New employees
Learn what to expect as a new employee of the University of Nevada, Reno.
What to expect before you arrive
The University of Nevada, Reno's main campus covers nearly 300 acres. Walking from the north of campus where most of our parking facilities are located to the south where most of our buildings are located can take 30 minutes or more. A free campus shuttle is available for students and employees to reduce travel time and exposure during inclement weather. Although the University has nearly 11,000 parking spaces available to students and employees, you will want to evaluate your parking and transportation options to determine the most safe, convenient, accessible, and affordable option for you.
On-campus parking passes are available for purchase on an annual or semester basis and are pro-rated based on start/stop dates. Prices vary by lot, garage and proximity to the heart of campus. Parking fees are evaluated annually to ensure they generate adequate funding for maintaining parking facilities, but your parking fees are not for profit and do not finance other areas of the institution. Special rates and parking spaces are available for carpool program participants and electric vehicles on a limited basis.
The University of Nevada, Reno strongly encourages faculty, staff, and students to utilize alternative transportation to help alleviate congestion and carbon emissions. All WolfCard holders may ride Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) buses for free as part of their U-Pass program. If you will be biking to campus, you are encouraged to register your bike and utilize a bike rack or locker to prevent theft. Please see our Alternate Transportation Options and Information page for information on shuttles, buses, zip cars, and more.
Your NetID is your single sign-on user name that will allow you to access everything from your University computer to the Fitness Center. Your username is automatically generated once you become affiliated with the University, and it must be activated before use.
Activating your NetID should be completed first and at your earliest convenience, as accessing into some University tools, as the WebCampus Learning Management System, may be delayed up to 24 hours after NetID activation.
To activate your NetID, please have one of the following pieces of information on hand:
Your NSHE ID Number, which is received during the application acceptance and class registration process.
Your Employee ID Number (this can be found in Workday once you have access, but should have also been emailed to you by your department’s onboarding administrator).
Once your NetID is activated, you will have access to Workday to complete your onboarding steps. To ensure that your start date will not be delayed, be sure to regularly check your personal email inbox for any requisite onboarding steps. If you are able to log into Workday, you can also check for steps in your Workday inbox.
Before requesting your University email address, please speak with your hiring division's administrative assistant to determine if (and when) they will request your account for you.
Some employee types are granted official University email accounts on their first day of employment, and others, such as faculty, can sometimes be activated months in advance. Most administrative assistants will request your email account for you at the proper time, but less centralized units may instruct you to contact OIT directly.
If you have been instructed to do so, please contact the OIT Support Center to get your employee email address activated.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records and establishes rights for students relative to the disclosure of these records. The University provides a statement of privacy rights for students, policy guidance for faculty, and mandatory FERPA training to ensure compliance. If you will have access to student records in your new role, you must complete FERPA training in advance.
Completion of FERPA training on WebCampus is required before you may access MyNEVADA.
MyNevada is your one-stop-shop for all things related to course enrollments, grades, transcripts, and more. If you will need access to this data in your new role, please follow the instructions to activate your account.
WebCampus is the University’s learning management system (LMS). If you will be teaching or helping to manage a course in the near future, you may wish to log into WebCampus before you arrive on campus to begin developing your course. The Instructional Design Team is available to support users with all aspects of WebCampus from technical issues and errors to course design. Your WebCampus account does not require user action to be activated, but there may be a delay of up to 24 hours after activation of your NetID.
Learn more about WebCampus access | Browse WebCampus tutorials | Sign up for WebCampus training
Have questions? Try our New Employe Frequently Asked Questions page. You can also learn more about the Reno-Sparks area, from public schools, to housing, to utility providers.
What to expect your first day on-campus
The University’s voicemail system is accessible by telephone or e-mail. All new and migrated users should read the instructions for Unified Messaging.
To access the Unified messaging system, dial (775) 682-9890 (dial the extension 29890 if you are on campus).
If your office phone does not have a voicemail box associated with it, or you would like the voicemail box to be reset for a new user, please contact OIT Support with the following information:
- The extension number of the phone
- An alternative contact number that you can be reached by once the voicemail box has been created
- The details of your supervisor (name and number)
Once created, you will be notified by a member of the Unified Communications department that the voicemail box is ready to be used.
You may use your preferred desktop or mobile mail client, such as Outlook or Mail, and you may use any browser to access your email. View email instructions.
Set up your official email signature using our online signature creation web app. A tutorial on how to create or insert signatures in outlook can be found on Microsoft's support site.
Our online Campus Directory allows users to find people, contact information, and locations using custom queries. We encourage you to search for yourself and ensure that your contact information is accurate and complete. Directory information should be initially entered by your department's administrative assistant, but you can review and make certain updates yourself through Workday. To learn how, please use the instructions listed in the *Workday Knowledge Base. If you wish to make a change that employees are not allowed to complete in Workday, please speak with your supervisor or your department's administrative assistant.
