The Finance and Administration leadership team will be hosting its annual town hall on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from some of our senior managers and BUSAC on a wide range of topics such as campus sustainability, IT security, and improvements to campus wi-fi, to name a few. Registration is required. Questions may be submitted in advanced or during the town hall. The event will be recorded and posted on the EVP for Finance & Administration website for those who are unable to attend.

The 2022 Open Enrollment period will take place soon, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 12. This is the once-a-year opportunity for benefits eligible employees to evaluate their benefits and make any desired changes for the 2022 calendar year.

Please visit the Human Resources website for an initial summary of changes to our benefit programs. Full details and the specific rates and coverages for each plan will be included in the Open Enrollment website that will be available on October 29.

If you have questions regarding Open Enrollment, please contact a member of the benefits team: Marianne Pick, Renee Relerford or Nadynne Stamps

On October 22, the university will be conducting a TEST of the Brandeis Emergency Notification System (BENS). If you are registered you will receive a test alert via your Brandeis email, voice call, and/or text messages depending on your selected preferences.

For those who live and work at Brandeis University, registering to receive updates from the Brandeis Emergency Notification System (BENS) is the quickest way to receive emergency alerts. 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 voice call, you must provide us with your phone number. Go to the registration page for instructions.

Please join VP for Campus Planning and Operations, Lois Stanley and student intern Feigele Lechtchiner, in a discussion regarding improvements and enhancements to university transportation services. Please join Feigele and Lois via zoom on Tuesday, October 26, at noon to hear more, what has been improved in campus transportation, and where we are headed. This presentation will summarize findings from the 2021 Campus Transportation Survey conducted in the summer and answer important questions about ridership, accessibility, reliability of the service, and much more. If you have any questions, please contact campusoperations@brandeis.edu.

LATTE, the university learning management system, recently updated the Quickmail feature. Quickmail is a block within LATTE that provides instructors the ability to do selective, bulk emailing within courses. When using Quickmail, users will now see a new user interface. In addition, there are new features such as attaching files, adding email signatures, and scheduling messages for delivery at a later date. This update addresses an issue with the delivery of messages to recipients with course shells that have 150 or more enrolled users. Learn more about the new features in this Learn LATTE article. Visit the ITS website to view a more detailed list of recent changes. For questions or issues, please send an email (include screenshots, if applicable) to library@brandeis.edu.

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Office (URCC) recently launched ForagerOne, a new integrated system and searchable database, to connect undergraduates with research opportunities and faculty mentors. Detailed information including instructional videos are available for students who are interested in undergraduate research fellowships and grants, paid research assistant jobs, and faculty mentors; and faculty who would like to connect with students and potential faculty collaborators at Brandeis. To get started, undergraduates and faculty can visit ForagerOne, click on “Log In” in the top right, select Brandeis from the list and log in with your Brandeis credentials. If you have any questions, please contact Margaret Lynch.

The Department of Education (ED) has announced major changes to the PSLF program, which provides student loan debt relief to support public service workers, including higher education employees. One major change is that ED is implementing a limited waiver (through October 2022) to count ALL prior payments made by student borrowers towards PSLF for all loans, including Direct Loans, loans consolidated into the DL program and those with other types of federal student loans who submit a consolidation application into the DL program. For more information about this change, and others affecting this program, go to https://freestudentloanadvice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/tisla-faq-1015-version.pdf.

With the change in season, it’s a good time to conduct a computer health check to ensure your laptop or desktop is up to date with the latest and greatest software updates and security patches. The Technology Help Desk would like to remind everyone to check their machine for updates and recommends starting the updates at the end of the business day to help minimize any downtime. Don’t forget to restart your computer after applying an update - in fact, a weekly restart is a must to keep your machine updated and running smoothly! Visit the ITS website for helpful back-to-school technology reminders. For questions or assistance, contact the Help Desk in person in the Goldfarb Library (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or Sat-Sun 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.), submit a ticket (help@brandeis.edu), or call 781-736-4357.

Pell Grant recipients will now qualify for reduced internet from Comcast through the company’s Internet Essentials offering. Students who qualify for a Pell Grant could get internet for as low as $10 a month through the company. In order to apply and prove eligibility, students will need to provide their financial aid award letter showing they have a Pell Grant award. For more information, please visit: https://www.internetessentials.com/apply.

The spring 2022 bill will be delivered electronically to families in mid-November with a due date of December 15, 2021. Students will access the Nelnet Student Account Portal, using the link provided in their Student Account worklet in Workday, to view e-bills and account transactions, make payments and manage monthly payment plans.

If students have not already done so, please complete the following steps to ensure account access:

1. Set-up Nelnet account - Students should log in to the Nelnet Student Account Portal to set up their student profile. Refer to the Nelnet - Account Access job aid for detailed instructions.
2. Add parent or authorized parties access - Students who would like parents, sponsors, or other third parties, to view their student account and make payments will need to set these individuals up as Authorized Parties in Nelnet. Refer to the Nelnet – Manage Payers job aid for detailed instructions. Students should not share their Nelnet log-in credentials with their parents. They must set up parents as Authorized Parties with their own log-in credentials.

