Ongoing Support
Your Instructional Designer
Every school has a CETL Instructional Designer. Yours will email you within your first week — you do not have to find us.
Business & Management
Felicia Harris-Foster
fharrisfoster@ndnu.edu
Education
Lia Schraeder
LSchraeder@ndnu.edu
Psychology
Kevin Zaragoza
kzaragoza@ndnu.edu
Tech trouble
OIT Helpdesk
(650) 508-3555 — 24/7 for access issues
helpdesk2@ndnu.edu
The offices behind you
The offices you will rely on all term, and what each one actually does.
These are the offices behind you once the term starts. You don’t need to memorize this. You just need to know these exist and roughly who does what.
For you
Your Dean and Program Director
Your Program Director is your closest working relationship at NDNU. They assign your courses, answer day-to-day questions about your program, and are the first person to tell about anything affecting your teaching: a schedule conflict, a class you can’t make, or a student situation you’re unsure how to handle.
Stay in touch rather than waiting for a problem. A short email at the start of each term, saying what you’re teaching and flagging anything you need, is worth more than a long one in week six. If you haven’t heard from your Program Director and your term is approaching, reach out first.
Your Dean handles school-level matters: teaching expectations, accreditation requirements, faculty meetings, and office hours expectations.
- School of Business and Management (SBM)
- School of Education (SOE)
- School of Psychology (SOP)
CETL — Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
You have a person, not an inbox. Your school’s Instructional Designer (Felicia Harris-Foster for SBM, Lia Schraeder for SOE, Kevin Zaragoza for SOP) is your standing point of contact for course design, Canvas, and accessibility. They will reach out in your first week and stay with you from there. Find yours.
Beyond your ID, CETL partners with faculty at four levels of intensity, from a quick question to a full eight-week course design partnership. If you are not sure who yours is, or you have a question that is not course design, cetl@ndnu.edu reaches all of us and the right person follows up.
- Collaborative Course Development — find the right level of support for your timeline
- Faculty Professional Development — learning communities, exemplary courses, teaching profiles
- Teaching with Technology — Canvas, generative AI, accessible content, the Video Studio
- Meet with an Instructional Designer
Designing a new course? Start with CETL at least eight weeks before the term begins. We can help on shorter timelines; the depth of the partnership just shifts.
Office of Information Technology
Accounts, email, Canvas access, Zoom, Wi-Fi, classroom technology, hardware.
(650) 508-3555 — staffed 24/7 for access issues · helpdesk2@ndnu.edu for tickets · Campus Center Lounge in person. See What to do if… for what is covered when.
Office of Information Technology
Human Resources
Payroll, benefits, contracts, policies, and the Employee Handbook.
hr@ndnu.edu · Toso Residence Namur · Employee Resources
Office of the Registrar
The Registrar owns official records and enrollment. You will interact with them more than you expect:
- Academic calendar — term dates, drop and "W" deadlines, holidays
- Grade reporting — final grades go through the Campus Portal at end of term
- Adds, drops, withdrawals — students must go through the Registrar, not you
- Incomplete contracts — when a student can’t finish the term
- FERPA — what student information you may and may not share. When in doubt, ask before you share; you can’t un-share.
- Catalogs — official course descriptions and program requirements
Office of the Registrar · FERPA and Student Privacy
For your students
Academic Success Center
Writing support, research help, speech consultations, academic advising, and career services. Included in tuition, online or in person, and available even after graduation.
It isn’t just for struggling students. Some of the strongest beneficiaries are capable students sharpening their work. You can send tutors your assignment prompt and rubric, and request a class visit or workshop.
Academic Success Center
asc@ndnu.edu · (650) 508-3530 · Campus Center 2
Disability Resource Center
The DRC determines and authorizes accommodations. Your job is to implement what has been authorized, not to evaluate documentation or decide what is reasonable.
Accommodations are not retroactive. If a student mentions a disability but has no letter, refer them to the DRC and follow up. If an accommodation seems to conflict with your course's essential outcomes, call the DRC rather than refusing.
TimelyCare
Free, confidential, 24/7 mental health support for every enrolled NDNU student. TalkNow connects them to a licensed professional in minutes, no appointment.
Most students do not know it exists. Put the link in your syllabus so they have it before they need it.
Gellert Library
Research support, databases, interlibrary loan, citation help, and study space.
Librarians will build a custom research guide for your course: curated databases, sample searches, citation help. It’s one of the most under-used resources at NDNU.