Finance and Administration held its annual Town Hall meeting on Friday, Dec. 4 via Zoom.  Thank you to all who were able to attend. The meeting included updates on the progress of the Finance and Administration FY20 goals and a discussion on the new FY21 goals. Members from the Finance and Administration team reported on developments in their areas and answered questions.

If you were unable to attend you can watch the video of the meeting posted on the EVP for Finance and Administration website.

As communicated earlier this year, the vacation carryover process that typically applies at year-end will be delayed until August 31, 2021.

In the meantime, hours that would have been subject to the carryover limit on December 31 will instead be moved to a Vacation Carryover Exception time off category in WorkDay on January 4, 2021. Employees’ regular carryover limits (10, 15 or 20 days) will be applied to this time on August 31, 2021. It is recommended that employees who have excess vacation hours moved to this category use these hours before their regular vacation time to avoid losing time on August 31, 2021. Please note that the carryover limit will be applied again on December 31, 2021. For additional information, please consult Brandeis’ Paid Time Off Policy.

The financial aid renewal application deadline for the 2021-2022 academic year will be March 1, 2021. Students receiving need-based scholarship funds must submit the 2021-2022 CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE , the 2021-2022 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and copies of 2019 student and parent Federal Income Tax Returns. Students who wish to apply only for federal sources of financial aid need only complete the FAFSA (taxes will be requested upon receipt of this application only if necessary). An email detailing the renewal process was sent to students and parents in early December. SFS is offering early morning, evening and weekend appointments for questions about completing the 2021-2022 renewal aid applications. Please visit here to book a 30-minute appointment with a financial aid counselor.

Every day, there are events in the news that remind us how important it is to receive timely information about emergency situations. For those who live and work at Brandeis University, registering to receive updates from the Brandeis Emergency Notification System (BENS) is one important way to get such messages. This system is used not only to inform the Brandeis community of an emergency situation affecting campus, but also to inform the community about severe weather delays and closures.

Using the BENS system for delays and closures notifies students, faculty and staff that the university’s schedule is affected by severe weather events more quickly. As in the past, some employees may be required to report to work in severe weather. If you have questions about whether you need to report to work during a weather issue, please contact your supervisor for clarification.

University email addresses will automatically be notified in the event of an emergency or severe weather. To receive notifications via text message or a non-Brandeis email address, you must provide us with your mobile phone number, and check the box authorizing Brandeis to send texts, and personal email address. Go to go.brandeis.edu/alerts for complete information and instructions.

Bills for the spring 2021 semester are available electronically via the Student Account Center (SAC). Students can access the SAC by clicking the “View Account or Manage Payments” link in their Sage Student Center. Students can grant access to their bills to parents, or other third parties, by following the instructions on the Student Account Center webpage. The spring bill is due on Jan. 15, 2021. To view the various payment options, including payment plans, please visit the payment options webpage.

The Office of Student Financial Services (SFS) is currently operating remotely. If you have questions about financial aid, billing or student employment/I-9's, please contact SFS at 781-736-3700 or sfs@brandeis.edu. The SFS lobby will reopen for in-person appointments before the start of spring classes. Please note that SFS will close at noon on Thursday, Dec. 24 and will reopen at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. Emails will be checked periodically, however, SFS will not be available via phone. Payments mailed to the office during the closed period will be posted upon reopening. Payments made by e-check through the Student Account Center will post to the account when they are made.

Employees who enrolled themselves or added new dependents to the Medical or Dental Plans during the 2021 Open Enrollment will receive new ID cards by late December or early January. The Vision Service Plan (VSP) does not provide ID cards as the coverage is verified at the point of service directly with VSP.

Those enrolling in the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) for the first time or who have an expired HCFSA debit card will receive a new card in late December or early January. Once received, members should follow the instructions on the card to activate the card as soon as possible to avoid de-activation.

Tired of getting emails that look like spam? Want protection from phishing scams? ITS can help protect you and your Brandeis account from malicious email. On Jan. 20, ITS will enable Proofpoint for all faculty and staff accounts. Proofpoint serves as an additional layer of protection by automatically filtering spam that is identified as being potentially fraudulent or spam. Once enabled, Proofpoint will flag the message as spam and send you a daily digest containing any message(s) that have been filtered. You can manage which message(s) and sender(s) you’d like to receive in your inbox. 

ITS will be holding a Proofpoint: Getting Started with Email Protection webinar on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. with an overview of the program, a live demo of the email digest, and answer your questions. Please register to attend the upcoming webinar. Visit the ITS website to learn more including a getting started guide, video tutorials, and FAQs. For more information or questions, contact security@brandeis.edu.

