FASN HANDBOOK FOR NEW FACULTY
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Who We Are and What We Call Ourselves ......................................................................................................................... 3
Our Students ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Settling In ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Faculty Handbook ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Catalog ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Campus Map............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Photo ID .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Transportation and Parking................................................................................................................................................... 4
Benefits ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Payroll and Direct Deposit..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Net ID and E-mail ................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Ethics ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Faculty Meetings ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Department Meetings ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Service ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Tenure and Promotion ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Rutgers Faculty Survey .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
International Faculty ............................................................................................................................................................... 6
Teaching ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Academic Calendar ................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Cancellation of Classes ........................................................................................................................................................... 7
Course Numbers ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Class Periods ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Special Permission Numbers ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Enhanced Classrooms............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Blackboard................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 2
Book Orders ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Photocopying ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Library Reserves ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Syllabi ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Papers ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Exams ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Rutgers Learning Center and Writing Center ................................................................................................................... 11
Academic Integrity................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Classroom Management....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Counseling Services .............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Attendance ............................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Course Evaluations ............................................................................................................................................................... 13
Class Rosters and Grading ................................................................................................................................................... 14
Summer and Winter Sessions .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Research ...................................................................................................................................................... 19
Sabbaticals .............................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Competitive Fellowship Leaves .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Travel Support ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Research Support .................................................................................................................................................................. 19
FASN Grant Support ............................................................................................................................................................ 20
Libraries .................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
On Campus—and Off ............................................................................................................................... 22
Public Safety........................................................................................................................................................................... 22
The Paul Robeson Campus Center ..................................................................................................................................... 22
Recreational Facilities ........................................................................................................................................................... 22
Cultural Activities ................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Food and Coffee .................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Campus Shuttle ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Child-Care .............................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................. 24
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 3
Overview
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Rutgers–Newark! If you’re returning, we’re delighted to welcome you back (and much of this
information will be familiar). If you’re new to our College, we’re very pleased that you’re joining us. We hope that
you find this a rewarding place to teach. We’re always happy to assist you, and you should certainly come to us
when problems arise, but we hope this guide will answer your most pressing questions.
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE CALL OURSELVES
The nomenclature at Rutgers can be confusing. We are the Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Newark, or FASN, a unit of
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. We are the faculty for two colleges, the Newark College of Arts and
Sciences (NCAS) and University College (UC), and we teach many classes in the Graduate School–Newark. FASN
has seventeen academic departments and four academic programs, and offers BA, BS, BFA, MA, MS, MFA, and
PhD degrees in nearly forty subjects.
There are five other colleges on the Newark campus: the Rutgers Business School (RBS), which also teaches courses
in New Brunswick; the School of Criminal Justice; the School of Law; the College of Nursing; and the School of
Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). In your undergraduate classes, depending upon the subject, you may
have students from Business, Criminal Justice, Public Administration, and Nursing. All undergraduates except
those in Nursing take their core classes in FASN. Your class rosters may also include students from the New Jersey
Institute of Technology (NJIT), located across Martin Luther King Blvd.
Rutgers, a research-intensive university and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), has
campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, and Camden, New Jersey. The entire system comprises 27
degree-granting schools and colleges, serving 58,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. About
11,000 of those students are based here in Newark. FASN, with more than 180 full-time faculty, is the largest faculty
on the Newark campus; in terms of the number of students served, it is second only to the School of Arts and
Sciences in New Brunswick in the entire Rutgers system.
Most of the administrative functions you’re likely to deal with are carried out on the Newark campus. On rare
occasions you may have to call or e-mail an office in the central administration, based in New Brunswick.
More Information:
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/schools-and-colleges
OUR STUDENTS
Our students are famously diverse—not only in ethnicity but in cultural backgrounds, languages, experiences, and
preparation—and they can be exceptionally rewarding to teach. Like most state university students, though, they
are sometimes not as well prepared for college as we would like. Although we have dorms on campus, nearly
three-quarters of our students are commuters, and most work outside of school—some full-time—which places an
added burden on them. At the same time, most are proud to be in college and genuinely eager to learn. Those who
struggle usually lack not the desire to succeed but the skills. As a rule, they respond well to good teaching, and they
can be enormously grateful for it.
If you’re an experienced teacher, you will already have your own teaching strategies, which may serve you well or
may require some adapting for our student body. If you’re new to teaching, first-time teaching is both scary and
exhilarating. At the end of the semester, we would be happy to hear which strategies have worked for you.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 4
Settling In
FACULTY HANDBOOK
The Rutgers University Faculty Handbook, which describes in detail the history and organization of the University,
its policies and procedures, and faculty benefits and programs, is available at http://facultyhandbook.rutgers.edu/.
CATALOG
The Rutgers–Newark Undergraduate Catalog for 2011–13 includes detailed information on academic programs,
policies, and procedures, and is available at http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nwk-ug_current/.
CAMPUS MAP
An interactive campus map, showing all the academic and administrative buildings, as well as parking lots and
connections to public transportation, is at http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/masstransit/.
PHOTO ID
In order to obtain an identification card, bring a government-issued photo ID and an original signed, hard-copy
letter from your department chair to the Photo/Permit Office on the 3rd floor of Blumenthal Hall, 249 University
Avenue, during business hours (Monday–Friday, 8:30–4:30).
More Information:
http://newarkbusinessoffice.rutgers.edu/photo.htm
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
The campus is well served by public transportation. Both Penn Station and Broad Street Station are nearby, each
about a twenty-minute walk from campus, and the immediate area is served by New Jersey Transit buses and the
Newark Light Rail. (The Light Rail is usually the easiest way to get from Penn Station to campus. Be sure to
validate your tickets before boarding; though they rarely check, you’ll face a $100 fine if they catch you without a
stamped ticket.) A free, twenty-four-hour campus shuttle runs from Penn Station Newark (see below). The campus
also hosts a carpooling program.
Should you require parking, please contact your department’s administrator, so your information can be recorded
on the department’s allocation list.
More Information:
http://nwkparking.rutgers.edu
http://nwkparking.rutgers.edu/carpool.html
BENEFITS
Human Resources provides detailed information on compensation; medical, dental, and prescription plans;
retirement plans; administrative leave, family leave, sick leave, and bereavement leave; and tax-saving public
transportation plans.
More Information:
http://hr.newark.rutgers.edu/HRN/benefits.html
http://hr.newark.rutgers.edu/newarknewemployeechecklist.htm
PAYROLL AND DIRECT DEPOSIT
You can use the employee self-service functions on the Rutgers Integrated Administrative System (RIAS) to enter
your W-4 information, set up direct deposit, and view paychecks. Your department administrator can help you.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 5
More Information:
http://payroll.rutgers.edu/
http://rias.rutgers.edu/trainingess.htm#ess
NET ID AND E-MAIL
Once you are entered into the payroll system, you can activate your Net ID and e-mail account. You’ll need the Net
ID to use most online resources throughout the University.
