We have been on lockdown for almost 6 months now, so some jocund levity seems very much in order. Behold, the Rocky Horror Picture Show Interactive Arts Update is at your disposal! Get your newspapers and rice ready, top up your squirt guns, and put your toilet paper roll on launch control. This edition is designed to be hyperactive, interactive, and radioactive: Click here and Let’s do the Time Warp today !  

Lost in time, and lost in space… of marking: Final grades need to be submitted three business days after the final exam date (or three days after the final class if there is no final exam). If you have missed this important deadline, please let your Associate Dean know as soon as possible when you will submit your outstanding grades. All grades and Incomplete contracts must be submitted by August 26th at the absolute latest. Violating this deadline can have serious consequences for students and places the institution at risk of missing Ministry-mandated commitments. Please do your utmost to submit the grades in a timely manner. 

It’s just a jump to the left! And then a step to the right! As you prepare for September, the KPU Library is at the ready! The Library can 1) scan chapters from print books or supply direct links to online books from within the Library collection. 2) create direct links to online articles from our research databases or provide scanned copies of articles from our print journal collection. |Search databases now| 3) Create links or embed codes for streaming videos from our collection that you can include in your course site. |Search for streaming video now| 4) Help you find Open Resources in your teaching area for your course site. |Find open resources now| 

With your hands on your hips, you bring your knees in tight! Student Services has compiled a list of resources to support students’ mental health and wellness, especially as students cope with the ongoing stresses and challenges of the pandemic.  You may want to share these attached resources with your students by including them on your course presentations and Moodle sites. 

The Rocky Covid Course Presentation Template: Next week we will debut a template with Covid-related information and considerations you may want to incorporate into your fall semester syllabi.    

So, you shiver with anticipation: Closing time is fast approaching for Educational Leave applications. The last call is much earlier than in previous years!  For Ed Leaves that will begin between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, completed applications and letters of support need to be submitted by October 31, 2020 (This extended October deadline is a variance for this year only.)  If you are a faculty member with more than two years of accrued full-time equivalency, you may want to consider applying. The revised application guide and submission form are here.   

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey:  In anticipation of the next academic year, the Nominations and Governance Committee is seeking faculty willing to serve on several committees, including: 

Senate Standing Committee on the Library 1 x Senator or Faculty representative 
Senate Standing Committee on Program Review 1 x Senator or Faculty representative 
Senate Standing Committee on University Budget 1 x Senator or Faculty representative 
Senate Subcommittee on Writing-Intensive Courses 2 x Senator or Faculty representative 
If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please complete the NGC Arts Committee nomination form, here. Applications will begin being reviewed on a rolling basis with decisions anticipated by the end of the first week of September. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Larsen 

But it’s the pelvic thrust, that really drives you insane: “IT and Teaching & Learning have been working together to ensure faculty and students have remote access to software that is normally provided on campus to support remote course delivery. We have two platforms through which software can be deployed: Citrix Workspace and AppsAnywhere. In order to determine which platform, you need depending on the software, please review this chart on the IT website. Note that these tools are licensed based on departmental requests for specific courses and sections and have limits on the number of concurrent users at one time. As a result, you will not be able to use tools that your department has not requested. Please also ensure your students have the information on downloading required tools for your course. The instructions for accessing Citrix and AppsAnywhere software are provided for faculty and for students on the IT website. For assistance please submit a request through the IT portal. 

There’s a light in the darkness of everybody’s life: The last push to submit final grades in preparation for the fall semester is upon us. Just put yourself in mind of a scene from the Picture Show, click here to cue the soundtrack, and let the weekend carry you away.

Diane, Shelley, Greg, Wade