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Wondering when spring break falls during 2003? Looking for help interpreting the regulations governing end-of-term exercises? Curious about how to get a parking sticker or access the Coeus database? A newly designed resource for faculty is now available online at <http://web.mit.edu/faculty/.> This faculty Website provides links to primary resources for advising, governance, personal business, research, and teaching, as well as Institute calendars and discussion forums.
Initiated by Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow during his term as faculty chair, the project was carried on by current chair, Professor Lotte Bailyn. Work began with a focus group that brought together faculty members and administrators involved in supporting faculty activities. This group met several times to brainstorm about possible contents for the site. During these sessions, it became clear that faculty need easy access to the primary resources that inform and support their work as teachers, advisors, researchers, and community members.
Resources were divided into six categories: advising, discussion, governance, personal, research, and teaching, and each page catalogues a number of helpful and informative resources. For example, the advising page includes links to information on careers and financial aid, as well as to policy descriptions. Resources on governance include Rules and Regulations of the Faculty, Policies and Procedures, exam and term regulations, and thesis guidelines, as well as the record of MIT Faculty Meetings and committee membership rosters. The index of personal resources lists MIT offices that can help faculty members manage their lives outside the Institute. The research category addresses questions relating to funding, logistics, and policies, and the teaching page catalogues resources for improving teaching skills, guidelines for classroom exercises, and help with logistics such as scheduling, audio visual, and building services.
The focus group meetings also revealed an interest in creating an online community where issues could be discussed. In response, the site contains a direct link to the WebCrossing Community Forum sponsored by Campus Wide Information Systems. Once they have obtained valid MIT Web Certificates, faculty members will be eligible to participate in online discussions. Closed and moderated discussions can also be set up.
With clean graphics and an architecture designed for easy navigation, these pages should help faculty locate the information they need across MIT's labyrinth of Web servers. The pages will be maintained by the Office of the Faculty Chair, and new resources will be added as they become available; comments can be sent to me at <afrazer@mit.edu>.
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