You can activate your Net ID and e-mail account from any computer, including those in the Rutgers Computer
Labs (see http://ncs.rutgers.edu/labs). Go to https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/cgi-bin/makeacct for detailed
instructions. Keep in mind that your password must include at least one uppercase letter, at least one lowercase
letter, and at least one numeral or punctuation mark. If you have a problem creating your account, call the Help
Desk at 973-353-5083.
When you activate your Net ID, you automatically create an e-mail account on the campus server,
andromeda.rutgers.edu. You will also have the opportunity to create a ScarletMail account, powered by Google’s
Gmail. Some departments also have their own servers; ask your department administrator about this.
You are free to use any e-mail account you like, but be sure to register it at
https://rats.rutgers.edu/allusers/manage_netid.cgi to receive essential communications. Once your Net ID is
activated and your preferred e-mail address is registered, you will be added to college mailing lists for
announcements. Contact your department administrator about inclusion in departmental mailing lists.
Refer all questions about IT—including desktop support, networking, e-mail clients, and account management—to
the Newark Computing Services Help Desk at 973-353-5083 or help@newark.rutgers.edu.
More Information:
http://ncs.rutgers.edu/
http://oirt.rutgers.edu/res/facultyfi
http://ncs.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/files/FacultyStaffTechGuide.pdf
ETHICS
As employees of a state university, we have a particular obligation to adhere to the highest ethical standards. A
plain-language guide to ethics at Rutgers can be found at http://ethicsru.rutgers.edu/PlainLanguageGuide.htm. You
should familiarize yourself with these policies. You will be required to complete an online training session shortly
after your arrival at Rutgers. Each year thereafter, you will be required to fill out and submit two forms: the Faculty
Outside Employment form, in which you disclose income from activities performed outside the University in other
than scholarly capacities; and the Annual Disclosure Form for Payments and Expense Reimbursement from NonUniversity Sources for Acting in a “Scholarly Capacity.”
More Information:
http://ethicsru.rutgers.edu/
FACULTY MEETINGS
Meetings of the full Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Newark are typically held twice a semester. You are expected to
attend and sign in on arrival.
DEPARTMENT MEETINGS
Departments schedule meetings at their own discretion; see your department chair for information. You are
expected to attend all department meetings.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 6
All meetings of FASN departments take place on the Newark campus. Although FASN is part of the larger Rutgers
University, departments on each campus are independent: Newark faculty are generally not members of
departments in New Brunswick or Camden, and vice versa.
SERVICE
Departments will have expectations about advising and other service, and we want all faculty to be active members
of their department, but junior faculty should be protected from the more burdensome service requirements. There
are also a number of college-wide faculty committees, but you are not expected to serve on them in your first
several years as an untenured faculty member. It is unwise to get overextended with service commitments.
TENURE AND PROMOTION
Dean Jan Lewis and Dean Sallie Kasper will hold a meeting for all new tenure-track faculty this fall to discuss
tenure, promotion, and related issues. They will describe the University’s research, teaching, and service
expectations, describe the timetable and procedures, and give you the opportunity to ask questions. If you have
questions or concerns at any time, feel free to contact the Office of the Dean.
RUTGERS FACULTY SURVEY
The Rutgers Faculty Survey is the University’s primary instrument for collecting the scholarly, creative, and service
activities of the faculty. The Faculty Survey provides a single point of data entry that allows you to use the data for
a variety of university reporting needs, especially academic appointments and promotions. If you enter new
information routinely—for example, every time you publish something, give a paper, or get a grant—you’ll find
assembling this information for tenure and promotion much easier.
More Information:
https://surveys.rutgers.edu/facsurv
INTERNATIONAL FACULTY
By now, you should already have talked with your chair and department administrator about your immigration
status. Dean Sallie Kasper, sakasper@andromeda.rutgers.edu, handles immigration for our faculty with great skill.
If you have not done so already, make an appointment with her at your first opportunity to discuss the important
and timely immigration issues related to your future employment at Rutgers.
More Information:
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/international-faculty-resources
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 7
Teaching
ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The University Academic Calendar is at http://scheduling.rutgers.edu/calendar.shtml. Pay particular attention to
the section on “Changes in Designation of Class Days.” In order to ensure all classes have the same number of
meeting days, the University rearranges the teaching schedules a few days each semester: classes that usually meet
on a Thursday, for instance, may meet on Tuesday during Thanksgiving week. The specifics change from semester
to semester. This is a perennial source of confusion for both faculty and students. Be sure to take these changes into
account when you design your syllabus, and remind your students as the newly designated days approach to
ensure everyone attends.
CANCELLATION OF CLASSES
The University rarely cancels classes because of inclement weather. There are instances, however, in which
especially adverse and hazardous weather conditions make it impossible to travel and to conduct academic
activities at the campus. On those occasions, the campus status will be posted on the Rutgers–Newark Website,
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/. Announcements will also be made over the following local radio stations: WABC,
WCBS, WMCA, WOR, WMTR, WDHA, WERA, WBGO, and WCTC.
If you are ever obliged to cancel a meeting of your own class, announce it to students as early as possible, in person
if possible, and certainly through Blackboard. You should make up any missed classes, but bear in mind that
students’ schedules make it difficult to plan meeting times.
More Information:
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/campusstatus/
COURSE NUMBERS
All Rutgers courses have a four-part number, consisting of a two-digit school code (21 is the Newark College of
Arts and Sciences, 26 is the Graduate School); a three-digit subject prefix (120 is Biology, 352 is American Literature,
988 is Women and Gender Studies); a three-digit course number; and a two-digit section number: 21:510:201:02 is
(undergraduate) History 201, “History of Western Civilization,” section 02; 26:160:549:01 is (graduate) Chemistry
549, “Electroanalytic Chemistry,” section 01. The online schedule of classes (http://sis.rutgers.edu/soc/) includes a
list of subject prefixes. Each class also has an “index number,” used in scheduling and registration, which can be
found on the schedule of classes.
More Information:
http://sis.rutgers.edu/soc/
http://registrar.rutgers.edu/NW/
CLASS PERIODS
The class periods are numbered: period 1 runs 8:30–9:50, period 2, 10:00–11:20; period 3, 11:30–12:50; period 4, 1:00–
2:20; period 5, 2:30–3:50; period 6, 4:00–5:20; period 7, 6:00–9:00.
Most three-credit undergraduate classes meet for two eighty-minute periods each week, and are identified by days
and period number: “MW2” means Monday and Wednesday, second period (10:00–11:20). Some of the standard
combinations are less than obvious: MTh4 is Monday and Thursday, 1:00–2:20; M5W4 is Monday, 2:30–3:50, and
Wednesday, 1:00–2:20. A few classes meet once a week, while others meet more than twice.
Two periods each week are never scheduled with classes: Monday, 3rd period (11:30–12:50), and Wednesday, 5th
period (2:30–3:50). These times are often used for meetings: FASN meetings, for instance, are always held in one of
these free periods.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 8
SPECIAL PERMISSION NUMBERS
Each course at Rutgers has a “stop point” or “cap,” an upper limit on the number of students who can be enrolled
in it. The cap is established by each department (and sometimes constrained by the seating capacity in the
classroom). Once a class has reached its cap, a student can register only by securing a “special permission number.”
