Drake HR has received our results from the 2022 Survey of Administrative Services (SAS). We want to start by thanking those who took the time to provide us with feedback. In 2021, 108 people indicated on the survey that they regularly work with Drake HR and completed the HR section of the survey. This year, 234 people provided us with feedback. That is a huge increase and that means the feedback is more reliable and more representative of the thoughts and perspectives of our campus. Thank you.

To the question, “Overall, how satisfied are you with HR,” we saw an increase from 4.29 in 2021 to 4.55 in 2022. While we are thrilled with the improvement, we know we have a lot of work to do.

In 2021, 43 people took time to provide narrative comments. This year, 63 people made time to do this. We are thankful for detailed responses.

Your Comments

Your comments are both relevant and meaningful—even when offering constructive criticism. We want to receive such feedback (yes, we really do) out of this important annual survey. And, you don’ have to wait for the SAS to provide feedback. One of the enhancements we adopted last year was a short “how are we doing” survey that we all have included in our signature blocks. You can access that survey and offer feedback any time.

Based on your feedback, here are the areas that will receive extra attention over the next year:

• Responsiveness: We’ve made strides in our responsiveness but have more work to do here. Our department designed and adopted customer service standards last year. We are going to take a fresh look at them and see if they need to be further revised. We know that to build and sustain trust we simply must be responsive. If you ever find yourself waiting on HR, please contact me (Maureen) directly. I really do want to know if you are experiencing a delay in assistance and can help determine what’s going on.
• Staff Performance Evaluations: We need to spend some time with the staff performance evaluation process. While we offered manager training and updated/expended tools this year (all are posted in the manager toolkit), it’s clear both managers and staff want more out of this process.
• Always Open to Suggestions for BUILD Topics & Wellness Programming: We welcome additional feedback on topics for BUILD and Wellness programing for 2023. We’ll look into providing at least some remote BUILD options and additional ways to make primarily live BUILD sessions available to those who cannot attend in person.
• Student Employment: We made some improvements to supporting student workers, but this was a learning curve year for us—thank you for your patience. We know we have some kinks to work out to assure we are responsive and paying attention to the details. A couple of recent improvements: Over the summer, Marli and I revamped the Bulldogs@Work presentation for new student orientation. Marli spent time in Olmsted during the first few weeks of the semester to make it more convenient for student workers to complete paperwork. Marli and I attended new student worker orientation with Rec Services to help their new student workers complete their employee paperwork  (big thank you to Jerome in ITS who was able to find a desk top scanning solution for us so we can complete I-9s outside of our office!).

To everyone who took time to provide feedback through the SAS, thank you. We review the responses in great detail and will use the quantitative and qualitative feedback to set goals and priorities for the coming year. Your experiences, suggestions, and feedback really does make a difference. Thank you!

— Maureen De Armond (and the whole Drake HR Team)

Nearly 40 Drake faculty and staff were celebrated at the Provost’s Drake Social in October for exemplifying the core value of joyful accountability, which is defined as:

• We are creative and curious, brave and bold.​
• We strive each day to do our best.​

Each was nominated by a colleague, and several were chosen at random to receive prizes:

• Valori Bross, Admission, application operations facilitator: pie baked by the Provost
• Rob Ebel, Facilities, project manager: baked good
• Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources, benefits specialist: office breakfast
• Diana Newman, CPHS, budget and office manager: office snack break
• Christine Urish, CPHS, professor of occupational therapy: premier parking

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

The Survey of Administrative Services had a record number of responses this year—a robust 616 responses compared to 217 in 2021 and 414 in the survey’s inaugural year, 2017. A huge thank you to the campus community for taking the time to provide this important feedback. Individual units will now delve into the results—celebrating accomplishments and addressing areas for growth and improvement. This annual process is a critical part of our planning cycle. Examples of steps taken in response to survey results by administrative units in the past includes new customer service standards, improved monitoring of open ticket items, customer service training, and the use of technology to address inefficient or error-prone processes. The bottom line: the time our campus community takes to complete the survey is valuable and important—thank you! Watch for future OnCampus communications from individual units addressing this year’s results and priorities for improvement in the year ahead.

