Benefits and resources for new hires
Welcome to the University of Washington! As a faculty member at the University of Washington, you will enjoy a number of both personal and professional benefits. University employees are offered an excellent benefits package which includes medical and dental insurance, a retirement plan, a voluntary investment program, and tuition exemption for coursework. Progressive policies are in place to assist faculty men and women who become parents or are needed to care for family members. Information on faculty policies regarding medical leave, family leave, tenure extension and support services is can be found in the resources listed below and at Academic Human Resources. For more information on any of the benefits offered by the University, please visit the Benefits Office.
In addition to the personal benefits noted above, there are a number of professional benefits at the University of Washington. World-class research and library facilities, access to technology and graduate student assistance, and numerous programs to help orient new faculty members are all benefits you can take advantage of. We hope the summaries of benefits and programs below provide you with useful tools to assist with settling into your new environment.
Considerations for the family
Housing Overview – The UW Benefits Office offers detailed information about housing options in the Seattle-area.
Seattle Public Schools – The Seattle Public School District is one of the largest and most diverse in the State of Washington.
Dependent Care Assistance Program – The Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) allows you to take a pre-tax deduction for eligible dependent care expenses from your pay.
Getting settled
UW NetID, Email, and Husky Card – The administrators in your department will provide you with important details related to your new appointment, including office space, computers, phones, etc. Academic Human Resources (AHR) offers a New Hire Checklist to help ensure that all new faculty have all the resources necessary to settle in to their new environment. Please review this checklist with your departmental administrator.
Parking and Transportation Options – Commuter Services and the U-PASS program will help you get to the UW’s Seattle campus and better understand your commute options. Mixing up your trips by using public transit, bicycling, walking, carpooling or vanpooling help reduce the number of times you’ll need to drive alone—which saves you money.
Benefits and Work/Life – As an employee of a world class University you receive a benefits package that provides excellent insurance coverage and retirement plan options. New faculty are encouraged to complete the Online Benefits Orientation which provides information about benefits options and critical deadlines.
Faculty Fellows Program – This three-day program orients new faculty to the University campus community. Presenters and facilitators actively engage our new faculty members on a number of topics including, but not limited to, panel discussions with UW students, effective teaching methods and techniques for balancing the demands of successful teaching and research.
Policies and procedures
Responsibilities – Your department may inform you of specific responsibilities related to your school or department, however the responsibilities listed on this page are universal to all UW Faculty and Academic Staff. Topics include conferences with your chair, records retention, and annual reporting.
Ethics – The University of Washington has comprehensive policies concerning the broad spectrum of ethics issues that emerge in the complex and varied environment of University life. These policies reflect the underlying rationale, University expectations, and designated procedures for appropriate disclosure and review of conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest, including financial interests that might bias or otherwise threaten the integrity of the results of sponsored projects.
Additional Policies and Procedures – Please see the College of Engineering website for more information on teaching evaluations, instructional release policies, and scholarly integrity.
Teaching, research and service
Teaching Resources – The Center for Learning and Teaching is dedicated to various instruction topics such as preparing to teach and engaging students. Please also take a look at the Office for the Advancement of Engineering Teaching & Learning (ET&L). ET&L is focused on two synergistic activities: research on engineering education and improving engineering teaching through instructional development.
Office of Undergraduate Research – Undergraduates at the University are encouraged to participate in research. Faculty can work with the program to identify opportunities for undergraduates and recruit students to participate in their research projects.
Office of Research – The Office of Research (OR) supports UW researches, broadly enabling research advances. The OR’s website for new UW researches offers and overview of how to find, apply for, and manage research grants at UW.
Royalty Research Fund – Through the RRF, the Office of Research supports UW faculty seeking to establish new research programs. New faculty often use RRF funds to obtain preliminary results for future grants proposals.
ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change (CIC) – This office focuses on the implementation of programs designed to eliminate existing barriers and to precipitate cultural change at both the departmental and institutional levels. ADVANCE resources include information on promotion and tenure, mentoring, career development, dual careers, family leave and tenure clock extension, faculty retention, faculty recruitment, and a number of other issues pertinent to advancing faculty, in particular women faculty in science and engineering.
Faculty Grants Management Program – The UW requires all Principal Investigators (PIs) with active, externally funded grants and contracts to participate in the Faculty Grants Management Program (FGM).
Faculty Senate – This is a legislative body of the faculty, with whom the President of the University shares the responsibility of formulating regulations and procedures governing key aspects of University.