The Finance and Administration leadership team will be holding its annual town hall on Friday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. This year's town hall will be a virtual event. Please save the date. Details will be announced in a future issue of InBrief.

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As a reminder all students, faculty and staff who are on-campus are required to take the Daily Health Assessment using the Campus Passport Portal.

If you have any symptoms or suspect you have been exposed to COVID-19 DO NOT come to campus (or leave your room, for residential students). Students should contact the Brandeis Student Health Center to speak with a provider. Staff and faculty should contact their personal care provider.

Symptomatic participants should NOT go to the Brandeis COVID-19 testing sites; testing sites are for asymptomatic participants ONLY. Campus Passports will be checked at each entrance location and must be either green or yellow to gain entrance.

After travel you must be symptom free to receive a test on campus to meet the MA State Travel Restrictions. Following testing you must immediately quarantine until you have received a negative result.

Brandeis will hold its Benefits Open Enrollment from Monday, Nov. 2 until the end of the day on Friday, Nov. 13. The Open Enrollment website and WorkDay Open Enrollment event will be available with detailed information beginning November 2.

Here is a preview of key changes for 2021:

• A new Dependent Life Insurance Program will be added for 2021.

• Brandeis will move to OptumRx’s Closed Formulary (i.e. the approved list of medications available across different classes of medication). Those who have medications that are impacted will receive individual communications and instructions before year end as to alternative medications available.

• Medical rates will increase slightly by 2.9%.

• Dental rates will not increase for 2021.

• Vision Rates will decrease 7.5% for 2021.

The Open Enrollment website will provide more detail on what is new for 2021, benefits plan rates, and any plan changes. Additionally, a schedule of Open Enrollment Zoom Office Hours and meeting times will be released prior to the start of our Open Enrollment period.

It’s that time of year to nominate a Brandeis staff member for The Lou Ennis Staff Award and The Louis and Helen Zirkel Staff Award.

This is your opportunity to nominate an individual who excels in the performance of his/her job responsibilities and goes above and beyond to make a contribution to the well-being and the vitality of the Brandeis community. Nominees must be full-time administrative or support staff.

Please complete the The Lou Ennis Staff Award nomination form or The Louis and Helen Zirkel Staff Award nomination form. Direct all questions to Giovanna Abeigo by phone, 6-4464 or email. 

For more information about the awards, please visit the Office of Human Resources website.

As was communicated last week, following a recommendation by the Brandeis University Staff Advisory Council (BUSAC), Columbus Day has been renamed Indigenous Peoples Day, consistent with the change previously made to our academic calendar. As BUSAC wrote in its recommendation, "this change will not only honor the culture, heritage and contributions of Native Americans, but will also recognize the devastating hardships wrought by the legacy of colonialism in the United States."  The university holiday schedule reflects this change.

The Workday Student project team is excited to announce that the first release of Student functionality is coming next month. On Nov. 23, an automated process for proposing and approving new courses for the 2021-22 academic year will be released for use by faculty, academic administrators, and the Registrar’s Office.

This is the first of four major milestones as the university transitions all remaining Sage functionality to Workday Student. Over the next year, Workday will become the single system of record for the Brandeis community for human resources, finance, and student-related information and business processes. Students will access personal information, academic progress, student account (billing and payments), and student employment records in one comprehensive place. Faculty will be able to view class rosters, manage grades, and view information about their advisees. Staff, with the appropriate role, will be able to view student information, view degree progress, manage account holds, and approve timesheets of student workers. 

To learn more about the project including a timeline, an organizational chart, and FAQs, visit the Workday Student project website. Contact us at workday@brandeis.edu with any questions.

Fidelity and TIAA are offering both webcasts and workshops this fall. Watch and participate in practical conversations to help you live well financially, today and tomorrow.

Topics include but not limited to important information about Medicare, keeping personal information safe, retiring in the “New Normal” and Guiding you through turbulent times.

Visit the Human Resources website for a comprehensive list and registration details of upcoming webinars by selecting the boxes in the left navigation menu.

ITS Security Office is sharing helpful information as part of cybersecurity awareness month. This week’s topic is “If You Connect It, Protect It.” Now that billions of devices connect to the internet, it’s important to ensure the security of these devices is maintained both in your professional and personal lives. Learn more about securing your computer and maintaining your privacy with our tips on working securely remotely. Don’t forget about your home network, smartphones, smart home connected devices, and social media accounts. While you’re at it, don’t forget to secure your accounts with strong passwords and two-step authentication.

ITS has partnered with KnowBe4, a leading cybersecurity awareness company, to offer a home security course. You can access the self-directed learning module on the KnowBe4 website (password: homecourse).

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more information about ways to keep your Brandeis account and university machine secure, contact security@brandeis.edu.

All benefit eligible employees should have received an email with Medicare Part D information. The email included information about your current prescription drug coverage with Brandeis University and about your options under Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. This information can help you decide whether or not you want to join a Medicare drug plan. If you are considering joining, you should compare your current coverage, including which drugs are covered at what cost, with the coverage and costs of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage in your area. To view the notice in its entirety and for a list of frequently asked questions please visit the Human Resources webpage.

The Brandeis community is rich with religious diversity. You can learn about upcoming holidays observed by community members on the Spiritual Life Guide to Observances webpage. This year the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, falls in October. The name for this occasion differs from culture to culture, but is often referred to as the Mawlid or Milad al-Nabi. Not all Muslims celebrate it, and those who do may do so in a variety of different ways, including reciting poetry in praise of the Prophet and offering a feast to the public. You might ask a Muslim person you know how they celebrate it.

