First-year faculty meet weekly as a cohort with the Director of Faculty Development and Instructional Designer as a learning community. Second-year faculty are invited, but not required to attend. The purpose of the new faculty learning community (NFLC) is:

• To build community and promote a sense of belonging
• To inform new faculty of upcoming deadlines and requirements
• To address questions that arise regarding classroom management, academic expectations, institutional expectations, etc.
• To explore pedagogical concepts together

The foundational principle of professional learning communities is that all participants bring professional expertise, as opposed to one or two people bringing the knowledge to the group. Each participant is a partner in building collective knowledge and co-constructing new knowledge and skills.