How to Be Happy: Building Community in Your First Year
By Educational Developers Katie Trombley (Alexandria Technical & Community College), Rachel Daley, (Minnesota State College Southeast), Darci Spangler (South Central College), Amy Jo Swing (Lake Superior College), and Sudarshana Bordoloi (Minnesota State University, Mankato)
According to a long-term Harvard study (Mineo, 2017), the key indicator of happiness is personal relationships. Who doesn’t want to be happy at work? That sounds great, but first-year college faculty are often overwhelmed. Even if they’re passionate about teaching, they may find it challenging not only to fulfill their teaching responsibilities but also to build meaningful connections with others. In fact, another Harvard survey (Collaborative, 2018) found that “67% of faculty ranked the quality of colleagues as a compelling factor in their decision to stay” at their college or university.
In Fall 2024, the NED presented a webinar for new faculty detailing the five Cs of success for new faculty: Community, Clarity, Communicating, Collaborating, and (staying) Calm. In this article, we focus on the first C: Community, which is all about building relationships in three ways: personal, campus, and professional.
Personal Community
First, find a mentor. Research shows that mentoring helps new faculty understand institutional expectations, gain confidence, and position themselves for long-term success (Waddell et al., 2016). In fact, many institutions find formal mentoring programs contribute to higher satisfaction and retention among new faculty (Columbia, 2016; Cornell, n.d.; NCFDD, n.d.). Find out if your institution has a formal mentorship program that you can get involved in, and if they don’t, seek out and connect with someone in your department or division. It is important to actively engage with your mentor; be willing to ask questions, ask for resources, and learn about the climate.
You also need to meet the people around you. According to HigherEdJobs, one clear way to be successful is to build relationships with deans, colleagues, and staff (Williams, 2019). By reaching out to your dean, going to department and division meetings, and talking to advisors, librarians, and maintenance staff (among others), you will make important connections and be aware of news and policies that will help you thrive. Make sure to find and meet the “person who knows things” in one’s department or division. Often that’s an administrative assistant, the person who either has the answer or knows who will.
Campus Community
Getting to know your campus is a crucial part of your first year. First, learn the expectations for campus involvement and service, which is different on each campus. Both faculty contracts, IFO and MSCF, have the basic outline for these expectations, and you can also ask your dean and colleagues about your institution’s specific expectations.
Committee work is usually one expectation for faculty members. However, you should think about committee work as both a way of building connections and of being involved in decision making. Before you join a committee, do some research. What committees need members? What is the committee’s charge? Which committee pairs with your interests and skills? It’s okay to wait until at least your second semester to join a committee.
One of the best ways to build connections is to go to student events like cultural fairs, club meetings, art openings, and (especially) graduation. Your campus may also host employee events like social hours and themed parties. Think about hanging out in common spaces if available, eat lunch there once a week in a faculty and staff lounge. Hold an office hour at the learning center or in a student-centered space. These are great ways to start to know your campus and become part of your campus community.
And don’t forget educational development on your campus! If you have a Center for Teaching and Learning, CTL (or equivalent), go to events and trainings. Reach out to the staff who work there—ask questions, ask for feedback and resources (like syllabus creation or engaging students).
Professional Community
We are lucky to have system-level professional resources that can also help build a professional community. New faculty need to build their networks through professional organizations and social media like LinkedIn, and there are also so many resources available through Minnesota State Network for Educational Development (NED). Subscribe to the NED for updates about upcoming Minnesota State PD opportunities! You can also explore the NED Resource Site which includes resources specifically for new faculty – the NED Course Catalog and the NED Events Calendar. In addition, you can connect with faculty in the same discipline/area at other institutions; if available join NED Teams: includes discipline specific discussion groups. NED offers new faculty courses and groups to connect, learn, and become part of the Minnesota State community.
Final Tips
The actor John Barrymore once said “Happiness often sneaks in a door you did not know you had left open.” Leaving one’s door open can open connections, but the door doesn’t have to be open all the way, all the time. Many new faculty feel they need to say “yes” to everything, fearful of making a bad impression or not getting tenure and promotion. However, overextending can lead to burnout real fast. It’s okay to not do everything. It’s okay to say “not yet.” By opening the doors of personal, campus, and professional communities, you can not only be successful in your first year of teaching, but you can also thrive and be happy.
Dear Faculty Member, something is wrong with the grade book?
By Scott Wojtanowski, System Director for Educational Technology and Development, Minnesota State
As we approach the end of the fall term, students may start paying closer attention to their gradebook in D2L Brightspace. You might receive an email from a student saying something appears to be missing. Naturally, you navigate to the Grades tool and review what you’ve entered. Everything looks correct to you as the instructor, but are you certain what the student sees matches what you see?
It’s important to note that the view presented to students in the Brightspace Grades tool is not the same as what instructors see.
This Knowledge Base article explains how to view your D2L Brightspace course from a student’s perspective. No, we’re not talking about the “Role Switch” function. Instead, look for the section titled Preview a Student’s Grades. Performing this action in your Brightspace course displays exactly what is displayed to the selected student when they access the Grades tool.
If you are alarmed with what is displayed to you, you may find a few of these resources helpful:
- Article – Release final Grades to students in D2L Brightspace
- Video – Release calculated final grades to all students
- Video – Setting up a gradebook in D2L Brightspace
Use consistent and clear formats for dates and times
When writing dates and times, be clear and use consistent formatting. Review the good and bad examples of a date and time format below:
Good Example
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 from 2:00 until 5:00 PM.
Bad Example
Wed. 1/7/26 2 pm – 5 p.m.
Read the full use consistent and clear formats for dates and times digital accessibility tip to learn more.
View more digital accessibility tips.
Earn Free Registration to the NED Teaching and Learning Conference
By Megan Babel, Communications Coordinator, Minnesota State
If you successfully complete 3 or more NED courses (and earn a completion certificate for each) between Fall 2025 and Summer 2026, you’ll receive FREE registration for the NED Teaching and Learning Conference, happening September 24–25, 2026 in the metro area.
The Network for Educational Development (NED) Teaching and Learning Conference is an opportunity for Minnesota State educators to network, collaborate, share evidence-based experiences, and spark new ideas.
How to Claim Your Free Registration:
- Complete at least three NED courses during the eligibility period (between Fall 2025 and Summer 2026)
- Email ned@minnstate.edu from your institutional email once you’ve met the requirement
- Attach the completion certificates
- Include the name of the courses you completed in the body of the email
Mark your calendar and start planning your professional development for next year!
Email the Network for Educational Development
View past editions of the Educational Development Digest.
Visit the NED Events Calendar to view upcoming educational development opportunities. Visit the NED Resource Site for recordings of previous webinars and additional resources.
