Welcome New Faculty

This page is intended to make your first couple of weeks at UCCS less stressful and more productive. The links below have been gathered on this page according to when you will need the information and where to go for it.

Teaching with Technology Showcase is August 13 - please join usbetween 9 and 4 pm  for a day of meeting people and learning about educational technology at UCCS.  Download this pdf for more information.

1. Essentials -- do these first!

HR Paperwork:

Sign contract, take oath (Colorado constitution), and most importantly, get your Employee ID number which is a six-digit number that you will use on official forms (including parking pass application below).

Faculty ID:

University Center Information Desk, located just outside of the bookstore. You need it for everything. If you join the credit union, ENT, you can use it as a cash card.

Parking pass:

Beginning August 23, all cars parked on campus must display a parking pass. Get it in the same place that you get your ID. An alternative to parking on campus (about $500/yr deducted from month paycheck) is to park in the Four Diamonds parking lot on N. Nevada and take the shuttle up the hill. Faculty who come to campus to teach only on certain days (M/W, for example) can get partial passes for those days.

IT Account, Email:

Your login ID is also your username for email, and they are automatically created when all of the HR paperwork has been processed. You will need this ID (which is your first initial and 7 letters of your last name) and password for logging into the classroom podium and any campus computer. It is also your Blackboard login. Tenure-track faculty and instructors will also be added to the online campus directory, but lecturers will not. For IT Help, call 719-255-3536 or helpdesk@uccs.edu. Their website has instructions for network access, configuring email, hardware recommendations, etc. http://www.uccs.edu/~helpdesk/

Computer access:

If you have a startup package, the computer setup should be arranged with IT by the departmental administrative assistant. If you don't have a computer in your office when you get here, come to the FRC and use our PCs or Macs.

Office/Keys:

  • Same as computer access, but you should check to make sure. Keys must be ordered by someone with signature authority.

Ordering books :

2. For the beginning of classes August 20-24:

Campus policies that you should include in your syllabus:

There are several required statements that should be inserted into your syllabus regarding students with disabilities and those serving in the military:

  • "Disabilities Services: Students with disabilities should turn in their disability verification letters within the first two weeks of class. For further information, contact Disability Services, Main Hall 105, 255-3354. For more information, see the Disability Services page.
  • "Military students: If you are a military student with the potential of being called to military service and/or training during the course of the semester, you are encouraged to contact your UCCS course instructor no later than the first week of class to discuss the class attendance policy. Please see the Military Students website for more information."

Also important:

Something to consider: Everyone using the campus lab printers must pay to print.

  • Please see the information about Pawprints (campus printing management system) and consider paperless grading (without a hard copy) via Blackboard or asking students to print their assignments double-sided, which is the default printer setting in the labs. If faculty or staff print in the lab, the printing cost per page will be charged to their department. Printers in faculty offices are supported by IT, but supplies and paper are purchased by the department.
  • Photocopies can be done through the departmental copier that takes a departmental code assigned by the administrative assistants.  Orders for many pages or large documents can be placed through the Copy Center. The Copy Center is in the University Center - email your files to them as attachments to be copied and picked up later.
  • Use Blackboard to post docs or pdf files and to collect assignments to avoid copying and handing out paper.

Blackboard: The campus course management system is Blackboard Learn 9.1.  See the FRC Blackboard pages for information. 

A couple of things to know about Blackboard:

  • Every instructor on the books for courses has a course shell created automatically, with the student registrations also uploaded automatically. Go to http://bb.uccs.edu and log in with your UCCS ID (same as your email name) and password. If you are "official" in the system, you will see your courses listed. If you do not see any courses, you are probably not yet in the system as the instructor of record. Contact your college Blackboard admin to be manually enrolled.
  • Save time by bringing your readings and other materials to the FRC for scanning or digitizing. You can post these in your Blackboard course shell.
  • In order for your students to access your course, you must make your course available to them. This is done within each course: go to the Control Panel > Customization > Properties and choose YES next to Make Course Available.
  • For training on the effective use of Blackboard, call the FRC at 255-4872 or go to our Calendar for scheduled training options.

Instructional Technology

UCCS IT Helpdesk: 

For technical assistance with hardware, email, UCCS campus network (wireless, VPN), or order software with academic licensing, contact the UCCS IT HelpDesk, helpdesk@uccs.edu, 719-255-3536, Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, located in ground floor of the El Pomar Center (under the clock tower), you can walk in for help.

Smart Classrooms:

Most of the campus classrooms are outfitted with a podium, computer, DVD/VHS player and ceiling mounted digital projector. To find out what your classroom will have, go to http://www.uccs.edu/~smartclassrooms/ and find the building on the left navigation. There are instructions for the podium equipment for each room/rooms that share the same configuration. To find the location of your classrooms, go to the Course schedule: http://www.uccs.edu/~admrec/courses.html. If you have other questions or need assistance with the technology in the smart classrooms, contact Andy Burkart, Smart Classroom Manager, at rburkart@uccs.edu or 255-4291.

Technology and some smart classrooms in Dwire Hall and Engineering are supported by college IT staff instead of campus IT. For questions, call College of Business IT (COBIT) at (719 )255-4440 or College of Engineering and Applied Science IT (719 255-3333.

Library information