All posts by Carla Herling

Campus Announcements Archive

Need help with Blackboard Learn Ultra?

Contextual Help
In the bottom right corner of any page in Blackboard Learn Ultra, look for the purple question mark and click on Blackboard Help to be directed to resources to help you learn more about the feature you are using. 

ITS Service Portal  

New Features and Noteworthy Changes
A well-organized summary of the new features and noteworthy changes found in Blackboard Learn Ultra is available at drake.edu/its/learnultra. 

 — Karly Good, ITS

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Best practices: Course-related communication between instructors and students

Did a student miss an assignment? Was there an absence that requires follow-up? You have a few communication options, depending on what you’re comfortable with: 

Messages via Blackboard Learn Ultra 

Pros: Maintains a centralized location for all class-based communications. In case of emergency, another faculty member could start where you leave off.  

Cons: You must communicate that faculty and students should use messages rather than email for communications. One vehicle for this would be a statement in the syllabus about expected usage for a class. 

Drake email  

Pros: It’s been used for years and is easy.  

Cons: No one else can access your academic communications with students. If another faculty member needed to pick up where you left off, students email communications would be inaccessible.  

Starfish Student Success

Starfish Student Success is the tool to use when working with students about conversations on academic well-being.

A link to the Starfish Student Success tool can be added from your Blackboard Learn Ultra course. Use the (+) menu in the content, choose Content Market, and then click the (+) on the Starfish Student Success tool.

Pros: Using Starfish to raise concerns about issues such as poor attendance or a pattern of missing/late assignments helps contribute to a complete picture of a student’s academic portfolio across multiple courses.   

Cons: If you do not communicate where the portfolio is gathered (e.g. choosing to email even though the issues continue or escalate), it is much more difficult to plan any needed intervention processes.  

What other communication tools are available? 

  • Announcements via Blackboard allow you to post time sensitive information as a pop-up inside the course. Upon entering a course, announcements will pop up in a window that prevents students from being able to access course materials without first dismissing the window. Announcements can also be set to send immediately via email. If students have the Blackboard App, announcements will also send a push notification (dependent upon the student’s personal notification settings). 
  • Messages via Blackboard are an alternative to email, and help keep communications centralized within a given course: 
  • Course Messages provide multiple notifications to students based on individual preferences. 
  • Notifications can be received by email or push notifications in the Blackboard Mobile App. 
  • New Messages are identified with a count badge on the Blackboard homepage. 
  • Messages can be sent on an individual basis or to some or all class participants.  
  • Enable Class Conversations to allow students to discuss course materials and/or assignments directly in context. This promotes a community of support and helps identify student understanding. Though this tool is available system-wide, it is up to instructors  to apply the Conversations feature to each gradable item throughout the course. 

— Melissa Sturm-Smith, Academic Excellence and Student Success, and Karly Good, ITS

HR Information Archive

HR personnel changes

Drake Human Resources is thrilled to share that Teresa Downs made the move to HR on Aug. 23. Many of you are already familiar with Teresa as she has worked in the Admissions Department for more than five years, where she will surely be missed.

In her new role with HR, Teresa will serve as a data entry and process specialist. HR is pleased not only to welcome such a talented individual to the team but also to provide an existing Drake employee with the opportunity to try something different and learn new skills. Teresa will be a wonderful addition to HR.

We are equally pleased to share that Anthony Leto is taking on new responsibilities within HR. Effective Aug. 1, Anthony shifted into the role of talent acquisition specialist after having served as an HR systems and recruitment coordinator. Anthony has also explored varying opportunities at Drake—having worked in Student Accounts for several years prior to joining the HR team in 2019.

A hot topic in HR is examining and modernizing talent acquisition strategies. HR wants to be a better and more strategic partner in recruiting (and also retaining) talented faculty and staff. Anthony is very excited to take a larger role in those efforts—including targeted strategies designed to increase the size and diversity of the candidate pools, providing more structured guidance for onboarding new employees, and defining ways to support existing employees advance their careers within the institution. These initiatives will take time (and we’ll need help from campus for ideas and suggestions), but we are excited to start focusing on efforts such as these.

Additional announcements about personnel changes in HR and how we plan to support employees moving forward will be shared in the coming weeks. Thank you for your encouragement, feedback, and patience as we fill vacancies and realign our priorities to better serve you.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Fall 2021: COVID-19 supplemental leave

As we head into the 2021–2022 academic year, Drake University remains committed to the health and well-being of our faculty, staff, students, as well as the larger community. We understand that additional disruptions due to COVID could impact our employees and their families. Consequently, Drake University will be offering supplemental paid leave (“COVID Supplemental Leave”) through December 31, 2021, as detailed below.

Eligibility: To qualify for the COVID-19 Supplemental Leave program, you must be a benefits-eligible employee, which means a minimum of 32 hours a week and a 9-month appointment.

Exhaustion of Accrued Leave: All available sick leave and personal time must be exhausted prior to accessing COVID Supplemental Leave. Consistent with Drake’s FMLA practices, an employee may hold back 40 hours of vacation time. However, employees must exhaust all vacation time in excess of 40 hours.

