Your First Week

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

Book time sooner

Not heard from your ID? Email cetl@ndnu.edu and we will connect you.
Designing a new course? Start with your ID at least eight weeks before the term begins. The earlier you bring us in, the better the result.

Your first week

Most of this needs your NDNU login, and that is fine — the point is knowing what is coming so nothing surprises you. The exception is the People section: emailing your Dean does not require an NDNU address.

Three accounts

Your Program Director or Dean initiates account creation; OIT handles the technical side. If you have not been given credentials, that is the first thing to chase down.

  • NDNU email — Outlook / Office 365, at outlook.office.com. All NDNU business correspondence should use it, not a personal address.
  • Campus Portal — campusportal.ndnu.edu/ICS. Rosters, faculty resources, academic calendars. Bookmark it.
  • Canvas — ndnu.instructure.com. Your course shells typically appear closer to the term start date, so an empty dashboard in week one is normal. If a course is still missing a week out, email CETL or your Program Director.

Stuck? Call the OIT Helpdesk at (650) 508-3555 — staffed 24/7 for access problems. Not sure who to ask about something else? Your Instructional Designer will know.

The people to identify

Know each of these by name and email by the end of your first week:

  • Your Dean — signs off on hires, course loads, major decisions.
  • Your Program Director or Department Chair — assigns your courses, handles scheduling, answers most operational questions.
  • Your department administrator — rooms, supplies, mailbox, printers.
  • One or two faculty colleagues in your program. A coffee in your first weeks pays for itself many times over.
Do this today. Send a short introduction email to your Dean and Program Director from whatever address you have. Three sentences is plenty: confirm your start, ask whether there is anything they want you to know before your first class, and offer to schedule a brief intro meeting.

Campus

Register your vehicle before day one. NDNU no longer issues assigned parking passes — every employee and student must register a vehicle to park on campus. Do it now rather than in the lot on your first morning.
  • Faculty ID. Serves as identification, building access, and library card. Your Dean's office will tell you where to pick it up. Bring a photo ID.
  • Building hours. Exterior doors unlock at 7:00 a.m. If you have an office in Namur, Madison, or the Welcome Center and you are the last one out, you lock the front door.
  • Campus security. Public Safety is no longer provided by NDNU — security is managed by the campus property managers. Call 510-852-5877. For emergencies, 911 first.
  • Mailbox and printing. Your department administrator will show you both.

See also: Campus map (PDF) · Public Safety Information · Emergency Response Guide 2026 (PDF)

First-week checklist

  • NDNU email, Campus Portal, and Canvas logins all working
  • (SBM only) Confirmed which courses use Canvas vs. Cengage
  • Canvas profile photo, notification preferences, and Pacific time zone set
  • Dean, Program Director, and department administrator identified by name and email
  • Intro email sent to your Dean and Program Director
  • Vehicle registered for parking; faculty ID picked up
  • Campus security number saved in your phone: 510-852-5877
  • Faculty Handbook received, or you know how to get it
  • Asked about accreditation-specific course content requirements
  • Confirmed office hours expectations for your program

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