Brandeis is pleased to announce that a third round of HEERF Grants, for expenses related to COVID-19, are now available to eligible students. Please visit the HEERF III website for more information.

As we continue with the transition from Sage to Workday, here’s a helpful guide of what activities remain in Sage, what functions are currently available in Workday Student, when additional functions will be available, and where to learn more about the new system.

• Students should continue to use Sage for all academic activities related to the spring and summer semesters and to view degree audit information. The Registrar's Office will email students later this month when academic information is ready and available in Workday. Students can now use Workday Student to manage personal data (e.g., names, pronouns, addresses, emergency contact info, and BENS contact data). See the upcoming schedule of activities to see when additional academic and financial activities will be available in Workday.
• Join a virtual drop-in session to learn more about course registration. There will be a system demo (focusing on the student experience) and Q&A on the following topics: viewing courses, academic planning, academic dashboard, registration methods (troubleshooting, appointments), and academic progress (GPA, progress). Registration is not required; join using this Zoom link on the specified date/time.
  • Tuesday, June 8, 9 - 10 a.m.
  • Thursday, June 10, 12 - 1 p.m.
  • Monday, June 14, 12 - 1 p.m.

• Training opportunities: Academic administrators and advisors can now self enroll in the online, self-directed training available in LATTE. Visit the Workday Student Training website to learn more.
• Visit the Workday@Brandeis website to view the library of helpful resources including job aids, instructional videos, and FAQs. Please contact workday-help@brandeis.edu for any questions.

As we approach the end of the fiscal year please be reminded that it is not appropriate to make purchases just because it appears that budget monies are still available in an account. The University has specific guidelines for purchasing that must be followed at all times. This year has been a financial challenge for the university and we are still working to overcome a significant decline in revenue. Please be responsible in stewarding resources. For questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail any member of the Division of Business and Finance team. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

As a commitment to the Brandeis University Community to continue to improve the reliability the Brandeis University’s Fire Alarm Systems, we have scheduled our 2021 annual Fire Alarm Testing.

Testing is scheduled between May 20 through August 27. Please visit the Department of Facilities Services for the schedule and additional information. Signage will be placed at the entry doors to the buildings during the test to notify those entering the buildings.

Any questions regarding the testing shall be directed to Matthew McPhee.

Turn It Off is Brandeis’ annual program to reduce campus electricity usage on the region’s hottest days of the summer. On the days that are predicted to be the summer’s hottest and most humid – we anticipate that there will be two to six of these days each year – we ask students and employees to shut exterior windows, lower window shades, shut off unnecessary computers and other electronics, and take other measures to preserve energy. Please note that on Turn It Off days, air conditioning remains on in every building, albeit at slightly higher temperatures.

Reducing electricity use during peak times results in significant financial savings to the university. The Turn It Off campaign also demonstrates that individual conservation actions to add up to meaningful results.

Campus Operations will be conducting a test run for the turn it off program on Friday, June 4 between 9 a.m. and noon. Some of the buildings' HVAC systems may slow down (except sciences) with higher set points, hence some of the occupants may feel slightly warm inside the buildings at that time. The weather forecast shows 75 degrees on Friday, hence the impact will be minimal for the occupants in the buildings.

Please visit the Turn It off website for additional information on which buildings will be impacted.

Learning and Teaching Technology Environment (LATTE), our Moodle-based learning platform, is the university’s learning management system (LMS). In order to ensure the system meets the needs of the Brandeis community, the Academic Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC) is sponsoring an assessment of the LMS which will be conducted by an external firm and involve a large cross-section of our community.

During the summer months, ATAC members will evaluate and identify a consulting firm that will be engaged to complete the assessment during the fall semester. The assessment will consist of interviews and workshops with faculty, students and staff. Topics would include but not limited to: the effectiveness of the current university LMS, current and future needs of LMS functionality, LMS best practices of functionality and usage and support models among peer institutions.

While the assessment is not an exercise to replace Moodle/LATTE, it is an overall assessment of the functional, technical and financial aspects of the system which will inform the strategic planning of the university’s LMS. ATAC members will review the outputs from the assessment and make recommendations to the Technology Prioritization Committee by the end of the year.

