Providing feedback on a regular basis is critical for the development, retention and success of employees. Over the course of the next year the newly established Brandeis University Staff Performance Evaluation Review Committee (PERC) will embark on reimagining and modernizing the performance evaluation process. For this upcoming cycle the process will continue as was done this past year.

As usual the merit increase pool for next year will not be announced to managers until May. In the interim, it is important to continue with the annual performance evaluation process which provides valuable performance feedback to employees.

Performance reviews for the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 are due to Mary Sue Sacenti in the Office Human Resources on or before June 4. Please note that only, employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2021 will be eligible for an annual merit increase. In cases where an employee’s performance rating is below or partially meets expectations, please contact HR. For more detailed information please visit the Human Resources website.

As of Monday, March 22, Brandeis is providing shuttle service between South Station and the Brandeis campus, and continuing through April 30. This temporary shuttle service will be provided at the following times:

• weekday mornings, leaving South Station (Atlantic Ave. side) at 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
• weekday afternoons, leaving Usdan at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The added shuttle service is intended to accommodate commuters from Boston traveling to and from the Brandeis campus while the Fitchburg line is temporarily out of service on weekdays so that MBTA can upgrade its signal system for Positive Train Control. It is not intended to replace the Boston/Cambridge shuttle service that has long been cancelled as a health safety measure during COVID.

Brandeis commuters who live north of the Charles River (e.g., Cambridge, Somerville, Belmont, etc.) can take the direct Brandeis shuttle that starts at South Station or the local MBTA shuttle that starts at Alewife Station and stops at each of the stations along the Fitchburg line to Brandeis.

The shuttle will be extended to weekends if ridership indicates a need to do so. For more information on the bus stops and route times, visit Campus Shuttles and Van Routes on the Brandeis Public Safety website.

Information Technology Services (ITS) and Campus Operations are partnering together on key technology infrastructure projects to ensure faculty, staff, students, and guests have a secure and safe experience while on campus. There were two notable outcomes from the active shooter drill and campus security assessment conducted a few years ago. Specifically, it was identified that there were issues with the campus cellular coverage and camera system which needed to be addressed. Below is an update on two key infrastructure projects underway that address these deficiencies:

Cellular coverage: starting in the Fall, the community will see noticeable improvements to the campus-wide cellular service. There has been an ongoing issue with limited coverage in certain buildings. In the upcoming months, ITS will be installing a distributed antenna system on campus to enhance coverage and network signal throughout all of our campus buildings. Locations on campus that have large numbers of people (e.g., libraries, dining halls, residential buildings, etc.) will be targeted. In addition, Brandeis will be integrating cellular voice service from AT&T and Verizon into the campus system.

Security cameras: an updated camera system is being installed to address a 20+-year old security structure and remediate gaps in coverage such as building entrances and exits. In addition, new cameras will be placed in public, high traffic areas such as parking lots and crosswalks on Loop Rd. The new security system will primarily enhance post-incident investigations with higher quality imagery.

For more information about these initiatives, please reach out to Campus Operations or the ITS Security Office.

The Office of Human Resources will be holding performance review workshops for managers and non-managers.

How to Conduct an Effective Performance Review: The workshop will provide managers with the tools and information necessary, even while working remotely, to conduct an effective performance review. Participants will learn how to accurately document performance
, how to provide effective feedback to employees
, how to write a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
, how to assess professional development and training needs
, how to continue to motivate your employees
 and how to conduct difficult conversations with employees who need to show improvement. For dates and times, and to register please visit the Human Resources website. All managers must complete performance reviews, even if you cannot participate in a workshop. For performance review questions, please contact Liz Tierney, Deborah Jenkins or Suzanne Albright.

How to Make the Most of Your Performance Review: This workshop will provide employees with the tools and information necessary to make the most of the performance review, even while working remotely. Participants will learn how to accurately document your performance, create a file highlighting your accomplishments, think about what would be helpful for professional growth, and how to have a productive conversation with your supervisor. For dates and times, and to register please visit the Human Resources website.

A change in federal law has made more domestic students temporarily eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under regular SNAP rules, students enrolled at least half-time in an institution of higher education are ineligible for SNAP unless they meet one of the exemptions. However, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 temporarily expands SNAP eligibility to allow students who either:

• Are eligible to participate in State or Federally financed work study during the regular academic year, as determined by the institution of higher education, OR
• Have an expected family contribution (EFC) of $0 in the current academic year (2020-2021).

Students who meet one of the two criteria outlined above may receive SNAP if they meet all other financial and non-financial SNAP eligibility criteria. The new, temporary exemptions will be in effect until 30 days after the COVID-19 public health emergency is lifted.

