Startup Resources

New Faculty Orientation Program This program, held just before the beginning of the fall semester, offers an opportunity to gather information on campus policies and resources and become acquainted with other new faculty.
Campus Parking Permits Complete a parking registration form and submit it to your Departmental Parking Coordinator (DPC) who is responsible for assigning you a parking space.
Keeping Our Faculties UMD ADVANCE announces a call for participation in the Keeping our Faculties program, a year-long mutual mentoring seminar designed to enhance the professional growth of early-career women faculty. Participants in the program meet once a month with a senior woman professor to build a support network, learn about tenure and promotion, work on career advancement materials, and discuss all aspects of career success at UMD. Information about this workshop and other activities is available in the Project Activities section of the page.
Learning Your Directory ID Go to the University's on-line directory and enter your name.  Your ID appears immediately below your name and is generally the initial of your first name and the first seven letters of your last name. If a campus email account has already been created for you, your ID will show up as the beginning of your email address. You can also verify your identity. If you do not have a Directory ID, your department has not yet created your appointment in the University’s employment database.  Contact them to find out how soon they will be able to do so.
Email and Password On this webpage, you can choose your password, accept or change the Directory ID you have been assigned, and set up your email account. ALL employees should have a MAIL@UMD.EDU account. Do not open a WAM or GLUE email account unless instructed to do so by your department.
Ordering Textbooks Timely submission of book orders ensures that sufficient textbooks are available on time for students and facilitates the buyback and resale of used textbooks hence please submit your textbook orders, including the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), as quickly as possible through the University Book Center. The Faculty Center Network, a one-stop resource provides detailed information on textbooks to help instructors in making adoption decisions. Once you have entered your textbook adoptions, they will be posted on Testudo to facilitate textbook acquisition. You may submit this information to other vendors but not in lieu of submitting it to the UBC website.
University ID Card The Information Desk located in the Mitchell Building lobby provides ID cards. Simply bring a photo ID, such as a driver's license, get your picture taken, and immediately receive your ID card. The Information Desk is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.to 4:30p.m. A University ID card is required to utilize University Library services.
Using Library Services and Resources Learn about our Libraries' support for faculty's teaching and research. Examples include, how to:
  • have articles scanned and delivered via email,
  • borrow materials here, at the Library of Congress, other research university libraries, etc.,
  • arrange the creation of course-specific resource webpages or classroom instruction, and
  • request additions to the Libraries collection.

Useful Links

Terpnav http://terpnav.cs.umd.edu/map
Searchable Campus Map http://maps.umd.edu/map/
Research Administration (Quick Reference) http://www.ora.umd.edu/proposal-development/quick-reference-guide
IT Resources https://umd.service-now.com/itsc?id=sc_home&t=so&filter=all
Teaching and Learning Transformation Center http://tltc.umd.edu/
Librarians by Subject http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/specialists-subject
Recommended Books Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
McKeachie, W., & Svinicki, M. (2013). Teaching tips (14th ed.). Wadsworth.
Wankat, P. C. (2001). The effective, efficient professor: Teaching, scholarship and service. Pearson.
ADVANCE Programs https://www.advance.umd.edu/
APT Guidelines Jump to Page
University Senate http://senate.umd.edu/
Diversity & Inclusion Resources http://diversity.umd.edu

Campus Acronyms

ARES: Payroll and personal information.

TLTC: Teaching and Learning Transformation Center.

ADS: Accessibility & Disability Service.

ELMS: Content management system for course websites.

UMEG: Electronic Grades and Rosters.

Relocation

Housing

Moving to the University area offers an extremely diverse array of options. While that has many advantages, it can also make choosing where to live an overwhelming process. The information on this page offers some suggestions about where to start.

Rental Information

ApartmentList.com, Move.com, Apartment Showcase, Apartment Guide, and rentable.co offer on-line searching of most area apartment complexes. They enable users to search based on desired facilities, services, etc. and provide floor plans, rental rates, and community features for matching complexes. Apartment Ratings provides reviews by current or past tenants. (Bear in mind that it seems likely that those who submit reviews are individuals with particularly strong opinions.)

  • Craig's List provides listings of all types of rental properties.
  • HotPads College Park is a map-based internet listing service. HotPads also occasionally lists sublets.
  • Trulia provides rental listings and community information.
  • Rent.com offers listings specific to College Park.
  • RentToOwnLabs.com lists houses that are available for this kind of lease.
  • Sabbaticalhomes.com and AcademicHomes.com are web sites that help faculty worldwide find houses or apartments for rent, exchange or house-sit when on sabbatical leave, research trip, exchange program, relocation or vacations.
  • Zillow Rentals is a map-based internet listing service.