For those of you who are eligible to vote in the upcoming US November elections or are interested in understanding more about the US electoral process, we are pleased to share the Brandeis VoteDeis website, a portal to information you need to register and to vote – in-person, by mail, or absentee – on November 3. This website was developed by a non-partisan Brandeis coalition supporting voter registration and voting. On this website you can find answers to your questions on how to register to vote, and when and where to vote.

The VoteDeis site also features information on upcoming on-campus and online voting-related events, and a series of “Why I Vote” videos by President Ron Liebowitz, students, professors, staff members, and alumni.

Brandeis is proud to be one of 237 universities and colleges whose presidents have signed on to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge to increase nonpartisan student civic learning, political engagement, and – especially – voter participation.

Please explore and share our Brandeis VoteDeis website. If you are eligible to vote, we urge you to MAKE A PLAN to register and to vote, and to help your family and friends do the same.

The Office of Human Resources is pleased to announce a series of training programs designed to support managers.

• Managing Staff During COVID-19
• Management Nuts and Bolts Series
• Managers Skills Development Trainings (presented by Breakthrough Collaboration)
  • Managing Communications in a Time of Change/Crisis
  • Managing Virtual Teams
  • Managing the Human Element of Change and Crisis
  • Managing Agile Leadership
  • Managing Up, Across and Down
  • Managing Performance Conversations
  • Managing Conflicts

For more detailed information on each workshop and to register please visit the Office of Human Resources Training and Professional Development webpage. If you have any questions or need additional guidance, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4474.

As the Brandeis community and others worldwide continue to use Zoom for teaching, learning, meeting, and family gatherings, ITS would like to share some helpful reminders for keeping your virtual meeting safe and secure. The previously announced security update (planned for Sept. 27) has been revised by Zoom so there is no longer a requirement to use meeting passcodes or enable waiting rooms. Although these settings are no longer required, ITS strongly recommends the community to consider using these security features in order to keep your meetings safe and secure.

In addition, Zoom has released some features to enhance the video conferencing experience.

• Organize gallery view - meeting participants can organize the gallery view between three video layouts of active speaker view, gallery view, or floating thumbnail windows. In addition, when viewing a shared screen, participants have an additional option of side-by-side mode. Learn more about changing the video layout.

• Self-assign to breakout rooms - meeting participants to self-assign themselves to a breakout room. This is especially useful as an alternative option to pre-assigning breakout rooms for a large number of attendees. It is also helpful for instructors, TAs, or other participants who need to move freely from one room to another. More information about this feature can be found in the managing breakout rooms article. 


To access these features and to ensure you’re running the latest version of the Zoom desktop client, please update to the latest version (5.2.3)  Read instructions on how to update your Zoom application. Visit the ITS website to learn best practices for keeping your Zoom meetings secure including steps to take prior to or during a meeting. For questions about using Zoom, please contact help@brandeis.edu.

Use of Brandeis funding to cover any of the following costs is not authorized. This includes using P-Cards, reimbursements or direct orders and invoices.

• Furniture (including office chairs) for home usage

• Internet costs (home or offsite)

• Cell phones or phone service (unless previously approved)

• Utilities (home or offsite)

• Temporary office space

• Child care

• Cleaning supplies for home

• Meals and/or snacks for virtual meetings; not directly related to student engagement

Additionally, sales taxes on business purchases should be avoided as much as possible. A copy of the Brandeis tax exempt form is available to download on the Procurement website.

This list of restricted item is in addition to to all other restricted items/services detailed within the relevant policies and procedures for Procurement and Accounts Payable; including but not limited to:

• Procurement policy

• P-Card policy

• Travel policy

• Computer Purchase policy

• Business Expense policy

If there is any questions related to these unallowable costs please email: procurement@brandeis.edu

Please join the Office of Human Resources and Tufts Health Plan each Wednesday, 12:15 -1 p.m., for a new live webinar focused on maintaining your well-being this fall sponsored by Tufts Health Plan. This series is open to all employees. Upcoming webinars:

• Oct. 21, Managing Mood & Sleep as We “Fall Back”
• Oct. 28, The Power of People

For a complete list of webinars and to register please visit the Human Resources website.

In consideration of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees' ability to use their vacation; the vacation carryover limits will not be applied to employees' vacation balances as of year-end 2020. The application of these limits will be revisited later in 2021 and an update issued at that time.

The Department of Community Service is recruiting undergraduate students to apply for the Rich/Collins Community Leadership & Impact Fellowship Program. This is a one-of-a-kind, prestigious leadership opportunity where undergraduate students can apply for grant funding (between $500-$4,000) to implement a community impact project during the Spring semester, while receiving a $600 personal stipend and engaging in a close-knit cohort leadership development series. Due to challenges related to COVID-19, all projects must be implemented virtually this year and students are eligible to participate in this fellowship no matter where they are geographically located. You can see great examples from previous projects on our website. As you'll notice, the list of possibilities are endless! That being said, as a result of our current climate, this year we are intentionally encouraging projects that support COVID-19 relief efforts and racial justice work.

If you know of any amazing students that you believe would be great Fellows, please recommend them to us or encourage them to attend one of our upcoming information sessions! For questions regarding this Fellowship, please email rccliff@brandeis.edu or Community Service Specialist, Samantha de Melim, who is overseeing this initiative. Applications close Monday, Oct. 26 at 11:59 p.m. EST.