DePauw Student Government (DSG) hosted its final general assembly of the fall 2023 semester yesterday, Nov. 28. Vice President of Student Life Vy Nguyen ‘24 opened the session, introducing Chief Information Officer Carol L. Smith as guest speaker to discuss cybersecurity at DePauw. President Paige Burgess ‘25 and Vice President of Allocations Madison Montero ‘25 offered executive updates. Similarly, Vice President of Academic Affairs Molly Venus ‘25 shared a presentation about changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. 

Information Technology and Cybersecurity at DePauw 

The session began with Smith, who presented on Informational Technology at DePauw before answering questions and concerns regarding the recent cybersecurity incident. She explained that investigations into the incident are ongoing, and that DePauw remains limited in what details it can share. 

“There was a limited amount of data that was potentially exposed,” Smith shared. “The individuals whose information was involved in that have specifically been informed individually.”

Smith also stressed that DePauw has experienced a cybersecurity incident and not a cybersecurity breach. According to the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, an incident is “a security event that compromises” data and personal information. A breach, on the other hand, is “an incident that results in the confirmed disclosure” of this information. Smith explained that while DePauw’s data and information has been compromised, there is no evidence that it was disclosed. 

Plan to Implement Workday 

As her presentation concluded, Smith also announced a new change to some DePauw administrative systems, including eServices and ADP. A new system called Workday will replace these systems, along with Navigate and PowerFAIDs. Implementing Workday requires DePauw to follow a four-year project plan, meaning that Workday will be fully integrated into DePauw’s systems in 2026. Students will likely have access to Workday starting in mid-to-late 2024. 

Executive Updates

Following Smith’s presentation, Burgess took the podium to share DSG updates, which included the following: 

  • DSG is currently working with the deans of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Creative School, and School of Business Leadership to work with student organizations that align with their schools respectively. 
  • In response to the financial burden many students experienced during the Wi-Fi outages, DSG hopes to work with DePauw to provide students reimbursement for unused swipes and surplus data.
  • Alongside the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, DSG continues to advocate for support groups for DePauw students of color. Burgess noted that one concern was the lack of DePauw therapists who identify as people of color.
  • After communicating with Facilities Management, DSG has confirmed that Facilities does regularly check campus buildings for mold. Students are encouraged to report any mold that they find to Facilities. 
  • Finally, DSG announced that students can email idcard@depauw.edu with any concerns about personal information they would like hidden from DePauw’s public records. Burgess noted that this is especially helpful for transgender students or students who have changed their names who would like their former names hidden. 

Montero then presented on allocations and finance, happily announcing that DSG has returned to the sustainable operating limits after several months in the negatives. DSG’s total spending for the semester was $49,602.22, with $40,124.85 remaining. This leftover $40,000 will roll over into the next semester. 

Changes to Federal Financial Aid 

Venus concluded the assembly by sharing information about changes to the FAFSA form. More information about these changes is available here. DePauw intends to address these changes by reevaluating student need-based aid. DePauw Financial Aid will also communicate with students regarding these changes and tips on how to manage them.