Campus building hours will be adjusted for the Thanksgiving holiday. Most of campus will close at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and will remain closed to the general public through the end of the week.  Students, faculty, and staff can still enter their authorized buildings with their Drake Card. For the majority of buildings, regular access will resume on Sunday, Nov. 26.

Contact Public Safety at 515-271-2222 for door access emergencies during this time. For non-emergency related questions, please email studentservices@drake.edu.

Cowles Library open hours/after-hours can be found on its website.

—Sara Heijerman, Student Services

Do you know someone who should earn an alumni award? Drake and the National Alumni Association Board are proud to honor exceptional graduates each year during the Drake Relays at the Alumni Awards Reception. These awards recognize the significant contributions of our alumni to their alma mater, their profession, and their community. Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2018 Alumni Awards. Submissions must be completed by Monday, Dec. 11. Please direct questions to Nicki Kimm in Alumni Relations at nicki.kimm@drake.edu or 515-271-2463.

Meredith Ponder, University Communications

On Saturday, Nov. 18, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., all Banner (DUSIS) services will be unavailable. Access to blueView, MyDUSIS, DUSIS (INB) Forms, Workflow, eTranscripts, Job Submission, and ODBC (Microsoft Access) will be unavailable. This outage will allow ITS to install necessary software upgrades for the Banner/DUSIS system.

If you continue experiencing issues after the outage has ended, please call the Support Center at 515-271-3001, or report your issue using our Service Portal at service.drake.edu/its.

–Carla Herling, ITS

Last month, more than 350 faculty and staff shared feedback about University Communications via the Survey of Administrative Services. Thanks to all respondents, nearly half of whom work with University Communications regularly (i.e. at least every few months). The positive feedback provides affirmation and encouragement, while the constructive feedback will help the team improve processes and further strengthen the University’s communication and marketing efforts.

Nearly three of every four respondents who said they regularly work with University Communications reported that they are satisfied with the department’s services. The highest scoring areas, and the mean in a five-point aggregate scale, were:

• Staff are courteous––4.53
• Staff complete their work within budget—4.42
• Staff are professional–4.38

There were also three clear areas that need improvement:

• Staff respond to my inquiries in a timely manner—3.65
• Staff help identify solutions that I otherwise wouldn’t have considered—3.66
• Communication from my area is better as a result of having worked with University Communications—3.68

In terms of specific services, all survey respondents—whether they work regularly with University Communications or not—are most satisfied with campus communications (4.19) including OnCampus and leadership messages, and with alumni communications (3.84) such as Blue magazine and eBlue digital newsletter.

Strategic communications planning (3.43) and student recruitment communications (3.32) are the areas perceived as needing the most improvement. The University Communications team has already begun putting more focus on these two areas, and they will remain priorities going forward.

All other services provided by University Communications scored above 3.50; that suggests fairly solid performance all-around.

Some of the initiatives already underway to improve performance within University Communications include:

• Developing and implementing strategic communications plans to better serve key audiences, including faculty/staff, alumni/donors, prospective students and families, and the general public.
• Asking campus partners to collect and share data that will help University Communications better understand audience needs, develop impactful strategies, and define measurable outcomes.
• Developing and deploying digital solutions whenever possible and appropriate to better serve key audiences, generate valuable data, and drive down printing costs.
• Continuing the transformation of the University website to the new look-and-feel, with redesigned webpages for two academic units going live yet this semester and other units and departments to follow.
• Facilitating a first-ever, newly-formed marketing advisory council with representatives from each academic unit, to identify and share best practices across colleges and schools.
• Providing self-serve tools to help campus partners meet more of their day-to-day needs and allow University Communications more time to focus on strategic work.
• Working with national branding firm 160over90 to analyze market research and elevate the Drake brand, with implementation of the new brand platform to be in full swing this spring.

The survey feedback will serve as a blueprint heading into 2018, as University Communications works to better support the University’s mission and continuous improvement initiatives. In the meantime, you can learn more about University Communication’s expertise and explore the department’s online toolkit.

–Dave Remund, University Communications

ITS would like to thank everyone for their patience as we continue working with our vendors to find a permanent solution for the issues we’ve been having with printing to Lexmark printers. We understand this issue is causing significant frustration, and we are doing all we can to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Our vendor is still trying to identify the cause of the issue and is working diligently to develop a fix. Unfortunately, there is still no firm estimate for when a permanent fix will be delivered.

