Budget Update

I remain so grateful, Colleagues, for the diligent efforts of our deans, department chairs and assistant deans, Rebecca Hasselblad, and you as faculty and AA staff, as we work to address our fiscal year 2022 Academic Affairs budget "to-solve," approximately $500K. The concentrated budget review and discussions regarding potential adjustments continue, along with our brainstorming about how to increase revenue in the short term and long term. During our meeting this past week, Rick Love, Ann Sorenson, and I discussed the ideas you generated at our recent faculty meeting. Some of the themes included certificate programs, gap year offerings, collaboration with other universities, marketing to faith-based international schools, continued use of blended courses, expanded partnerships with nursing homes, and continuing education programs. More information will be forthcoming as our efforts to reduce budget and increase revenue continue. 

Students Encouraged to "Keep Crushing It"

We have been blessed by the low number of COVID cases on campus this spring, which is not an experience shared by all schools or something we should take for granted during this season. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, students were sent a message of encouragement yesterday to keep "crushing" COVID on campus. This is something we all play a part in! Thanks so much for continuing to do your part in following good practices which prevent the spread of COVID-19 (such as wearing face coverings and face shields in their appropriate contexts). 

Now that Northwestern has been approved to be a provider of the vaccine, Health Services has begun planning for the time when we may receive a shipment for distribution to students. The student communication also introduced a COVID vaccine interest form to assist Health Services in gauging the level of interest for students who may wish to receive the vaccine in the future. 

Helpful Reminders

• All students and employees can receive a free COVID-19 test by scheduling an appointment with Health Services (651-631-5246).
• Zoom has many helpful features to support lecture capture and has recently added the ability to incorporate live auto-captioning in meetings. 
• Your feedback is valuable to Academic Affairs! If you have any thoughts to share about your experience teaching this spring, you are invited to share them through the anonymous feedback form.