It may be winter, but the Workday Student project team is looking ahead to Spring 2021 with the rollout of the second milestone of course registration and advising functionality. The team completed the first of four major milestones last month with the rollout of an automated process for proposing and approving new courses, currently in use by the Registrar’s Office.

To help prepare the community for the transition from Sage to Workday Student, the team recently launched readiness workshops with a network of change liaisons comprised of faculty, staff, and student representatives from across campus to share project updates, provide system demonstrations, and address questions. Additional information and readiness materials such as Workday terminology, job aids and FAQs will be shared with the broader campus community in the upcoming months.

Visit the Workday Student project website to learn more including project overview, upcoming milestones, and functionality. Please contact us at workday@brandeis.edu with any questions.

Brandeis is working to meet the dietary, observance and community needs of students over the Passover holiday in the spring semester. Brandeis will partner with Catering By Andrew, a top Boston area kosher caterer, for kosher-for-Passover food on campus for the entire Passover holiday starting March 27 through April 4.

In order to offer students as much choice and flexibility as possible while still adhering to public health guidelines, Seder meals will be available in two ways:

• Private dining spaces will be available on campus to support groups of 10 or fewer, with appropriately-distanced seating. These will be available on a sign-up basis, with more information to come.
• Students can also pick up a Seder meal and take it back to their residence halls, or off campus apartments, with a meal kit which includes dinner and all ritual items.

For students who will keep kosher for Passover throughout the week:

• Students on meal plans will be able to sign up for kosher-for-Passover options throughout the week
• For those who wish to participate, but are not on a meal plan, can do so by ordering through Dining's E-commerce site at a future date.

The Faculty Club will be dedicated to kosher-for-Passover meal service from March 27 through April 4, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for those who sign-up in advance.

Regular Dining Operations will continue in Usdan and Sherman.

Employees who were enrolled in a Flexible Health Care Reimbursement Account during the calendar year 2020 have until March 15, 2021 to incur expenses and have until April 30, 2021 to submit their claims for reimbursement. HealthEquity FSA, HealthEquity/WageWorks Login, FSAstore

Employees who were enrolled in Flexible Dependent Care Reimbursement Account during calendar year 2020 have until March 31, 2021 to submit their claims for reimbursement for expenses incurred Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.

For additional information regarding flexible spending accounts please visit HR Benefits webpage.

The maximum 2020 and 2021 contribution limits established by the Internal Revenue Service for employees under the age of 50 is $19,500. For anyone age 50 and older, the annual contribution limit is $26,000. There are limit restrictions in Workday that prohibit an employee from contributing more than the IRS Maximum amount allowed in our Plan.

With one-stop convenience, Fidelity Investments supports the enrollment process and provides ongoing service to retirement plan participants. – regardless of whether you invest with Fidelity or TIAA – via the university’s NetBenefits Retirement Planning website.

You may update your pre-tax deferred contribution elections on the NetBenefits Brandeis Retirement Planning website or by calling the Retirement Service Center at 800-343-0860.

The 403(b) website user guide takes you through the process screen by screen.

Just because so many other things are on hold – that doesn’t mean that your financial and retirement planning should be. Join your Brandeis University colleagues for a live web workshop on Maximizing Social Security in Your Retirement Strategy.

Registration

Brandeis is launching an online health portal through Tufts Health Plan as part of our Healthy You wellness program. The portal features a number of activities, tools and resources to help you set, track and achieve your personal goals. Additional information when available will post to Human Resources Benefits webpage.

In addition to services such as new parent coaching, short-term counseling and help with family, financial or substance abuse issues, New Directions, Brandeis’ confidential employee assistance provider, also has a Holiday Mental Health Tool kit and COVID-19 resources available. Explore topics such as embracing new traditions, facing loss during the holidays, talking to children about Covid-19 and seasonal activities.

Log in to the New Directions website (company code: Brandeis University) or call 800-828-6025. Visit the Human Resources Benefits webpage for more details.

Spend your January learning new skills (or polishing some old ones) through Brandeis Library workshops--check out the links below to learn more. All members of the Brandeis community are welcome.

• Data Services & Software, , including R, Python, R, Stata, Automate with Shell, Version Control with Git, and Atlas.ti

• Library Research Skills

• Zotero and Citation Styles

• Sound & Image Media Studios, including Digital Photography, Podcast Production, Figure Drawing in Illustrator, Fundamentals of Digital Audio

• Research Technology & Innovation, including 3D scanning, Arduino Electronics, and virtual tours

• LATTE Open House for Students

Can you get some privacy? Jan. 28, 2021 is Data Privacy Day, an international effort to help everyone stay protected whenever and however you connect. The digital privacy of our community - their accounts and data - is important to the university. Join ITS and the Library for a security awareness workshop on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. to learn tips for enhancing your privacy while using online services like social media and search tools. Please register to attend the upcoming webinar. A recording of the event will be posted to the ITS website for on-demand viewing for those unable to attend.