In the meantime, ITS has developed a short-term solution that allows faculty and staff to print directly to any printer using FollowMe print queues for each type of device. This solution also works for any students who have downloaded printer drivers to their computers to print specialized document types.

• In order to release print jobs to Konica-Minolta multi-function devices, please use the standard BW_FollowMe or Color_FollowMe print queues that are installed on all Drake-owned computers by default.
• For releasing print jobs to Lexmark devices, use the NEW BW_Lexmark_FollowMe or Color_Lexmark_FollowMe print queues. The Lexmark print queues must be manually downloaded and installed on Drake-owned computers by following one of the sets of instructions below.

Please note that print jobs sent to the Lexmark print queues will only be able to be released at Lexmark printers. You should not install the Lexmark-specific drivers unless you regularly print to Lexmark printers. You can also still print to Lexmark printers via web printing.

Step by step instructions on downloading the Lexmark print drivers:

• How -to: Installing Lexmark-Specific FollowMe print drivers on Windows
• How-to: Installing Lexmark-Specific FollowMe print drivers on Mac

For assistance with determining the type of printer in your area and the correct printer driver to use, please see Printer Locations (FAQ).

For information on using Web Printing, please see Using Web Printing (How-to).

—Carla Herling, ITS

The photography protocol and procedures section of the University Communications toolkit has been updated. Visit the toolkit for information on:

• SmugMug
• Drop-in headshot sessions (the next drop-in session is Nov. 13 from 8–10 a.m.)
• Event photography and training resources
• Independent contractors
• Freelance student photographer pool (outside of the University Communication office)
• Key photo and video priorities for 2017–2018

Justice Simpson, University Communications

Email phishing is one of the most prevalent attacks directed at Drake––over 100 million fraudulent emails are sent each year. That’s why ITS works to educate faculty, staff, and students about avoiding these attacks designed to convince us to give away our information.

October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and ITS shared tips all month on how to remain safe online. Until Nov. 17, ITS is holding its second annual Phishing Quiz, where faculty, staff, and students take a short quiz to learn how to identify these dangerous attacks. Thanks to some local businesses and campus partners, we’re giving away six great prize packages. Enter by going to drake.edu/its/phish. And, look for ITS staff at a table in the Olmsted breezeway on Thursday, Nov. 9, between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Spin the prize wheel and answer an IT security question for another chance to win.

In mid-November, we’ll be re-launching phishing simulation training for faculty and staff using a new tool called Knowbe4. This training creates emails that look like actual phishing attacks as an effective way to teach us how to identify and report them, all in a risk-free environment. It also has short videos that we will be using to help reinforce this training.

Our goal with these initiatives is to empower campus to keep personal and University data secure. Together we can be good stewards of the important information that has been entrusted to us.

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS

The Office of Community Engaged Learning and Service is looking for volunteers to help with this year’s Poverty Simulation on Nov. 16 and 17 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Community partners, students, faculty, and staff are all welcome to volunteer for one or both days.

The simulations will be held Nov. 16 and 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. Sign up to volunteer.

We ask that volunteers come 30 minutes before the simulation starts in order to complete training for the experience. The simulation will conclude by 3 p.m. but you are welcome to stay for the debriefing and reflection from 3 to 4 p.m.

The poverty simulation is meant to help sensitize participants to the struggles people in poverty face on a daily basis. During the simulation, participants role-play the lives of low-income families, from single parents trying to care for their children to senior citizens trying to maintain their self-sufficiency on Social Security. Time is represented by four, 15-minute periods, each representing one week. The task of each family is to provide food, shelter, and other basic necessities during the simulation while interacting with various community resources, such as the bank, pawnshop, childcare center, school, employer, and grocery store. Afterward, participants and staffers conduct a debriefing.

Please see the description page for a list of all the job descriptions in the poverty simulation. You can click on each individual position for a more in-depth look at the job tasks.

—Gabriella Gugliotta

An important aspect of Drake’s Continuous Improvement Plan is to examine our processes. The Survey of Administrative Services occurs once per year in the fall. The goal is to communicate to faculty, staff, and students the process of self-evaluation, thoughtful planning, and implementation to elevate professional practices toward improved customer service.

This feedback helps departments, such as Facilities Planning and Management, understand how to improve services and where gaps may exist. Responses to the survey help to shape future efforts.

Survey respondents provided largely positive feedback about Facilities Planning and Management services. Responses were provided on a five-point scale, with five being the highest.

Satisfaction with FPM staff – Total Average 4.41

Respondents assessed their satisfaction with FPM staff including their courtesy, professionalism, knowledge, timeliness, and resolution of issues. Satisfaction with FPM staff was generally high; an area of opportunity across campus is timeliness (4.11).

Satisfaction with FPM support and services – Total Average 4.42

Respondents assessed their satisfaction with FPM support and services, including: custodial, grounds maintenance, snow removal, moving, cooling and heating, painting, construction, carpentry, trash/recycle, and postal. Satisfaction with FPM support and services was generally high for ground maintenance (4.69), postal (4.62), and custodial/trash/recycle (4.50). The lowest areas were cooling and heating (4.01) and construction (4.21).

The preservation of historic buildings can be demanding when upgrading mechanical systems. It is our goal through heating and cooling to establish a comfortable environment, while understanding the capacity of the system along with individual preferences. The same holds true for construction and the learning space. Moving forward we promise to service all needs on campus through collaboration and communication.

Overall satisfaction—Total Average 4.27

Overall satisfaction is above average, but FPM still has room for improvement.

In reviewing the data and reflecting on the comments provided by the respondents, FPM has concluded that:

It is our goal to remain consistent over time with the above benchmarks. While strong ratings were seen in FPM, we are actively developing strategies to improve our services and overall quality. The development of a capital review process and new work order portal are just a few strategies recently implemented.

—Manny Toribio, Facilities Planning and Management

Drake Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is organizing a one-time event to pick-up unwanted, regulated materials (chemicals, solvents, paint, cleaning products, and aerosols) starting Nov. 22. The final day for pick-up will be Dec. 8.

During this event, the University will take advantage of an exemption from the EPA that will allow us to exceed our normal monthly waste totals without being subjected to increased regulations. This event has a strict timeline so it is important that departments that wish to take advantage of this opportunity begin to identify and segregate potential waste as soon as possible.

It is important to note that normal waste collections will continue during this period so departments that generate regulated (hazardous) waste can continue to collect that waste and request pick-ups as normal. Other waste, such as e-waste, batteries, broken glass, sharps, etc., will also continue to be picked-up as normal. The following guidelines should be followed for those wishing to take part in this event:

Begin identifying and segregating unwanted items as soon as possible. Unwanted items which may be regulated when disposed of may include, but are not limited to:

• Unused chemicals
• Unused solvents
• Cleaning products
• Paints (including spray paint)

If you have any questions about what materials would apply, contact Drake EHS. Please refrain from bringing items from home as this is for University materials only. If you have questions about how to dispose of household waste, Drake EHS can provide resources and information on how to do so.

Items may be set to the side and labeled as “potentially unwanted materials;” do not label as waste. Those departments that utilize Satellite Accumulation Areas for waste should keep potentially unwanted materials separated from their normal waste as it will be counted separately. These departments should avoid using the same labels that they use for normal waste.

Create an inventory of the items you wish to dispose of. This will make collection easier and quicker. You may send inventories to EHS at any time.

When all potentially unwanted materials have been identified, request a pick-up from EHS. Pick-ups can be requested by visiting the EHS website: drake.edu/ehs and filling out a “Request a Pick-up Form” or by emailing josh.haines@drake.edu.

Collection of unwanted materials will not begin until Nov. 22. EPA regulations prohibit collection prior to this date. We realize that this coincides with the start of Thanksgiving break and that this is a busy time for many members of the Drake community, which is why it is important to begin the process of identifying potentially unwanted materials as soon as possible. Once collection begins, the University will have 30 days to collect materials, prepare them for shipment, and have the waste shipped off site.

Drake EHS contact information:

• Chris Nickell, director: 515-271-3804, chris.nickell@drake.edu
• Josh Haines, environmental specialist: 515-271-3159, josh.haines@drake.edu

—Chris Nickell, Environmental Health and Safety