*The Workday Knowledge Base is designed to be your one-stop shop for all things Workday@UNR. The Knowledge Base includes announcements, frequently asked questions, and both policy and procedure information.
Your WolfCard is your campus photo identification card. It is used to access many on-campus services including meal swipes, campus purchases, access to the Fitness Center, checking out materials in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, libraries, and other services. You can also link your WolfCard to a Wells Fargo Checking account for optional banking convenience. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
Do not carry your WolfCard in your phone pocket! You will invalidate the mag (black) stripe on the back of your card. Replacement cards cost $15.
Check with your supervisor to see which trainings you should complete and by which date. All employees are typically subject to completion of the following:
- FERPA
- Sexual Harassment Prevention
- Environmental Health & Safety (Defensive Driving, lab safety, CPR, and more)
- Workday 101 (and other Workday and HR training)
- AssetWorks (Asset Management system)
- Implicit Bias (Mandatory for search chairs and committee members; recommended for all employees)
- Mandatory Supervisor Training (for employees who manage classified staff)
- WebCampus (for instructors, graders, etc.)
- Basic Web Accessibility Training
- Office of Digital Learning (various topics offered)
The Workday Knowledge Base, our Source of Record for internal policies and procedures, is designed to be your one-stop shop for all things Workday@UNR. The Knowledge Base includes announcements, frequently asked questions, tutorials, policy, and procedure information. You can also make suggestions on content creation and modification by submitting feedback on any Knowledge Base article.
Usually your department's administrative assistant – or even your supervisor – will ensure that you are given the appropriate hard key or card key needed to access necessary facilities on your first day. If you still require a key to a room or facility, please follow the proper procedure as outlined by Facilities' Maintenance Services.
What to expect after your first day
All new employees should attend our live New-Hire Benefits Orientation, which is offered once every other week. Please register in advance.
At the New-Hire Benefits Orientation, you will be given the information and paperwork necessary to make your benefits selections. All eligible employees are provided with health insurance and a mandatory retirement plan. If you do not make a health insurance election within 15 days, your plan will default to the Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP-PPO).
NSHE offers several voluntary benefits options to its employees. Many of the optional plans are available through payroll deduction, and enrollment can be completed either through Workday or PEBP.
- Accident Insurance
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
- Auto, Home & Renters Insurance
- Cancer Care Insurance
- College Savings Plan-Nevada 529 College Fund
- Critical Illness Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts-ASI Flex Medical Savings Account
- Dependent Care FSA
- Limited FSA
- Health Saving Account - Medical Savings Account with HealthSCOPE
- Hospital Indemnity Insurance
- Identity Protection
- Legal Services
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Pet Insurance
- Short-Term Disability Insurance: American Fidelity
- Term Life Insurance: Western Insurance
- Term Life Insurance-Standard Insurance (comprehensive medical package)
- Vision Care
- Voluntary Short-Term Disability: Standard Insurance
- Voluntary Term-Life Insurance-Standard Insurance
- Western Insurance Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Policy
As an employee of the Nevada System of Higher education, you are automatically enrolled in one or more of the following mandatory retirement plans:
- Nevada Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
- Faculty Retirement Plan Alternative (RPA)
- Excess Benefit Plan
- Medical Residents/Postdoctoral Fellows Plan
- FICA Alternative Retirement Plan
Supplemental Retirement Plans are available to help save and grow additional income for retirement:
To ensure you’re on the shortest path to success, meet with your supervisor to determine if there are additional requirements or training required (or encouraged) by your department. Employees should also contact their department's administrative staff for an orientation on emergency procedures.
The University Events calendar is a centralized calendar for all local events at or of interest to University students, faculty, and staff. Attend a workshop, a play, or join a free yoga class on the historic quad on the south end of campus.
The E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center is approximately 108,600 square feet with three basketball gymnasiums, areas for weightlifting, cardio training, stadium stairs, 1/8th mile running track and a multitude of new fitness classes and activities.
Swimming pool and dive tank
The swimming complex, located in Lombardi Recreation, offers a lap pool and competitive diving tank.
Gyms & studios
The E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center features open gym with three basketball/volleyball courts for general recreation use. The building also offers studios for dance, yoga and pilates. These facilities are primarily used for individual workouts, drop-in classes, and intramural sports and leagues.
John Sala fields
Fully lighted and covered with the most advanced artificial turf, the Sala Fields offer students an unparalleled recreational facility. The field is open every day during the Fall and Spring semesters from Noon–6 p.m. Summer field use is available by reservation only. Please call (775) 682-7038 to reserve. The fields will be closed during holidays and all home football games.
Affordable memberships are offered to all employees, spouses, and domestic partners.
New-hire benefits orientation calendar
There are currently no events
