Old Main will welcome children of Drake faculty and staff for trick-or-treat time on Monday, Oct. 31, from 3–5 pm. Offices will have treats and would love to see the kiddos’ Halloween costumes this year.

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Every fall, we ask for your input on how we fulfill our commitment to elevate service excellence. It’s that time of year again and thank you for your input in advance! Your voice helps shapes continuous improvement in these areas across campus: Facilities Planning and Management, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Public Safety, and University Communications & Marketing.

Thus, you are strongly encouraged to complete this year’s survey. It is completely anonymous and often takes less than five minutes to complete. You will only be asked to provide feedback on the areas you work with regularly.

The survey was developed by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment in collaboration with each area on the survey. Continuous improvement efforts such as this drive intentional and strategic action within each area on the survey. Your collective input is reviewed and acted upon.

Thank you in advance for your participation by close of business Tuesday, Oct. 18.

— Nate Reagen, Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Each Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

The Speaking Center is open for both online and campus appointments for Fall 2022.

Drake University’s Speaking Center is here to support students, faculty, and staff in our shared efforts to develop and advance crucial skills in oral communication.

Students can book appointments to meet with a tutor or the director for help in preparing, composing, and delivering speeches and presentations—or even to get advice for initiating difficult conversations and participating in interactive discussions.

Please let your students know:

The Speaking Center will be holding appointments online through Blackboard and also in our new tutoring space downstairs in Cowles Library, room 039. Please follow the signs through the tutoring areas back to the SW corner to find our new location. Tutoring appointments are currently available Monday-Thursday afternoon.

To make an  appointment: Visit http://library.drake.edu/speaking to schedule a personal meeting with a tutor. Please enter a note specifying whether you prefer a virtual or campus appointment.

Virtual Tutoring Sessions are held on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra at the following link:

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/7989fbe8f9314fa98d680dca692582e9

Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes each, and students are encouraged to schedule multiple times while preparing for a single event if they wish. Any questions or concerns should be directed to speaking-help@drake.edu.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Full-time employees in a regular position at Drake University are eligible to participate in two tuition exchange programs, which offer waived or discounted tuition at other participating institutions for employees, their spouse/partner, or eligible dependent(s).

Those wishing to apply for tuition exchange in the 2023–2024 academic year can apply now. Applications should only be completed for students not already approved for tuition exchange—those who have been approved for tuition exchange in prior years will automatically be re-certified for consideration in the 2023–2024 academic year (assuming the employee remains eligible).

There are 3 main steps in the tuition exchange application process:

1. Employee submits the online tuition exchange application (and the student should also apply for admission at the schools listed on the application).
2. Drake’s Office of Student Financial Planning will confirm and certify the employee’s eligibility to participate in the tuition exchange program. This is done on a rolling basis as applications are received.
3. Each school listed on the application will determine whether they can offer the student a tuition exchange award.

Schools have different application deadlines and timelines for announcing award determinations. It is the employee’s responsibility to submit the tuition exchange application early enough to allow time for step #2 to be completed in advance of each school’s deadlines.

Details about each of Drake’s tuition exchange programs are provided below:

Tuition Exchange, Inc. (TE)
TE has over 670 participating schools. Visit tuitionexchange.org to learn more, view participating schools, and to submit an application.

Council of Independent Colleges & Universities Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)
CIC-TEP has over 440 participating schools. Visit cic.edu/tep to learn more, view participating schools, and to submit an application.

— Ryan Zantingh, Student Financial Planning

As we previously shared, Drake’s applicant tracking system (ATS), Hire Touch, is being sunset at the end of this year. We have contracted with PageUp to provide our new ATS.

In our last update, we asked for your help in naming our new job postings site. After considering suggestions from campus, we have decided to call the new application page Jobs@Drake. This will be the place to find and apply for Drake faculty and staff jobs. Handshake will continue to be the place for our students to find and apply for on campus student employment opportunities.

The ITS and HR project team continues to work closely with PageUp representatives to be prepared for the switch later this year. The team is currently working to connect Banner and PageUp and recently began testing to confirm PageUp is setup correctly. At present, the project team is anticipating a late fall launch. You can expect to hear from us next when we have determined the actual launch date and are ready to begin our training and transition work.

