Textbooks for the spring semester may be refunded through Feb. 4. For eligible returns, new textbooks cannot have bent binding or pages, no writing or highlighting. Loose-leaf books must be in their shrink wrap and access codes must remained sealed. For any textbook purchase after Feb. 4, the refund window is seven business days with the exception of the final two weeks of the semester.

Late fall semester rental returns will also be accepted until Feb. 4 and credited back to your account.

— Kyle McVay, University Bookstore

The deadline to apply for a Summer 2022 travel seminar has been extended to Feb. 18. Apply for a summer travel seminar today!

Summer 2022 travel seminars are:

Germany & Poland: Heritage and Holocaust: Read more on the blog.

Uganda: Sustainable Development in Africa: Read more.

Additionally, information sessions for each of the Summer 2022 travel seminars will be held in the coming weeks. 

For Germany and Poland, virtual sessions will take place: 

• Wednesday, Feb. 2, from 6 p.m.–7 p.m.
• Friday, Feb. 4, from 2 p.m.–3 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 9, from 4 p.m.–5 p.m. 
• Use this link to join a session.

For Uganda, virtual sessions will take place: 

• Wednesday, Feb. 2, from 5 p.m.–6 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 3, from 5 p.m.–6 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 10, from 5 p.m.–6 p.m.
• Use this link to join a session (passcode: 864289)

To apply for a travel seminar, visit Terra Dotta, Drake’s online application portal. Use your Drake ID and password to login. Additionally, the deadline to apply for a Global Learning Scholarship has been extended to Feb. 15. Scholarship applications can be found within your Terra Dotta application. 

For questions about a specific travel seminar, contact the course instructor. For general study abroad questions or issues with Terra Dotta, contact studyabroad@drake.edu.

— Nathan Jacobson, Global Engagement

An Evening with Ty Marcellus: Creator of NightWraith and Nu World Comics will be held Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in Sussman Auditorium, Olmsted Center. Ty Marcellus has combined his music career with his passion for comics to create a universe with over 1,000 characters, and he’s combined music with each adventure.

This event is sponsored by the Office of Campus Equity and Inclusion and Coalition of Black Students.

Register at Eventbrite

— Drinda Williams, Office of the Provost

The web-based Drake Undergraduate Social Science Journal (DUSSJ) is accepting submissions for its Spring 2022 edition. Any current Drake undergraduate (or recent graduate) is eligible to submit a paper on a topic in the social sciences (political science, international relations, anthropology, sociology, economics, history, and social psychology). Submissions may be short analytic essays or longer research papers. Papers that feature thoughtful, original analysis, polished writing, and careful citation are especially welcome!

The deadline for submission is Friday, Feb. 11.

No more than one submission per person will be considered. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by a student editorial board. When submitting a paper, please indicate if it is a research paper or short analytic essay. Also, please indicate the primary discipline and any secondary discipline(s).

Questions and submissions should be sent to the DUSSJ faculty advisors, Professor Li and Professor Henderson at advisor.dussj@gmail.com.

— Heath Henderson, Economics (CBPA)

The Des Moines Women’s Club has 14 different scholarship programs available to students from Polk, Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story, or Warren Counties.

Applications are due Feb. 4, 2022. To learn more about the available scholarships and to apply, visit desmoineswomensclub.com/scholarships.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

If you will be enrolled in the Summer 2022, Fall 2022, or Spring 2023 semesters, complete the 2022–2023 FAFSA to be considered for need-based grants and federal student loans.

If you need assistance completing the FAFSA, please contact the Office of Student Financial Planning.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

Faculty co-leaders Gesine Gerhard and Dorothy Pisarski are offering two more opportunities to inquire about Heritage and Holocaust, the travel seminar to Germany and Poland which departs May 30.

Details about the travel seminar, which includes visits to several concentration/extermination camps and cultural and heritage sites, are located in our travel blog https://heritageandholocaust.blogspot.com/ as well as in Drake’s Terradotta system https://drake-sa.terradotta.com/.

Join us Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m. or Thursday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. using passcode 768879 for the Zoom link (which is also available in our Terradotta site) https://drake-edu.zoom.us/j/87312589175?pwd=byt1c2JSYWNwcEYzSE9EQlJ0RmlJUT09.

— Dorothy Pisarski, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Welcome Back! Here’s what’s new over winter break from ITS as well as a reminder of what ITS offers and how to get assistance if needed.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) now required: ITS rolled out multi-factor authentication across campus. This means you’ll need an additional method of proving your identity every time you log into key campus systems including myDrake, Blackboard, Self Service (formerly MyDUSIS), and Touchnet. This will help keep your information, and campus information more secure. Learn more at Using Multi-factor Authentication (FAQ).

MyDUSIS is now Self Service: The MyDUSIS link in the Commonly Used Apps section of myDrake was changed to Self Service and takes you to a new landing page–see Navigating Self Service (How-to). Additionally, other former MyDUSIS-related links have been renamed or removed as Self Service has prominent links to access key functions. You’ll see new screens for your student profile and will now need to use MFA to access Self Service screens. Learn more about the changes in these Self Service Guides for Students.

Proxy Access: A new method, Proxy Access, is now available for students to allow parent/guardian(s) access to their information (see Authorizing Proxy Access (How-to) for instructions). If you had previously authorized your parent or guardian, you’ll need to re-enroll them in the new system before February 1.

IT Service Portal: You can visit the IT Service Portal at service.drake.edu/its 24/7 to browse for tech guides, see what Drake ITS offers, or request assistance with a tech issue.

Support Center: The ITS support center is located in the lower level of Carnegie Hall. Walk-in support is available Monday–Thursday from 8–6:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8–4:30 p.m. Phone support is available 24/7 by calling 515-271-3001 or you can report an issue using the IT service portal.

ITS News & Announcements: Information on outages, new initiatives, and other news can be found at drake.edu/its, on service.drake.edu/its, or by following @DrakeITServices on Twitter. Want outage notifications texted to you? Opt in by texting DrakeITS2021 to phone number 226787. We also include regular announcements in OnCampus.

Live in the residence hall and want to connect a new game console or streaming device? Follow the instructions at Connecting a Game Console, Smart TV, or Streaming Device to the Drake Network (How-to) to connect wirelessly. Want a wired connection? Submit a Wired Network Issue to request one.

Looking for an on-campus job? ITS is hiring student techs. As a student tech, you support students, faculty, and staff with day-to-day troubleshooting of campus-wide technical resources. No prior IT support experience is needed-all majors encouraged to apply. Training will be provided. Apply to be a student tech from the Handshake link in myDrake today.

Need online training resources? Check out our curated list at Technology Training Resources for Students.

New and not sure where to get started? Visit service.drake.edu/its/newstudents.

—Carla Herling, ITS

Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides tax benefits for education? The tax benefits can be used to get back some of the money you spend on tuition or loan interest or to maximize your college savings. Learn more here.

— Ryan Zantingh, Director of Financial Aid

On Dec. 22, the federal student loan payment pause was extended through May 1, 2022. The loan repayment/collection pause and the 0% interest rate were previously scheduled to expire on Jan. 31, 2022. Read more here. Keep reading for additional announcements concerning federal student loans.

On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a temporary period during which borrowers may receive credit for payments that previously did not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Learn more about this here.

Federal student loan servicers Navient, PHEAA (FedLoan Servicing), and Granite State have announced plans to stop servicing federal student loans. Borrowers currently assigned to these servicers can learn more about the USDE’s transition plans here.

— Ryan Zantingh, Student Financial Planning