The Office of Finance and Administration will be selling tickets to the 2021-2022 Boston Bruins home games, available for purchase by faculty, staff and post-docs. For information please visit the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration website.

On Sept. 11 Workday will be upgraded to a new version. The system will be unavailable on Saturday from 2 - 6 a.m. while the system is updated with new and improved features that improve accessibility and overall user experience. Here is some helpful information to prepare you for the upcoming changes. The Search field has moved – it will appear centered at the top of the screen (previously on the top left). You can also choose to search by “people” or “tasks and reports” to narrow down your search results. There’s also a new way to view and select report prompts. After searching for and selecting a report (using the blue hyperlink), the prompts menu will now appear as a separate dialog window. Rather than being directed to a new page, you will stay within the current screen to set up parameters for the report. You can enter or select prompt(s) then select the ‘Ok’ button to run the report.

Visit the Workday@Brandeis website to view details of these changes and resources for HR/Finance and Student. For questions, please contact workday-help@brandeis.edu.

There will continue to be intermittent closures - including this weekend, Sept. 11-12 - of the roadway connecting the Theater Lot (T-Lot) to the Campus Loop Road (near the Shapiro Admissions Building). A temporary detour will support the replacement of underground steam piping that heats the Admissions building and the Ridgewood residences. It’s important that the work be completed prior to the start of the heating season. Below is a summary of the impacted areas on campus or view a map of the changes. For more information, contact the project manager Jim McCormack at 781-736-4521 or jmmccormack@brandeis.edu.

• Road closures - The T-Lot access roadway closures will occur during regular business hours, intermittently throughout September and into early October. Signage will be located along the Loop Road and at the campus Main Entrance on days when T-Lot access roadway closures take place.
• Driving - The T- Lot will remain open at all times for parking. When the access roadway from the Loop Road is closed due to the steam piping project, vehicles can use the access roadway adjacent to the Epstein Building. Detour signage will be posted.
• Walking - You can view pedestrian routes on the campus map.
• Shuttles - There will be no changes to Campus shuttle services as a result of this construction with the exception that shuttles will not pick up in the back of Spingold Theater (behind Ridgewood B) when the T-Lot access roadway is closed due to the project. Instead, this service will remain on Loop Road and busses will pick up passengers in Spingold Circle (front driveway of Spingold).

Effective Oct. 13, the Brandeis Sponsored Accounts system will be retired and replaced with Contingent Worker accounts in Workday. As of Oct. 13, the ability to create new Sponsored Accounts will be disabled. If you previously created sponsored accounts for individuals who do not qualify for another account type, please request a Contingent Worker Account. Sponsored Accounts created prior to Oct. 13 will continue to function as expected. Starting Oct. 13, all existing Sponsored Accounts will be converted to a Contingent Worker account and will maintain the same expiration date. ITS will be contacting individuals who currently serve as a sponsor with additional information and instructions on how to review the sponsored account.

Please visit the ITS website to learn more about this project including the difference between Sponsored Accounts and Contingent Worker accounts. For questions, please contact Jonathan Estwing.

The Workday Student project team would like to remind the community of the following resources and support available to help you with the transition to Workday.

• Workday Support Office Hours (faculty, staff and students) - join the team of experts to get one-on-one assistance with using Workday.
• Workday Student Training Activity Guides - to help faculty and students view a list of resources broken down by common tasks.
• Workday Student for Administrators and Workday Student for Advisors - online, self-directed courses available in LATTE.

Please visit the Workday Student website to view the complete library of resources including job aids, instructional videos, and FAQs. For additional assistance, contact workday-help@brandeis.edu.

• Tuesday 9/28 – Module A: Charting the New Reality - register
• Thursday 9/30 – Module B: Best Practices and Techniques for Managing a Remote or Hybrid Workforce - register

For a complete description of the workshops visit the Human Resources website. If you have any questions or need additional guidance, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4474.

Get your semester off to a great start by signing up for a library workshop.