In some cases, searching for townhouses, condos and single family homes is best done by using the services of a real estate agent. Please contact Faculty Affairs, at (301) 405-0658, for a referral to an appropriate agent.

Purchase Information

The Faculty Affairs Office can provide realtor referrals.

The web search services listed below will give you an idea of the type and cost of housing in various communities.

This isn't intended to be a comprehensive list of the web search services available, nor is it intended to be any sort of recommendation.

The Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun also offer searchable listings of homes for sale.

A quick Google search for "home buying advice" will bring you almost a billion hits in the blink of an eye, and almost all of them have something to offer. The important thing to remember, especially if this is your first time buying a house, is to take the time to look at that information.

Short-Term Housing

Unfortunately, the University does not offer short-term housing on campus. However, there are many other possibilities for different forms of short-term housing.

  • Domain College Park is located steps from campus and maintains a few units as short-term rentals for new and visiting faculty on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Sublet Information is an apartment rental service that advertises apartments, sublets, subleases, roommates & houses for rent. See also the Washington Post and the Washington City Paper on-line search processes for current classified ads. Finally, Craig's List provides subletting listings.
  • Apartment Complexes generally offer 3, 6 or 9 month leases at slightly higher rents. On-line locator services allow searching for apartments that offer this option. NOTE HOWEVER that in practical terms many complexes often do not offer short-term leases since they prefer to lease by the year. (Furniture rental is also generally available.)
  • Biz-Stay is another on-line resource. The preferred accommodation choices in their directory are short-term furnished apartments or homes, and apartment-style hotel rooms with kitchens. (Accommodations of this type are commonly referred to as corporate housing, temporary housing, serviced apartments, extended stay hotels, apart-hotels or self-catering apartments.) Preference is also given to hotels that offer extended-stay discounts, typically for 7 days or longer. There are a wide-variety of listings for the Washington D.C. metro area.
  • PC Housing, a nationwide temporary housing provider.

Moving Assistance

The University offers assistance in coordinating your household move. Using the University's moving assistance program can

  • reduce moving expenses
  • lower the risk of poor service or even fraud from moving companies
  • mean you won't have to pay cash to your movers on the day of the move

To take advantage of the University's moving assistance program, please follow these guidelines:

  1. Contact Doug Waterman, Transportation Manager, at 301-405-5852 or e-mail at dwaterma@umd.edu with the following information: provide the name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail address of the person moving (hereafter called the "Shipper"). Any special instructions should be included, such as requested moving date or additional contact information. Also include any restrictions that the Department wishes to put on the move, such as a maximum dollar amount or whether vehicles are omitted from the move. If a maximum dollar amount is specified, please be aware that your department will be billed for the entire amount and the Shipper will be responsible for reimbursing you. Moving companies do not provide split billing for services.
  2. The Traffic Manager's office will issue bid requests to three moving companies. The bid request will include transportation, packing and unpacking and insurance. The moving companies will contact the Shipper and arrange to do a survey of the move. Shippers are asked to provide the same information to all three of the companies and to include any special needs such as moving the contents of self-storage lockers, attics, offices and laboratories. The moving companies can also arrange for transportation of vehicles and boats. The completed estimates are forwarded to the Traffic Manager's office by the moving companies for comparison and awarding of the move.
  3. The Traffic Manager will send a Letter of Authorization to the company with the winning bid and and instruct them to send all bills to the University of Maryland, c/o the Traffic Manager's office for payment against the KFS# provided. The moving company will then contact the Shipper and arrange the final details of the move and set a schedule.

Please allow approximately three weeks for the bid process, especially during peak seasons (June, July, and August).

 

Quotes solicited by the Shipper will not be accepted as they do not reflect discounts and services included in the University's transportation agreements.

Dual Career Information

This page is provided to introduce spouses/partners of prospective or future faculty to the unique Washington D.C./Baltimore job market and to help them conduct effective job searches both before and after the move to the area. Some web resources appear below.

Job Search Resources

The Washington D.C./Baltimore area offers a wonderfully large and, in several ways, unique employment market for job seekers. For example, the largest sources of employment are with foundations/associations and the federal government. There are also over 50 colleges and universities within commuting distance of the University of Maryland. See sections below for more detailed information.

