Onboarding
Welcome to our Community
We hope the information below will help ease your transition into your new position.
Contacts
To get you acquainted with our department, you may want to introduce yourself to the following people:
Ms. Dena McEwan, Department Clerk (Chryst 108)
Dr. Nicole Pfannenstiel, Graduate Coordinator (Hash)
Dr. Bill Archibald, Director of the Writing Center (Chryst)
Ms. Michele Santamaria, Library Liaison for English (McNairy Library)
Ms. Marie Firestone, Instructional Design (McNairy Library, 5th floor)
- Dena can help with keys, copying, expenses, room scheduling, office needs, as well as other administrative needs.
- Nicole coordinates all of the graduate assistants, so you would want to talk with her about any needs for graduate assistants in your classes.
- Bill can connect you with resources from the Writing Center, like students coming into your classroom to help with peer editing.
- Michele can arrange for library activities (especially for English 110) or help you with needs for reserve materials.
- The Help Desk is the place to submit technical questions (they will be routed to Marie if they are about D2L.) Their extension is easy to remember: 7777.
- Marie can help you set up your D2L instructional environment and with D2L question
Parking
Parking is open after 4pm and on weekends. At other times you will need a parking pass.
Parking spaces with yellow lines are reserved for faculty members. You may also park in white-lined spaces. Faculty parking passes are free.
At certain times of the day, it can be difficult to find parking spaces close to the Hash/Chryst/Luek buildings. You should plan accordingly and be aware of other lots. There is a parking deck up Cottage Avenue.
If you are teaching at the Ware Center, you will be given a parking pass for the Prince Street lot so that you don't have to pay for parking downtown.
Resources
The copier is in Room 108, and you will have a unique code that Dena will provide to you to use it for copies. Please have Dena overview scanning and other aspects of the copier.
If you are using a textbook, you should provide the information to our textbook room. Nicole is a good connection if you are considering free online resources.
You should receive a Millersville email/login which will provide you access to D2L, MAX, and the Banner System. The Banner system is where you will be able to see your course lists, request D2L shells, submit Early Alert reports, and submit grades. You should login and peruse the system so you understand its use. You can access these systems through the myVILLE portal (Requires login). Other systems are available through the logins screen, including access to Office 365, Zoom, and a systems status page. It's a good idea to bookmark both of these pages for easy access.
Dena has access to previous syllabi used for your courses, so feel free to ask for sample syllabi. Guidance for the elements expected in a good syllabus can be found linked off our evaluation page. The learning outcomes for every course need to be on the syllabus somewhere (see links to sections on right menu).
For online courses, we suggest the Quality Matters criteria for effective course structure. The Instructional Designers at Millersville have created Template and Master shells to aid faculty in designing interactive, engaging courses where the course content takes primary focus. The most effective way to work through QM is to work directly with Instructional Designers to design your course using the Template or Master shell. Nicole Pfannenstiel and Justin Mando use this design in their ENGL 110 and are happy to share ideas and information.
Office Hours
For each 3-hour class, you should schedule 1 hour and 15 minutes of office hours.
“Teaching faculty members not defined as full-time, shall maintain a prorated number of office hours each week, at a minimum of twenty-five (25) minutes for each workload hour taught, at such days, times and locations as will accommodate the needs of the students.” (APSCUF Contract)
Events
Millersville has a number of events that can be integrated into your planning for classes. Please check out the university calendar and, in particular, the events calendar for ideas. English often has funding for tickets to the Ware Center and other local venues.
Evaluations
According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), tenure-track and temporary part-time faculty (TPTF) members are evaluated every semester, with a required observation, a committee evaluation, and a chair evaluation.
You will be required to submit a current cv and student evaluations; we suggest submitting a self-assessment. Tenure-track faculty and TPTF are evaluated on teaching, scholarship, and service, so please keep this in mind. Dr. Craven and Dr. Corkery can help with ideas for service.
Meetings, Grants, & Committees
Tenure-track faculty members are expected to attend departmental meetings, which occur Thursdays at 4pm in the library (5th floor). Tenure-track faculty members should serve on at least one standing committee (Curriculum, Evaluation, Literature, Writing Studies). Tenure-track members can serve on search committees. All tenure-track faculty are eligible for faculty grants and should apply to those grants for financial support for their research. After applying to faculty grants, faculty members should then ask the dean for financial support. Lastly, faculty members should ask the department for support for their research and conferences.
TPTF members are welcome at departmental meetings, on departmental standing committees, and at all departmental official and social gatherings, although they may not vote. In addition, TPTF members are eligible for faculty grants for conferences and other research needs. TPTF members may serve on departmental thesis committees (and this is a good service option).
Learning Disabilities, Auditors, and Integrated Studies Students
Students who have learning disabilities will have accommodations sent to you before the semester begins. These accommodations are sent on paper, so you will get them through the mail. Learning Services in Lyle can help you address any questions about learning disabilities accommodations. Sometimes they will ask you to identify a notetaker in class; this student is paid and should be an attentive student.
Auditors, including Integrated Studies students, may ask to take your class. You may choose to admit auditors or choose to deny admittance. Auditors may complete assignments and get feedback, but for Integrated Studies students the final grades are reported differently. If admitting auditors, you should make your expectations clear about expected participation in your class (attendance, assignments, moderated contributions, classroom conventions, group work, etc.).
Emily Baldys is the English Coordinator for Integrated Studies. If you need suggestions for teaching Integrated Studies Students, please contact her or program coordinator Jan Bechtel.
APSCUF Contract
You have certain rights and responsibilities guaranteed to you by virtue of the APSCUF contract. Please read the contract to ascertain what may be of benefit to you.