Each department maintains its own procedures for these numbers but, as a rule, it is up to the instructor whether to
issue them. You are not obliged to admit additional students to a full class.
There is usually a little shuffling during the first week of class, as well as a few no-shows and students who drop or
withdraw after the first week, so there is usually room for one or two students desperate to get into your class. Ask
your department administrator about the policy in your department.
ENHANCED CLASSROOMS
A enhanced classroom has an instructor’s station equipped with a computer and audiovisual equipment, allowing
the instructor to teach using a wide variety of media. Before using an enhanced classroom for the first time,
instructors are required to attend training to learn to use the equipment and receive the combination for the
podium lock, if applicable. You should request training at least two weeks before the first date you will use the
equipment. To schedule training, please contact the Office of Academic Technology at 973-353-1713 or
oatnwk@newark.rutgers.edu. After you have been trained, you can request the use of an enhanced classroom from
your department administrator at the time classes are scheduled. You may also contact Ryan Valera at
ryanv@newark.rutgers.edu or 973-353-5667, or Eddie Villanueva at eddiev@newark.rutgers.edu or 973-353-5783, for
enhanced classroom support.
BLACKBOARD
Our campus uses the Blackboard course management system (version 9.1) to extend the learning environment
beyond the classroom. Blackboard has many features to facilitate teaching, learning, and interaction, including
means for providing course content (text, graphics, audio, video), enhanced communication (announcements, email, discussion board, virtual classroom), assignment management, plagiarism detection, tests, online grading
tools including rubrics, blogs, wikis, and journals. All instructors are strongly encouraged to use Blackboard, even
if only for the most basic functions, such as posting syllabi and supplemental readings and making class
announcements.
To gain access to your course on Blackboard, e-mail blackboard@newark.rutgers.edu with the full course number
(school, subject, course number, and section, e.g., 21:120:101:01). Blackboard Faculty Support is available through
the Office of Academic Technology at blackboard@newark.rutgers.edu or 973-353-1556. You may also contact Joy
McDonald at joymcd@newark.rutgers.edu or 973-353-5953 for workshops or one-on-one support.
Students need a Rutgers Net ID to use Blackboard. This applies to traditional Rutgers students as well as NJIT,
UMDNJ, and other visiting students. Students can activate their accounts online at http://netid.rutgers.edu. Advise
cross-registering and visiting students to choose “Newark student account” when asked for the account type. They
may contact the Newark Computing Services Help Desk (Hill Hall 109, help@newark.rutgers.edu, or 973-353-5083)
for assistance with account creation and passwords.
More Information:
http://ncs.rutgers.edu/
http://blackboardinfo.newark.rutgers.edu/
BOOK ORDERS
Book orders must be placed with the official campus bookstore, operated by Barnes & Noble, located in Bradley
Hall at 110 Warren Street. You are responsible for placing your book orders; please do not ask the office staff to do
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 9
it. Place requests with the campus bookstore directly by phone at 973-353-5377, by fax at 973-353-1623, by e-mail at
sm409@bncollege.com, or at http://newark-rutgers1.bkstore.com/bkstore/content.
Many faculty members also place orders with New Jersey Books, a local independent bookshop. If you do this,
please inform the bookshops that you have placed your orders at both locations to help them determine how many
copies to order.
More Information:
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/about-us/have-you-met-rutgers-newark/campus-bookstore
http://newark.njbooks.com/
PHOTOCOPYING
Each department has its own photocopying policies, for which you should consult your department administrator.
As a general rule, we try to minimize photocopying, so please do not copy handouts for your students. If you wish to
assign supplemental readings, post them on Blackboard or put them on the Online Reserve at the Library (see
below). Newark Computing Services provides students with a very generous free printing allocation in the campus
labs, and it is highly unlikely that undergraduates will exceed this. (Graduate students have higher allocations, but
even so, they may exceed them.)
LIBRARY RESERVES
The easiest way to provide your students with a course pack is to put items on Online Reserve at Dana Library (see
“Library,” below). The library staff will scan any documents you give them and place them online, so your students
can read them from any computer, on or off campus, and print their own copies. Instructions for the Online
Reserve system are at http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_servs/reserve_services_faculty.shtml. The library
requires that you submit materials you wish to have placed on reserve for the fall semester by August 1, for the
spring semester by December 1, and for summer sessions by May 1.
More Information:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_servs/faculty_services.shtml
SYLLABI
Your course syllabus is your basic tool for communicating your expectations to your students: not only academic
requirements and how grades will be determined, but also how they should behave in your classroom and what
they should do if they find themselves struggling with the material. By communicating these expectations clearly at
the start of the course, you often can avoid troubles down the line, enabling you and your students to spend more
time on teaching and learning.
The University encourages all instructors to post syllabi online by the time that student preregistration begins (in
April for fall courses and October for spring courses) to help students in making their course selection. Syllabi
should be available to students as early as possible, and certainly no later than the first day of class.
You should include at least the following on your syllabus:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
the full course title and number, including section number;
the days and times when the course meets;
the room where it meets;
your office number;
your office hours;
your name, office telephone number, and e-mail address (don’t include your home or cell phone number unless
you’re prepared to get calls at all hours);
a complete list of all materials students must buy and where they can buy them (if you assign books, it is
helpful to include the ISBNs for students who want to order the books online);
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 10
8.
9.
a detailed statement of the breakdown of the components for the final grade;
the learning outcomes for the course, which should be consonant with the department’s expectations (your
department chair can help you with this);
10. a statement about academic integrity with a link to the University policy
(http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/);
11. your attendance policy; and
12. your policies on classroom management, including cell phones, texting, and laptop use.
More Information:
http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/teaching/syllabus.htm
PAPERS
Because all students, whatever their majors, need to be proficient writers, we encourage you to assign papers,
consistent with the practices in your discipline, and require all students in NCAS and UC to take two writingintensive classes, including one in their major. Do not assume, though, that students already know how to write
effective research or analytical papers. Your students will find it helpful if you give them clear instructions, which
you may want to put on the syllabus or your Blackboard site. If you assign a paper, please reserve some class time
for going over matters such as how to do research, citations, etc. Expect that almost all students will do at least
some of their research on the Internet, so you should devote some time to how one should (and should not) do
research on the Internet, as well as how Internet sources should be cited (and which should be avoided).
Be aware of the range of resources to help your students with their papers. Encourage them to take advantage of
the services offered by the Writing Center (see below). The librarian in your field may be happy to provide on-site
training sessions at the library for your classes. You should, however, schedule such sessions well in advance.
If you wish to penalize late papers, specify in advance what the penalty is. You cannot refuse to accept a late paper
if a student has an excuse recognized by the university (see “Attendance,” below).
EXAMS
The final exam schedule is at http://scheduling.newark.rutgers.edu/finalexamsched.php. There are firm policies on
the scheduling of final exams:
1. Final exams must be given only at the officially scheduled time and date established by the University. You may
not change the time and date of your final exam, even if you have the students’ consent.
