New Faculty Checklist
As a new faculty member at Elon, you are a valued member of the community who will influence students’ learning and their lives during your time teaching here. On this page, you’ll find a checklist of useful information to get you started as well as resources to support your teaching and work at Elon.
Your department chair and program assistant will also be excellent resources as you learn more about teaching at Elon.
Prior to Starting at Elon
- Submit New Hire Paperwork
- You are encouraged to fill out and submit new hire paperwork digitally, as soon as possible, so it can be processed in a timely manner. You’ll receive reminders through PageUp and can also find those on the HR New Hires page.
- Identification for the Employment Eligibility Verification, I-9 form must be presented in person at the HR Office (314 West Haggard Avenue) with your supporting documents on or before the start date identified in your letter of agreement.
- If you are a new part-time adjunct, limited term, or visiting faculty member teaching one or more undergraduate course, you can contact the Academic Affairs Deputy Chief of Staff (ElonCBA@elon.edu) or Union President Susan Ladd (sladd2@elon.edu or susan.ladd@gmail.com) or Vice President Mark Iwinski (miwinski@elon.edu or iwinski.mark@gmail.com) to request a copy of the collective bargaining agreement or with any questions about being in the bargaining unit.
- Set-up your Email Account
- After your paperwork is processed and your account is created, you will receive a “Welcome to Elon” email in your personal email account with instructions for activating your Elon email, resetting your password, and registering for Elon’s Duo multifactor authentication tool.
- After your email is set up, you can access your Elon email account, as well as Moodle, Elon’s learning management system (Learn more about email and Moodle).
- NOTE: If you do not see the courses you are teaching loaded in Moodle, please alert your Dean and/or Department Chair to make sure your courses have been assigned to you in the system.
- Your email log in will also give you access to OnTrack, where you will access your class roster, submit office hours and course grades, as well as find information about your salary, benefits, and annual contract. Learn more about OnTrack.
- After you’ve received your official Elon email address, be sure to share it with your chair and program assistant. You can also log into the Campus Directory to update your profile.
- Be sure to check your Elon email before the term begins for important information, such as summer emails with the full schedule of Planning Week and information about New Student Convocation.
- Get your Phoenix Card and Parking Pass
- Obtain your Elon ID, the Phoenix Card at the Phoenix Card Office.
- Take your new Phoenix Card to Campus Safety and Police to request a (free) parking pass. You’ll need to provide your vehicle registration information (year, make, model and tag number). You can plan to get both your Phoenix Card and your parking pass in the same visit, as these offices are located in adjacent buildings.
- Talk with your departmental program assistant or chair about logistics for your first week, such as:
- How to request an office key(s) and access campus phone, voicemail, and computer, or order business cards
- How to find your office, mailbox, and where to park
- How to print to departmental and other printers on campus and how to make copies of course materials
- How to order books for your courses through the Elon Bookstore or how to request interlibrary loans from Belk Library.
As You Prepare Your Courses
- Access relevant technology and resources on the www.elon.edu “Resources” menu:
- Moodle: the Learning Management System where you can post course materials and assignments. Learn more about Moodle through these tutorials.
- OnTrack: where you can access class rolls, post your office hours, view student photos, see your course schedule, and eventually, submit mid-term assessments and final course grades.
- Belk Library online system: where you can access the library’s holdings for your teaching and research, request office delivery of books, and Interlibrary Loans (ILL)
- The Academic Calendar (with important dates for the semester) as well as other helpful quick links to the university events calendars, the Directory, and Campus Maps
- For a more comprehensive overview of available technologies, visit the Faculty/Staff Technology Guide.
- Facilities Management site for submitting FIXit requests and key requests.
- Review “Responsibilities of Teaching Faculty” section of the Faculty Handbook (Required)
Everyone is expected to comply with the policies outlined in the faculty handbook and all full- and part-time teaching faculty must review relevant sections of the Faculty Handbook. Other important policies to review include:
- FERPA (Family Education Rights & Privacy Act)
- Frequently asked questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You can also learn more about accommodating a range of learning needs from Information for Faculty pages of the Disabilities Resources Office
- Discover other practical details about teaching at Elon, by:
- Review the current Faculty Handbook, which includes policies and procedures such as the Teacher-Scholar-Mentor statement, expectations of teaching faculty, Elon’s grading system, and where to submit mid-semester assessments and final grades
- Understand the Honor Code, and related processes
- Find resources to support student well-being, including how to share a concern with Student Care and Outreach
- Schedule a consultation with someone at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) or consult online resources on the CATL website.
- Your syllabus
- Ask your chair or program assistant whether there are sample syllabi on file you can consult as you fine-tune your syllabi. After your syllabus is ready, email a copy to your program assistant.
