Category Archives: For Staff Archive

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Known HP Computer Issue May Affect Some Users

As students, faculty, and staff return to campus, ITS is reminding the University community about a known issue related to a recent HP BIOS update that may affect some Drake-managed Windows computers.

Users may encounter a blank blue screen after restarting or be prompted for a BitLocker recovery key. Although the behavior can be alarming, no data has been lost and the device is not damaged.

If you experience either of these symptoms, please contact ITS for assistance by submitting a Computer/Peripheral/Software Issue ticket, calling 515-271-3001, or visiting the lower level of Carnegie Hall with your device. An ITS technician can help restore access to your computer.

Additional information from HP is available here: Learn more about the BIOS update issue.

To receive ITS news posts via email, opt in by completing this form.

To receive SMS outage notifications, opt in by texting DrakeITSALERTS to phone 226787. Make sure you’re signed up to receive text Bulldog Alerts; check your settings via myDrake.

— Becky Klein, ITS

For Staff Archive

Committee on Student Ready Institution Needs Your Input

This past spring, the Faculty Senate created an ad hoc committee focused on a review of Drake’s ability to be a student-ready institution and ways the campus community can play a role in achieving this goal. If you are not familiar with the term, a student-ready institution provides holistic support to its students and restructures systems to support student needs.

Also, this past spring, the ad hoc committee met with campus stakeholders and assessed university systems and faculty and staff practices related to this area to understand where we are. While this helped us develop a picture of Drake’s current practices, WE NEED YOUR HELP. As staff play a key role in helping students succeed at Drake, we need to better understand what you are doing and what improvements you feel can be made to achieve the goal of being a student-ready institution.

This sessions will gather your insight into how we currently are and, in the future, can do better to support our students and effectively prepare them for both academic success and future careers.

Please note that for efficiency, artificial intelligence will be used during the meetings to record and transcribe the discussions. The findings from staff focus groups will be combined with data from corresponding student and faculty focus groups to generate a comprehensive report outlining ways actionable changes and best practices for faculty and suggestions for institutional system modifications to make Drake a more student-ready institution.

Meetings will be held on the following dates/times and you can sign up for these meetings via the links provided:

Tuesday, September 22nd, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Johansen Room 301: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-staff1

Monday, September 28th, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Library Room 201: https://calendly.com/maria-valdovinos-drake/ad-hoc-student-ready-institution-focus-group-staff2

— Maria Valdovinos, Professor of Psychology

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Share Your Input for Drake’s Higher Learning Commission Accreditation

Drake’s accreditation process with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is underway, and we invite all faculty and staff to share their perspectives.

As part of our preparation for our December 2027 accreditation submission and February 2028 site visit, we are gathering feedback on the four HLC Criteria for Accreditation: Mission; Integrity; Teaching and Learning for Student Success; and Sustainability.

Your input will help inform the work of the accreditation criterion committees and ensure the final assurance argument reflects the experiences and strengths of our campus community.

Please take a few minutes to submit your feedback using this form.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone on our HLC accreditation leadership team: Jenny Tran-Johnson, John Edwards, Nate Reagen, and Anne Marie Greenwood. Thank you for supporting this important institutional process.

— Anne Marie Greenwood, Office of the Provost

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Books for Breakfast Returns Next Week

This fall, all faculty and staff are invited to join Books for Breakfast, a non-fiction book club meeting once per month during Community Fridays. This fall, we are reading Zena Hitz’s book “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life” (Princeton U. Press).

The first Books for Breakfast meeting will be Friday, Sept. 25, at 9:30 a.m. in the Howard Hall Faculty Lounge. Coffee, tea, and light items to nosh will be available. No prior reading needed; this meeting is to pick up our copies of the text and meet fellow readers.

To reserve a physical copy of “Lost in Thought”, message Bret Sikkink in the Center for Teaching & Learning.

Cowles Library has a digital copy of the text through JSTOR.

— Bret Sikkink, Faculty Development Specialist

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Upcoming Blackboard Open Office Hours

Get your Blackboard pages ready for the new semester! Faculty are invited to drop in and meet with a learning designer for hands-on assistance during two upcoming sessions this August.

Wednesday, August 19

Location: Howard Hall Faculty Lounge (Room 212)
Drop-in Times: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Wednesday, August 26

Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Drop-in Location: Howard Hall Faculty Lounge (Room 212)
Microsoft Teams Virtual Option: Available via Teams

If you have questions outside of Blackboard Office Hours:

  • Review the help guides for faculty, organized by topic, in Drake’s Knowledge Base.
  • Go directly to the upgraded Blackboard LMS Help Center.
  • Click the question mark icon in the lower-right corner of most Blackboard pages to open Blackboard’s related help pages.

— Bret Sikkink, Faculty Development Specialist

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Meet Your Access & Success Team

Access & Success (A&S) partners with students, faculty, and staff to ensure equitable access to academic resources, personalized support, and accommodations. Over the summer, A&S welcomed three new team members to support campus success:

  • Sam Shelton, Director of Accessibility: Works with students, instructors, and campus partners to ensure equitable access to learning. Sam leads the student accommodation process, promotes Universal Design for Learning, and advocates for campus-wide accessibility.
  • Mia Stefani, Academic and Student Support Manager: Oversees tutoring and academic coaching programs while providing direct academic coaching to students.
  • Katie Akin, Student Success Systems & Data Manager: Analyzes Starfish data, workflows, and success metrics to evaluate program efficacy and share best practices with advisors and instructors.

Sam, Mia and Katie will work primarily in Starfish, Drake’s student success and early alert system. If you have questions, reach out via email, or visit the Access & Success office on the lower level of Cowles Library.

— Katie Akin, Access & Success

For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Help Welcome Students as a Griff Guide

Help kick off the new semester with a warm welcome for our new and returning students! We are looking for faculty and staff to serve as Griff Guides during the first few days of classes to assist students with navigating campus, answering quick questions, and making them feel connected.

Got 15 minutes? Volunteering is easy.

  • Choose the exact time slot and campus location that fits your schedule. See a map of all locations here.
  • Signs are provided at each station so students can easily identify you.

Sign up to volunteer here!

Together, we can ensure every student starts the semester knowing they belong at Drake.

— Mia Stefani, Access & Success