To determine if you are eligible to participate in the Federal Work-Study program, click the “View Financial Aid Information”’ link in your Sage Student Center to view your 2020-2021 financial aid award via the Brandeis financial aid portal. To view the EFC on your 20-21 FAFSA, log into your application at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

If you have questions about SNAP eligibility, please locate and contact your local SNAP office. A detailed breakdown of eligibility criteria can be found here.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced a program to help those struggling to pay for internet amid the pandemic, stating that a household is eligible to receive the benefit if one member of the household received a federal Pell Grant during the current award year (20-21), among other possible criteria for eligibility. Under the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, eligible households can receive up to $50 per month to help pay for broadband internet service. While this program has been authorized, a start date has not yet been established. Please continue to check here for program updates.

Brandeis is pleased to announce that a second round of HEERF Grants, for expenses related to COVID-19, were posted to Sage for eligible students starting on March 9. Students who are eligible to file a FAFSA, but have not yet done so, can file the 20-21 application online at www.fafsa.ed.gov by April 1 to be considered for this grant. Please visit the HEERF II website for more information.

The recording is now available for the undergraduate financial aid webinar that took place on Feb. 26. Topics include the 21-22 financial aid renewal process, including what to do if your family’s income was affected by COVID-19, the cost of attendance, how housing choices affect financial aid, how financial aid is determined, the financial aid appeal process, paying the bill, emergency funds and financial literacy.

Sign up for a one-on-one financial literacy session with Student Financial Services on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope that you will take advantage of this great opportunity to ask questions about budgeting, managing debt, understanding your paycheck, W-2’s etc. Please click here to book a 20-minute appointment today.

As we mark the one-year anniversary of COVID’s impact on our campus, the Center for Spiritual Life is planning to hold space for students, staff and faculty so that we can remember those who have died in the past year. A memorial service for the Brandeis community will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 23 via Zoom.

Our hope is that this memorial service offers a measure of comfort and consolation and strengthens our sense of community and solidarity. The core of this memorial service will be memories, photos, and stories submitted by the community. Please submit remembrances by Sunday, April 4.

An invitation to join by Zoom will follow.

April is National Financial Literacy Month. What’s your Financial IQ? Learn about money the fun and easy way. See how you score on the “Financial IQ” challenge and maybe win one of 3 Garmin Vivoactives.

Unlock new questions between April 1 through April 30. The more you play, the more chances to win. Good luck.

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website to view more information on National Financial Literacy Month.

Join the Gender and Sexuality Center for a session on our institutional aim to protect each community members' freedom to teach and learn. Learn about the Student Conduct Process and standards of behavior at Brandeis. Facilitated by Alex Rossett, Dean of Student Rights and Community Standards. Sponsored by the Brandeis Gender and Sexuality Center. All faculty and staff are welcome.

Register for Zoom session at www.eepurl.com/hbmZP5 (The Queeries Newsletter) or email GSC Director Julián Cancino. 

Get rewarded for getting healthy. The Office of Human Resources is pleased to offer employees access to an online health portal as part of the HealthyYou wellness program for 2021. Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 all employees can access the health portal to participate in multiple activities, tools and resources that will help you set, track, and achieve your personal wellness goals. The more activities you complete, the more credits you will earn which will increase your opportunities be entered into the raffles for great prizes.

Learn more about the wellness portal and how to access on the Office of Human Resources website.

Please join the Office of Human Resources each Wednesday, 12:15 -1 p.m., for a new live webinar focused on maintaining your well-being through the COVID-19 pandemic sponsored by Tufts Health Plan. This series is open to all employees. Upcoming webinars:

• March 31, Six-Ingredient Meals

• April 7, Seven Coping Skills for Success for Parents

• April 14, Aromatherapy

• April 21, Cultivating a Positive Mindset

• April 28, Forming Healthy Habits

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website to view more information and for registration details.

Fidelity and TIAA continue to offer very informative live and on demand webinars. Watch and participate in practical web workshops, where you’ll learn strategies and tips to help manage your financial future with confidence.

Upcoming topics include:

• April 7, Invest Confidently for your Future

• May 11, Navigate Market Volatility

• April 13, Paying Yourself: Income options in retirement

• April 14, The Power of Saving

• April 15, W2W Attention to Detail: Financial finishing touches for women

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website to view more information and registration details.

Representative from Fidelity Investments and TIAA and are ready to help you

• Manage your retirement savings goals
• Review investment choices
• Build a plan that is easy to put into action

To register and for more details please visit the Office of Human Resources Website.

