The Simmons Bookstore is proud to introduce just-released apparel and mugs featuring the new Simmons tagline: Your Moment. Your Move. Your Simmons.
The bookstore also has new athletic wear, including shirts, pants, blankets, and banners.
Best of all, you can get t-shirts and hats for each Simmons team sport. It’s the perfect gift for athletes and their families, friends, and fans.
The bookstore is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 6:00pm, Saturdays from 10am-3pm, and online all the time.
Have you recently spent more than a few minutes composing an email to a colleague or fellow student, and then waited (and waited) for a reply?
Google Chat might be just what you need. Chat lets you connect with other people in a real-time conversation. It’s perfect for asking quick questions, planning a meeting, or having an “offline” conversation with someone rather than replying all to a group email. And wouldn’t everyone’s day be a little better with fewer emails?
When you’re logged into your Simmons email, the chat panel is in the lower left corner of your screen. If someone is available to chat, you’ll see a green dot next to their name. If they’re not available, they’ll receive your message as soon as they’re back online. Clicking on a person’s name will open a new chat window. You can use this space to talk, share links, and send images.
You can even add additional people to turn a one-to-one chat session into a Hangout with up to 15 participants. It’s just like a conference call, but without all the calling.
To find out more about using Google Chat, visit the help center.
Single-stream recycling has been around for a long time at Simmons, but we only recycle about 20% of the waste we create on campus. Let’s see if we can increase that percentage this year!
Here are some tips for what and when you can recycle:
For more information about recycling, sustainability, or Simmons’ efforts to create a green campus, please visit green.simmons.edu or contact Sara Smith at 617-521-2244 or [email protected].
This fall, THCS and Technology will roll out the newest module in Workday: Recruiting. The Recruiting module will bring the entire applicant-to-hire workflow online. Hiring managers will be able to record feedback from interviews, complete reference check forms, and track candidates through the recruitment process. In addition, the Recruiting module will provide reporting and analytics to aid managers in strategic decision making.
New Email Address for Recruiting Requests
THCS is asking that all new recruiting requests be sent to [email protected] during the implementation of the Recruiting module. This email address is monitored by several staff members to ensure that THCS can respond to your request in a timely fashion and that all requests are cataloged and resolved.
The Simmons College Emergency Response Team (SCERT) is proud to announce the second-annual Simmons Safety Week.
From October 19th-23rd, SCERT will sponsor events, safety drills, and communications to provide the community with the information you need in the event of an emergency on campus.
Look for an email from the SCERT team with event dates, times, and locations. You can also find more information on digital signage and social media.
Over the last year, Simmons Technology has completed significant upgrades to media equipment in classrooms across campus. In each of the rooms listed below, you’ll find a placard located near the lectern or podium with information on how to operate the equipment. Technology also provides an up-to-date list of available classroom equipment and configurations for your reference.
If you will be teaching in any of the following classrooms, Technology can provide assistance and brief trainings on using the new equipment. Please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222 if you would like to schedule an appointment.
Upgraded Classrooms
Technology Improvements
A Note about VCRs and VHS
In today’s media environment, the VHS tape format is becoming increasingly difficult to support. Like many other schools, Simmons has stopped deploying VCRs and the library no longer purchases any materials in VHS format. For faculty who use VHS tapes, Library staff can research whether your content is available in a newer format (DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming).
If you have any questions about these changes or about classroom media equipment in preparation for the fall semester, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.
If last winter brought with it a lasting lesson, it’s that we need to be prepared for emergencies of all kinds and the effects they could have on our campus.
As part of that ongoing effort, the Simmons College Emergency Response Team (SCERT) took part in an emergency preparedness seminar with other schools and hospitals in the area. More than 100 participants met at Simmons to discuss and plan a response to a Category 3 hurricane. The SCERT team worked with local and state agencies to map out coordinated communications, evacuations, continuity of operations, and recovery strategies.
The Simmons team shared their plans with other institutions throughout the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and worked with representatives from the Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police, MassDot, Eversource, and the National Weather Service to learn more about coordinated response efforts.