2. No exams may be given during the last week of class or during the reading period.
When instructors deviate from the official exam schedule, it creates havoc for both the students and fellow faculty
members, who have to teach students distracted by final exams while classes are still in session. It can also cause
problems for the University as a whole, as the State mandates the length of the semester and the number of course
meetings. Changes, especially those that effectively shorten the semester for students, can be politically awkward
when students complain.
Take-home exams are permitted but, as with papers, you should devise strategies to limit plagiarism and writing
by someone other than the student. Some faculty assign at least one in-class exam so that they will know the
students’ writing style. Of course, the nature of exams and assignments varies significantly from one discipline to
another, as well as the level of the course. Do ask your chair about the norms in your department. If you give a
take-home final, its due date must be the day and time when an in-class final was to be held, not sooner.
You cannot deny a student an opportunity for a makeup exam if the student has a valid excuse for missing it (see
“Attendance,” below). Please note that you have to proctor all makeup exams yourself; office staff cannot be asked
to do it. Conversely, you ought not to allow students to take makeup exams unless they can document a valid
excuse.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 11
ASSESSMENT
Every instructor in every course conducts assessment of some kind; it has always been part of every educator’s job.
But assessment of student learning outcomes is becoming an increasingly urgent part of higher education. We have
to think about how we measure students’ progress, and we have to be explicit about the criteria we use. You should
work out your own rubrics that clearly spell out your expectations, including the knowledge and skills you’re
looking for and the standards for each grade—what sort of work deserves an A, a B+, and so on. Being clear about
this helps your students as they do their work, and helps you in cases where a student challenges a grade.
Accrediting agencies are concerned with assessment not only at the level of the course, but also at the level of the
program, ranging from minors and certificates to the shape of the students’ entire academic experience. The Middle
States evaluation team has emphasized our need to take assessment more seriously, and we are committed to
improvement in this area.
Paying attention to assessment does not mean letting external agencies set standards for our teaching; instead it’s
about maintaining our own internal governance structures and offering the sort of education we believe in. Just as
instructors review whether students are learning in individual courses, so departments should review whether
students are learning in their majors. Departments and their curriculum or assessment committees occasionally
review a random sample of students’ work and evaluate it in terms of the expectations of the department as a
whole. The point is not to second-guess the grade the instructor originally assigned, but to ensure that departments
understand whether their majors are really mastering the skills and knowledge they’re expected to acquire.
More Information:
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/sites/fasn/files/A%20Very%20Brief%20Faculty%20Guide%20to%20Assessment.pdf
RUTGERS LEARNING CENTER AND WRITING CENTER
The Rutgers Learning Center provides tutoring and support primarily in mathematics, the natural sciences, and the
social sciences: peer tutoring on course content from students who have already completed the course; academic
coaching on note-taking and other general learning skills; and screenings for learning disabilities and attention
deficit disorders. The Learning Center also works with instructors to arrange for supplemental instruction—smallgroup sessions led by a student who has already completed the course, is prepped by the course instructor, and is
trained in pedagogy by the Learning Center staff.
The Writing Center provides peer tutoring to assist students in improving reading, writing, library, and Web
research skills. Writing workshops led by Writing Program faculty provide more structured and extensive support
for those students who have been identified by instructors of Composition and Writing-Intensive courses as
requiring additional assistance in reading and writing.
More Information:
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/rlc
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/writingcenter
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism and cheating on exams are problems at Rutgers–Newark, as they are everywhere. All incoming
undergraduates must complete an Academic Integrity Tutorial on Blackboard in their first semester, and students
who complete their first-year composition requirements at Rutgers receive extensive instruction on what
plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Still there are problems. If you assign papers, be sure to discuss plagiarism with
your students. Make clear to them that Rutgers takes all breaches of the code of academic integrity very seriously,
and that plagiarism and cheating put their future at the college in jeopardy.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 12
Familiarize yourself with the University’s policy on academic integrity (http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/), and
explain to your students what the expectations are and how seriously violations are taken. Your syllabus should
explicitly note that violations of the University academic integrity policy will be prosecuted.
The University’s policy distinguishes “separable” from “non-separable” offenses. You are empowered to adjudicate
all non-separable offenses—that is, those that do not result in the student’s expulsion—although you also have the
option of referring infractions to the FASN Academic Integrity Officer. The University has clear and specific rules
that you must follow, which are outlined at the Academic Integrity Website. Should you wish to report a student
who has plagiarized, cheated on an exam, or committed some other academic violation, consult
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/oas/AI/facultyguide and, if necessary, refer the matter to Robert Kurland, Associate
Dean of Academic Services, at 973-353-5800 or rkurland@rutgers.edu, for adjudication. If you are uncertain about
whether you want to report the student, would like guidance, or would just like to talk the matter out, either
Gretchen Van de Walle, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, at 973-353-5213 or
gretchen@psychology.rutgers.edu, or Rob Kurland will be happy to help you.
More Information:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/oas/AI/facultyguide
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The Rutgers Student Code of Conduct (http://studentconduct.rutgers.edu/university-code-of-student-conduct)
gives instructors the primary responsibility for managing classroom behavior, and empowers them to set
reasonable policies governing these behaviors within their own classrooms. Thus, for example, if you find cell
phones, text messaging, or even laptops to be a distraction within your classroom, you are free to create your own
policy to requiring that they be turned off, provided you are in compliance with University policies on
accommodations for disabilities. Policies on class attendance, including those concerning late arrivals or early
departures, also fall under this heading, as do policies concerning examinations—permissible materials, the nature
and extent of collaboration (especially on take-home exams and group projects), seating arrangements, and the like.
Generally speaking, it is best to state all such classroom management policies, including consequences for
violations of them, in your syllabus. In practice, it is important to include only those policies that are likely to
violated (cell phone use); those that, although reasonable, may not be expected (laptop use); and those whose
violation directly would affect a student’s grade (permissible exam materials or limits on collaboration on out-ofclass projects). Don’t feel as though you need to spell out every detail of reasonable student behavior.
Most students generally act reasonably and abide by any stated classroom policies. Those who do not may be
subject to a variety of sanctions. Sanctions related to attendance and academic integrity are discussed below. In
other instances—for example, when a student is disruptive—you may ask that student to leave the classroom
without further justification. If a student refuses to do so, or if you ever judge a student to be an immediate threat
to him- or herself or to others, call Public Safety at 973-353-5111 for emergencies or 973-353-5581 for non-emergency
situations. You may also file a complaint at http://robeson.rutgers.edu/studentlife/conduct.html, or call the Office of
Academic Services at 973-353-5800 for assistance with student behavior problems in non-emergency situations.
Note, however, that a student removed from class in this way is entitled to return to class at the next meeting and
for the rest of the semester. To be permanently removed from class, the student needs to be deemed a substantial
threat to him- or herself or others by the campus Threat Assessment Team, or the student needs to be subject to a
Student Conduct complaint. Evaluations for the former occur automatically any time Public Safety is called in
emergency situations, or at the discretion of the Dean of Academic Services or campus Director of Psychological
Services. Student Conduct complaints may be initiated by contacting the Office of Academic Services, and are
generally limited to repeated violations of standards of classroom policies set by the instructor.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 13
More Information:
http://robeson.rutgers.edu/studentlife/conduct.html
COUNSELING SERVICES
If at any time you observe signs of emotional distress in a student and believe he or she would benefit from
professional counseling, reach out to the Rutgers–Newark Counseling Center at
http://www.rutgersnewarkcounselingcenter.com/ or 973-353-5805.
