New CU Faculty Guide gathers resources in convenient spot
By the Faculty Council Communications Committee
Ever wonder where to get a headshot, if you can access another campus’s library, what an APS is, or how to get media coverage of your research? The University of Colorado Faculty Council (CUFC) is excited to help you easily find those answers through the new CU Faculty Guide.
The idea for the multi-campus, systemwide, updated Faculty Guide emerged when CU Employee Services asked the Faculty Council Communications Committee (FCCC) for advice on reaching faculty about their programs and resources. To respond to their request, committee members solicited faculty input, both informal (conducted polls with colleagues) and formal (collected data via an electronic survey from faculty and paper surveys from Faculty Assembly members on each campus).
Through this outreach, we discovered that faculty members already were satisfied with communication from Employee Services. What they really needed was an easy way to get answers to so many other questions, from the mundane (booking a room for an official event) to the crucial (finding primary unit tenure criteria).
Over a 24-month process, we scanned the campus and system websites for existing information on a wide range of topics identified through our research. Much of the information already exists, but it is scattered across department website pages that may not be easily identified, and the location varies by school, college and campus.
The Faculty Guide now hosts links grouped into eight main areas; 1) System Administration and Faculty Governance, 2) External Relations, Communications and Media, 3) Faculty Administrative and IT supports, 4) Human Resources, 5) Research Support, 6) Teaching, 7) Student Resources, 8) RTP and Sabbaticals, and 9) Regent Policy and Academic Policy Statements.
To make the guide appealing and easy to use, we worked with a graphic design student in the College of Arts and Media at CU Denver, Gabrielle David, who designed the image and visual identity, and Jonelle Henning, the Faculty Council administrator, who designed and built the website.
Check it out, and let us know what you think! Please note that it is not a comprehensive collection of all information and policies, but we hope it is a helpful collection of resources most commonly of interest. And please let us know if something is missing or a link is not working by emailing facultycouncil@cu.edu. The FCCC will be auditing the site each year to ensure it is current and accurate.