New Faculty Onboarding: An Opportunity for Connection and Commitment

Abstract

The effectiveness of a college or university in onboarding new faculty has a major impact on its ability to integrate new instructors into the organization and sends a powerful message about the organization’s values. That onboarding process builds or undermines trust and can leave a lasting impression on the new employee. Unfortunately, the onboarding process in most organizations is poorly handled and new faculty are frequently given less than a week to prepare their courses and to learn the policies of their employer – a time frame that is far from adequate and that has a negative impact on teaching effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to identify the importance of the new faculty onboarding process and to identify ten recommendations for colleges and universities to improve their ability to prepare new faculty to be successful as new members of their academic community.