Simmons Orientation

Welcome to Simmons! In this section, you’ll find information on the following:

HR Orientation Process

Offer letter and signed contract
Contract letters must be approved by faculty in Workday. Please check your Workday inbox for a prompt to electronically approve your annual letter or adjunct appointment. If you have not received a prompt in your Workday inbox, please contact the COCIS Operations Specialist.

HR paperwork
New instructors must complete all HR onboarding paperwork, including the form I-9, before they can access Simmons resources. The HR contact is [email protected]. Once this process is complete, faculty will be given a username and password to access all their accounts (email, Workday, AARC, Moodle).

Simmons ID
A Simmons ID card is required to access buildings and classrooms and to use campus photocopiers. A Simmons ID card can be acquired remotely. A Simmons ID number, mailing address, and phone number are required on the request form; a headshot and scan of a government-issued photo ID need to be attached. The finished ID card can be picked up in person at Simmons Public Safety or mailed to a home mailing address. Employees picking up their cards at Public Safety will need to show the same government-issued photo ID they uploaded to the form.

Faculty will not be able to access classroom technology until their HR paperwork is complete and they have an ID card.

Workday

Workday is a cloud-based administrative platform that provides access to:

Benefits selections
Time entry and tracking
Accrued vacation and sick time
Payroll information, including payslips
Benefits enrollment and management
Editable personal and professional information
Emergency contact information
Email notification settings for important Workday actions
Requests for reimbursement

Workday Student
Workday Student is the student information system that replaces AARC/Colleague, and is accessed via workday.simmons.edu. Faculty can use the system to view their teaching schedules and rosters for the current semester, submit grades and view information on their current advisees. Program Directors may also view all class rosters and student records for their entire program.

The Registrar’s Office has created a series of tutorials for some of the most common functions, which may be found here. Faculty who have questions about Workday should contact the COCIS Operations Specialist.

People and Offices at Simmons

Simmons Employee Directory
Simmons Department and Employee Directory is available via web or the main line at 617-521-2000.

Simmons Administrative Structure

Public Safety

Library

Faculty Policies and Guidelines

Schedules and Calendar

Simmons Academic Meetings
These are posted to the COCIS and academic units’ unique Google Calendars. Faculty who do not see these meetings on their calendars should contact the COCIS Executive Assistant to the Dean.

Simmons Holiday Schedule

University Closing
For bad weather, pandemic, or zombie apocalypse.

Simmons Academic Calendar
The first day of Fall 2021 classes is Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
The first day of Spring 2022 classes is Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

Academic Support and Information

Faculty Resources
Faculty may find useful this electronic binder of Simmons resources, compiled by the Center for Faculty Excellence (access key: cet). The folder “Simmons New Faculty Orientation” includes information on the library, Accessibility Services, the Writing Center, and much more.

Center for Faculty Excellence
CFE collaborates with and provides structured support for faculty and staff across Simmons to design engaging and effective courses and curricula; apply innovative, evidence-based teaching practices; and build collaborative, inclusive, and equitable learning communities. CFE also supports the broader development of both full and part-time faculty, including some career-stage programming and support for faculty scholarship through writing programs.

Course Listings
Simmons Registrar maintains a master list of course offerings and classroom assignments. They can be found here.

Classroom Information
For information on standard and advanced classrooms at Simmons, please go here.

Simmons Internal
Simmons Internal is a Simmons University portal used to keep the Simmons community connected and informed. Through Simmons Internal, Faculty & staff can link to resources such as Fenway Card services, the campus room reservation system, and Workday.

Simmons course catalogs
Graduate and undergraduate course catalogs.

Undergraduate program information and major/minor requirements
Degree requirements for Simmons majors and minors, including programs in MCS and the School of Business.

Undergraduate program advising sheets
Worksheets listing the requirements for all undergraduate Simmons majors.

Ordering textbooks and accessing resources
Book orders and course packet information can be submitted to the Simmons Bookstore.

School of Business faculty using Harvard Cases/Simulations should go to http://hbsp.harvard.edu/ to sign up for Educator Access.

Faculty can access Library Services (or contact Simmons Librarian Linda Schuller at [email protected]).

Information Technology
IT at Simmons is responsible for computers, classrooms, phones, and overall technology support. Faculty can utilize online technology trainings or call 617-521-2222 for assistance.

Zoom
Simmons uses Zoom for video conferencing. New faculty should activate their accounts by logging in and adjusting their settings as soon as possible.

Simmons Google Suite
Simmons uses Google to power email, calendars, and shared storage (Google Drive). These can all be accessed through the Simmons Google Suite.

Moodle (Learning Management System) (SLIS courses only)
All faculty teaching Library and Information Science courses at Simmons have access to Simmons Moodle. Faculty who do not see their course(s) listed in Moodle should notify their Director. All course related materials should be posted on Moodle site at least 7 days before the start of the semester and should be visible to students. For instructions, use this link. Faculty can also utilize Moodle one-on-one ATsupport/orientation.

2U – Online Learning Platform (School of Business courses; Mathematics/ Computer Science courses)
For some programs on campus, including certain graduate programs and most recently, several undergraduate programs, Simmons has hired 2U, an educational technology company, to provide assistance with various aspects of the operation of these programs. Depending on faculty members’ teaching assignments, they may be working with 2U’s Learning Management System and/or interacting with 2U for technical support of course development and delivery.
Note: 2U Zoom accounts are accessed using Simmons email, but with “essentials” added to the address, e.g., [email protected].

Additional LMS support:
If you need any assistance editing your course shell or would like additional training, schedule a workshop for 1:1 training with 2U.
2U Technical Support Contacts:
– Chat: click on the Chat icon at the bottom right of every page of the Online Campus.
– Call: 833-715-0599
– Email: [email protected]

Student Advising – Starfish
Simmons uses a software tool called Starfish to help students succeed by keeping them informed and connected. Faculty and advisors can document student/advisor or student/faculty interactions. You can access Starfish here. For questions about Starfish please contact your Program Director

Committees

COCIS Committees Project