— Venessa Macro, Chief Administration Officer

The 2022 United Way campaign is Nov. 7–11. This year’s goal is to raise $40,000 with a faculty and staff participation rate of 40%. With a commitment toward equity, United Way of Central Iowa focuses on the five elements of a thriving community. Watch a video to learn more.

— Ryan Arnold, Community Engagement

Please note the following schedule for payment processing, through the Finance Self-Service portal, to accommodate winter break:

• Friday, Dec. 16, 2022 – All payment requests (including wires) are due, with proper approvals, and received by AP by the end of the business day.  Requests received by this deadline will be processed for payment before Winter Break.
• Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 – Normal payment processing will resume this week.

The accounts payable office will be closed during winter break.

Thank you for your help in coordinating to ensure we meet all needs during the upcoming season.

For questions, contact Jeni at ext. 4509 or jenifer.baugher@drake.edu.

— Jeni Baugher, Accounting Supervisor

Do you have federal student loans? If so, Drake Human Resources encourages you to take advantage of the temporary changes made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. A limited waiver is in effect until Oct. 31, 2022, making it easier for millions of public service workers to get credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify under the traditional PSLF—reducing, or potentially eliminating, student loan debt.

For example, under the Temporary waiver:

• Past periods of repayment are potentially eligible whether or not you made a payment, made that payment on time, for the total amount due, or on a qualifying repayment plan.
• Borrowers with a FFEL Loan, Perkins Loan, or other previously excluded federal student loans can benefit by consolidating their loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan and receive credit for periods of repayment prior to the consolidation.
• Months spent in deferment before 2013 will count under the Temporary PSLF waiver.

In short, the waiver will allow borrowers gain PSLF credit, even if you had been told previously that you had the wrong loan type or the wrong repayment plan.

To see whether you qualify, visit studentaid.gov/pslfwaiver. There, you will find the PSLF Help Tool and additional information to assist you with processing. Even if you do not yet fully qualify, the PSLF website recommends that you still submit the form annually, so it will be easier when you do fully qualify.

Drake HR is committed to helping all current and past employees complete the necessary forms. To ensure timely processing, send your employer portion to DrakeHR@Drake.edu prior to noon on Oct. 31, 2022.

All information must be uploaded to your loan carrier prior to 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 for full consideration. Mail-in submissions must have an employer signature date prior to Nov. 1, 2022 to qualify.

The 2022 United Way of Central Iowa employee campaign will be held Monday, Nov. 7, through Friday, Nov. 11. Watch for more information regarding how you can participate, as well as campaign goals and incentives. Learn more about the United Way of Central Iowa.

— Ryan Arnold, Director of Community Engagement

A final reminder that J-Term 2024 travel seminar proposals are due Thursday, Oct. 27. A travel seminar is a short-term, faculty-led study abroad (or domestic) program. This is an opportunity to teach a course that integrates an academic experience with intercultural and experiential learning while traveling. If you are interested in leading a travel seminar in 2024, and haven’t already met with someone in Global Engagement, please email Chelsea Funk, assistant director of education abroad, at chelsea.funk@drake.edu to set up a meeting to discuss your ideas and learn more about the process.

You can review the proposal process and submit a proposal through Qualtrics.

— Maria Rohach, Global Engagement

The Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs invites proposals for a two-year grant that will fund an interdisciplinary faculty-student research project that addresses a global issue of broad public importance. The purpose of this initiative is to enhance Drake’s direct involvement in addressing pressing global issues, thus helping position Drake as a “global knowledge hub” in service to local, national, and international communities. 

