After Hiring
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
Once hiring is complete, these are the systems you need working — roughly in the order you will need them.
Everything on this page needs your NDNU login. If your credentials have not arrived, ask your Program Director first — they initiate account creation — and copy helpdesk2@ndnu.edu.
1. Campus Portal
campusportal.ndnu.edu/ICS — bookmark it. Two things you will use constantly:
- Quick links to Canvas and your email.
- Course Schedule — everything essential about the course you are teaching: modality, student enrollment, meeting times. Grades are also reported here at the end of term, not in Canvas.
2. Email and Microsoft 365
OIT issues your NDNU email account and Microsoft Office 365 access. Sign in at outlook.office.com. Use your NDNU address for all university correspondence, not a personal one.
Forgot your password or locked out? Reset it here, or call the helpdesk — the phone line is staffed 24/7 for access problems.
3. Canvas
ndnu.instructure.com — same NDNU login as your email. Canvas is where your courses live.
Your course shells typically appear closer to the term start date, so an empty dashboard in your first week is normal. If a course you expect to teach is still missing a week out, email CETL or your Program Director.
School of Business and Management: some SBM courses use the Cengage platform instead of Canvas. Confirm with your Dean or Program Director which platform applies to each of your courses before you invest time learning the wrong one.
4. Zoom
Zoom does not come with your other accounts — you have to ask for it. Email helpdesk2@ndnu.edu to request access. Do this early if you are teaching online or hybrid; do not discover it the morning of your first session.
5. The academic calendar
Term start and end dates, drop deadlines, Withdrawal ("W") deadlines, and holidays. Check yours before you build your course schedule — NDNU runs a mix of 8-week and 15-week terms depending on the program.
6. Your syllabus template
NDNU maintains a syllabus template with the institutional policy language already written. Requirements vary by program — especially in programs with external accreditation.
STAFF NOTE — remove before publishing. The design document flags this as an open question: "Can we link to a OneDrive folder with syllabus templates for each program? Who is best point of contact to discuss in SBM and SOE?" Until that is settled there is no link to give. Current text routes people to CETL, which works but is slower than a link.
Your Instructional Designer has the current template for your program — ask them for it, and send them your draft for review before the term starts. Turnaround is usually within a week.
7. Your Instructional Designer
Your ID will email you within your first week. You do not need to request it.
Each school has a lead Instructional Designer from CETL. They will introduce themselves, help you get set up with your course template and shell, and provide Canvas training as needed. If you would rather not wait, email yours directly — that is what they are there for.
| School | Your lead ID |
|---|---|
| School of Business and Management | Felicia Harris-Foster fharrisfoster@ndnu.edu |
| School of Education | Lia Schraeder LSchraeder@ndnu.edu |
| School of Psychology | Kevin Zaragoza kzaragoza@ndnu.edu |
Email yours directly, or book a time on their calendar. The first meeting is free and commits you to nothing. Not sure who yours is, or not heard from anyone? Email cetl@ndnu.edu and we will connect you.
STAFF NOTE — remove before publishing. Confirm the three ID email addresses and that these school assignments are current. Also confirm the team can meet the first-week outreach commitment stated on this page — the site now promises it in several places, and a promise we do not keep is worse than none.
Your checklist
- Campus Portal login works — you can see your Course Schedule
- NDNU email works at outlook.office.com
- Canvas login works at ndnu.instructure.com
- (SBM only) You know which of your courses use Canvas vs. Cengage
- Zoom access requested from OIT (if you teach online or hybrid)
- You have checked your term's dates and deadlines on the academic calendar
- You have the current syllabus template for your program
- You have met, or booked time with, your school's Instructional Designer
- You have read What to do if… — before you need it