Data Analysis

• Bash Shell Skills, Mon., Sept. 13, noon - 12:50 p.m.
• Getting Started with Stata (Online), Mon., Sept. 13, noon - 1 p.m.
• Qualitative Research Analysis: Intro to Atlas.ti 9 (Windows users), Tue., Sept. 14, noon - 1 p.m.
• Getting Started with SPSS, Tue., Sept. 14, 2 - 3 p.m.
• Python Programming for Data Analysis, 4-part series, beginning Tue., Sept. 14, 8 - 8:50 p.m.
• Getting Started with Stata, Wed., Sept. 15, noon - 1 p.m.
• Git Version Control, Mon., Sept. 20, noon - 12:50 p.m.
• Introduction to Qualtrics (Online), Mon., Sept. 20, 1 - 2 p.m.
• R Programming: Intro to Tidyverse, 3-part series, starting Tue., Sept. 21, noon - 12:50 p.m.
• Qualitative Research Analysis: Intro to Atlas.ti 9 ( Mac users), Tue., Sept. 21, 2 - 3 p.m.
• Bivariate Analysis with Stata, Wed., Sept. 22, noon - 1 p.m.

Teaching with Technology

• Class Discussions, Wed., Sept. 15, 11 a.m. - noon
• Hybrid Teaching Workshop (Advanced), Mon., Sep. 20, 1 - 2 p.m.
• LATTE Drop-In Hours every Friday 10-11 a.m., including:
  • Perusall, Fri., Sept. 17, 10 - 11 a.m.
  • Quiz Activity, Fri., Sept. 24, 10 - 11 a.m.
• Using the Jamboard software for Teaching, Weekly on Wednesdays, 10 - 10:30 a.m.

Learn about Brandeis history: The Beginnings of Brandeis: a History in Pictures, Thu., Sept. 23, 2 - 2:30 p.m.

Citation

• APA Citation: Common Sources & Weird Stuff, Thu., Sept. 23, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
• Introduction to Zotero, Mon., Sept. 27, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
• Introduction to Zotero, Thu., Sept. 30, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Research Technology & Innovation

• Digital Scholarship Lab Access Orientation, Weekly on Wednesday, 9 - 9:45 a.m.
• Brandeis MakerLab, Automation Lab and Digital Scholarship Lab Tours, Weekly on Thursdays, 9 - 10 a.m.
• Machine Learning Resources - 2 part series Wed., Sept. 22, 2 - 3 p.m.. and Fri., Sept. 24, 2 - 3 p.m.

Managers Skills Development Trainings (presented by Breakthrough Collaboration) were previously available by invitation only, these workshops are now open to all managers who would like to take advantage of this opportunity and can be taken as a series or as individual sessions based on interest.

Workshops will cover special challenges due to the pandemic and will be presented as 90-minute interactive sessions via Zoom from 9 – 10:30 a.m. on the following dates:

• Tuesday 10/21 – Managing Change - The Art of Agile Leadership
• Wednesday 10/27 – Managing the Human Element of Change
• Friday 11/12 – Managing Up, Across and Down
• Tuesday 11/16 – Managing Performance Conversations
• Thursday 12/2 – Managing Teams
• Thursday 12/9 – Managing Conflict

For a complete description of the workshops visit the Human Resources website. If you have any questions or need additional guidance, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4474.

In preparation for Brandeis' Year on Climate Action starting in Fall 2022, the Brandeis Sustainability Committee will be developing a series of funded workshops for faculty who are interested in integrating climate change and sustainability topics into their courses. The committee is asking faculty members to fill out this survey by Sept. 30 to convey your interest and needs so we can best develop the workshops.