ATTENDANCE
The official University and campus policy on student attendance is that “attendance at all regularly scheduled
meetings of a course is expected. The course instructor is expected to state in writing the attendance requirements
for each course.”
Most students come to class most of the time—which is another way of saying that at least some students will cut
some classes. You should devise some strategy for encouraging student attendance without taking up significant
class time. In smaller classes, try to learn the names of all your students. In larger classes, you may need a different
strategy: I-clickers, for instance, enable students to sign in for each class meeting in a non-intrusive way in smart
classrooms. You might also use regular short papers or quizzes or homework assignments (even ungraded or
pass/fail), or even collect index cards with the students’ names and brief questions or comments about assigned
readings that might be used as a springboard for discussion. Regardless of the method used, an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure; time spent thinking through a policy and stating it clearly typically pays off.
Your attendance policy must distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. The Rutgers catalog—our
official rule book—states that “the recognized grounds for absence are illness requiring medical attention,
curricular or extracurricular activities approved by the faculty, personal obligations claimed by the student and
recognized as valid, recognized religious holidays, and severe inclement weather causing dangerous traveling
conditions” (http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nwk-ug_current/pg578.html). Students who miss examinations
and other in-class exercises because of excused absences are entitled to make them up (in any reasonable manner
that may be determined by the instructor), and such absences also should not count against a student in classes for
which there is an attendance component in the determination of the final course grade.
It is perfectly reasonable to require students to provide documentation for any absences they claim to be excused. It
is the instructor’s responsibility to request such documentation from students and to determine its legitimacy,
though the Office of Academic Services can assist in cases in which there are serious questions about authenticity.
More Information:
http://facultyhandbook.rutgers.edu/chapter4.shtml#CLASSATTEN
COURSE EVALUATIONS
Student course evaluations, known as SIRS (Student Instructional Rating Surveys), are administered centrally by an
office in New Brunswick called CTAAR (Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research, pronounced
“star”). In the last third of the semester, you will receive e-mail from CTAAR informing you that your students are
about to be sent links to the secure online survey for your courses. Student response rates are highly dependent
upon the extent to which instructors encourage students to take the surveys seriously. Because summaries of the
SIRS reports are part of all tenure and promotion packets, you should definitely encourage your students to
complete all course evaluations, telling them how important they are to both you and the University. You also
should remind and reassure them that the evaluations are strictly anonymous. You may even want to send out an
announcement about the survey through your course mailing list or Website. Direct your students to
http://sakai.rutgers.edu; they can log in and click “All Surveys” to find their surveys. Students should check their email for links to the surveys for their courses, the e-mail will come from “Rutgers SIRS.” E-mail reminders are sent
to the addresses listed on the rosters, and they will stop arriving when the students complete their surveys. When
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 14
the surveys are complete, the numerical results are made available to the entire University community at
http://sirs.rutgers.edu/.
More Information:
http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/sirs/
CLASS ROSTERS AND GRADING
Rosters
Course rosters are available from the Rutgers Electronic Grading and Information System (REGIS) shortly after the
end of the student preregistration period (in October for spring-term courses and April for fall-term courses).
Instructors must be given access to course rosters on a course-by-course basis. Each department has its own
procedure, with access provided by the department chair, program director, or department administrator. Only
rarely do complications arise: the chair or department administrator of the History Department gives access to
rosters for courses offered by that Department, but courses offered through the Honors College, the Women and
Gender Studies Program, or Global Affairs, have to be authorized the directors of those programs.
A few classes are cross-listed under more than one number: “The Philosophy of Psychology,” for instance, is
offered in the Philosophy Department as 21:730:830, and in Psychology as 21:830:409. In such cases, you must use
both rosters, since students enrolled under one course number will not appear on the roster for the other.
Once you have been granted access, you may log in to REGIS at https://sims.rutgers.edu/rosters/ to view rosters, to
download them into an Excel spreadsheet, or to produce a PDF containing photos of all the enrolled students. The
information in REGIS is updated every twenty-four hours; don’t expect it to reflect hour-by-hour registrations.
Instructions for using REGIS may be found at http://registrar.rutgers.edu/NW/REGIS_Grading.pdf. Instructions for
granting a grader or TA access to one of your course rosters may be found at
http://registrar.rutgers.edu/NW/REGIS_Privileges.pdf.
Students may freely add and drop courses during the first week or so of the semester (the period is set by the
University). Students who add a course late in this period may be expected to make up any missed assignments or
other coursework, though you should state this explicitly on your syllabus. You should check your roster at the end
of the add/drop period—certainly by the time of the first graded assignment—and refer any students not on the
roster to the Office of Academic Services for assistance with their registration problems.
A small but particularly annoying group of students attend classes and complete the coursework, but do not
register until they are confident they will pass. Such students often present unverifiable narratives about troubles
with the Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, or the like, which puts both instructors and advisors in
an awkward position at the end of the semester. You can avoid this end-of-semester hassle by checking your roster
at the end of the add/drop period and sending students who are not on it to the Office of Academic Services as soon
as possible.
Grades and Grade Changes
REGIS is also used to submit student grades at the end of the semester. Two kinds of grades may be given,
permanent grades and temporary grades, and they can be distinguished by the process involved in changing them after
they are awarded.
Permanent grades, as the name suggests, are not meant to be changed at all. They should be awarded with due care
and deliberation, posted to REGIS, and then left to be part of your students’ academic records. From time to time, of
course, data entry or calculation errors are not caught until after the instructor has posted the grade; there is a
process for correcting such errors through the Electronic Grade Change System (EGCS), on the same Web page as
REGIS. Since there is a presumption that these grades will not be changed, however, any changes require the
approval of both the Department Chair and the Dean of the unit offering the course.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 15
For temporary grades, however, it is recognized that the instructor will eventually change these into permanent
grades of some kind, so these changes usually are made on the instructor’s own authority without the need for any
additional approval. They should be awarded when a student has remaining work to complete (and the instructor
has given permission for it to be submitted late), or when an instructor wishes to signal explicitly an intention to
review and possibly modify a grade at a future date. Temporary grades should be awarded sparingly, however, as
students typically cannot use them to satisfy prerequisites for higher-level courses or degree or program
requirements. Temporary grades can seriously hinder student progress, so liberality in giving them out does the
students no favors. If you need further clarification about the use of permanent and temporary grades, ask
Associate Dean Gretchen Van de Walle at gretchen@psychology.rutgers.edu.
Permanent Grades
For permanent grades, Rutgers generally uses a standard American grading scale A through F, with the addition of
“plus” grades for the B and C range (Rutgers does not use the “minus”). Hence, the only final permanent grades
that an instructor may award a student at the end of a semester are A, B+, B, C+, C, D, and F. (The Graduate School
does not use the D.)