Additional information will be provided in the upcoming weeks. For questions, please contact Jonathan Estwing (Sr. Project Manager, Information Technology Services).

The Committee for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment has approved the use of the Fall 2021 LATTE Shell. Attend a Library workshop to learn how to customize the Shell to meet your course needs.

Instructors can make any structural changes, opt-out of the shell, and/or fully restore a LATTE course from a previous semester. You can view examples of possible adjustments to the shell by self-enrolling into the sample course that shows various course organization formats.

Don't miss the Shell support available through the Library:

• Check out the new LATTE shell website
• Explore the LATTE Shell Library Guide
• Sign up for a LATTE Shell Workshop
• Contact the Library team for support
• Make an appointment with an Instructional Technologist

Join University Archives & Special Collections for the following Zoom workshops:

• The Beginnings of Brandeis: a History in Pictures, Wednesday, June 23, 3-3:30 p.m.
• Teaching with Archives, Thursday, July 22, 3-3:30 p.m.
• The Beginnings of Brandeis: a History in Pictures, Friday, July 23, 11-11:30 a.m. 

The Jean Bain Basketball School is excited to announce their Summer 2021 dates for August 9-12 and August 16-19. The Jean Bain Basketball School is owned and operated by the head men's basketball coach at Brandeis University, Jean Bain. The camp is open to both boys and girls from 4-8 grade who are interested in improving upon their skills, meeting new friends, and having some fun.

Camp days will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. inside the Gosman Athletic Center on Brandeis's campus and consist of group stations, skill contests, and full length games. The staff will be made up of current Brandeis men's and women's basketball players along with the Brandeis men's basketball coaching staff.

The full price for the four days of camp is $350. For Brandeis faculty and staff though, there is a discount. When registering for your spot in camp, using the code brandeis2021 will secure $50 off the original price. For more information and questions, you can visit jeanbainbasketballcamps.com or reach out directly to Sam Rubinstein at rubinstein@brandeis.edu.

The intercollegiate edHealth Walking Challenge is back. Brandeis, edHEALTH and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care are proud to invite you to take part in the fourth annual walking challenge. All employees are eligible to participate, regardless of your health insurance carrier. Participants connect their fitness tracker or device app to the Limeade app via Harvard Pilgrim's wellness account.

For every week of the walking challenge, three winners from each school will be part of the “Walk This Way” gift card raffle. Participant eligibility for corresponding prizes:

• 5,000 steps per day or 35,000 steps per week - $50 gift card
• 7,500 steps per day / 52,500 step per week - $75 gift card
• 10,000 steps per day/ 70,000 steps per week - $100 gift card
• Top Stepper wins a $500 grand prize gift card

For more information visit the Office of Human Resources website.

Vaccination information can now be added to your Campus Passport. Once you have received both of your shots (Moderna/Pfizer) or a single Johnson & Johnson you are able to upload an image of your vaccination record card by following these steps:

1. Go to Campus Passport LINK:
2. Select Preferences
3. Select yes from the drop-down menu indicating you have received all required doses of COVID-19 vaccine
4. Once you have indicated yes you will be asked to upload an image of your immunization card.

The information will be reviewed by a Brandeis medical provider, and upon approval, vaccinated community members will notice a COVID-19 vaccine sticker appear in their Passport.

The University is deeply appreciative of the continued efforts made by our staff to support the University’s mission, our students and each other. We recognize the importance of work/life flexibility and time away from work to focus on yourself, your family and friends and to return to the workplace with renewed energy.

As we approach summer, we believe strongly that continued flexibility is important to support our staff. We are happy to announce that departments/units may offer a flexible or compressed schedule for staff this summer beginning June 7 through August 13.

It is important to note that many staff may have significant unused time off balances as a result of the vacation carry over exception and the issuance of special discretionary days. Staff with large time off balances must use this time off in lieu of the flexible schedule during all or parts of this summer to avoid losing time in August 2021. Weeks in which staff utilize time off cannot be combined with a flexible schedule.

Brandeis University’s priority is to provide effective and efficient services to internal and external constituencies during all normal working hours, Monday through Friday. Flexible or compressed work schedules must be approved by the department’s appropriate supervisor (Department Chair, Director, Dean, Vice President or Senior Vice President) and some departments may be unable to implement the program due to operational needs. Please visit the Human Resources site for additional information or contact Human Resources.

