Why are fewer people riding public transit, and what do lower farebox revenues mean for state and federal government in their oversight and support of transit agencies? In an article published last year in the Municipal Finance Journal, our research team at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs developed some hypotheses for a possibly permanent decline in commuting: many workers became accustomed to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been hesitant to return to working in the office (Funderburg et al. 2023).

This month, we’ve been focused on using plus-one thinking to improve assessments and grading practices. In order to see the fruits of your labor, you’ll likely want to take a peek at your gradebook. But does your gradebook truly reflect the work you and your students are putting into these assessments?

Microsoft has released a new version of Teams, which provides improved speed delivering up to two times faster performance while using 50% less memory.

The new Teams has been an optional upgrade since last fall and will go into full production March 31. If you are not already using the new Teams, you will be automatically upgraded on March 31.

To upgrade prior to March 31, click the toggle in the upper left corner of Teams to switch to the new Teams.

Do you know an exceptional employee who deserves to be an "Employee of the Month"? Nominate them now!

If you are a University of Illinois Springfield employee, nominate someone for Employee of the Month. Upon submission:

Dillon Huber of Deland, Florida has been admitted to the University of Illinois Springfield for Fall Semester 2024 and awarded a $24,000 Star Scholar Award for tuition over four years.

The scholarship is awarded based on high school GPA and can be renewed for a total of four years if the student maintains college GPA requirements.

Huber will major in medical laboratory science and pre-medicine and play on the men’s baseball team.

Following graduation from UIS, he plans to further study and practice dermatology.