Your First Month
As a new employee, you have the opportunity to make an impact at Teachers College. The Office of Human Resources wants all employees to have an exceptional employment experience here. It is our hope that you will enjoy a rewarding career, so we want you to feel supported, informed, and prepared to excel in your new position. Within your first month, here are some important tasks for you to complete.
As a full-time employee of Teachers College, you are entitled to the full time benefits package offered by the College.
Elections must be made within the first 30 days of employment.
If you do not elect benefits within 30 days of your start date, you will forfeit your right to sign up for benefits as a new hire and will have to wait until Open Enrollment in October to sign up for benefits for the following year.
We understand that electing your benefits is a big decision. To help guide you through the options, please email the Benefits Team at benefits@tc.columbia.edu.
You review our current benefits package, please click here:
To register for benefits:
- Log into your TC Employee Portal.
- On the Employee Resources tab, under Human Resources, click on TC Benefits.
- Follow the instructions listed on the TC Benefits page.
Teachers College has extensive employment policies. The TC Policy Library is the repository for all policies administered by the College. During the first month of employment with TC, please familiarize yourself with these policies.
TC's approach to performance management is to provide a framework for staff and supervisors to engage in meaningful dialogue throughout the academic year to clarify expectations, share feedback, assess training and development needs, and establish goals for the upcoming year.
Within the first few days of employment, you should meet with your supervisor to discuss your role and set general performance expectations and goals for the coming months. It is important that you and your supervisor review performance goals and discuss performance progress periodically to ensure timely and relevant feedback.
Your performance-focused discussion may include the some of following topics:
- Department/Office mission, goals, competencies and performance metrics
- Frequent tasks to be completed as part of your role
- Ad-hoc and/or periodic projects you will be involved in
- Expectations for work projects and level of decision-making authority
- Resources for each project including timeline for key deliverables
- Process for informally and/or formally reviewing your performance
- Planned team and individual one-on-one meetings
- Recommendations for professional development (in-person workshops and online content)
Within the first 30 days of employment, all new employees are required to complete mandatory trainings, including the Discrimination, Harassment, and Gender-Based Misconduct course, the EHS COVID-19 Training Modules, and submit the annual Conflict of Interest form.