All posts by Carla Herling

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Blackboard Learn Ultra instructor orientation course module 7 now available 

Module 7  is expected to take less than two hours and is focused on adding course content in the Ultra Course View. All Fall 2021 courses will be built using the Ultra Course View. 

This module focuses on better understanding attendance, grading options, and analytics available. If you have not completed Module 6’s Things to Try On Your Own activities, there will be little to try on your own for grading. Module 7 grading activities are dependent on the data from Module 6.   

Next week we will release Modules 8 and 9 (optional), the final modules in the self-paced training. 

Need Assistance with your Ultra Sandbox Courses? 
If you don’t see the sandbox courses in Ultra Course View in your Courses list (sandbox course names follow this formula: Ultra Sandbox #: Drake ID), please submit a Blackboard Site Creation request in the IT Service Portal. 

Start Planning Advanced Training Opportunities 
Each college/school has an assigned CTE Ambassador available to inform college members about the impending transition to Blackboard Learn Ultra Courses. To schedule additional training opportunities for your college/school, please contact your CTE Ambassador. The CTE Ambassador will work with academic technology experts to ensure the training requests are met. 

Note: Advanced training opportunities are dependent upon all attendees having completed the self-paced training modules first. 

— Karly Good, ITS

HR Information Archive

Financial resources and BUILD class

Even without the pandemic, this time of year can spur a surge in financial stress and anxiety. Fortunately, there are resources available to help answer your financial questions, and assist you in making the best decisions for you and your family.

TIAA offers a number of resources for Drake employees. Explore the TIAA website for answers to questions on personal finances, life milestones, and retirement. Participate in a live or on-demand webinar, review TIAA’s weekly market commentary for educational information regarding the current financial climate, or set up a phone or video chat with Drake’s TIAA financial consultant, Paige Philips at Paige.Philips@tiaa.org.

Employee and Family Resources offers financial resources including podcasts and access to a free financial consultation.  You may contact EFR at 800-327-4692 or www.efr.org.

You may also find answers to your financial questions at the next BUILD (Bulldogs United in Learning Drake) class, 7 Barriers to My Financial Future, on Tuesday, April 13 from 10 – 11 a.m.  We will explore the seven barriers that may prevent you from achieving your goals and dreams and how to maneuver around these roadblocks and move ahead with confidence.  Scott Nelson from Legacy Financial Group will facilitate.

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

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

For Students Archive

Apply for a J-Term 2022 travel seminar

Reminder: Apply for a J-Term 2022 travel seminar today! The priority deadline is April 15. 

Visit the J-Term 2022 Virtual Information Fair page for detailed information on the available travel seminars and courses. Then, be sure to apply in Terra Dotta, our online application system. 

After April 15, applications will be reviewed and students will be notified of their application status (accepted, waitlisted, denial) by May 1. Please carefully review the following information if you are interested in participating in going abroad or on a domestic program for J-Term 2022:

Deposits & Independent Withdrawals: After acceptance, to secure your spot on a travel seminar, you will need to commit to the program in Terra Dotta, pay your $500 deposit, and complete Terra Dotta post acceptance steps. Given the impact of COVID-19 on students and families, we have temporarily revised our deposit refund policy. If you choose to independently withdraw prior to Sept. 15, your deposit will be refunded. Withdrawals must be done in writing to nathan.jacobson@drake.edu. If after Sept. 15 you decide you want to withdraw from the program, you will be subject to Drake’s withdrawal and refund policies. Because of this, we strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with our withdrawal and refund policies which can be found in Terra Dotta.

Please be assured that your health and safety is of utmost importance. Given that this is an ever-evolving global situation, applicants will be notified if we make a change to the policy regarding J-Term travel seminars. Should you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to studyabroad@drake.edu.

J-Term 2022 Application Timeline:

— April 15: Priority Deadline

— May 1: Accept/waitlist Students who applied by April 15

— May 15: Students Commit in Terra Dotta and pay a $500 Deposit to secure their place in the program

— April 15–Sept. 1: Students can still apply if travel seminars have openings; deposits are due within two weeks of acceptance

— Sept. 15: Final day to apply and final day for deposit refunds

Nathan Jacobson, Education Abroad Coordinator

HR Information Archive

Join the ‘Walk this May’ challenge

Now that spring has sprung, it is time to go outdoors and get moving. If you need a little nudge, join our upcoming Walk this May team step challenge.