University or Research Employment

Government Employment

Non-Profit Employment

Public and Private School Employment

All Types of Employment

Commuting in the Area

Public and University Shuttle Bus Transportation

  • Shuttle-UM is the free bus system of the University of Maryland. It has an extensive service network on and around campus. There are many ways to finding out how to use the system. Destinations accessible by Shuttle-UM routes include apartment complexes, shopping plazas, metrorail stations, and over 25 on-campus stops. The Department of Transportation website contains information about bus routes, schedules, and more. Each route has a PDF file link that contains the bus schedule and stops as well as a map depicting the location of each stop. A printed bus guide is also available at the Department of Transportation office (Regents Drive Garage).
  • University Metrocheck or Smartrip is available to any full-time faculty or staff member who regularly use public transportation for commuting to work.  Automatic payroll deductions, which are PRE-TAX, may be utilized to purchase paper vouchers (Metrocheks), or transferred electronically via a SmarTrip card (aka, Smart Benefits).  Metrochek vouchers can be used on Metrobus and Metrorail.  They can also be exchanged to pay fares on more than 100 participating commuter services, such as; MARC, Ride-On, and Connect-A-Ride.
  • Maryland and Washington D.C. Metrobus and Metrorail System is the public bus and rail system for the entire metropolitan area. College Park has a Metrorail Station on the "Green Line." This website includes a trip planner, schedule and fare information, and parking availability information.

Carpooling, Park and Ride and Other Alternative Methods of Commuting

  • Carpooling to the University can be easy and has many advantages. Participation in the Faculty/Staff Smart Park Carpool Program REDUCES the cost of parking permit fees; carpoolers may register with Commuter Connections for the "Guaranteed Ride Home Program;" and there is an on-line database to find other University employees in the same zip code looking to carpool.
  • Zipcars are available across campus 24/7! They can be reserved online. The low hourly and daily rates always include gas and insurance.
  • Campus Motor Vehicle Assistance. Jump starts, gas transports, tire inflations, and lockouts are all FREE services offered by the Department of Transportation Services.
  • Obtaining a Campus Parking Permit. Faculty are issued permits every two years or at the time of initial employment. Faculty/Staff parking registration must be initiated by the faculty/staff member through your Departmental Parking Coordinator (DPC). Parking assignments for each F/S parking area are determined by each department and Campus Parking. For more information on how your parking assignment is determined please contact your Departmental Parking Coordinator.

Childcare and Family Care

Family Care Resources The University provides resources and referrals for both child care and elder care. Click here for more information.
County Childcare Referral Services Each county in Maryland provides individualized referral services to accredited daycare centers or licensed home daycare providers, as does the District of Columbia. For assistance, visit their websites or call the appropriate office below.
Childcare Rating Website This website provides the ability to both search for childcare facilities by child's age, type of facility (home based, child care center, etc.) and location and, in some cases, parental reviews.
National Association for the Education of Young Children The National Academy of Early Childhood Programs (NAEYC) administers a national, voluntary, professionally sponsored accreditation system to help raise the quality of all types of preschools, kindergartens, child care centers, and school-age child care programs. This website lists all the early childhood programs currently accredited by NAEYC.
State Daycare Licensing Standards This important resource on daycare licensing for each state includes standards, regulations and agency contact information.

Surrounding Area

Local School Information

The Maryland Department of Education's Maryland Report Card Performance Report provided detailed information by county and by individual school. The reports include attendance and dropout rates, test results over the past five years, demographic data, and future plans for graduating seniors.

GreatSchools is a national, independent nonprofit organization and website that provides comprehensive profiles for both public and private schools. Parent-friendly features include teacher stats, parent reviews, student body profiles, standarized test scores, as well as search and compare tools.

Public Schools in the Area

Anne Arundel County

Howard County

  • General Information
  • School assignments and curriculum information are available from the main Howard County Schools website.

Montgomery County

Prince George's County

Area Resources

The University is located in the town of College Park, part of Prince George's County. Most faculty live in this county, in Montgomery, Howard or Anne Arundel Counties, or in the cities of Washington D.C. or Baltimore. The number and diversity of possible cities and communities in which to reside is one of the advantages of the University's location. Maps and descriptions of the Greater D.C./Baltimore area are provided below.

Neighborhood Descriptions and Comparisons

Links to County and City Websites