Bank of Leave: Full-time employees will be eligible for up to 80 hours from Aug. 30 through Dec. 31, or a later date as established by the University. The amount of leave will be pro-rated for those on less than 100% appointments (e.g., an 80% employee would be eligible for 64 hours of COVID Supplemental Leave).

Qualifying Events: For eligible employees meeting the circumstances described above, COVID Supplemental Leave may be requested under these situations:

  • Personal or Family COVID-19 Illness: An employee becomes ill with COVID-19 or they are providing care for an immediate family member who is ill with COVID-19. Immediate family includes: the employee’s spouse/partner, child, mother, father, brother, or sister (or the same relatives of your spouse/partner).
  • COVID-Related Self-Isolation Directive: The employee, or their minor child, has been advised to self-isolate by Drake or a health care professional and the employee is unable to work remotely.
  • COVID-Related Childcare or Eldercare Obligations: The employee’s child’s school or daycare or an immediate family member’s eldercare facility has closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and the employee is unable to work remotely.

Mitigating Steps: Employees who have the type of job duties where remote work or a flexible schedule would allow the employee to work part of the time, despite experiencing a qualifying event, should discuss options with their managers.  In some situations, a temporary remote work and/or a temporary adjusted schedule will help mitigate the need to use COVID Supplemental Leave on a full-time basis. For example, for eligible employees who have exhausted leave, as described above:

  • If an employee is caring for a sick family member but the care does not require full-time attention, such employees should explore options for working part-time. COVID Supplemental Leave should only be requested for the time they are unable to work.
  • If an employee is healthy but has been directed to self-isolate and can perform their work remotely, they should work remotely. Under such circumstances, they should not request COVID Supplemental Leave.
  • If an employee has a child whose daycare is temporarily closed but the employee can flex their schedule to continue working, while using COVID Supplemental Leave when caring for their child part-time, that possibility should be explored.

Exploring mitigating steps benefit the employee. If such options are feasible, this will help the employee stretch out the available bank of COVID Supplemental Leave, while also supporting their colleagues and departments. We understand that mitigating steps will not always be possible, but Managers should include them as part of the conversation when such situations arise. Managers are encouraged to work with their employees to mitigate absences and effectively manage workload distribution.

Application Process: An employee can apply for COVID supplemental leave by completing this form. The employee and their manager will receive an email response following submission of the request to use the leave. Upon approval non-exempt employees will record the time off in the Supplemental Leave area of the timesheet, and exempt employees will submit the Supplemental Leave on the monthly leave report.

Leave under the FMLA/ADA: If an employee believes that their leave may be covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including COVID resulting in them having a serious health condition or an immediate family member suffering a serious health condition, Drake Human Resources can assist with the FMLA process. Note that FMLA is protected leave, not paid leave. FMLA may run concurrently with COVID supplemental leave.

Alternatively, if a temporary disability caused by COVID-19 may lead to the need to consider a workplace accommodation, HR can also facilitate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) interactive process. If you think either the FMLA or ADA process may apply to your situation, please contact drakehr@drake.edu.

This COVID supplemental leave program remains a temporary measure. However, as the pandemic continues to evolve, we will assess whether additional changes or expansions to this policy may be needed after Dec. 31.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

Benefit highlight: Tuition rebate waiver and required form

Drake University is proud to provide a tuition rebate waiver to Drake employees and their family members. This benefit reflects Drake’s commitment to lifelong learning and represents an investment in our employees and their families. This benefit extends to full-time Drake employees and their spouse/partner and dependent children. This benefit allows eligible employees and family members to take classes either at the undergraduate or graduate level with the tuition fully or partially waived (visit the website or policy for tuition waiver details). If you are employed in a full-time, regular position and are on the University payroll the first day of classes of a semester or summer term, you and your eligible family members can take advantage of this benefit.

Through the Tuition Rebate Waiver benefit program, all full-time regular employees may carry a maximum of eight credit hours during each fall and spring semester, and no more than eight credit hours during the interim and summer terms, combined. Besides the employee, up to two persons, either one spouse/partner and one dependent child or two dependent children, are eligible to take classes through this benefit.

As a reminder, employees are required to submit the tuition rebate waiver form prior to the beginning of each semester that the benefit is used. Additionally, employees, spouses/partners, or dependents who are pursuing undergraduate degrees at Drake University are required to complete the FAFSA prior to July 1. If you have questions about the FAFSA requirement, please contact Student Financial Planning at 515–271–2905 or financialaid@drake.edu. Questions about the Tuition Rebate Waiver benefit can be directed to HR by emailing us at drakehr@drake.edu.

— Debra Wiley, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

University Avenue house to be relocated Aug. 31

There continues to be construction along University Avenue. Part of this activity includes relocating a house from the 2900 University Avenue block, between 29th Street and Walgreens. The house is scheduled to move starting around 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, (weather dependent). The house will travel west on University Avenue, then south on 31st Street and be put on the foundation at the corner of Cottage Grove and 31st Street. Steps have been taken to abate all environmental and hazardous conditions in the house.