In addition to planning and exercises, Simmons benefits from our participation in MASCO’s Joint Operations Center which coordinates resource deployment during emergencies and provides a link between the College, other local institutions, and local, state, and federal emergency management agencies. This strategy reduces response times and provides the necessary infrastructure to keep the campus safe and functional during an emergency.
Being prepared means planning for and mitigating the effects of disruptions caused by a range of natural and human-made emergencies. Simmons is committed to constant planning and testing in preparation for whatever might come our way.
Making the campus sustainable and environmentally friendly is a significant focus for our Buildings & Grounds team. As part of this effort, they worked with our janitorial vendor, DTZ, to change all of the trash bags on campus to the greenest bags currently available, making Simmons the first and only college in the area to take this step.
The new bags, provided by Revolution Bag, contain up to 95% post-consumer recycled content, a stark contrast to the bags used previously, which contained only 10% pre-consumer recycled content. Each bag is made of resin that was once used in irrigation tubes for farming. The same company that makes the tubes then collects them, recycles them, and manufacturers new bags from the recycled materials. This process creates a closed loop, leaving behind no materials used in the original manufacturing process.
In addition to being an environmentally conscious product, the bags are also stronger and more durable, making them safer for our janitorial staff to handle. Another added benefit is cost savings: the new bags are less expensive and Simmons will use fewer throughout the year.
This is just one step in an ongoing effort to reduce waste and shrink our environmental impact across campus. To find out more about sustainability efforts at Simmons, visit Green Simmons. If you’re interested in getting involved or sharing new ideas for greening the campus, contact Sara Smith.
Earlier this summer, the Simmons College Police Department was awarded state Certification from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. The Commission honored Chief Sean Collins and members of the department for their commitment to a set of more than 160 established standards and policies that guide professionalism and delivery of police services to their constituents.
The Simmons Police Department joins an elite group of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts, only 22% of which have certification or accreditation. Taking this step promotes accountability and provides independent, external validation of their policies and procedures.
Certification is a self-initiated process focused on policy development, emergency response planning, training, and communications. These skill sets are an integral part of the team’s dedication to the safety and security of everyone on campus.
In addition, this effort reinforces the department’s commitment to professionalism and transparency in service to the Simmons community, and reflects the important role the department plays in the Simmons experience.
When searching for a real-world scenario to use in a class project, sometimes the best option is just across campus. That was the case during the Spring 2015 semester for students in Professor Gerry Benoit’s Systems Analysis in Information Services course.
Throughout the semester, students worked with members of the Technology department to conduct an analysis of our current identity management platform and make suggestions for a more efficient solution.
Dave Bruce, Senior Director of Technology Services, asked the students to focus on identity management because it is an integral component of our infrastructure that integrates with many of the services we support. Identity management presented the students with a complex system that required both a detailed investigation of processes and a macro-level understanding of functionality.
Professor Benoit guided students throughout the semester as they conducted a professional-level analysis. Students were divided into groups, each handling a different aspect of the project. This approach mirrored what they will encounter in professional settings, where the ability to work with other teams to achieve results is as important as individual contributions.
The students researched and studied the system, worked with the Technology to gather requirements, and created prototypes, leading to the development of a portfolio of their research, findings, and recommendations.
As computing and information science change rapidly, Professor Benoit noted that it is vital that students across a range of technical and business disciplines have a deep understanding of systems and user needs so that they are “able to participate in the larger discourse about how to use computing to fulfill real-world information needs.”
That objective was evident in the project itself. A student in the class added that computing courses often “focus on teaching you how technology is supposed to work in a perfect world where no one makes mistakes. This class really helped me understand how to anticipate and navigate pitfalls in a live project.”
In this one project, it is easy to see the value of collaboration in fostering innovation at Simmons. Our students, faculty, and staff bring a wealth of knowledge to campus. Creating opportunities to share that knowledge directly contributes to the long-term success of the College.
As Professor Benoit pointed out, “the idea that collaboration is possible on campus is brilliant and wonderful!” We couldn’t agree more.