This team challenge will run through the month of May. A kick-off meeting will be held via Zoom on April 30 for all participants. Team captains will report weekly step totals and participants will receive motivational emails, including an update on team points. At the end of the month, there will be a challenge celebration via Zoom, with a prize package awarded to the participants of the winning team.

You may register as a team of four or five people or register individually and you will be placed on a team. To register, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu with your team members (or just yourself if registering alone) by April 28. Let’s get moving!

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Campus Announcements Archive

IT service portal updates

ITS has been updating our online resources to make them more user-friendly. If you visit the IT service portal at service.drake.edu/its you will begin to see fewer services available. We are combining services, and using logic within the forms to make it easier for you to choose the right service to use for your issue or request.

This work will continue into the summer months and beyond, but as we work through each category, you will see two options to submit:

  • Issues: Use issue for a system or tool that was working and isn’t anymore.
  • Requests: Submit a request to add something new or change access to an existing system or tool.

As long as you get to the right tool or system, your request or issue will be sent to the right ITS staff to assist you.

We hope these changes will make it easier for you to use our service portal, and get access to the tech you need. Have questions about these changes? Or want to provide feedback? Visit https://www.drake.edu/its/giveitsfeedback/.

— Carla Herling & Becky Klein, ITS

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Complete Title IX training through Blackboard

As part of our continued commitment to providing a safe and respectful environment for the entire Drake community, the Title IX Office released a short online training series for faculty and staff in the fall. The Title IX Office requests that any Drake employees who have not yet completed this training do so at their earliest convenience. The course is available through Blackboard and can be accessed via my.drake.edu. Upon selecting the Blackboard link under “Commonly Used Apps,” employees can access the training via the left hand menu under the “Courses” tab by clicking on the course entitled “Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Violence Prevention” and selecting the “Title IX Training” module and following the instructions within the course.

— Jessica Morgan-Tate, Finance & Administratio

Campus Announcements Archive

Participate in Civic Action Week

Throughout the past year we have seen people unite together to help out neighbors, family, and friends. Through mask-making, virtual tutoring, or sending a care package or card, you’ve risen to the challenge of being a caring neighbor.

April 5–10, as we celebrate Civic Action Week at Drake, share the innovative ways you’ve seen people unite and give back this past year on social media. Tag @drakeservice and #DrakeServes.

Join in on one of the events happening on campus like a Careers in Social Change Panel, Sprout Garden Ribbon Cutting, the Harkin Institute’s Sussman Lecture with Nikole Hannah-Jones, a community walk through the neighborhood and more. Donate to one of the several donations drives happening. Support local businesses with the Dogtown Dash. Find a volunteer opportunity. Whatever your comfort level, there’s an opportunity for you.

Learn more at drake.edu/community/learningservice/studentopportunities/civicactionweek/ and don’t forget to share how you are celebrating on social media!

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

Campus Announcements Archive

Rec Services closures and registrations

The Bell Center will be closed Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11. Underground Fitness will remain open.

Intramural deadlines:
Tennis (singles and doubles): April 7
Fortnite: April 7

Faculty/staff golf league:
Drake faculty/staff golf league will be a doubles league held at Grandview  Golf Course/A.H. Blank Golf Course in Des Moines. Nine holes will be played each week on Wednesdays with tee times starting at 4 p.m. for Grandview and 4:30 p.m. for A.H. Blank. The first day of play will be May 19 and will continue through July 28 (10 weeks).

To register email Ryan Parriott at ryan.parriott@drake.edu.

— Emily Madsen, Rec Services

Strategic Updates Archive

All In is this week!

On April 8–9, from noon to noon, we’re celebrating Drake and the Bulldogs who empower the Drake experience. Watch the All In hype video!

Join us to celebrate and honor moments of triumph, perseverance, kindness, transformation, and strength, and cheer on what is to come. Here are a few ways you can join in:

Mark your calendar: RSVP to the All In Facebook event. 

Show the world you’re All In: Add the All In Facebook frame to your profile picture. 

Students: Follow the Student Alumni Association on Facebook and Instagram for fun things happening on campus (at a social distance) and virtually during All In. 

Follow along: Check out the All In website to find out about matching gift challenges for academic units, programs, scholarship support, and more. Watch during the giving challenge (Thursday-Friday, from noon to noon) to see all the support that’s coming in for our campus community. 

— Alicia Chilton, University Communications and Marketing