 Over the last several years, the Nelson Institute has funded the following projects: 

• Cross-cultural Community-based Strategies for Sustainable Urban Streams: Lessons from Des Moines and Jakarta. 
• Exploring complementary approaches to combat global non-communicable diseases in India. 
• Religions of Beijing Book project with Minzu University of China in Beijing. 
• Assessing, Collaborating, and Empowering to Improve Water Quality in Rural Uganda. 
• Transnational Des Moines: Reframing Des Moines Immigrant and Refugee Narratives through Collaborative Research with Youth. 
• Drake University’s Presence in the Toledo District of Southern Belize: Maximizing Our Impact While Minimizing Our Footprint. 

 Please visit our website here to learn more about the projects above.  

 One project will be funded for the period from January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024. The Nelson Institute will provide $20,000-$30,000 in support of the selected project, depending upon demonstrated need. Project leaders are encouraged, if necessary, to seek additional funding from on- and off-campus sources. 

Send your proposals to the Director of the Nelson Institute for Diplomacy & International Affairs Professor Jimmy Senteza (Jimmy.Senteza@drake.edu). The deadline for proposals is November 18, 2022. The review committee typically consists of the Director of the Nelson Institute, the Executive Director of Global Engagement, two additional faculty representatives from the Global Engagement Advisory Committee (GEAC), and a staff member from the Grants Office. Award notification will occur by December 16, 2022. 

Successful proposals will feature the following elements/criteria: 

1. Explication of Research Topic 

•  A clear identification of the pressing global issue to be addressed and an explanation of its public significance. 
• An exposition of the research objectives and methods related to the project. 
• An explanation of how the project takes advantage of particular strengths Drake and the community bring to addressing the issue. 

      2. Identification of Interdisciplinary Research Team

• Commitments from an interdisciplinary faculty research team consisting of three or more faculty members (at least two of whom must be Drake affiliated). One or more Principal Investigators must be identified. 
• Evidence that the team members possess the requisite qualifications to successfully carry out the project (please attach CVs). 
• The project must involve two or more paid student research assistants with appropriate qualifications. 
• The research may be joint or parallel (i.e., a single joint project or several individual projects that each address related aspects of a common theme). 

       3. Activities and Outcomes 

•  The project timeline will allow for completion of the primary research products within a two-year period. 
• The project participants will engage in at least two team activities (e.g., summer campus workshop, international travel as a team, cooperative field work, etc.) during the grant period. 
• Team members will collaborate with other campus entities (e.g., Principal Center for Global Citizenship, Humanities Center, DUSCI, the Harkin Institute, Engaged Citizen, etc.) to schedule co-curricular events (e.g., speakers, films, panel discussions, etc.) related to the theme during the two-year grant period. 
• The project will plausibly lead to externalization in the form of publication, presentation(s) at a professional conference, submission as a report to relevant public or non-governmental bodies involved with policy-making, or other outputs of similar import. 
• The student members of the grant team are expected to participate in the annual Nelson Conference held on campus each Spring. Additionally, we encourage organizing an on-campus conference related to the theme to be held during (or soon following) year two of the grant involving Drake faculty and students and relevant off-campus experts from academia, government or the professions.

       4.  Preferences

• Preference will be given to projects that draw upon connections with partners at the local, national, or international level (e.g., overseas university partner). 
• Preference will be given to new projects that have not been funded in prior years by the Nelson Institute. 

 Teams are encouraged to consult with the Director of the Nelson Institute as they prepare their proposals. The successful grant team will be expected to submit a formal progress report by December 31, 2023, and a final grant report by December 30, 2024. 

— Bonnie Ehler, Global Engagement

Thank you to everyone who completed the Survey of Administrative Services. With your support, we were able to gain 517 completed surveys—a new record! Leaders from Facilities Planning and Management, Finance, HR, University Communications and Marketing, Public Safety and Operational Services, and ITS will be communicating out to campus their action areas as a result of the survey. Your feedback is helping continuously improve our service excellence here at Drake!

— Nate Reagen, Office of the President