How to become a University Professor

As an industry expert, you may or may not have formally taught in a classroom setting.  Mentoring others is a very common task that we might perform in our daily jobs or lives in an informal way.  Showing our colleagues or coworkers the ropes or teaching someone how to do a skill are common forms of instruction.  But teaching formally in classroom setting is a completely different beast!

As professionals in your field and industry experts, you DID have to go to school to get training, so you DO have some classroom experience.  As a student or learner yourself, you know what works for you and what doesn't.  This provides key insights into how you might want to run your classroom.  Understanding and reflecting on your past educational experiences is helpful as a foundational starting place.  However, don't let it prescribe or limit your instructional creativity.

Adults learn in many ways and might value education differently.  Your experience may not be the same as others so you need to reflect on that and be open to a variety of teaching strategies.  The section below on TEACHING STRATEGIES will help you understand where to go to find resources that will help you prepare to be the best teacher you can.

But what about just getting properly hired?  Signing forms, direct deposit information, pay scales, who is the HR manager, who is my supervisor, how do I get an email, when can I access the online teach repositories...sound familiar?

Onboarding processes can be confusing and frustrating.  Sometimes, faculty get hired last minute, are expected to be in the classroom and haven't even received access to the emailing system or the instructional resources yet.  You may not have been shown to your office or have keys to get into the building or classroom.  Where's the photocopy machine, the faculty lounge or lunchroom?  Do you even get a lunch break?

Or if you have students in the field, do you know how many?  Who they are?  When do you expect them?  Is there a list of supplies, equipment or textbooks?

Onboarding can happen in a variety of ways and can be organized and timely, or it can be disorganized and super frustrating.  It is important that you are ready for either.  Just as this is an adult learning environment and learners need to take responsibility for their learning, YOU are now an instructor and need to take responsibility to find the answers you need.  Especially when working in a rural environment, you know that you need to be resourceful.  That is what makes you good at what you do.

Ask lots of questions to the HR manager that formally reaches out to you.  Create yourself a task list that could include the following:

• Who is my department Chair and what is their contact information?  Your department chair could be someone who did not interview you but will direct your work and workload.  The Chair is the key to all teaching-related questions like course syllabus, instructional materials, schedule, student issues and formal teaching support.
• Where do I get keys, office info, campus tour, classroom support, student registration information, payroll information, union support, etc.  Make a list of names and contact info if these are not supplied for you.
• Is there a formal New Faculty Orientation - when and where?  Be sure to attend any and all of these!  There may be some redundancies or unhelpful information but seeking out resources and even having another number/contact to reach out to is imperative to your success.
• Who are your colleagues or peer resources?  Can you find some mentors to help you?  Even if you are the only instructor for your area/program/course, there might be other instructors who are lone wolves on campus in their departments too.  Find some resources in your campus community who can share their stories, ally themselves and show you the ropes.  Do NOT make the mistake of feeling like you should already know.  Do not let yourself feel overwhelmed and therefore you are not managing as well as you should.  If you are feeling unsure, ASK!  Guaranteed that others feel or have felt the same way.
• Be humble and honest with your students.  This is a key strategy for success in teaching on so many levels, but in terms of being NEW and potentially AWKWARD those first few classes, be open with students about your journey.  Students can sense genuine honesty and appreciate that you are learning along with them.   You are an industry expert, not a teaching expert....yet😎.

In the next section titled "Employment Resources" you will find information that institutions commonly send out to new staff to help them with onboarding.  Keep in mind that many of the resources meant to help new staff get oriented are only accessible once you have official login access as these documents are often housed on a shared site behind a firewall.  So you need the login access to see crucial orientation information!  Be patient but know that the two checklists below will help you get started or at least understand what the next steps are!