We will send a notification to students and authorized parties when the spring bill is ready to be viewed in Nelnet.

The Office of Human Resources is pleased to offer a new training which provides an overview of how the hiring process works at Brandeis. Developed for hiring managers and HR Liaisons, participants will gain an understanding of how the hiring and recruitment process works at Brandeis and what the necessary steps are. Please visit Human Resources website to view more information and registration details.

Sign up for a library workshop:

Teaching with Technology

• LATTE Drop-In Hour: Rubrics, Friday, Oct. 22, 10 - 11 a.m.
• LATTE Drop-In Hour: Grading, Friday, Oct. 29, 10 - 11 a.m.
• Q&A Hybrid Teaching Panel, Friday, Oct. 29, noon - 1 p.m.
• LATTE Drop-In Hour: Assignment Activity, Friday, Oct. 5, 10 - 11 a.m.

Library Research Skills

• Getting Started with Your Annotated Bibliography, Friday, Oct. 29, 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.

Data Services and Software

• Qualitative Research Analysis: Intro to Atlas.ti 9 ( Windows users) -Online, Wednesday, Oct. 27, noon - 1 p.m.

Research Technology & Innovation

• Introduction to Arduino Electronics Workshop, Weekly, 2:30 - 4 p.m. Tuesdays
• Intro to 3D Printing with Flashforge, Weekly 10 a.m. - noon Tuesdays
• Digital Scholarship Lab Access Orientation, Weekly 9 - 9:45 a.m. Wednesdays
• Brandeis MakerLab, Automation Lab and Digital Scholarship Lab Tour! Weekly 9 - 10 a.m. Thursdays
• How to build and deploy your personal website, Weekly 3:30 - 5 p.m. Thursdays
• Intro to CAD with TinkerCAD, Weekly 10 - 11 a.m. Fridays

Starting Monday, Nov. 1, users who have not updated their Zoom desktop client in the last 9 months, will be required to update the application. The update process doesn’t take very long, but can be an inconvenience if the forced update occurs when you’re about to start a meeting. You can avoid running into the forced update by periodically ensuring that your Zoom client is running the latest version which will give you access to all of the latest features and security enhancements. Please visit the Zoom support page for detailed instructions on how to update your Zoom application or refer to the following summary: open the Zoom desktop client on your computer, click on your initials in the top right corner of the application, then select “check for updates”. For questions or assistance, contact the Technology Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu.

Interested in learning more about how to protect yourself from phishing attacks? Join the ITS Security team for a security awareness webinar on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to noon. The session will provide an overview of social engineering, highlight how to spot phishing messages designed to get your personal data, and talk about the potential consequences of these cyber attacks. The event coincides with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Learn simple tips and tricks on how to #FightThePhish and how to maintain a secure computing environment for yourself and the university. Register to attend the upcoming webinar. Please send any questions you have ahead of time to security@brandeis.edu.

Visit the ITS website for more security tips and tricks and helpful resources including how to create secure passwords or staying digitally safe. For more information about security awareness, contact the ITS Security team at security@brandeis.edu.

Email notifications were sent to all benefit eligible employees 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 learning management system (LMS) assessment announced over the summer is progressing on schedule. Members of the Academic Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC) approved the search process and selection of an external consulting firm, SharperPoint Consulting Group LLC, to conduct the assessment. The project is underway and will consist of interviews, listening sessions, an evaluation of the LMS landscape at peer institutions, a financial analysis, and a support model review.

The project team has begun scheduling interviews with faculty, staff and students and is reviewing system data and documentation. Two campus listening sessions – open to the entire Brandeis community – are scheduled for early November. Please join the team to share your feedback about LATTE.

• Session 1: Tues., Nov. 2, 1 - 2 p.m.
• Session 2: Wed., Nov. 10, 1 - 2 p.m.

We will continue to share updates on the assessment and subsequent findings in upcoming news briefs. For questions, please contact Jonathan Estwing.

Watch out for our colleagues in Campus Planning and Operations who are recognizing the importance of Breast Cancer Awareness this month. Pink cookies will be served in the dining halls. Facilities Services staff - custodians, grounds people, and trades people - will be wearing pink T shirts throughout the month. Public Safety officers are participating in the #PinkPatchProject and have replaced the traditional blue Brandeis badges on their uniforms with pink patches. We ask that supporters make a minimum of a $5.00 donation, and we will send you a Brandeis University Police pink patch as a thank you. For additional information and to donate please visit the Public Safety Donation page.

Facilities Services will start the seasonal switchover from cooling to heating season on October 12. Beginning with Residence Halls, then Academic and Science Buildings. The switchover process will continue through November 1.

During this time some buildings may be warmer or cooler depending on the New England weather. Should you feel there is an issue with your heating system you may enter a service request on the Facilities Services website.

Once completed, Brandeis Facilities Services will do our best to maintain a comfort level of 68-71 degrees per our energy Conservation and Management Policy. If you have any questions, please contact Matt McPhee at matthewmcphee@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4377.

Public Safety can now be found on social media. Please follow public safety using the following links:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrandeisPSD
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandeis_psd/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandeisPSafety

If you have any questions, please contact Matt Rushton at mrushton@brandeis.edu.