Here’s a high-level sneak peak on what’s ahead. We plan to have training and simulation opportunities for those involved in faculty and staff recruitment. Additionally, we plan to create documentation to help guide you through the new system. Finally, we will work with departments that have live postings so they are properly transitioned to PageUp.

For now, please keep following current recruitment practices using HireTouch. If you have any specific questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to share them with us. You can contact the project manager, Kris Brewster, ITS, or send them to Maureen De Armond, Human Resources.

— Kris Brewster, ITS; Maureen De Armond, HR

During suicide prevention month (and beyond), it is imperative to validate and appreciate each person working at Drake and the incredible job each person does to make sure that Drake is on mission for our students and our community.

Did you know that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 workers will experience a mental health condition in a year? 

What can you do if you are feeling mentally strained?

• Talk to your supervisor or a trusted person about your feelings.
• Take a mental health screen at Self-Assessments – Employee and Family Resources (efr.org) to access your mental health quickly and confidentially.
• Schedule vacation or personal time away from work.
• Connect with:
  • Drake’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • DoctorsOnDemand/Telehealth mental health professionals,
  • Broadlawns mental health services Broadlawns mental health services
  • Visit with Marlene Heuertz in Human Resources (heuertz@drake.edu) for additional resources.
• Call 988 or chat online at: org/chat if you are in a mental health crisis and need to speak with someone immediately.

What can you do if you see that a coworker seems to be struggling with mental health?

• Talk with them privately and listen without judgment. You are not expected to be a mental health professional, but you can still help them by opening the conversation.  Ask open-ended questions like:
  • How are you feeling today?
  • Why do you think you feel this way?
  • How can I help?
• If comfortable and appropriate, relate to them on a personal level and share your own experiences.
• Always respect the employee’s right to privacy if the disclose a mental health condition.
• If someone is at immediate risk of suicide, stay with them until you can get further help. Contact emergency services or call/text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

All in This Together—Together we can make a difference.

— Teresa Downs, Human Resources

Starting this month, ITS will perform monthly audits to archive and remove unused content from the University’s Panopto service. Videos with zero views within a 13-month period will be archived and no longer immediately accessible. Videos can be restored through a self-service process, and instructions for restoring archived these videos are available in the ITS Knowledge Base.

Archived videos will remain on the Panopto service for an additional 13-month period, or 26 months from the last view. After that time, if there are no requests to restore the video, it will be permanently removed. Drake University will not archive, backup, or otherwise save any Panopto videos in any alternate manner.

This change is due to a new Panopto license model which bills the University for both hours created and shared as well as stored on the system. If you have any questions, contact the ITS Support Center.

— James McNab, ITS

Mark your calendar for the Provost’s October Drake Social Monday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m., at Shivers Hospitality Suite.

During the social, faculty and staff who demonstrate the Drake core value Joyful Accountability will be recognized as part of a PowerPoint scroll. From all those recognized, names will be drawn at random for prizes. Honorees must be present to win. 

You can recognize a colleague who demonstrates Joyful Accountability by completing this Qualtrics form by Wednesday, Oct 19. In your recognition, please share how your colleague demonstrates Joyful Accountability: 

• I am curious and creative, brave and bold. 
• I strive each day to be my best. 

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

Black-identifying faculty and staff are invited to monthly conversations with Provost Sue Mattison. These will generally be at 11 a.m., the third Thursday of each month, with two exceptions: September and March will be the fourth Thursday. See the list of dates and locations on the Campus Calendar.

Last spring there were a number of administration listening sessions with faculty, staff, and students following a racist incident on campus. One request from Black faculty and staff was for regular and ongoing communication with campus leadership, not just emails or meetings in response to a crisis situation. The Office of the Provost has worked with the Black Affinity group on campus, organized by Brandi Miller, to schedule these monthly meetings.

— Drinda Williams, Provost’s Office

It’s been an unpredictable couple of years in the recruitment space. Please join me, Anne Kremer, for an opportunity to come together and participate in a recruitment refresh.

When: Sept. 19 from 3–4 p.m.
Where: Sussman Theatre

Data insights on the effectiveness of faculty as a part of the recruitment and visit experience, along with best practices and approaches for these students in both the in person and virtual spaces will be covered. We will also provide some insights on the Gen Z student and what they are seeking as a part of their college search and college experience.

— Anne Kremer, Dean of Admission