Update from Sue

Fall term is flying by, and we are busy preparing for spring term and beyond. Thank you everyone for all of your help on so many levels and items! I have reached out to so many of you for help, and you all have been fantastic, nimble, creative, and honest. ASR continues to function as a team that provides solutions, serves the community, and assists students successfully, which is being noticed and appreciated.

Below, I am sharing a handwritten note from Provost Croson that you all deserve, even more so than me. This is the first time in my life I have received a handwritten note from my supervisor's boss, and I owe it all to your dedication to our students. You should feel very proud of your accomplishments. Thank you very much.

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Dear Sue,

I just wanted to thank you for the extraordinary efforts you and your team have made to develop, implement, and communicate our fall plan. Your input has ben invaluable, and your insights have been extremely important in shaping our decision.

None of us expected the pandemic or the fast changes that it would require. You have risen to the challenge and gave above and beyond.

Thank you,

Rachel

Fraser Hall

Recently, Government and Community Relations announced that the legislature passed four bills, including a capital investment bonding bill that approves design development for the future replacement of Fraser Hall as the Undergraduate Chemistry Teaching Laboratories building. Construction is not yet funded, which will depend on passing a bonding bill in May 2021.

Meanwhile, ASR is working with Capital Project Management on early planning for how/whether to relocate Fraser Hall staff. No set plans have been made, but we want to be prepared in the event the bonding bill passes in May. We will continue to update staff as we learn more.

Google Workspace

Starting January 2021, Google will be rebranding the G Suite that the University uses for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, etc. as Google Workspace. This rebrand will continue to keep all of the apps that we use from G Suite, while better integrating them with new icons and interfaces. With Google Workspace, Google is simply moving to make work easier and more efficient. More information can be found on Google Workspace Updates.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee update

Thank you to all who attended the ASR DEI Quarterly Meeting on October 6th! Here’s a recap in case you missed the meeting. We updated attendees on what the ASR Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Committee has been working on recently, and we discussed communication methods for sharing information about work the committee is doing. We also asked for feedback on how best to engage ASR staff on DEI issues.

We appreciate all of the insight and suggestions that attendees provided during the meeting. If you are interested in joining (or continuing) the conversation, we welcome you to join the ASR DEI Community of Practice (CoP) and Google Group. In the Google Group, we will soon begin soliciting ideas for what to do with the remaining few hundred dollars of funding the ASR DEI Committee was awarded from our Campus Climate Micro Grant in January 2020. As always, feel free to reach out to your ASR unit representative if you want to learn more about the ASR DEI Committee.

ASR Staff Engagement Oct. 22 Survey

This week’s survey, developed to capture your thoughts as we continue to work remotely, is now available. Visit the October 22, 2020 ASR Engagement Survey/Quiz to submit your feedback.

October 8, 2020 survey results

What are the most Zoom meetings you've had in a single work day?

• 1-3 meetings (60%)
• 4-6 meetings (32%)
• 7 or more meetings (8%)

The most meetings in a day reported was 15, whew!

Which new collaboration tools /applications have you begun using since working remotely?

• Zoom breakout rooms
• Slack channels
• Chat

Working remotely costs employers less.

• True 55 %
• False 10%
• Maybe 34%

The article “Does working from home save companies money?” provides some interesting information. See if it changes your answer.

Working remotely costs employees less.

• True 50%
• False 13%
• Maybe 37%

According to the article “If you’re working from home, chances are you’ll save money,” the answer is true!

Update from Sue

I hope everyone is continuing to think about how to work effectively and productively as possible and taking time to stand and do a few of the exercises we learned from our ASR staff event. We have moved into the compact/budget cycle of the year, and we’ll be meeting with Vice Provost McMaster shortly to provide our thoughts to him. Keep in mind, we will not know anything about the budget until spring.

This week was our first open DEI meeting, welcoming anyone in ASR, and I heard many positive comments about the meeting. I do appreciate that we continue to think about how to serve our students, so thank you so much. Please continue to stay focused on our mission, vision, and values.

Coronavirus training

As a reminder, all staff are required to take the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Awareness training by October 26, 2020. This training is available to all faculty, staff, and student workers to communicate information on exposure routes, personal hygiene, exposure controls, and University policies and resources related to COVID-19. If you have any questions regarding the technical aspects of the training, contact training@umn.edu.

Spring break changes

For the spring 2021 semester, the Faculty Senate has voted to keep a five-day Spring Break as it is much needed by students, faculty, and staff. However, the dates have been moved to April 5-9. A decision on whether to change the post-Spring Break instructional modality has not been made yet, but will be discussed at a later date based on the progression of the pandemic.

UMN Community Fund Drive

Each year the University holds a Community Fund Drive to support important efforts that matter to us. There are many ways to give, including donating to charities, nonprofits, and on-campus fundraising events. Last year ASR participated in the fund by raising money for the Twin Cities Student Success Fund. If you would like to donate this year, more information about the fund and how to donate are available on the ASR website. Additional ways to give are also available on the 2020 Community Fund Drive page.

Academic Alerts project

Academic Alerts, which is replacing the mid-term grades process for undergraduate classes, recently went live for all instructors teaching an undergraduate class. The new process, part of the APLUS system, allows instructors to send feedback to each student and their advisor any time and as often as they need throughout the semester. Additionally, APLUS will support advisors by providing a broader view of how students are doing in their courses, at earlier points during the term.

ASR Staff Engagement Oct. 8 Survey

The next short survey, developed to capture your feedback as we continue our remote working arrangements, is available. Visit the October 8, 2020 ASR Engagement Survey/Quiz to submit your feedback.

September 24, 2020 survey results (top 3 results)

What's your biggest challenge for working from home?

1. 25% Unplugging after work (work life balance)
2. 17% Collaboration
3. 14% Taking your vacation

What do you think are managers' top 3 concerns regarding employee work from home?

1. Reduced Team cohesiveness
2. Employees overworking
3. Three way tie: Reduced employee focus, Reduced employee productivity, and Maintaining organizational culture

What do you miss most about not being on campus?

1. Each other: My colleagues, especially my team, co-workers and students, the variety and general connections, and interacting with folks personally
2. Places: Starbucks, Canes, and Surdyk's
3. Social Connections: Hallway conversations, going out to lunch, quick in-person collaboration, walk breaks on campus, and the campus vibe

If you are interested in more detail on how to overcome some of these identified challenges, check out the short article “The 7 biggest remote work challenges (and how to overcome them).”