II. Getting Started

Initial Employment Procedures; Salary Administration and Payroll Practices; Parking; Connect Card; E-mail Accounts; Calendar of the Academic Year; Union Membership

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Initial Employment Procedures

See http://www.bridgew.edu/HR/Handbook/Employment.cfm. The Human Resources Department is located in 103 Boyden Hall with office hours of 8-5 M-F. New Visiting Lecturers must complete a W-4 form (federal withholding), an M-4 form (state withholding), a personal data form, and an “I-9” form at the time of hire. The “I-9” form certifies eligibility for employment; new employees and some employees who have had an interruption in service greater than three years need to fill out this form. This form is required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. The "I-9" must be completed at the time of hire, and original documentation of employment eligibility must be examined within three business days of the date employment begins. Examples of acceptable documents include a picture ID in addition to either a social security card or birth certificate, or a passport (expired or unexpired). Additionally, for payroll identification, the social security card must be examined; if this document cannot be produced, we ask that you apply for a new card.

Your contract will be mailed to you soon after the add/drop period ends.

All Visiting Lecturers, except State retirees and active members of the state retirement system (or ORP), are required to participate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Alternative Retirement Plan (OBRA) in lieu of participation in the FICA portion of Social Security. New employees will complete a participation agreement form when they complete the W-4 form and other initial paperwork.

These forms may be obtained from the Office of Human Resources, located in Room 103, Boyden Hall (see campus map).

Salary Administration and Payroll Practices

All salaries are administered according to the provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement or Board of Higher Education handbook. Different salary schedules exist for MSCA day Visiting Lecturers and for evening Visiting Lecturers. Therefore, Visiting Lecturer who teaches a day course and an evening course will be compensated at two different rates.

Parking

Faculty may obtain a parking sticker to park in faculty areas. You can obtain the sticker from the Parking and Decal Office located on the ground floor of the Hunt Building. Bring a copy of your automobile registration. For parking rules and regulations, see http://www.bridgew.edu/PSCC/ParkingServices.cfm.

Connect Card

The Connect card is the official BSC identification card. It gives you access to many campus resources, such as the Maxwell Library and the Adrian Tinsley Center, the college’s fieldhouse and gym. 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.

E-mail Accounts

In order to have access to campus e-mail systems, faculty must apply for a user account from Information Services. Please complete a User Account Form, have your department chair sign it, and submit it to the Information Technology Office, Room 005, Boyden Hall. Call ext. 1236 for the appropriate form or acquire it at: http://it.bridgew.edu/Support/FacultyGuide/UserAccounts/ISAccountInstruct.cfm.

Once your e-mail account is set up, your address will be added to the Visiting Lecturer e-mail list by Information Technology. Messages sent to this list arrive in your e-mail with a subject line that starts with [VLS]. The e-mail list is an important source of information and a way to send messages to your colleagues. If you do not receive any all-VL messages within a couple of weeks, contact IT Support Services by phone at 508-531-2555 or by email at ITSupport@bridgew.edu.

Calendar of Academic Year

The Academic Calendar is a list of important dates in the academic year. The calendar includes the dates that classes and final exams start and finish and specific holidays and make-up days. It is essential that you check the academic calendar before creating your syllabus. There are idiosyncrasies in the schedule that you should be aware of, including holidays and substitutions of one weekday for another in the academic schedule. You can find the calendar at http://www.bridgew.edu/Registrar/AcadCal.cfm.

Union Membership

Visiting Lecturers who teach day school undergraduate courses become members of the collective bargaining unit at the start of their third consecutive semester of employment. MSCA (Massachusetts State College Association) is the professional association/union that represents the faculty and librarians who work in the nine state colleges. 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 http://www.gis.net/~bridgew/. The MSCA Day Contract and contract for the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education are available at http://mscaunion.org/contract/.

Visiting Lecturers assigned to graduate level courses or evening undergraduate continuing education courses become members of the DGCE (Division of Graduate and Continuing Education) collective bargaining unit immediately upon employment.

All unit members are contractually required to pay either membership dues or the agency fee. The dues fiscal year runs from the beginning of the Summer Session until the end of the following spring semester. Visiting Lecturers who are eligible for unit membership are billed in the first semester that they teach. This payment of membership dues or agency fees covers you for the year, so you will not be billed again until the next fiscal year. The union dues/agency fee bill includes payments to NEA, MTA, and MSCA, and the local chapter dues. If you are affiliated with MTA and/or NEA from another job, you do not have to pay their portion of the fees again. For example, if you teach for a local school system and already are a member of MTA and NEA, you are responsible to pay only the MSCA and local chapter portions of the bill. If you have any questions, please call the MSCA Treasurer’s office at (508) 697-9114 or drop by the MSCA Cottage at 91 Burrill Avenue, across from the Moakley Center.

Last Modified: June 10, 2008