There is another house in this 2900 block area that will be razed as part of future planning for this site. Razing of this house will be taking place in the next few weeks. We look forward to sharing more on plans for the future in this area in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Kelly Foster at kelly.foster@drake.edu.

HR Information Archive

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) reminder

To better assist our employees manage through this year, Drake University amended its FSA plans to permit prospective mid-year health care and/or dependent care election changes. Through the end of this calendar year, employees may:

  • Elect to participate in Drake’s health care and/or dependent care FSA plans – even if they previously have waived the benefit.
  • Elect to terminate current participation in Drake’s health care and/or dependent care FSA plans.
  • Increase or decrease current health care and/or dependent care elections.

Please note: you cannot increase contribution amounts to pay for expenses that have already been incurred. Increased contributions must be used for the remaining portion of the 2021 calendar year. Increased election amounts will be deducted throughout the remainder of the calendar year beginning with the first payroll after the election is made. Contribution limits for the 2021 calendar year are as follows:

Health Care FSA (2021)

Minimum Contribution:  $120                           Maximum Contribution:  $2750

 Dependent Care FSA (2021)

Minimum Contribution:  $300                           Maximum Contribution:  $10,500

Additionally, health care FSA participants may carry over up to $550 of unreimbursed contributions to the 2022 calendar year. To make changes to your current (2021) FSA participation, please complete and return the FSA Mid-year Change Form to  drakehr@drake.edu   As always, should you have questions regarding your benefits, please feel free to directly contact marlene.heuertz@drake.edu.

— Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources

HR Information Archive

BUILD learning and development fall offerings

Bulldogs United In Learning Drake (BUILD) is a learning and development series available to faculty and staff who wish to enhance their professional skills, improve their wellbeing, and expand their boundaries.

Human Resources would like to thank those who provided suggestions for future BUILD training topics. Your input helped guide our class offerings this academic year.

Here is a sneak peek into the Fall 2021 schedule:

  • We’ve added three more Microsoft classes this fall – Teams Calling, Teams Channels and Files, and Teams Forms. In addition, Christine Marchand, institutional research and academic compliance coordinator, will facilitate two Qualtrics classes.
  • If you need a little relaxation break, we are offering three virtual 30-minute mindfulness classes over lunch. Each covers a unique mindfulness technique.
  • Danielle Green, director, Student Counseling Center, will lead a discussion that focuses on the stress and anxiety you may be feeling as we return to campus, and ways to combat it.
  • Maureen De Armond, executive director, HR, will present three classes this fall, including a class that focuses on tools for identifying and combating pandemic fatigue.
  • We are holding both an active shooter training session and a self-defense class, facilitated by Scott Law, executive director, Public Safety and Operational Services.
  • For those needing healthy eating ideas, join our on-campus dietitian Samantha Matt, as she leads a session on healthy eating, cooking, and shopping tips.
  • And learn more about what you do best and how to apply your personal strengths to your personal and professional life in our two-part Strength Finders course. Kristin Economos, director of student leadership programs, will present.

We are still adding classes and already have a great list of topics for this spring, including time management, CPR, leading hybrid teams, social media best practices, implicit bias, an anti-racism capacity-building workshop, reducing screen time, STEM Hub at Drake, and much more.

The complete Fall 2021 BUILD schedule will be available on myDrake by the end of the week.

To register for a class, please send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Faculty Archive

Faculty event: Growing a more inclusive, equitable, and just racial environment

S.T.A.R.T.:  Standing Against Racism Together

In 2021-2022, the Office for Equity and Inclusion will offer a series of capacity-building workshops for members of the Drake campus community with Jennifer Harvey, Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion, and Jazlin Coley, Director of Equity and Inclusion.

Join us for a three-part faculty series on Sept. 10, 17, and 24, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. All faculty are welcome.

The workshops will provide a deep-dive experience to understand the ways being part of a predominantly white institution impacts our collective work, teaching, and relationships. The goal: to build individual and collective tools, language, and habits to actively grow a more inclusive, equitable and just racial environment in which we all can THRIVE.

Pre-registration is required: registration will close on Friday, Sept. 3, or when the workshop fills (whichever comes first). Participants will receive a professional development stipend of $250 upon completion of the workshop. Attendance is required at all three sessions.

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/start-standing-against-racism-together-tickets-167889757785

— Jennifer Harvey, Provost’s Office

Campus Announcements Archive

Intensive English Program offers free learning opportunities

Drake’s Intensive English Program (IEP) provides free learning opportunities for faculty, staff, and full-time students to improve their English skills. Our IEP offers intermediate and advanced level classes with an academic focus. If you feel that you may need additional help in a certain English skill area, be it advanced academic writing, grammar, or speaking, or if you simply would like to improve your pronunciation, you may want to consider taking one of our classes.

Classes begin Monday, Aug. 30, and end Friday, Dec. 10. The last day to register for classes is Friday, Sep. 3. Exceptions may be made to this deadline at the course instructor’s discretion. Please note that these classes are not credit-bearing.

If you are interested in joining a class, wish to see the schedule, or have questions about the program, contact Kendra Hossain-Morehead at kendra.hossain-morehead@drake.edu.

— Kendra Hossain-Morehead, Director of International Student and Scholar Services