As we are all in this together, a University-wide list has been created for ways to help other offices during this time. It can be found here.

If you have some time available and would like to help, please sign up following discussion with your director. To sign up, simply put your department and name down (in the right two columns). The contact listed for the need is on the left. I’m happy to coordinate if needed. 

Thank you for all that you are doing for Drake. 

— Nate Reagen, President’s Office

Reminder: ITS is automating the restart process after Drake-owned Windows computers download and install security patches. When it’s time to restart after a patch has been installed, your computer will show you a reminder in the lower right corner of the screen. You have the option to restart immediately or reschedule to a more convenient time within the next two days. If you haven’t restarted your device two days after patches have been applied, your computer will restart automatically between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

While working from home, the notification and restart process may be slightly delayed, depending on how you connect to the campus network.

If you have any questions about these changes, please reach out to Peter Lundstedt, director, information security & compliance, at peter.lundstedt@drake.edu.

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS

The University will now require all students pursuing an undergraduate degree from Drake University to complete the FAFSA prior to July 1 (preceding the academic year enrolled) as part of the Tuition Rebate Application process.

This requirement ensures that eligible students are considered for the Iowa Tuition Grant, which partially funds tuition and reduces the cost of offering this benefit. In addition, students will be considered for the Federal Pell Grant, which would be available to cover the costs of other educational expenses like room, board, or books.
This new requirement was effective as of April 1, 2019. This requirement may be waived for students who can demonstrate that they would not qualify for the Iowa Tuition Grant (see the Tuition Rebate Policy for details).

— Brandy Eganhouse, Student Financial Planning

Families who are home with their students right now may be looking for character development opportunities. The Ray Center has a series of Family Guides for Teaching Good Character available on our website.

— Amy Smit, Robert D. & Billie Ray Center

When a piece of technology quickly grows in popularity, it’s a given that the number of threat actors taking advantage of new and untrained users will also grow. The world is seeing this now with video conferencing tools, especially the popular and free Zoom.

With multiple reports of calls being interrupted with pornographic, violent, or racial images and threatening language, the FBI has issued a warning for users of video conferencing platforms about the issue. Techniques to discover meeting IDs for Zoom meetings have been circulating for nearly a year, but have seen a large spike in usage.

The good news is that most video conferencing and remote collaboration tools include settings that can prevent these events from occurring. ITS has additional resources to learn about the best collaboration tools for your situation, including best-practice guides and live training.

Here are some tips to ensure a good experience.

• Don’t use consumer-grade software or subscription plans. Consumer tools and subscriptions do not have the administrative tools needed to limit access. While no solution can guarantee security, enterprise-grade tools like Blackboard Collaborate or Microsoft Teams offer a more complete set of controls.
• Do use waiting room features. These features place participants in a separate room before the meeting and allow the host to admit only the people who are supposed to be there.
• Don’t share links to meetings or classes via social media. Invite the attendees via email or from the collaboration software.
• Do use the latest software version. Security vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited more often in older versions. For example, Zoom recently updated its software to require password-protected meetings, and is rolling out more features in the coming months. Double-check that participants are using the latest version available.
• Don’t use video on a call until you need to. Turning off your webcam and muting your microphone when you’re not speaking prevents social engineering efforts to learn more about you, and saves network bandwidth, improving the quality of the meeting.
• Do eject participants if an intruder gets in or becomes unruly. Ejecting a participant prevents them from rejoining.

While scams and phishing related to working from home and COVID-19 are more prevalent than ever, collaboration and meetings are being hit especially hard. ITS will continue to simulate phishing and assign training to those most susceptible. If you believe you’ve been targeted by phishing, see Reporting a Phishing Message (How-to).

— Peter Lundstedt, ITS

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the University has extended its travel suspension policy through at least May 31, 2020. The policy states: Any travel outside of the state of Iowa on behalf of the University is suspended, unless deemed critical and approved by the senior administrator in your area. The suspension applies to all University-sponsored travel, including international, academic, athletic, conferences and workshops, and research-related travel. If you are seeking an exception to this policy, please work through your direct supervisor, who will escalate the request to senior administration.

For the latest updates, please visit drake.edu/coronavirus. 

Microsoft Teams is a tool that ITS has been rolling out at Drake for file sharing, communication, and collaboration. Since we’ve started working and teaching at a distance, people want to learn how to use Teams more effectively, especially for virtual communication.

Come to this virtual session to learn about holding meetings in Microsoft Teams, how to better communicate with your colleagues at a distance, and ask ITS staff questions you may have about using Teams.

Follow the link below each date at the time listed to join. You’ll need to join using the Teams desktop app, the mobile app, or on a computer using a Chrome or Edge browser.

Wednesday, April 1, from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Join meeting.

Thursday, April 2, from 3–4 p.m. Join meeting.

Friday, April 3, from 10–11 a.m. Join meeting.

Can’t make it? More information is available in our guide at Holding Virtual Meetings Using Microsoft Teams (Best Practices).

— Carla Herling, ITS