The Office of Human Resources has partnered with Bright Horizons to help you better manage your work, family and personal responsibilities. Bright Horizons continues to offer Brandeis eligible employees, Family Solutions, Additional Family Supports and a Resource Room on the Brandeis Portal.

One of the features available is Back-Up Care, which provides access to back-up care for your children, adult and elder family members during a lapse or breakdown in normal care arrangements. For additional information visit the Office of Human Resources Dependent Care Resource and Referral page.

Find Support Now:

• FAQ’s Additional Family Supports
• Sittercity Registration & Virtual Sitting
• Bright Horizons Benefits

Working parents are facing significant childcare challenges these days. In partnership with Bright Horizons, we invite to join a virtual family information session to learn more about the nearby Bright Horizons early education and preschool centers available to you in the Boston area. For more information and to register visit the Office of Human Resources Website.

The Brandeis Library is pleased to announce the formal launch of a new research repository along with a new platform for other types of digital collections. This repository will continue the library’s mission to collect, preserve, and disseminate digital copies of the intellectual output of Brandeis. This will split Brandeis-created content and digitized content, currently held in the Brandeis Institutional Repository.

Brandeis ScholarWorks has formally launched and represents a bold step forward as the Library engages and supports the university’s research mission. ScholarWorks replaces the former Brandeis Institutional Repository (BIR) and will go well beyond it in scope. Our vision for the repository is that it fully and completely represents Brandeis contributions to the scholarly and creative communities. It also allows us to fully meet our obligations to make data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. In the future, it may help bring together faculty profiles, help measure the impact of Brandeis research, and match Brandeis researchers with potential collaborators as well as funding opportunities.

For more information please visit the Library's website.

This year, April holds two sacred seasons which change their dates each year. For Christians, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are the most traditionally sacred days of the year. Maundy Thursday remembers Jesus' last supper with his disciples, when he washed their feet and told them to remember his body and blood with bread and wine. Friday is a solemn day remembering Jesus' death, often through making the Stations of the Cross or fasting. Easter Sunday is a great feast day celebrating Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Protestants may celebrate with a sunrise service, and Catholics with sprinkling of newly blessed holy water. This year Easter is celebrated by Western Christians on April 4 and Eastern Orthodox Christians on May 2.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is one of the most sacred times for Muslims. During this month, Muslims observe a strict daily fast from dawn until sunset. They are not allowed to eat or drink, not even water, during these daylight hours. Fasting is a private act of worship engendering nearness to God, but it is also a form of spiritual discipline and a means to empathizing with those less fortunate. The fast is broken at sundown with a meal called iftar, often shared among family and friends. Many will gather after nightfall in the mosque for special communal prayers called tarawih. This year Ramadan begins on April 13.

The Library EdTech team is soliciting faculty feedback about the LATTE shell to make updates for the Fall semester. If you have comments or suggestions, please email library@brandeis.edu with the subject “LATTE Shell Feedback” or attend the LATTE Shell Listening Session, March 26 at 10 a.m. on Zoom.

The Library is offering the following workshops for faculty, staff, and students this month:

Find Funding Opportunities using Library Databases, 10 -11 a.m., Monday, March 29

Survey Research: Intro to Qualtrics, 2- 3 p.m. Friday, April 9

Researching in the Archives, 2- 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 9

Introduction to Zotero, 11a.m.-12:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 30

Data Services Drop-In, 9:30 a.m., Fridays

Using the Jamboard software for Teaching, 10 a.m. Mondays

Intro to 3D Scanning, 9 a.m., Wednesdays

Introductory Module of Arduino Electronics Workshop, 12 p.m. Wednesdays

MakerLab, Automation Lab and Digital Scholarship Lab VIRTUAL Tour!, 9 a.m., Thursdays

Advanced Arduino Electronics Workshop, 11 a.m., Fridays

The Department of Facilities Services will be performing its annual electrical shutdown Saturday, Aug. 7 and Sunday, Aug. 8 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. This work allows the Department of Facilities to exercise and test equipment that is vital to the electrical infrastructure supporting Brandeis University.

Please visit the Department of Facilities Services website for more information and to see if your building is affected.

The International Business School is proud to host its second Business of Climate Change event starting April 14 at 12 p.m. with an expert panel discussing environmental investing. The discussions range from climate innovation to the Paris Agreement to how climate change will impact business, finance and economics.

Join the International Business School as they explore the risks and opportunities climate change poses, and how to harness investment and business resources to make a difference.

Review the schedule and register.