ITS also has resources on maintaining online privacy that are available on the ITS website. For questions or to learn more, contact security@brandeis.edu.

Brandeis’ Conversation Groups are designed to promote people coming together to celebrate our community and get to know one another a little better. These loosely structured conversations will be co-facilitated by two members of the Brandeis community, with topics ranging from popular books and television series to what brings meaning to our own lives. Virtual and in-person opportunities will be available. Please complete this brief form by Friday, Dec 18 to express your initial interest (non-binding) in facilitating a conversation. If you have questions please email Lauren Haynie.

Due to an unprecedented use of Zoom and exponential growth of cloud recording storage, the retention period for Zoom cloud recordings will change starting with Spring 2021 semester. Effective Feb. 1, 2021, Zoom cloud recordings will be retained for 180 days. Any recordings older than 180 days (from the recording date) will be deleted from Zoom’s cloud storage service. The upcoming change will optimize the allotted Zoom cloud storage space for Brandeis Zoom users.

ITS is asking all Zoom users to voluntarily manage their cloud recordings to help storage space. Recordings that need to be permanently retained should be downloaded to a local hard drive or uploaded to cloud storage such as Box. Learn more about managing cloud recordings and how to download a Zoom recording.

Alternatively, users can manually upload media content to Echo360. For academic-related content, instructors can upload directly to Echo360 from within a LATTE course. Users who have an account on both Zoom and the Echo360 platform can take advantage of Zoom cloud recordings that are automatically copied to Echo360. Recordings will remain on the Echo360 platform for 18 months. Visit echo360.org to log in to your account and view recordings. While the Zoom cloud retention period is being reduced, users are encouraged to utilize Echo360 for hosting media content for an extended period of time.

ITS is working with various academic and administrative committees including IT Governance to ensure the community is aware of the upcoming change and provide assistance as needed. For questions or additional information, please contact the Technology Help Desk.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Technology Help Desk.

The Payroll Office has issued the annual memo regarding important calendar year-end paycheck and tax information for 2020 and 2021. This includes requests for duplicate W-2 forms and changes in tax filing status.

The memo is available on the Payroll website, under Payroll Year-end Memo 2020.

With the continued use of Zoom for remote learning and working, ITS would like to remind everyone to follow Zoom best practices including using a Brandeis Zoom account when hosting a university-related event. Users should regularly check for updates on the Zoom app as new features and security measures are added.

Take advantage of a new feature that now allows for co-hosts to manage breakout rooms, including starting or ending breakout rooms, assigning participants, etc. Meeting hosts can use a new feature that enables them to pause a meeting in the event of a disruption.  Hosts can select ‘Suspend Participant Activities’ from the security icon in the meeting toolbar to remove an unwanted participant without needing to end the meeting. Learn more about this new feature and other in-meeting security options.

Check out ITS’ updated Zoom Security Resources for best practices to secure your virtual meeting. Refer to these guidelines prior to hosting a Zoom event. Zoom also provides helpful documentation and tutorials on its features in the Zoom Support Center. For additional help or questions, contact the Technology Help Desk.

Here are several key Zoom articles worth bookmarking:

• Zoom’s Privacy & Security web page
• 3 New Ways Zoom is Combatting Meeting Disruptions
• Securing Your Virtual Classroom
• How to Keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event

As we continue to work, teach and learn remotely, and the online holiday shopping in full swing, phishing scams are more prevalent and rampant during this time. While the university has email filters and information security tools to block most of these messages, some spam emails still get through. ITS is asking faculty and staff to enroll in Proofpoint to protect your Brandeis account from spam, viruses or fraudulent email messages. Proofpoint will automatically filter spam and/or bulk email from reaching your inbox. Once enabled, you will receive a daily digest around 8 a.m. ET containing any message(s) that have been filtered and allows you to manage which message(s) and sender(s) you’d like to receive in your inbox.

ITS will be enabling Proofpoint for all faculty and staff in early 2021. More information will be shared in the next InBrief as well as other communication channels. Don't wait - secure your account and enroll in email protection today! Visit the ITS website for a getting started guide, video tutorials, and FAQs. For more information or questions, contact security@brandeis.edu.