New Faculty Orientation and Relocation

Bridgewater State University

Bridgewater State University is located in southeastern Massachusetts within easy reach of major highways. The campus is approximately 40 minutes south of Boston, 30 minutes north of Cape Cod, and 50 minutes northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. For driving directions to BSU, please see www.bridgew.edu/directions.cfm

The town of Bridgewater is served by the Middleborough/Lakeville line of the MBTA Commuter Rail. A train stop on-campus goes into South Station in downtown Boston. Schedules are available at www.mbta.com/traveling_t/schedules_commuter_linedetail.asp?line=middle. 

Here is a link to a map of campus to help you find the location listed below.

Initial Employment Procedures

On or before your first day of employment you will need to make an appointment with the Benefits Administrator in the Human Resources office (Room 103, Boyden Hall, 508-531-1324) to address eligibility for employment and selection of benefits. Review this web site to identify the forms that need to be completed. (www.bridgew.edu/Depts/AcAffairs/FT/start.cfm) Benefits are described on the HR website at www.bridgew.edu/HR/Handbook/Benefit_Program.cfm. (HR can meet or talk with you individually to discuss these options.) Information on withholding of social security and Medicare taxes, pay periods, and deductions is on the HR website at www.bridgew.edu/HR/Handbook/Salary_Administration.cfm. 

Getting Set Up at BSU

To get started with your work at BSU, there are five things you as a new faculty member need to do: 1) Get your campus ID, called a "Connect Card"; 2) get a parking decal for your car; 3) obtain a BSU user account from IT, which gives you an e-mail address and other online access; 4) get a key for your office; and 5) get your phone voice mail and long-distance access set up. A list of websites and offices to contact is at www.bridgew.edu/Depts/AcAffairs/new_faculty.cfm.  Information Technology has a webpage for new faculty at http://it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff/newfaculty/.  See also Frequently-Asked Questions for New Faculty and Librarians.

New faculty should also feel free to contact their department chair and department secretary who will provide assistance with most of the areas described below.

1) Connect Card

The Connect card is your official BSU identification card. It gives you access to many campus resources, such as the Maxwell Library and the Adrian Tinsley Center, which is the university's field house and gym, and serves as the key card access to your building and as a vending card at dining halls, vending machines, and the bookstore. Once you have provided your identification to HR (see above), you will be issued a Banner identification number. You can then obtain a Connect card at the Connect Card Photo ID Office, room 110 in Hunt Hall from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Connect card can also be used at some of the local merchants in Bridgewater and in some instance qualifies you for a faculty discount (e.g., www.bridgew.edu/PSCC/OC_merch_list.cfm).  

2) Parking

Faculty and librarians may obtain a parking sticker to park in certain areas. You can obtain the sticker from the Parking and Decal Office located on the ground floor of the Hunt Building (see campus map). Bring a copy of your automobile registration. For parking rules and regulations, see www.bridgew.edu/PSCC/ParkingServices.cfm. There is currently no fee for on-campus parking.

3) E-mail Account

To have access to campus e-mail systems, faculty must apply for a BSU user account from Information Services. Please complete a User Account Form www.bridgew.edu/Depts/AcAffairs/IT_account_request.cfm.  The form goes to HR and is forwarded to Information Technology, which will contact with you with login information. Once your e-mail account is set up, your address will be added to the all-faculty/librarian e-mail list by Information Technology. Messages sent to this list arrive in your e-mail with a subject line that starts with [FACULTY]. The e-mail list is an important source of information and a way to send messages to your faculty colleagues. If you do not receive any all-faculty messages within a couple of weeks, contact IT Support Services by phone at 508-531-2555 or by email at ITSupport@bridgew.edu. 

4) Access to Offices

You need to fill out a form to obtain a key. See www.bridgew.edu/Facilities/KeyReq.cfm. Once this form is completed, it will need to be passed up for signatures from your department chair, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (104 Boyden, see campus map), and Director of Facilities. In some buildings, your Connect card will provide office access.

5) Telephone

The department secretary will set up the phone number for your office. Call Telecommunications at 1004 to set up the voice mailbox and password. To make long-distance calls that will be billed to the university, you will need a "PAC" code. This must be requested via email to kfilippini@bridgew.edu from your department chair with the following information: 1) your name, 2) title, 3) department, 4) whether this is for domestic and/or international calling, and 5) expiration date (if any).

Union Membership

MSCA (Massachusetts State College Association) is the professional association/union that represents the faculty and librarians who work in the nine state colleges and universities. The website of the MSCA provides a copy of the faculty contract, a list of offices and chapters, a calendar of meetings, and news. See http://mscaunion.org.  The website of the Bridgewater Chapter is at www.gis.net/~bridgew.  The MSCA Contract is available at http://mscaunion.org/contract/. 

All unit members are contractually required to pay either membership dues or the agency fee.

Course Schedule

Course schedules are produced in advance of every semester and contain a detailed listing of the sections, times, and instructors for each course. Registration information, course catalog, and course schedule can be found in the info bear page: https://infobear.bridgew.edu/ahomepg.htm. 

