The Faculty Senate spoke on the upcoming transition from Okta to Microsoft and how to prepare the school for the change. They encouraged students to vote on election day and stated how faculty can facilitate the increase in student voters. Lastly, the Senate heard the second reading of six bills that passed during the meeting on September 10. 

Transition from Okta to Microsoft

The week of September 9, faculty and students should set up their multi-factor authentication (MFA) and self-service password reset factors. 

The week of September 16, the migration of the identity provider from Okta to Microsoft will begin and login.iastate.edu from the Okta app dashboard will change to the Microsoft app dashboard. 

“There is a large cost for having Okta and there is a security factor,” Amy Ward, the manager of Information Technology Systems, said. “The options available in Okta are becoming more and more limited for us as we are still paying the same price. There are more security factors and more availability with Microsoft.” 

There are now emails being sent out to students, staff and faculty about their MFA and self-service password reset options, including: 

• Authenticator Apps
  • Microsoft 
  • Google 
• Phone
  • SMS
  • Call
  • Office phone
• Secondary email address
  • Self-service password reset only

“I would just like to say thank you to you and your team for sending out those easy instructions today,” Sen. Aaron Wood, a professor in the department of the Earth, atmosphere and climate, said. “I was able to download Microsoft on the computer very quickly, move on and go on with my day. So thank you.”

Student Voters

National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) tracks which students nationwide are voting. It does not track who they are voting for, but which students based on their major, age, gender and other identifiers are making it to the polls. 

With the election approaching, the faculty wants to spread the word about voting at Iowa State. 

“Iowa State students are underperforming at the polls,” Karen Kedrowski, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, said. “In 2022, only 30.6% of Iowa State students voted according to NSLVE.” 

According to Kedrowski, common barriers to student voting include the following:

• Frequent moves
  • Requires re-registration 
  • New polling place 
• Unfamiliar with voting laws
  • First- or second-time voters
  • Moved from another state 
  • Misinformation or rumors 
• Voting absentee 
  • Unfamiliar with processes or deadlines
  • Lack of printer, envelope or stamp
• Election day 
  • Time 
  • Location
  • What to bring

Kedrowski suggests that faculty can help increase the number of student voters by:

• Encouraging students to download #CycloneVote2024 in their Canvas module 
• Directing students to the Catt Center’s voting page 
• For specific questions, emailing the Catt Center ([email protected])
• Making reasonable election-day accommodations 

Bills

Five bills were passed, all unanimously:

• Discontinuation Ph.D. Program in Rural, Agricultural, Technological and Environmental History
• Academic Dismissal Policy
• Addition of an undergraduate minor in Artificial Intelligence
• Discontinuation M.S. in Transportation 
• Academic Reinstatement Policy

The Sennate voted to delay the vote on one bill, B.S. in Integrated Health Sciences. The Senate later decided to vote on the bill, which passed with one no.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is slated for October 8.