The financial aid renewal application deadline for the 2021-2022 academic year was March 1, 2021. If you have not already done so, please complete your application as soon as possible. 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 e-mail detailing the renewal process was sent to students and parents in early December.

The Workday Student team is excited to share that the second milestone of the Workday Student implementation is fast approaching. Watch this short Intro to Workday Student video to learn more about the phased transition from Sage to Workday as the university's student information system. This spring, students will begin using Workday to view and manage personal information and register for fall 2021 courses, while faculty will be able to view student records and information about their advisees. 


The project teams are working together with partners from functional offices, academic departments, and the community for the upcoming rollout. The team will be using multiple approaches and communication channels to prepare the community for the upcoming transition including video tutorials, virtual training, and drop-in sessions. More information will be provided in the upcoming weeks. Visit the Workday Student project website to learn more including project overview, upcoming milestones, and functionality. Please contact the Workday Student team at workday@brandeis.edu with any questions.

At the end of December 2020, the "Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021" was passed, and it included important changes to the rules governing Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts. The changes affect plan years 2020 and 2021. The provisions are optional for employers/plan sponsors to adopt. As noted in a previous edition of InBrief, here are more details on the FSA plan changes and how they impact participants:

1. Midyear Election Changes Permitted
2. Expanded Grace Period for the Health and Daycare Flexible Spending Accounts
3. Increase of Maximum Age of Dependents

For complete details please visit the Office of Human Resources website.

Did you know that more than 90% of data breaches start with a phishing email? Phishing attacks are scams that look like they come from a trusted source but trick you into giving up private information. Even with Brandeis’ sophisticated security measures, YOU are still the best defense against phishing emails. To help the community become experts in detecting phishing or fraudulent emails, ITS is launching a two-part program to increase security awareness.

In mid-March, faculty and staff were enrolled in a security awareness course hosted by KnowBe4. Individuals should have received an email notification with the subject line of “Now Available: Security awareness training.” The first module is a short video that provides a foundation for identifying social engineering and phishing attacks. ITS will provide additional modules to conduct ongoing security awareness training. Starting in mid-April, we’ll see if you can pass the Security Office’s simulated phishing test. ITS will periodically send you simulated phishing messages designed to imitate real scams. These simulations are done in a safe, educational environment and there are no negative consequences if you mistakenly reply to the simulated message. If you click on a link, you will be redirected to an informational page identifying the message as a phishing simulation along with helpful tips on identifying these messages in the future. If you recognize an email as a phishing scam, we encourage you to report it.

Don’t get caught by a phish. Report any phishing or suspicious email you receive or may have responded to by forwarding the message to phishing@brandeis.edu. Visit the ITS website to learn more about phishing awareness and tips for staying secure. For questions or more info, contact security@brandeis.edu.

On Mondays members of the Brandeis Benefits team are available via Zoom for "drop-in sessions" to answer general benefits questions.

The Benefits team will also be offering the following topic related sessions via Zoom:

• Health and Welfare Benefits and Workday, Friday, March 26,
• Paid Medical and Family Leave,Wednesday, March 31

All sessions are offered from 2-3 p.m. To join any of these sessions please use this Zoom link.

If you are an instructor or TA with questions about LATTE, please join the library's Zoom drop-in hours, offered every Friday from 2-4 p.m. Please visit the Center for Teaching and Learning website for the Zoom information.

Human Resources is offering the following three-hour virtual workshops in Spring 2021 presented by Skill Path:

• Tuesday, April 27, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. – Returning to the Workplace: An Employee’s Guide
• Tuesday, May 11, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. – Managing Conflict and Confrontation

A series of trainings for managers detailing how to implement specific Brandeis policies and procedures in light of COVID-19. Trainings will be presented virtually via Zoom.

• Tuesday, March 30, 1-2 p.m. – Intro to Leaves Policy
• Tuesday, April 6, 10-11 a.m. – Legal Considerations of the Supervisor
• Monday, April 12, 10-11 a.m. – Performance Reviews: Coaching and Counseling

• Friday, March 26, 9-11 a.m. – Improving Business Writing
• Tuesday, April 13, 10-11 a.m. – The Road to Resiliency
• Thursday, May 13, 10-11 a.m. – Un-clutter to De-stress: Simple Steps to Simplify Your Life

Please visit the links for more information and registration. For questions please email Cynthia Farquhar.

New Direction is offering a series of webinars with sessions at both 12-1 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. ET on Wednesdays.

• Wednesday, April 21 – Substance Use and Your Loved Ones
• Wednesday, May 19 – Overcoming Loneliness

For a description of each webinar and directions to register please visit the Office of Human Resources Training and Professional Development webpage.