunteering to transport our new international students to campus, please contact Kendra Hossain-Morehead (Kendra.hossain-morehead@drake.edu) or Jorona Johnson (Jorona.johnson@drake.edu) as soon as possible.

— Kendra Hossain-Morehead, Global Engagement

Faculty Senate is happy to announce a new internal website, available to Drake faculty and staff. The new site provides the Faculty Senate’s current roster, committee assignments, meeting documents, and calendar. In addition, it has a complete archive of all available documents and committee reports.

Faculty and staff are invited to explore the site. https://drakeedu.sharepoint.com/sites/FacultySenate

The external website will continue to hold the current roster, committee assignments, and upcoming meeting documents.

— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

As we shared in June, Drake’s applicant tracking system (ATS), Hire Touch, is being sunset at the end of this year. We have contracted with PageUp to provide our new ATS. The ITS and HR project team is working closely with PageUp representatives to be prepared for the switch later this year.

In lieu of referring to the ATS by the vendor name, we’ll be adopting the name Jobs@Drake. The project team is working on both the internally facing components of the platform and about to start working on the public facing jobs board.

We remain excited about the functionalities of PageUp, including filtering options for those searching for jobs and the ability to better brand the public facing jobs board. We’ll find more effective  reporting options  and have a variety of visual tools at our disposal (such as adding different flags to applicants and applications) to assist search committees.

Presently, the project remains on track to have PageUp go live in October. We are already thinking through how we will navigate the active searches at that time. Luckily, this will be a one-time hurdle to clear. While we would not have chosen to prioritize upgrading our ATS right now, the decision was made by our current vendor. The silver lining is that we remain confident and excited that PageUp will prove to be a notable improvement in form and substance.

Additional updates, simulation opportunities, training, and tools will accompany the roll out. If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to contact us at drakehr@drake.edu.

— Kris Brewster, ITS; Maureen De Armond, HR

Please join us for the 2022 Learning Symposium on Thursday, Aug. 18.  We are planning a day with ample opportunities to reflect and reconnect, to socialize with colleagues we may not have seen in person in a while, and to center ourselves for the year ahead.

Agenda 

• 8:00 – 8:30     Light breakfast
• 8:30 – 8:45      Welcome
• 8:45 – 10:30    Reconnecting to Drake’s Mission and Core Values
• 10:30 – 11:30  Adapting to a Rapidly Changing Environment
• 11:30 – 1:00    Lunch Break: Food Trucks, courtesy of All Staff Council
• 1:00 – 2:45     Preparing For the Year Ahead
• 2:45 – 3:00     Closing

The Learning Symposium will be followed immediately by the Provost’s Drake Social from 3–5 p.m. at the Turner Jazz Center.

Please register for the Learning Symposium on Eventbrite. Those registered will receive a voucher for their lunch at the trucks.

We are excited to offer this year’s Learning Symposium in person. After the challenges of recent years, this is a wonderful opportunity for building and re-establishing community. As with all campus events and activities, we ask managers to actively encourage their employees to consider attending—this applies to faculty and both hourly and salaried staff.