As we approach our fiscal year-end on June 30, the Division of Business and Finance would like to remind everyone of the important deadlines related to financial transactions and reports. Please refer to the year-end close memo provided on the Division of Business and Finance website, which lists various milestones and deadlines for fiscal year end 2021.

Budget managers and others with financial transaction responsibilities should regularly review their department’s financial reports. Any adjusting entries pertaining to fiscal year 2021 should be submitted via Workday no later than July 16. For questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail any member of the Division of Business and Finance team. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

It's fresh, it's fun, it’s customizable.

Sign up today through Warner Farm's CSA share program, and receive a personalized box of fresh, delicious, locally-grown vegetables, delivered right to the Brandeis campus. Our CSA program offers the option to customize your shares and your delivery schedule, which means that you’ll receive all the produce you love and nothing you don’t! Choose from 3 sizes of vegetable shares, as well as fruit, flower, mushroom and egg shares.

Deliveries take place on campus from 3:30-6:30 p.m. every Thursday from June through October. It's the best way to eat healthy and local this season without breaking the bank! Visit www.warnerfarm.com/csa or email csa@warnerfarm.com to learn more.

Facilities Administration is excited to announce the launch of an updated interface for Maximo; Brandeis’s computerized maintenance management system on campus. The new interface will be implemented campus wide on June 14.

The new interface will be visible to anyone on campus that submits a service request for work coordinated or performed by Facilities Services. Campus partners can submit a service request from the Facilities home page or via go.brandeis.edu/workrequest

• Key benefits of the upgrade include:
• Submit service requests right from your phone or tablet
• Modernized, user friendly interface
• Add comments to your request after it’s been submitted
• Select from preloaded selections of the most common work types
• Improved location identification

Zoom training sessions will be available prior to the launch of the new interface. A reference guide will also be available on the Facilities Services home page. Please visit the Facilities Services website for a list of scheduled training sessions.

The Office of Human Resources is offering two workshops for returning to the workplace:

• For Managers: Supporting Employees’ Return to the Workplace
  Thursday, June 24, 10-11 a.m.
• For Employees: Support for Returning to the Workplace
  Thursday, July 15, 10-11 a.m.

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

Please join the Office of Human Resources each Wednesday, 12:15 -1 p.m., for a new live webinar focused on your well-being.  Please visit the Office of Human Resources website to view more information and for registration details.

Employees are reminded that Vacation Carryover Exception Time and Special Time Off balances must be used by August 31 to avoid losing them.

Employees may view their Vacation Carryover Exception Time and Special Time Off balances in WorkDay under Absence > Time Off Balance. This time is also reflected on the payslip accrual summary in WorkDay.

The Vacation Carryover Exception time and Special Time Off balances should be used as a first priority over regular vacation time and personal time balances leading up to August 31.

Nelnet Campus Commerce has been managing Brandeis' monthly payment plans for two years since they purchased TMS and Brandeis has been able to keep our service on the TMS Platform through the 2020-2021 academic year. Brandeis is actively in the process of transitioning to Workday Student as the new university system of record. In conjunction with this transition, we are also moving to the Nelnet Platform and services. Here is a summary of key items to note for 21-22 monthly payment plans:

• Beginning in Fall 2021, when you enroll in a Nelnet monthly payment plan, you will be required to set up a recurring payment method. You can either select a credit card or automatic draft from a bank account. Payments will be charged to your card or withdrawn from the bank account automatically on the 15th of each month. Note: You can no longer pay each month by check or call in to make your payment each month.
• If you are using a 529 Plan to pay all or part of your student account balance, it cannot be sent in monthly installments as Nelnet requires all monthly payment plans to be set up with a method of automatic payment.
• Payment plans are only offered for the Fall and Spring semesters.
• Brandeis does not offer an in-house monthly payment option or accept payments for the payment plan directly.

Enrollment in the monthly payment plan will be through the Nelnet Student Account Portal and will be available when the Fall 2021 bill email notification is sent out in early July.

For questions, please contact Student Financial Services at sfs@brandeis.edu or 781-736-3700.