You are free to use any reasonable grading system you find useful on individual exams, papers, and other graded
exercises within a course—A+, B–, C/C+, checks, point systems, and so on. The course syllabus, though, should
clearly spell out how a final permanent grade within the Rutgers grading scale will be derived from the system
used for individual exercises.
Students may sometimes take a course on a pass/fail basis, with a passing grade being equivalent to an A, B+, B, C+,
or C, and a failing grade to a D or F. When a department offers a course as pass/fail in the scheduling process, an S
(Satisfactory) is awarded for the pass and a U (Unsatisfactory) for a failure. Under certain highly regulated
instances, juniors or seniors may elect to take a regular course on a pass/fail basis. In these rare cases, P (Pass) is
given for a pass and NC (No Credit) is given for a fail. There are strict limits on how many times a student may
take a course pass/fail per semester and over the course of an academic career.
Temporary Grades
There is an almost bewildering variety of temporary grades at Rutgers: X, IN, T-grades, and R-grades of various
kinds. They all denote that a student’s coursework for the semester is incomplete in some sense at the time grades
are submitted; they are generally given at the sole discretion of the instructor—discretion, as noted above, best
exercised sparingly.
All temporary grades have deadlines built into them, ranging from two weeks to a year, after which they
automatically turn into a permanent grade of some kind. The deadlines ensure that the semester does not drag on
interminably for both instructor and student; they limit bookkeeping on the part of the instructor; they facilitate
student academic progress; and, above all, they ensure the integrity of the learning process. The conversion from
temporary permanent grades is handled by automated scripts in the Registrar’s system, so extensions to these
deadlines are never possible. It still is possible to use EGCS to change the permanent grade that results (with
approval from your Chair and Dean), but again this should done sparingly and primarily for administrative rather
than academic reasons, and these reasons should be clearly noted in the comments field of EGCS. When clear
circumstances prevent the outstanding work from being completed within the specified deadline—e.g., extended
hospitalization or military activation—please notify the Office of Academic Services so that they have a record of it,
can manage the impact on the student’s academic record, and can facilitate the student’s re-entry to the University.
One more note about temporary grades: the built-in deadline represents the outer limit for a student’s completion of
outstanding work. You, as the instructor, always have the authority to insist that the work be completed before this
deadline. It is supposed to be the student’s responsibility to confirm what work is outstanding and when the
deadlines are whenever he or she receives a temporary grade. In practice, it is wise to inform students of these
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 16
things in writing whenever you assign temporary grades to ensure that no questions arise, especially if you set a
due date earlier than the built-in deadline.
T-grades: In virtually every case in which you would be inclined to give an “incomplete” grade of some kind, you
should use a T-grade (TB+, TB, TC+, TC, TD, and TF), signifying a Temporary B+, Temporary B, etc. The T-letter
combination represents the grade the student would receive without the benefit of work yet to be turned in or a
successful grade appeal. The idea is that the student has completed most of the work for the course—enough
that you feel confident assigning a permanent grade—but some requirement is still outstanding or subject to an
unresolved appeal. In this case, award the T-grade corresponding to the grade that would be awarded without
the benefit of the incomplete assignments or grade appeal. Thus if a student earned a C on the instructor’s
initial calculations, but there is an unresolved appeal, the student should be awarded a TC. Similarly, if there is
an outstanding paper and the student would earn a D without submitting that paper at all, then you should
assign a TD.
The built-in deadline for T-grades is the end of the sixth week of the following semester—roughly the end of
October for spring and summer T-grades, and the beginning of March for fall and winter. When the work
comes in or the appeal is resolved, you can assign a permanent grade in EGCS (without Chair or Dean
approval). If you submit no grade change, the T-prefix will automatically drop off after six weeks, leaving the
student with the letter component of the T-grade as a final permanent grade. Note that the final permanent
grade cannot be lower than the letter grade component of the T grade. If you assign a TD, for instance, the final
grade may be no lower than a D, even if the student earns an F on the outstanding paper. The T-grade should
therefore be no higher than you are comfortable with, even if the student does a poor job on the remaining work.
IN: Occasionally a student will miss whole weeks of class—perhaps because of an illness or another recognized
ground for absence (see “Attendance,” above)—and not be able to make up the work in a reasonable time.
When this happens early in the semester, it is often best for the student to withdraw from the course, with the
assistance from the Office of Academic Services. In other cases, though, especially if the student has completed
around 75% of the course requirements and is passing on the basis of the work completed, the student may be
given an IN (incomplete) grade. In this case, the student has two full academic terms to complete the outstanding
work. If you do not submit a grade change, the IN automatically converts to a permanent F at the end of this
period. If the student is unable to complete the work in the time period (e.g., because of hospitalization or
military activation), please be certain that the Office of the Academic Services is informed.
X: The X is assigned when the student has a valid reason for missing the final exam. Like an IN, an X is used when
there are not adequate grounds for projecting a final grade, and like the IN, the X automatically converts to an F
if a new grade has not been submitted by the built-in deadline. The X can be used, however, only when the sole
outstanding requirement is the final exam. Since the final is the only thing that is outstanding, the built-in deadline
for X grades is two weeks from the end of the term for spring and summer courses (to ensure things do not
drag out in the next academic year) or two weeks from the start of the spring term for fall or winter couses.
R-grades: Finally, there are the R-grades, RD and RF. These may be given at the instructor’s sole discretion when he
or she believes that a student’s poor performance on a final examination or similar final exercise is inconsistent
with the rest of the work for the course, and the instructor is willing to let the student retake the final
examination or assignment. This may be given only when the student’s performance on the final causes him or
her to earn a D or F for the course, and the appropriate R-grade should reflect the student’s actual performance:
i.e., an RD when the student’s actual performance on the final yielded a D for the course, and an RF when it
earned an F. Furthermore, the reexamination may not lead to a student receiving a worse grade than he or she
would have received from the initial effort—a student who is awarded an RD grade must wind up with a final
grade no worse than a D.
An R-grade gives the student two weeks after the end of the grading period to retake the final, and it is the
student’s obligation to contact the instructor to arrange for the retake (though nothing prevents an instructor
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 17
from contacting the student). Because reexaminations can lead to problems of perceived fairness, many
departments have additional policies and restrictions on the award of R-grades, so check with your department
before agreeing to one.
Grade Appeals
Our students don’t often complain about grades. When they do, it is usually because of a lack of clarity in the
grading policy. Hence, it is important for you to think out your grading policy and to explain it to your students in
your syllabus or when you are returning work that has been graded on a curve.
The formal procedure for grade protests is as follows: The student must attempt to address the matter with you, the
instructor, first. If the issue cannot be resolved, you should tell the student that she or he can appeal in writing to the
Department Chair (or Undergraduate Director, if your department has one). If, after appealing to the Chair or
Undergraduate Director, the student believes that his or her concerns have still not been adequately addressed, an
appeal then can be made to the Dean (who generally refers it to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education).
If the protest involves your assessment of the student’s work, your department and the Dean’s Office are highly
likely to defer to your judgment and back you up. If, however, the protest involves a procedural problem—
inconsistent applications of stated curves, transformations from point grades to official grades that are unclear or
inconsistent with syllabus statements—the department may need to uphold the student’s protest. Keep good
records of all components of students’ grades (including attendance and class participation), and be clear about
how you derived all composite grades from these components. Consistency with departmental practices helps
avoid grade appeals and facilitates a quick resolution in the instructor’s favor of those that do occur.
Warning Grades and Course Withdrawals
Students may withdraw from a class anytime between the end of the add/drop period and the end of the tenth
week of classes, receiving a permanent W on their transcripts in lieu of a letter grade. Ideally, a student’s decision to
withdraw should be based on serious discussions with his or her instructor and academic advisor. In practice,
however, students may withdraw from courses on their own authority, and a small number seem to do so very
often and with no input from instructors or advisors.
Instructors can help students to make informed choices by providing regular feedback. The more substantive the
feedback a student receives through the course of a semester, the more likely that student is to make good academic
choices. Keep your students well informed on their performance, and encourage them to seek assistance from the
instructor, a TA, or the Writing Center or Learning Center.
The University has a formal mechanism for issuing warning grades at the end of the ninth week of classes. Around
the end of the eighth week, instructors are e-mailed and asked to submit warnings through REGIS. For each
student on your roster, you may submit nothing (which implicitly implies satisfactory attendance and academic
performance to date) or one of the three following designations:
W1 – Warning for poor academic performance
W2 – Warning for poor course attendance
W3 – Warning for both poor performance and attendance
Submission of warning rosters helps academic advisors to work with students, especially those on academic
probation and in academic jeopardy, and therefore is strongly encouraged. Specific comments should be appended
to warnings to let students and their advisors see specific areas for improvement.
More Information:
http://facultyhandbook.rutgers.edu/chapter4.shtml#GRADING
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 18
SUMMER AND WINTER SESSIONS
Most full-time faculty on academic-year appointments teach only during the fall and spring semesters, but many
departments offer courses over the summer and winter: there are two six-week summer sessions, as well as a
concurrent twelve-week summer session, and an intensive three-week winter session. It may be possible to teach in
these sessions for extra compensation, but junior tenure-track faculty are strongly encouraged to spend that time on
their research agendas.
More Information:
http://summer.newark.rutgers.edu/
http://winter.newark.rutgers.edu/
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 19
Research
SABBATICALS
The Sabbatical Leave Program gives eligible faculty members the opportunity to take one- and two-semester leaves
from teaching to pursue projects of academic significance to themselves, their departments, and their colleges.
Tenure-track assistant professors are eligible for a one-semester sabbatical at 100% of their salary after six semesters
of full-time service. Thereafter, faculty members are eligible to apply for (1) a one-semester sabbatical at 80% pay
after six semesters of full-time service; (2) a two-semester sabbatical at 80% pay after twelve semesters of full-time
service; or (3) a one-semester sabbatical at 100% pay after twelve semesters of full-time service.
More Information:
http://academicappointmentsmanual.rutgers.edu/changes/sabbleave.shtml
COMPETITIVE FELLOWSHIP LEAVES
The University encourages faculty to apply for fellowships offered through competitive national and international
programs such as the Fulbright, Guggenheim, Mellon, Social Science Research Council, and the American Council
of Learned Societies. The Academic Appointments Manual explains that “Faculty members should ordinarily not
be called upon to make major financial sacrifices in order to accept competitive fellowships; hence, every effort
should be made to maintain faculty members’ total income during the period of their fellowships at or near their
scheduled salaries at Rutgers.” The Dean’s Office can clarify the financial arrangements associated with competitive
fellowship leaves.
More Information:
http://academicappointmentsmanual.rutgers.edu/changes/fellowship.shtml
TRAVEL SUPPORT
FASN provides some support for full-time tenure-track faculty traveling to professional meetings and conferences.
A call for proposals is e-mailed to the faculty twice each year, though only one request from each faculty member
will be considered per year. Top consideration is given to junior faculty.
RESEARCH SUPPORT
A number of University-wide programs support research and creative projects by full-time faculty members. Each
program has its own policies and deadlines.
Faculty Research Grants
Faculty Research Grants are intended to foster excellence in research and creative work, to help faculty achieve
national and international prominence, and to encourage new collaborations. The grants may be either the sole
source of funding for a small project or a source of seed money to attract extramural funding. Applicants may
request funds for a variety of needs, such as equipment and supplies; hiring research assistants or technicians; and
travel to and participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars.
The program is open to all tenure-track Assistant Professors irrespective of discipline. Joint proposals are
encouraged to support collaborative research. (Joint proposals from a single school must include at least one
untenured Assistant Professor; joint proposals made across schools may include two tenured faculty members who
have never collaborated before.) A faculty member may participate in no more than one proposal.
The maximum award is $25,000 for individual proposals, and $50,000 for collaborations among faculty members.
Proposals for less than the maximum amount—e.g., for travel to conferences or book subventions—are encouraged.
The budget should be for one year, January 1 through December 31. Funds may not be used for course buyouts.
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 20
The program is announced in early September and the deadline is in mid-October. Decisions are made by the end
of November, and funds are available on January 1.
More Information:
http://vpr.rutgers.edu/faculty-research-grant-program.php
Faculty Research Council
The Faculty Research Council provides small grants to support studies leading to significant outside funding and
publication in all fields. Applicants may request funds for a variety of research needs, such as equipment and
supplies, publication subvention, research colloquia, and essential travel related to research—expenses directly
related to research and creative endeavors. Requests for wages of labor must be justified fully in convincing detail.
Only full-time members of the Rutgers faculty may apply. Coadjutant appointees, teaching and research assistants,
and visiting faculty members are not eligible.
There is no maximum or minimum award in the guidelines, but awards are usually under $5,000.
The program is announced mid-February and the deadline is in mid- to late March. Applicants receive notification
shortly thereafter and awards are effective on July 1.
More Information:
http://vpr.rutgers.edu/internal-funding-programs/research-council-grants.php
Busch Biomedical Grant Program
The Busch Biomedical Grant program is designed to enhance health-related research at the University and to
strengthen the competitive position of faculty members who seek external research funds. In selecting proposals to
be funded, emphasis is placed on projects that:




Support newly independent investigators;
Promote translational research, such as preclinical evaluation or prototype development;
Establish collaborations between University investigators; and
Promote pilot research in emerging fields or fields new to the investigator.
Proposals that meet more than one of these criteria receive a higher overall funding priority.
Funds support biomedical research performed by full-time faculty members on all Rutgers campuses. Coadjutant
appointees, teaching and research assistants, and visiting faculty members are not eligible.
The program has two levels of funding: one up to $25,000, the other up to $50,000. A proposal has to meet the
highest level of scientific merit to qualify for a $50,000 award. In a typical year, four or five awards are granted at
each funding level; the allocation ultimately depends, however, on the number and quality of the proposals
received. Up to 25% of the available funds are dedicated to each of the four priority areas.
The program is announced in mid-February and the deadline is in mid- to late March. Funding decisions are made
by June. Applicants receive notification shortly thereafter, and awards are effective on July 1.
More Information:
http://vpr.rutgers.edu/internal-funding-programs/busch-biomedical-grant-program.php
FASN GRANT SUPPORT
The Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences supports the faculty in seeking funding opportunities for
research, and provides assistance in the development and writing of research and educational proposals to federal
agencies, foundations, and corporations.
All grant applications require a signature from the FASN Dean’s Office before they can be submitted to the
Rutgers–Newark Research Office. The process is overseen by the FASN Grant Facilitator, Erica Grant, at 973-353-
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 21
1663 or shelaine@andromeda.rutgers.edu. When a grant proposal is due, please submit the endorsement form to
her at least two weeks before the application deadline. The endorsement form should be signed by the PI and Chair
of the your department before you bring it to the Dean’s Office to be signed. Include a copy of the proposal, budget,
and budget justification with the endorsement form.
If the proposal includes cost-sharing, course release and/or space and equipment requirements, approval from the
Chair and the Dean of Faculty is required. If the grant is from a corporation or foundation the application will need
to be endorsed by Jennifer Taylor Smith of Corporate and Foundation Relations (jsmith@winants.rutgers.edu, 973353-3289). Once all signatures are obtained, the endorsement can then be submitted to the Newark Research Office.
More Information:
http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/grant-support-services-fasn
http://vpr.rutgers.edu/
http://orsp.rutgers.edu/default.php
http://researchoffice.newark.rutgers.edu/
LIBRARIES
The campus library is the John Cotton Dana Library
(http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/dana_lib/dana_lib.shtml), home to the world-famous Institute of Jazz
Studies (http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/IJS/) and several other specialized collections. While Dana’s holdings are
relatively modest—it houses 300,000 books, 100,000 bound periodicals, 200,000 federal and state publications,
600,000 pieces of microform, and 15,000 audiovisual items—it is part of the larger university library system
(http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/), comprising 26 libraries, centers, and reading rooms, which give you access to
many more volumes and a wide array of online resources—2.9 million books, 800,000 bound periodicals, 91,000
electronic journal subscriptions, 4.6 million microform items, and 155,000 audiovisual items. Books and articles
from any library in the Rutgers system can be ordered through the online catalog; hard copy will be delivered to
the library of your choice, and PDF files of articles will be sent directly to your e-mail account. You may borrow
books from, and return them to, any library in the Rutgers system.
Newark is within an easy day-trip of any number of major research libraries and archives: the New York Public
Library, the Morgan, and the libraries of NYU, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, and Penn, among others. Rutgers
membership in a number of consortia gives you access to most of these collections.
More Information:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/libraries
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 22
On Campus—and Off
PUBLIC SAFETY
The Rutgers–Newark Department of Public Safety oversees the campus police and security forces, community
service officers, shuttle bus and transportation services, and card access systems.
For all emergencies, call 973-353-5111. For all non-emergency situations, call 973-353-5581.
More Information:
http://nwkpolice.rutgers.edu/
THE PAUL ROBESON CAMPUS CENTER
Our campus center includes places to eat (including a food court, a Starbucks, a convenience mart, and the
University Club), an art gallery, a game room, and meeting rooms holding anywhere from a dozen to 500 people.
More Information:
http://robeson.rutgers.edu/
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
At the Golden Dome you’ll find a recreation gymnasium, soccer field, racquetball courts, tennis courts, pool, and
fitness complex (which includes cardiovascular equipment, free weights, dumb bells and weight machines), and a
multi-purpose room (for aerobic, dance, and karate classes), all of which are available for recreational use.
More Information:
http://www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
You will find a rich array of cultural activities and events on campus. Among the most notable are the exhibits at
the Paul Robeson Galleries (http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/artgallery/) and the Writers at Newark Reading Series
(http://www.mfa.newark.rutgers.edu/writersatnewark.htm).
Just off campus, you will find a major performing arts center, NJPAC (http://www.njpac.org/), and an outstanding
art museum, The Newark Museum (http://www.newarkmuseum.org/), as well as the Newark Public Library
(http://www.npl.org/) and the New Jersey Historical Society (http://www.jerseyhistory.org/). And of course the
cultural attractions of New York City are a twenty-minute train ride from Newark.
More Information:
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/our-community
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/arts-rutgers-newark
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/events/index.php
FOOD AND COFFEE
A list of the dining facilities on campus and their hours of operation is at http://www.campusdish.com/enUS/CSE/RutgersNewark/Locations/. They include a Starbucks and a food court on the first floor of the Robeson
Campus Center. On the second floor is the faculty and staff dining room, known as the University Club, where you
can get a buffet lunch in a pleasant setting for $9.50. There are also many good coffee shops and restaurants right
off campus, especially on New St. and Halsey St. The Ironbound District, known for its Portuguese, Brazilian, and
Spanish restaurants, is less than a mile from campus, on the far side of Newark Penn Station.
More Information:
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/where-eat
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 23
CAMPUS SHUTTLE
The campus provides nighttime shuttles to both the Penn and Broad Street train stations, as well as day and
evening shuttles to the Business School in Newark, NJIT, and UMDNJ.
More Information:
http://nwkpolice.rutgers.edu/RUPD_ShuttleService.html
CHILD-CARE
An on-campus child-care facility is available from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. year-round, for children 2½ to 5 years old.
More Information:
http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/child-care-center
August 2012
FASN Handbook for New Faculty, p. 24
Abbreviations
The variety of abbreviations used at Rutgers can be disorienting. These are some of the more common ones heard
on the Newark campus.
AAAS—The Department of African American and African Studies.
ACM—The Department of Arts, Culture, and Media.
AI—Assistant Instructor.
CFL—Competitive Fellowship Leave.
CLJ—The Center for Law and Justice, housing the Rutgers School of Law–Newark and the Office of the Chancellor.
CTAAR—Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research.
DGA—The Division of Global Affairs, an institution within the Graduate School–Newark.
EES—The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
EGCS—Electronic Grade Change System.
FASN—The Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Newark.
GSN—The Graduate School–Newark.
IIP—International Institute for Peace, based in our department of Sociology and Anthropology.
NCAS—The Newark College of Arts and Sciences.
NCS—Newark Computing Services.
NJIT—The New Jersey Institute of Technology, immediately adjacent to the Rutgers–Newark campus.
NJPAC—New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a concert hall and performance space in Newark.
OAS—Office of Academic Services.
OIT—Office of Instructional Technology.
P1, P2—Professor I and Professor II, ranks corresponding to “full professor” and “distinguished professor.”
PTL—Part-Time Lecturer, an adjunct instructor.
REGIS— Rutgers Electronic Grading and Information System.
SAS—The School of Arts and Sciences, the largest college at Rutgers–New Brunswick.
SIRS—Student Instructional Rating Survey.
SPAA—The School of Public Affairs and Administration.
SPN—Special Permission Number, used to allow students to register in a class which has reached its stop-point.
UC—University College.
UMDNJ—The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
WAC—Writing Across the Curriculum.
WGS—Women and Gender Studies, a degree-granting interdisciplinary program in FASN.