Category Archives: Campus Announcements Archive

Summer textbooks available online, modified in-store pick-up

Shop online 24/7 for summer course materials, as well as great Drake merchandise, at www.drake.bkstr.com. For your convenience, the University Bookstore has resumed a modified in-store pick-up process. Call the number posted on the Bookstore’s front door, and we will set your order outside the door. In-store pick up is available weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Store visitors may park in the Olmsted Center parking lot. As a reminder, Bulldog Bucks can be used for online shopping.

— Katie Wilz, University Bookstore

Sexual Assault Prevention online course survey findings

In the fall of 2019, 954 first year and transfer students took part in the Sexual Assault Prevention for Undergraduates online course.  We had a 93% completion rate for undergraduates.

The surveys from this course allow us to see how students view the topic of sexual assault prevention and gives feedback on the value students see in the course.  According to the survey, 80% of students agreed that this course helped them identify characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships.  78% reported that the course increased confidence in their ability to intervene when they witness a concerning behavior.

A notable statistic from this survey was that 93% of undergraduates felt that Drake University offered good resources for students going through difficult times. This course helped students increase their awareness of support resources and reporting options. The pre-course survey indicated that 64% knew how to report a sexual assault on campus and  the post-course survey increased to 82% knowing how to report a sexual assault.

Additionally, 641 graduate students completed the course Sexual Assault Prevention for Graduates with an 86% completion rate. The survey indicates that these students increased their overall knowledge of sexual assault prevention by 15%. Other notable increases included recognizing relationship abuse from 74% in the pre-course survey to 95% post-course. Students also increased knowledge of understanding Title IX from 63% pre-course to 86% post-course. 90% of graduate students felt that Drake offers good support to those going through difficult times.

Our partnership with Everfi will continue over the next three years as we continue to establish programming across campus that supports the healthy majority and develops a strong positive culture on campus.

This year we are excited to add the Everfi, Equity and Inclusion module to our Bulldog Foundations classes. This well designed and engaging course will allow students an additional opportunity to have conversations related to Drake’s commitment to equity and inclusion.

For more information or a full copy of the Everfi Impact Report please contact Lynne Cornelius, violence prevention coordinator, at lynne.cornelius@drake.edu.

— Lynne Cornelius, Violence Prevention & Programming

All Staff Council election results

All Staff Council is pleased to congratulate and welcome its newest members:

Governance Committee: Bridget Arrasmith, Chris Bass, Donita Greenough, Leslie Noble

Recognition Committee: Erin Bell, Teresa Downs

Special Events/Community Service: Kevin Saunders, Sydni Jennings, Lynne Cornelius, Mariah Mohler

Special Interest: Lori Richman, Rashmee Virmani, Megan Franklin

Chair Elect: Andy Verlengia

For more information on All Staff Council and its current members, visit drake.edu/asc/.

— Michelle Huggins, Facilities Planning & Management

Bb Annotate to replace New Box View for inline grading and feedback in Blackboard Learn

Bb Annotate is a new tool in Blackboard Learn for inline assignment grading that will be available starting May 25. Bb Annotate replaces the New Box View integration. Bb Annotate offers new features for instructors to provide customizable feedback to students including a sidebar summary view, freehand drawing tools, and various color selections.

Migration Timeline
The file migration from New Box View to Bb Annotate will begin starting on May 25and could take several hours to days to complete depending on the number of files that need to be migrated. This ensures all older documents also use the same inline grading system and that no data is lost during the transition.

Existing Grading
All pre-existing annotations created through New Box View will be migrated and visible in Bb Annotate. If a user is actively annotating a file using New Box View during the migration, the file will not migrate to Bb Annotate until the user has completed that session. Upon loading the submission file again, it will display in the Bb Annotate viewer. User will be able to delete annotations as well as add new comments to any existing comment created using New Box View.

Mobile App Compatibility
Bb Annotate will work with the Blackboard Instructor app, but not the Blackboard app. Students should access their assignment submission through a web browser to see annotations.

More Information
The links provided below is where you can find all relevant information about inline assignment grading with Bb Annotate.

— Karly Good, ITS

Summer Language Institute moves online

Drake University’s Intensive English Program (IEP) is now offering an online Summer Language Institute for those who wish to improve their English skills. IEP courses are free for current students, faculty, and staff. View course fees for other applicants.

Courses will run from July 6–31 and will follow a two-track format: An academic English track for those who are pursuing or planning to pursue a degree in the United States and a general English track for those who want to improve practical English skills.

Apply now. Applications for admission are due June 1. For additional information or questions, contact kendra.hossain-morehead@drake.edu.

— Kendra Hossain-Morehead, Drake International

Printing outage scheduled for May 21, 1–3 p.m.

ITS is migrating print services to a new server. As a result, access to campus printing (PaperCut) will be completely unavailable between 1–3 p.m. on Thursday, May 21.

We appreciate your patience while we perform this necessary work. If you continue to have any issues after the planned maintenance window, please contact the support center at 515-271-3001 or visit service.drake.edu/its to report your issue.

— Carla Herling, ITS

TeamDynamix upgrade planned for May 21, 7 a.m.

ITS is making updates to TeamDynamix in order to facilitate single sign on (SSO). TeamDynamix is the system behind our ITS and facilities portals.

After the upgrade at 7 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, if you’ve previously signed into any Drake website using your Drake credentials you will no longer have to re-enter them when you submit a request or report an issue to ITS or Facilities.

The ITS portion of TeamDynamix can be accessed from the ITS Support link in the myDrake portal or by going to service.drake.edu/its. You can learn more about how SSO works at Single Sign On (SSO) and Drake applications (FAQ).

View instructions on using the ITS service portal

— Carla Herling, ITS

Virtual commencement celebration Saturday

Drake University will hold a virtual commencement ceremony to celebrate the accomplishments of 1,071 students who are eligible to receive their undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees.

The virtual commencement website can be viewed any time beginning Saturday, May 16. Content on the website will include the conferring of degrees; remarks from University administrators and deans, including Chair of the Drake University Board of Trustees Peggy Fisher, FA’70, and Drake University President Marty Martin; a message from alumnus Steve Berry, LA ’83, LW ’86; student submitted images; and video content specific to each academic discipline.  

The virtual commencement will be accessible online through December. This semester’s graduating students are also invited to walk in the December 2020 commencement exercises.

To commemorate the celebration, all graduates will receive a blue tassel in the mail along with their diploma. Traditionally, graduates’ caps are adorned with a tassel in a color that denotes their academic discipline. The blue tassel is designed to be a symbol of unity and hope, capturing the Class of 2020’s “we are all in this together” spirit.

More information on the virtual commencement experience is available at https://www.drake.edu/commencement/. Faculty, staff, and classmates are encouraged to post congratulatory messages to graduates on social media using the hashtag #DearDrake2020.