1. Welcome!

2. College of the Environment, Forestry and Natural Sciences (CEFNS)
Orientation for new faculty
August 22, 2019
Jamie Baxter, Administrative Director
Diana Elder, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Jason Wilder, Interim Dean

3. Agenda College overview CEFNS Policies and Procedures Academic Affairs
Organizational Chart
Academic Units
Centers and Institutes
CEFNS Policies and Procedures
General Resources
Statement of Expectations
Academic Affairs
Research
Questions

5. University Overview College of Arts & Letters College of Education
College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences
College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Sciences
College of Health and Human Services
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
The W.A. Franke College of Business
Honors College

6. CEFNS: Seven Academic Units, over 5,000 students (NAU IRA Fall 2018 21-day census)
Center for Science Teaching and Learning
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science
School of Forestry
School of Earth and Sustainability

7. CEFNS Academic Programs, Undergraduate
Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Exercise Science
Microbiology
Biotechnology*
Conservation Biology*
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Mathematics
Data Science
Actuarial Science*
Statistics*
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Chemistry w/ minor
Advanced Chemistry
Biochemistry (ACS Certified)
Health Pre-professional*
Forensic Chemistry & Criminalistics*
Department of Astronomy & Planetary Science
Astronomy
Center for Science, Teaching & Learning
(BSED degrees)
Biology
Chemistry
Earth
Science
General Science
Mathematics
School of Earth & Sustainability
Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Environmental Sciences
Geology
School of Forestry
(BSF degree)
Forestry
Fire Ecology & Management*
Forest Health & Ecological Restoration*
Human Dimensions of Forest Management*
International Forestry & Conservation*
Wildlife Ecology & Management*
* Indicates a minor, emphasis or certificate

8. CEFNS Academic Programs, Graduate
Biology MS
Biology PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Mathematics MS
Statistics MS
Applied Statistics Certificate
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Chemistry MS
Department of Astronomy & Planetary Science
Astronomy & Planetary Science PhD
Center for Science, Teaching & Learning
(BSED degrees)
Science Teaching (MAST)
Teaching Science with Certification (MAT)
School of Earth & Sustainability
Climate Science & Solutions MS
Environmental Science & Policy MS
Geology MS
Earth Science & Environmental Sustainability PhD
Conservation Ecology Certificate
School of Forestry
(BSF degree)
Forestry MS
Forestry MF
Forest Science PhD

9. CEFNS: Six Centers Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (EcoSS)
Merriam Powell Center for Environmental Research (MPC)
Landscape Conservation Initiative (LCI)
Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CP-CESU)
Colorado Plateau Research Station (CPRS)
Environmental Restoration Institute (ERI)

10. NAU Policies
Policies can be found by searching the NAU Policy Library at
Policies are legally actionable and must be followed by students and employees.
This presentation mentions a few of the policies. There are many more. When in doubt, ask.
Your first point of reference is your Chair or Director; follow the chain of command.

11. Faculty Resources Department chair, mentor or supervisor
Personnel processes and policies
NAU Conditions of Faculty Service1
NAU Faculty handbook1
CEFNS Evaluation and promotion guidelines2
Academic units may have P&T guidelines
CEFNS Workload policy2
All faculty must have a Statement of Expectations (SOE) to be developed ASAP in consultation with your Chair/Director
Annual evaluation on-line system: Faculty180, a.k.a. FAAR.
Link from main NAU alphabetical directory
First-year faculty submit their materials in January
Training session 1. 2.

12. Training for New Faculty
MANDATORY: You have 30 days from your hire date to complete the following five on-line training tutorials:
Preventing Workplace Harassment Training
Information Security Essentials
CERT: Conduct, Ethics, Reporting, and Transparency Disclosure
On-line Loss Prevention Training
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
New employee orientation  
Benefits orientation. Selections for retirement plans and health benefits must be made within 30 days of hire. State retirement plan IS an option. Choice of retirement plan is irrevocable. State plan is a defined benefit plan. The other choices are not.
Van driver training (appropriate for some faculty)

13. Teaching Best Practices-Syllabi
You must provide a syllabus to your students on the first day of classes, and to your departmental main office.
New courses must go through a curriculum proposal review and approval process. A description of the process may be found at Resources/ .
For new course proposals, syllabi must comply with the University approved format for new course proposals, found at:
nts&pertainsTo=All
For courses already on the books, use the syllabus format from the last time the course was taught, or develop a new one in the current format (your choice).
The general NAU policy statement must be included in all syllabi.

14. https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/syllabus-requirements/
Full policy at:

15. Syllabi
Your course policies must be clearly presented in your syllabus, including:
Attendance policy
Policy on how to make up missed work
Procedure for students to contact you in case of emergency – encourage notification
Academic Integrity policy
View this document as a contract with your students

16. Syllabi Attendance policy
Include your attendance policy in your syllabus
Faculty must include reasonable accommodation for religious observations
Faculty must honor institutional excuses
Students must request an excused absence in writing and include an explanation of how they will meet course requirements despite the absence, worked out in consultation with the instructor.
Students may request a “Faculty Notification Request” from the Dean of Students for inpatient hospitalization, death in immediate family, or other serious personal crisis.
Students need to keep in mind that it is not possible to make up some types of missed activities (labs, field trips, lectures).
Faculty may request documentation to substantiate reasons given by students for their absences.
Extra requirements for 100-level courses, guidance at

17. Syllabi, continued Academic Integrity policy
NAU policy and reporting form may be found at
Your department may have more specific guidance.
The NAU policy on Academic Integrity may be found at

18. Enrollment deadlines ADD/DROP DEADLINE: Sept. 5, 2019
Withdrawal (W on transcript) deadline: November 1, 2019
ADD/DROP/W deadlines for non-standard courses, and final exam calendar may be found at:

19. Enrollment and Petition forms
Forms may be found at
Examples of forms that might be needed are:
override authorizations
petitions to add after the deadline
Requests for Waivers and Overrides
Rarely should you approve a waiver of prerequisites for a student to enter your class.
Check with your Chair/Director and advisor before overriding students into your class when it is enrolled to capacity.

