Back to School Update

(This was originally an email to my advisees)
Hi Everyone-

It's the beginning of the semester, so brace yourself for a long-ish email!

Our fall get together!
A belated thanks for those of you who were able to meet at the Drake Diner...for those of you who couldn't make it you missed a fun night (great malts) and hearing about a couple of very interesting exercise programs that two of us are participating in! There were a couple of topics that came up at the Drake Diner that I want to be sure to pass along.

• Each year you can get a copy of the current version of MS office
  (pc or Mac) as part of your tech fee. You can pick it up yourself
  in the basement of Carnegie, but I believe they close at 4:30.
  (The help desk should be able to provide you with more info: 515-271-3001)
  
• I also encourage you to get a student ID (available at Olmsted
  Center, but I believe they close at 4:30 as well). Your ID is
  your library "check-out" card, but it also can be used to get you
  student discounts and various products and services! Bridgette
  suggested I organize another ID/software-pickup night some Friday
  night after 5:00. I'll keep you posted.
  
• As a card-carrying, tuition-paying student you also have access to
  the fitness area at the Bell Center . For specific questions about access, services, and classes for students, I'd suggest giving them a call: 515-271-3173.

Advisee Survey
Thanks to those of you who completed the advisee survey I sent out in August. The survey was sent to 34 former and current advisees and 24 responded (71%). I'll be using this information to help me think about how I can help create an effective advising "community" for all of you. My hope is that, for those of you who are interested, the communication flow can go beyond the dyad of a student and me, and we can get conversation/support going between all of you as well. (there's a lot of knowledge contained in this group!) As you have ideas for our advisee group, be sure to let me (or each other) know and we'll see what we can make happen! In the meantime, here are some ways to communicate with me:

• email (obviously)
  
• cell phone: 515-707-0672 -- this is the best way to reach me...my office schedule is irregular, but you're welcome to try me there as well (office: 515-271-4701)
  
• AOL Instant Messenger: RLindbeckDrake (perfect for those impromptu
  questions during the day!)

I'd originally said that I'd given up on the advisee blog idea since you all favor email, but I've changed my mind (for a variety of reasons). I'm going blog but, at least in the near-term, I'll send you an email when I have a new post! (and at some point, we might want to talk about how you can get this blog--and others--on a "home" page that will check for new content for you rather than have you run out and check all the blogs!)

Of course, if you want to meet in person just let me know and we'll arrange a time!

New People

• Bridget Arrasmith (bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu, 515-271-2054) is the new administrative assistant in our department, replacing Bonnie Porter who retired last Spring.
  
• Brittney Flansche (bmf011@drake.edu, 515-271-4006) )is our new (part-time) graduate assistant.

Misc. info for this fall

• Drake email. For those of you who have been in the program for a while, you'll know that the LPD/ALOP professors have been pretty good about sending school-related things to your personal email vs. your Drake email. Unfortunately that's over. All faculty is now to
  send all info to your Drake email addresses. I realize it's inconvenient (one more email address to check) but it actually makes a lot of sense since ALL official Drake communication has been coming to that email address since the first semester you were registered. It's true all the email hitting your Drake email may not be mission critical for /you/, but you can set up your spam filter to eliminate some of it (like the weekly menus at the cafeteria). Fortunately, the new Drake portal, BlueView, makes it much more convenient to check your email. (you may have noticed that for most of you this email is going to your non-Drake email. We'll talk more about this later!)
  
• BlueView --of course BlueView is more than email--it's one-stop access to all your resources and information at Drake. Once you log in (use your student ID number and your MYDUSIS password. If you've never logged in, it will be your birthday in MMDDYY format.) You can get to BlueView from the main Drake webpage (upper right of the screen) or get to it directly by going here (take a look at the quick guide and change your password too).
  
  Once you log in to BlueView take a look around the screen and the tabs to see all the resources, information, and news to which you have access in one place. Among other things, you can get to your email, Blackboard and the library from this page (and no need to re-entry your ID and password again!) Give it a try, I think you'll like it!
  
• Phone List. I've emailed you a list of commonly called numbers at Drake for your reference.
  
• Petition of candidacy. Reminder: you'll want to complete a petition of candidacy by the time you have completed 12 credits. If you're getting close to 12 and you still don't have a petition, be sure to set up a time to meet with me this semester.
  
  
  I think that's it for now. Have a great fall semester!
  
  Robin