- Resources to support student learning to mention in your syllabus:
- the Writing Center
- the Koenigsberger Learning Center
- Academic Advising & Support
- Learning Assistance
- When and how to reach you for office hours, which should be posted online via OnTrack, in addition to on your syllabus.
- Religious holiday observance policy and observance notification form, where students who wish to observe a religious holiday in conflict with the academic calendar can request an excused absence.
- You may find these online resources helpful as you develop your syllabus:
- “Constructing a Learner-Centered Syllabus” (IDEA paper #60, 2016) pulls together research on the impact of a learner-centered syllabus that is well aligned with Elon’s model of engaged learning.
- Tulane’s Accessible Syllabus site, dedicated to helping instructors build a syllabus that plans for diverse student abilities
- Rice University’s Course Workload Estimator is a useful tool to help estimate the workload for your course as you plan.
The Week Before Starting
- Complete any required or encouraged training, including:
- Preventing Workplace Harassment Training (MANDATORY)
- Human Resources requires all faculty and staff to participate in an online training program That offers a convenient and practical way to help explain the types of behaviors and comments that may constitute sexual harassment. (LINK).
- RELATED TOPICS: Learn more about Title IX Policy and Mandatory Reporting and how to Report Bias.
- Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging online training (RECOMMENDED)
- The Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging module in the DIB suite is strongly recommended for all new Elon University faculty and staff. In this module and others in the DIB suite, you will explore concepts and strategies that build the necessary skills to actively contribute to an Inclusive Excellence work and learning culture.
- Security Awareness Training (MANDATORY)
- We all play an essential role in securing Elon University’s sensitive information. Every Elon employee is required to take information security awareness training each academic year. Visit the Information Security Awareness Training page to learn how to meet this requirement: Instructor-led, on-demand, customized group sessions, and other training opportunities are available.
- Kognito At-Risk: Mental Health Awareness and Intervention Training (RECOMMENDED)
- The Kognito At-Risk training is available to the entire Elon community to help create a safer and more supportive campus. This online training provides interactive role-play simulations that build awareness, knowledge, and skills to prepare faculty and staff to lead real-life conversations with students that promote resilience, strengthen relationships and connect them with support.
- Learn more about Elon’s culture of engaged learning and our commitments to Inclusive Excellence
- e-Alert: Register for Elon’s emergency notification system to receive emergency messages on your mobile phone or email.
- One last tip: Elon encourages users to change and update their passwords on a regular basis. Visit www.elon.edu/password to enroll in the system.
Once on Campus
- Learn about other resources & benefits
- If you have other questions about terms of employment, workers compensation, ADA accommodations or available benefits (including local discounts for Elon employees), talk with your department chair or visit the HR Guides, Policies and Procedures page, Benefits page, or the faculty handbook.
- Learn about exercise courses and facilities through the Faculty/Staff Wellness Health & Wellness Clinic
- Elon University presents a broad offering of academic and special programs every semester, and Elon employees can access tickets free of charge. Learn more here about Cultural & Special Events, including an updated calendar and the ticket platform.
- Build connections with students and colleagues
Elon provides free or reduced cost ways for you to connect with students or colleagues over coffee or lunch, through the following initiatives:
- College Coffee: This weekly campus-wide tradition, hosted every Tuesday from 9:40 a.m. to 10:20 a.m., typically on Phi Beta Kappa Commons, brings Elon faculty, staff, and students together to build community and develop friendships. Look for campus announcements emails with details each week.
- Take a student to lunch: up to five lunches in a dining hall with students are funded by the Office of the Provost and VP of Student Life during the fall or spring term (2 during winter term)
- Complimentary coupons funded by the Provost will take $2.00 off your lunch price at Clohan, Lakeside, or McEwen Dining Halls; pick up a coupon from your departmental program assistant and build community with other faculty and staff members over lunch.
- Take advantage of other professional development opportunities
- Belk Library: You can access the library’s holdings for your teaching and research, request office delivery of books, and ILL resources for teaching and scholarship. Questions can be directed to your department’s library liaison or the Ask Us text box on the home page.
- CATL: You are always welcome to attend any Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) workshops, to apply for certain grants, or to schedule a teaching consultation. You can find out more about CATL programs throughout the year on our website at www.elon.edu/teaching.
- Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) offers writing bootcamps, workshops and writing groups to help support your writing and to share best practices for teaching writing.
- Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) can help you with all things related to instructional technology. TLT provides support for Moodle and other software, consults with faculty about integrating technology into courses, facilitates seminars and events, and can help you create multimedia course components and learning objects. Find ongoing offerings at www.elon.edu/technology.
- The Office of Leadership and Professional Development provides a range of training and development resources.