20. How to pull up your class roster…
Login to LOUIE
Click “Faculty/Instructors” tab
Confirm the correct term “Fall 2019”
Click , the class roster icon next to the class of interest

21. Students with Disabilities
Disability Resources (DR) will notify you if you have a student with special needs and will work with you to accommodate the student. DR provides training to faculty when needed. NAU complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Do not accommodate a student who claims to be disabled without guidance from DR. If you accommodate a student without guidance from DR, then all students in your class may be entitled to that accommodation, regardless of whether they have a disability. The Disability Resources website listing services, contacts, and accommodations may be found at resources/

22. Student Advising
Students are advised by a staff of professional advisors.
Freshmen (under 30 units) – GATEWAY
Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors – CEFNS Student Services Office
Graduate students – Departmental Graduate Advisor
Should you advise students on curriculum?
Yes, if you are confident you know university policies and program details.
NAU has pre-med and pre-law advising at GATEWAY

23. Basic Expectations for Teaching
Keep clear records to support the assignment of final grades
Maintain a professional and supportive classroom environment
Deliver course content that consists of current and relevant information
Faculty must submit a Request of Absence for sick leave and bereavement:
Login to your LOUIE account at nau.edu/LOUIE.
Go to Self Service
Go to Request of Absence. Make the appropriate selections and submit.
In case of an unanticipated absence, if a substitute cannot be arranged, your students and notify your main office.
Office hours – at least 2.5 hours per week
Many courses have fees associated with them. Course fees are used to support the activities of the course as described in the fee justification (on file in your main office).
Help with instruction (workshops, seminars, consultation):

24. Some things to consider
Most students receive financial assistance, i.e., loans or scholarships.
Many students are employed. Common reason for missing classes.
Many students are first generation students.
Students may have difficulty getting to your class on time due to issues with the bus system or weather.
NAU occasionally calls snow days. Check and local news sources for announcements regarding weather-related campus closures.

25. Research at NAU
The majority of research funding at NAU is in the College of the Environment, Forestry and Natural Sciences
NAU total external research awards for FY2013 – FY2017 totaled $97.7 M. Of this, CEFNS constituted $78.2M, or 80% of the research at NAU.

26. Funding Alert Subscriptions…Federal
National Science Foundation (NSF) Update
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Listserv
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) Listserv (includes EPA)

27. Who is Expected to Engage in Research?
Tenure-track/tenured faculty
High research expectations. Expected to engage in research during the academic year. Expectations include procuring extramural grants and publishing in refereed journals. On average, 40 to 50 % of workload is devoted to research. Tenure-track faculty may serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) on grants.
Lecturers, Professors of Practice, Clinical Professors, and Instructors.
4/4 or equivalent workloads leave little time for research during the academic year. Faculty with these titles generally have low or zero research expectations during the AY. However, they may serve as Principal Investigators on grants with approval (must fill out a PI Eligibility form and get it approved). Greatest opportunity is to engage in research over the summer.

28. How to Submit a Proposal for Extramural Funding
Use the guidelines from the sponsor to prepare your proposal.
Well before the submission deadline, preferably two months or longer, begin the process of working with your grants administrator in the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). Ask your Chair or staff in your department’s main office for the name of the Grants Administrator you should contact. They will guide you in preparing your budget, with uploading to our system (called “Cayuse”), and other tasks.
Grants are submitted by OSP on behalf of NAU, not by you.
The budget, budget explanation, and project summary must be circulated (“routed”) for internal approval at least one week ahead of the submission deadline. Prior to circulation they should be carefully reviewed by OSP. Routing is done using Cayuse.

29. Proposal Budgets
Every sponsor is different, but there are common elements:
Salaries charged to grants must include the costs of fringe benefits and other items depending on the type of person being hired, the period of time, the time of year (academic year or summer) and other factors.
Budgets may include funds for travel, materials and supplies, laboratory fees, equipment, subcontracts to other institutions, publication costs, participant support costs, and other items.
Indirect costs. A surcharge is added by NAU to pay for costs in support of projects incurred by NAU. It varies depending upon the category of funding (on-campus, off-campus, etc.), and in some cases the sponsor.
Cost-shares. Some sponsors require that NAU share in the cost of your project. You cannot assume that NAU will agree to this. Cost-shares must be worked out in advance with the CEFNS Dean’s Office and the Office of the Vice President for Research. To get started on a cost-share, contact Interim Dean Wilder.

30. Important initiatives for AY19-20
NAU Directory updates
Strategic Plan Initiative
Continued work on retention and curricular innovation
Extra effort towards recruitment of new students

31. Questions?