The Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning would like to thank everyone for taking the time to complete the Administrative Survey in October.  We have gained valuable feedback to help us maintain and improve the services we provide to students, faculty, and staff.

Ratings in nearly every question increased over the prior year. Each of the departments individually scored between 4 and 5 on the 5-point scale with only one exception. While not a statistically significant difference, the overall satisfaction with the services provided by the Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning increased to an average score of 4.38 this year compared to 4.26 in 2018. While there is always room for improvement, the unit’s staff are clearly doing their best to meet our service-oriented objectives to:

• Ensure our constituents are engaged and informed,
• Ensure integrity and transparency,
• Process university resources timely and accurately, and
• Improve service excellence.

The comments included in the survey were very helpful. There were many positive comments all centered around the staff being knowledgeable, approachable, courteous, service-oriented, responsive, and helpful, as well as displaying a ‘can do’ attitude. There were also several valuable suggestions for improvement. The most significant theme identified by our staff pointed to the need for continuation of our focus on process improvements. Two recent examples of already implemented process improvement include the automation of our payment processing using the services of Paymerang and the transition of the tuition rebate application to an online form rather than paper. Additional process improvement initiatives are already in the works, such as efficiencies in processing transactions from restricted and endowed funding sources. Other initiatives will continue as staff time and IT resources allow.

Thank you again for participating in the Administrative Survey and please know that your input is reviewed and analyzed by the entire staff of the Offices of Finance and Student Financial Planning.

— Adam Voigts, Chief Financial Officer

DU Well Healthy Holidays Challenge is a five-week program that runs from Dec. 2, 2019, through Jan. 5, 2020.  It consists of a series of one-day challenges that you can do at home or at Drake. From taking a walk break, to phoning a friend, or checking the batteries on your smoke detector, there is something for everyone.  Simply check off the challenges as you complete them on the tracking form you will be provided.  If you complete a daily challenge on 30 of the 35 days, you will be placed in a drawing for a chance to win prizes.

As an added bonus, the tracking form will include a place to record your weekly weight.  This is optional, but if you maintain (or lose) weight over the holidays, it will count as completing three (3) daily challenges.

To register for DU Well Healthy Holidays and receive your tracking form, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources