Effective July 1, the Office of Student Records and Academic Information became the Office of the Registrar. The office’s new email address is registrar@drake.edu.

—Kevin Moenkhaus, Office of the Registrar

The steam line north of Cowles Library will be repaired starting this week and is scheduled to take approximately 5–10 days. Access to the building will not be affected, but sidewalks in the area may be closed where the contractor is working.

—Tom Borror, Facilities Planning and Management

ITS will be making an update to Blackboard on Saturday, July 29. As a result, access to Blackboard will be unavailable between 5:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. This upgrade is being made to resolve ongoing issues with discussion boards and wikis.

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

All faculty and staff should be aware of how to recognize and report an incident that may affect confidential information, especially information protected by federal and/or state laws.

An electronic security incident is defined as: Electronic activity, such as “hacking” or a compromised or abused computer, that results in damage to or misuse of the Drake network or a device or data connected to it. Primary examples are the theft or loss of a computer, communication of confidential information to an unauthorized party, or compromise of an account or system with access to confidential information.

At Drake, electronic security incidents involve University-owned assets such as mobile devices and computers, and/or confidential information, such as passwords, protected health information, FERPA-protected student record information, social security, credit card, bank account, driver’s license, or passport numbers.
If you become aware of a possible electronic security incident, please report it to Peter Lundstedt, information security manager, as quickly as possible at peter.lundstedt@drake.edu or ext. 4173. If Peter can’t be reached, contact your area’s ITS campus technician, or call the ITS Support Center at ext. 3001.

Drake is required to follow the laws in place for reporting, handling, and remediating every breach of information. Additional information about electronic security incidents can be found in the ITS knowledge base, including more information on the reporting and initial investigation process.

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS

Last month, ITS announced it is adopting Microsoft OneDrive as its campus cloud storage solution. Since its initial announcement, ITS has adjusted the project timeline. ITS discovered additional testing and configuration is needed to ensure a smooth rollout to campus.
The revised timeline is as follows: ITS will work with administrative units in late summer and into the fall semester to move individual storage into the cloud. Work with academic units is anticipated to start after the first of the year. Once all individual storage has been migrated, ITS will begin working with departments to move shared files. ITS will be reaching out individually to unit leaders to plan timing and coordinate efforts.

The transition of Drake’s storage into the cloud offers significant opportunities to improve how faculty, staff, and students work and collaborate. ITS is doing everything it can to ensure a successful transition. Look for additional communication and updates as the project moves forward.

— Carla Herling, ITS

Effective July 1, the Office of Student Records and Academic Information became the Office of the Registrar. This name change coincides with the onboarding of Jenny Tran-Johnson as interim registrar, who officially begins in her new role July 15.

—Kevin Moenkhaus, Office of the Registrar

Drake, in conjunction with the City of Des Moines, will be replacing several sections of concrete sidewalk around the exterior of campus July 11–17. The project will enhance campus compliance related to ADA concerns. Please see the attached map to determine if the project will interfere with your daily walking routes. The concrete repairs are marked in red. The repairs will impact the following locations:

• 27th Street and Clark Street
• 2700 block of Forest Avenue
• 2804 Forest Avenue
• 29th Street and Forest Avenue
• 30th Street and Forest Avenue
• 30th Street and Carpenter Avenue
• 27th Street and University Avenue
• 28th Street and University Avenue
• 2800 University Avenue

—Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning & Management

In collaboration with Drake’s risk management, insurance broker, and vehicle insurer, a formal Over 8 Passenger Rated Vehicle Driver Approval process will begin on July 1. These new driver approval protocols are being implemented to improve Drake’s current vehicle/driver safety program and to help reduce potential accidents and losses.

Go online to review the full driver approval process, best practices and safety resources at:  How to Become an Approved University Driver to Drive Over 8 Passenger Rated Vehicles.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

—Donna Blunck, Director Risk and Insurance

As a reminder, the University does have an UAS (drone) policy.

Drake is within five miles of the Des Moines International Airport. This proximity to the airport creates a no-fly zone unless several approvals are obtained to meet FAA regulations. Those requirements can be found online, and the B4U Fly Map App is online at www.faa.gov/uas/where_to_fly/b4ufly/ 

There is also a formal Drake UAS approval process to fly on campus that must also meet FAA regulations and requirements. The approval process can be found here.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

—Donna Blunck, Director, Risk and Insurance

ITS needs to make an important upgrade to the system that controls Drake Cards. As a result, access to the following services will be unavailable on July 8 and 9:

•  Student printing
• Laundry services
• Bulldog Bucks usage and management
• Dining and vending services using Bulldog Bucks
• Using Bulldog Bucks to pay for Uber rides

There is also the possibility that door access may be slower than usual.

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