Web for Faculty

All faculty have access to Web for Faculty from the Bridgewater home page (click "Faculty and Staff," then click "Web for Faculty" under "General Links"). With your BSU faculty ID (social security number) and a PIN, you can check your faculty schedule and your class lists. You can also access student contact information and submit grades on line. To receive a PIN, contact the Associate Registrar at (508) 531-2191. Training sessions for Web for Faculty are held in August, October, and March. Instructions are available at http://it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff/webforfaculty/.  Depending upon your department’s traditions, you may or may not be required to advise students in your first semesters here. If you are required to advise students, you will need to become very familiar with the course schedule and Web for Faculty.

Blackboard

All faculty and librarians receive a BSU email account. The form to request an account is available at http://it.bridgew.edu/Support/FacultyGuide/UserAccounts/ISUserAccountForm.cfm. 

Blackboard is the course management system that allows you to post documents and communicate with students through the web. To set up a Blackboard account, go to www.bridgew.edu/accountregistration.cfm.  Other forms of course management such as Moodle are also available. Please contact IT Support Services by phone at 508-531-2555 or by email at ITSupport@bridgew.edu. 

Standard Desktop and Laptop Computer Systems

Faculty receive a computer upon hiring at the university and are eligible to receive an upgrade periodically (generally every three years) if they so desire. Standard hardware and software for new faculty are described at http://it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff.cfm. The support policy for hardware is at http://it.bridgew.edu/Policy/HardwareSupport.cfm.  Faculty may also purchase a notebook computer for personal use through the Dell discount agreement. See http://it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff/notebook/. 

Help Desk

Computer support is available through telephone (x2555 from on-campus), e-mail, walk-in services, and the Web. A list of locations and contact information is at http://it.bridgew.edu/support/facsupport.cfm. 

Summary of Resources for Faculty

Through a combination of outlets, resources are available for faculty for a variety of professional development purposes. Here is a list of these resources www.bridgew.edu/Depts/AcAffairs/professional_development.cfm.

Relocation to the Bridgewater Area

Airports

Bridgewater State University is accessible from either Boston's Logan Airport, www.massport.com/logan/default.aspx or Providence's TF Green Airport www.pvdairport.com/.

From Logan Airport, you may take the MBTA (www.mbta.com), Commuter Line to get to campus. The MBTA commuter train (Stoughton/Providence line) will soon (slated for fall 2010) be at TF Green Airport, providing a more accessible connection between the two airports.

For driving directions to the BSU, please see www.bridgew.edu/directions.cfm

Banking

There is a Sovereign Bank branch (20 Central Square, Bridgewater) within walking distance to the university. www.sovereignbank.com 

There is also a Citizens Bank branch (755 Bedford Street, Bridgewater) nearby. www.citizensbank.com/home/

Bridgewater Savings Bank www.bridgewatersavings.com is another local bank (14 Main Street and 1400 Pleasant Street, Bridgewater) and there is the Bridgewater Credit Union (75 Main Street, Bridgewater) (www.bridgewatercu.com/index.cfm) within the center of town.

The campus has two ATM machines located at Rondileau Campus Center and East Campus Commons.  

Car Registration/License and Titles

Go to the Massachusetts registry of motor vehicles. www.mass.gov/rmv. There are many car dealerships nearby south on Route 44 and north on Route 28.

Grocery Stores/Sundries

There are many large grocery stores near campus. Roche Brothers is within walking distance to the university. It is in Campus Plaza on Route 18 just north of campus.

For household goods, there is a Target store south on Route 24 at exit 12, and a Wal-Mart on Route 24 at exit 13. You may also search other local locations through the store finder tab on the merchant's web site.

For home improvement, there is a Home Depot at the intersection of Routes 140 and 24, and a Lowes on Route 106 west of Route 24.

Health Insurance

For Health Benefit choices, please contact Dorothy Grosswendt at dgrosswendt@bridgew.edu in Human Resources. See also the link to the GIC (Group Insurance Commission). www.bridgew.edu/HR/benefits.cfm

For profiles of physicians in Massachusetts, see http://profiles.massmedboard.org/MA-Physician-Profile-Find-Doctor.asp.

Housing

Bridgewater State University provides a web-based service for local property owners to post their available rental units on the Human Resources website. Prospective tenants can search the listings by type of unit, location, rent, and so on, at www.bridgew.edu/HR/Searchlist.cfm. 

Faculty looking to buy or rent a home near BSU may wish to go to www.academichomes.com/find_a_home.  Check on Massachusetts, and then click on "find a home near a particular college." Selecting Bridgewater State University should give access to homes for sale or rent near the university.

You might also elect to subscribe to a local newspaper (e.g., The Brockton Enterprise www.enterprisenews.com) to locate homes for sale or rent in the area.

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Part of this document is excerpted from the Resource Guide for full-time faculty and librarians on the Academic Affairs web page that provides more details about other topics. The URL is www.bridgew.edu/Depts/AcAffairs/FT/ft.cfm

Last Modified: August 17, 2011