New Employees

All new employees, both faculty and staff, must complete a Form I-9 on or before their third day of employment. We recommend this be completed prior to your start date if possible, but it can also be completed in person at our HR offices on your first day. More information regarding our I-9 process can be found HERE. 

The BU Terrier Card is the official ID card for Boston University students, faculty, and staff. To receive your Terrier for your first day, we suggest you complete your Terrier Card Request Form prior to your start date. You will need your BUID number to submit the request form, which you can find in your New Employee Onboarding portal. Medical Campus employees will need to visit the ID office (650 Albany Street) on or after their first day to get their Terrier Card. 

In the days leading up to their start date, all new employees will receive emails from IThelp@bu.edu regarding their BU account creation and system access:

• Account Creation: You will receive a “Welcome to Boston University!” email with instructions to create and/or update (former BU employees, students, or affiliates) your BU login and Kerberos password.
• Account Success: Once you have successfully created/updated your account, you will receive a second “Congratulations on Creating your Account” email with further onboarding instructions and access to the New Employee Onboarding portal* (full-time faculty & staff only).

We recommend familiarizing yourself with the University by exploring our interactive campus map or by taking a virtual campus tour. You can learn more about getting to campus by visiting our Transportation Services website. *Please note that you cannot enroll in any parking benefits until your official start date. 

If you are a new employee working at least 50 percent of a full-time schedule with an assignment duration of at least 9 months, you will also be scheduled for a New Employee Orientation session, which covers benefits, resources available to you, and Boston University’s rich history and heritage. An invitation to orientation, along with the Zoom link and orientation slides, will be emailed to your personal email the Friday prior to your scheduled orientation.

We recommend familiarizing yourself with our Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal via BUworks. This is where employees can go to enroll in benefits, complete your W4 withholding elections, sign-up for a parking permit, view salary statements, change direct deposit elections, and more. Please note you cannot access BUworks until on or after your start date. You can find more information, as well as process guides, on IS&T’s website.

In addition to BUWorks, new employees should take the time to learn more about the systems and technology needed for their specific role. The Information Services & Technology (IS&T) team provides information on how to get connected as a new employee, as well as general support on things like Blackboard, Network Access, Information Security, and more.

Being at BU means being YOU. It is important to us that employees’ lived name and pronouns be used in the workplace. If you have a lived name that is different than your legal name, you may update your name throughout certain BU systems. You also have the option to share your lived name and pronunciation in your own voice through Hear My Name.

All new employees are required to complete the Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training, which will be assigned to you in your Terrier eDevelopment Portal, within two weeks of your start date. Additionally, your manager and department will assign any other necessary trainings and polices that you will need to review which will be specific to your department and role.

• You must enroll in any benefits, such as health/dental insurance, within 30 days of orientation or your date of hire, whichever is later. You can review our benefits through the Benefits Education Center and make your enrollment elections through the BUworks BU Benefits Center.  
• *Please note, if you do not enroll during your new hire enrollment period, your next opportunity will be during Open Enrollment or a Qualified Life Event. 

As a new employee, we encourage you to sign-up for our events designed specifically to enhance your onboarding experience. Campus Connects: Bridging BU helps new employees navigate their career journey at BU while providing opportunities to meet campus resource groups and connect with fellow colleagues. Our New Employee Campus Tours, hosted in collaboration with BU Admissions, are designed to build familiarity, confidence, and connection with the Charles River Campus.  For other campus wide events, please visit the BU Calendar of Events. 

As a member of the BU community, you can take advantage of all the perks, discounts, and resources we have to offer our employees. We encourage you to visit the “Life@BU” page to find more ways to save, have fun, and connect with the BU community.