An effective new faculty orientation helps build connections between the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) and the faculty. It is important that junior faculty who are pulled in many different directions are given the opportunity to connect with the CLT early in their careers in order to make their teaching more engaging for their students and more rewarding to themselves.

In summer 2018, the CLT made a big change in the way new faculty receive information about the university. Historically, new faculty were overwhelmed with information and met many people during Binghamton’s day-long orientation. However, faculty often felt confused by the abundance of information provided on this day, which made the experience less impactful.

To supplement the face-to-face event, the CLT created an online New Faculty Orientation Organization. Similar to a course in Blackboard, this organization contains campus resources to help new faculty prepare for their career at Binghamton University in such areas as teaching, research, and student support services. The departments that are represented are important connections faculty will call on throughout their teaching career. By having the information located online in Blackboard, faculty are able to locate appropriate information or offices quickly. It saves time, and also helps educate faculty and build long-lasting professional connections. In addition, those faculty members who were not able to attend the day-long face-to-face orientation or those who start mid-year still have access to contacts and resources from the day.


Participants in this session will learn how the New Faculty Online Organization is structured at Binghamton, what campus resources it features, and how to begin planning a resource such as this for their campuses.