ITS would like to inform the community that effective Sept. 1, there is a change in the process for accessing the university license to Adobe-related products including Adobe Acrobat DC (professional). Users will need to download, install and log in to the Adobe Creative Cloud (ACC) application on their computer in order to continue using Adobe products. ACC is a suite of applications that includes Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign which supports creation tools for graphic design, photography, video content and editing, and much more. ACC is available for free to faculty and staff; students can purchase directly from the Adobe website. Faculty and staff who use Adobe products should visit the Adobe Creative Cloud website to download and install the desktop application. From there, users can select the specific application(s) to install on their computer. Users can install ACC on up to two computers, including a personal computer.

Visit the ITS website for detailed instructions on downloading and installing ACC (for both Mac and Windows). If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Technology Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu or (781) 736-4357.

The semester has just started and it’s a great time to get both you and your technology equipment ready! ITS strongly recommends that faculty and staff who have been teaching and working remotely come to campus—at least one time ahead of your official first day back—with any university-owned computer equipment (i.e., laptop, desktop, accessories) to ensure things are working correctly. Here is a helpful back-to-school technology checklist to get you started. Please visit the back-to-school technology reminders website for more information.

• Set up and connect your equipment. Contact the Technology Help Desk for assistance with reconnecting your equipment. Please plan accordingly as there may be a high volume of requests and longer than normal wait times to address equipment troubleshooting requests.
• Safely connect to Brandeis' eduroam Wi-Fi network.
• Get tips on how to secure your computing environment.
• Learn more about the HyFlex classrooms to support in-person and remote teaching and learning.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Technology Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4357.

Mailing lists play a crucial role in day-to-day operations at Brandeis, so it’s important that we use a service that’s modern, secure, reliable and dynamic. Beginning Aug.15, any new mailing lists should be created using Google Groups. Due to an outdated platform and security risks, ITS will be eliminating the aging Brandeis mailing list service (lists.brandeis.edu) and transition to Google Groups over the course of the fall semester. There is no impact to existing mailing lists at this time, but ITS strongly recommends that lists owners and administrators review their lists to ensure the membership is up to date and to delete any lists that are no longer needed. ITS will be sharing more information in the upcoming months about the transition including migration of existing lists to Google Groups and schedule of activities. Visit the ITS website for more information about creating a Google Group. For questions about the upcoming change, please contact help@brandeis.edu.

In addition, the University is evaluating additional efficient ways for community members to build lists based on selected criteria. These dynamic lists would remain current with our community populations in Workday. We will keep you posted on this initiative throughout the fall.

Google will be applying a security update to Google Drive that makes sharing links more secure. The update will change links (URLs) used for some Drive files shared in 2017 and prior - specifically, it will add a random resource key when sharing Google Drive files. This is similar to the random password added to a Zoom meeting link.

Between July 26 and August 25, Brandeis users who own or manage files impacted by this security update will receive a notification directly from Google. The email will provide instructions on steps to take and will include a link to view a list of impacted files you own or manage in Google Drive. Users will be able to apply or remove the security update for each file or via bulk action. When file links are updated, collaborators for a shared file may receive new file access requests

Effective Monday, Sept. 13, Google will begin enforcing the security update. Please note that this change, including the timing, is driven by Google. To avoid broken links, users should update Google Drive links on their websites and shared resources before Sept. 13. Visit the ITS website to see a preview of the Google email, guidelines from the Security Office for applying the update, and helpful FAQs. For questions, please contact help@brandeis.edu.

Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) is offering training on Interventions and Support: Strategies for Reacting During or After Violence (for staff and faculty). This training focuses on strategies for professional staff and faculty to intervene when witnessing potential or actualized violence, including but not limited to sexual violence and relationship violence. We will also discuss how to best support someone if they tell you they've experienced violence, tools for rejecting and counteracting harmful victim-blaming myths, and information to empower you to connect them to appropriate resources. 

For Fall 2021 sessions will be offered via Zoom on the following dates:

• Sept. 13, 9:30-11 a.m., Register
• Sept. 21, 3:30-5 p.m., Register
• Sept. 22, 1-2:30 p.m., Register
• Oct. 8, 9:30-11 a.m., Register

If you have any questions, please contact Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) at parc@brandeis.edu or 781-736-3371.