Getting Started
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Welcome to UMass Dartmouth! Your expertise and innovation as scholars and teachers will play a vital role in shaping this university, and we are incredibly fortunate that you have decided to join our faculty. UMassD is a supportive and collegial community, and the OFD wants to help you make a smooth transition to your career. This section will help orient you to the campus and outline the tasks you'll need to accomplish prior to the start of classes.
New faculty orientation
In late August, the Office of Faculty Development and Human Resources offer a two-day New Faculty Orientation. This orientation will provide you an opportunity to meet each other, connect with other faculty and administrators, tour our campus, review benefits plans, and learn about faculty life at UMassD.
Human Resources will assist you with the initial details of your official faculty appointment, including information about payroll and benefits. Human Resources offers the following resources for new university employees, which may assist you as you begin your faculty appointment:
Basic needs
Before starting your first semester, there are a series of tasks you will need to complete to fully access all UMassD has to offer. These tasks are outlined in this Faculty New Hire Checklist . Here you will find information about everything from activating your UMassD email, UMass Pass, and parking pass to completing necessary employment paperwork and reviewing benefits plans. You may also wish to review the Academic Calendar, Faculty Handbook, and the Faculty Contract.
Your Office: To facilitate your move into your new office, contact your chair and/or departmental administrative assistant. An office key will be ordered for you; when it's ready, you can pick up at the Facilities Office located in Modular Building #2 (near parking lot 17).
Departmental Tenure Standards: All new tenure-track faculty hires at UMassD should have been provided a copy of your department’s Standards for Tenure and Promotion. Please check with your department chair to ensure you have this document.
COIN/Course Schedule: You should consult with your department chairperson about your teaching schedule if you do not know it already. Your course schedule and class roster will be available in COIN, which you can access by visiting https://my.umassd.edu and entering your login credentials. From there, click on “Quick Launch” and then “COIN for Faculty.” We will offer a brief COIN tutorial as part of new faculty orientation.
Textbooks and Materials: Textbooks and other materials for your courses must be requested through the UMassD Bookstore, and we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Please contact Kate Ellis at kbuck@umassd.edu to place your book orders. Please note that the bookstore uses a hybrid model, which means that books are not physically stocked in the store but rather ordered for student pickup. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind as you prepare the first two weeks of your courses: it is likely that some students won’t have their materials on the first day of class.
Syllabi: Please consult UMassD’s Omnibus Language for Syllabus as you prepare your courses and write your syllabus. We also encourage you to look at sample syllabi from colleagues within your department and college. The OFD also houses sample syllabi in the “Resources for Teaching and Learning” section of our website.
Laptops: All new faculty members will be provided with a UMassD laptop for university-related business. CITS will build your laptops as they arrive, and they will notify you when your laptop is ready with instructions for pickup.
Instructional Technology Support: Many of you may already be familiar with teaching online or blended classes or using an online course site to supplement your face-to-face classes. UMass Dartmouth's learning management system (LMS), “myCourses”, is supported by the CITS Instructional Development team. The MyCourses platform enables you to set up a separate course management site for each class you teach. Before you can do so, you must activate the course site by logging in at https://webapps.umassd.edu/mycourses/. Please visit this link for a quick tutorial on requesting and setting up your myCourses site. Course sites become available to students on the first day of classes.
Getting Acquainted: Find your way around our campus by using this interactive campus map and reading about our impressive location.