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post-orientation-followup

Subject: Welcome to CS 3100 Spring 2026 — Next Steps After Orientation

Hi everyone,

Thank you for joining us at orientation yesterday and/or later today! Whether you're returning or new to the team, we're excited to have you. Here's what to do next to get fully set up.

0. Get Set Up on Pawtograder 🐾​

If you haven't already, log in to Pawtograder and link your GitHub and Discord accounts. Pawtograder is our hub for office hours, grading, discussion boards, and course coordination.

Staff documentation: https://docs.pawtograder.com/staff/intro GitHub integration detailed instrutions: https://docs.pawtograder.com/students/intro Discord integration: Still a beta... Go to Course Settings -> Discord -> Connect to Discord, then "Join Discord Server". The server you are looking for is "Program Design and Implementation Ops". This server is shared between multiple courses, and you should be automatically granted access to the "CS3100 - Spring 2026" channel group (may require clicking "sync roles" in Pawtograder).

1. Introduce Yourself on Discord 👋​

Head to the #cs3100 channel and share a bit about yourself:

  • Your name and pronouns
  • Past experience TA'ing (or this is your first time!)
  • Any experience with CS 3100/3500 as a student
  • Ice breaker: What's your favorite kind of pizza—and what's the story behind it? 🍕

We're spending the semester building a recipe app, so we want to hear the real answer. Not just "pepperoni" but maybe "the late-night spot near my dorm," "the one my roommate from another country introduced me to," or "whatever abomination I invented at 2am that I will defend to the death."

While you're there, please set your Discord server profile with your preferred name, pronouns, and pronunciation if it would be helpful.

2. Email Tim About Office Hours Availability 📅​

Email our academic coordinator, Tim Howard (t.howard@northeastern.edu), with your availability for office hours. Please share:

  • Your course schedule
  • Any other constraints you have (work, clubs, etc.)

Volunteers needed: If you're ready to start holding office hours tomorrow (Wednesday, January 7th), please let Tim know! We want to help students with Java setup ASAP. Lab 1 (Java Tooling and Setup) will be due on Friday.

Tim will compile everyone's availability and share the complete schedule. We'll also share a calendar that you can directly edit to make tweaks as needed. See the scheduling operations plan for details.

3. Add Your Info to the Course Website 📸​

We have a staff directory that you can add your information to. Help students get to know the team! Please add:

  • A photo of yourself
  • Your pronouns
  • An optional short bio (a sentence or two is great)

This isn't a hard requirement, but it makes a real difference in creating a more personal, welcoming environment for students.

Fork our cs3100-public-resources repository and add your information to the staff/ directory following the directions in the README. Open a pull request to merge your changes into the main branch.

4. Mark Conflicts of Interest in Pawtograder ⚠️​

If you have any conflicts of interest (friends, roommates, former group project partners, etc. enrolled in the course), please mark them in Pawtograder. Then, we will automatically ensure that you are never assigned to grade them, avoiding any uncomfortable moments and conflicts of interest. This ensures fair grading assignment.

5. Access Staff Materials & Review Roles 📚​

Staff website: https://sp26.staff.cs3100.pdi.run

GitHub repo: https://github.com/neu-cs3100/sp26-staff-resources

Please:

  • Browse the operations docs and familiarize yourself with how we work
  • Review the role descriptions (especially Lead roles if you're interested - and make a post in the CS 3100 #operations channel to express interest in a Lead role)
  • If you have ideas for process improvements, open a discussion in Discord before making PRs — we love collaborative refinement.
  • Think about your interest in assignment and lab playtesting — you know your schedule better than we do, and some weeks you'll be busier than others. If you want to take on the responsibility of reviewing an assignment before release (or not!), now's the time to think about it.

📣 First Staff Meeting: Thursday, January 9th​

Our first weekly staff meeting is Thursday at 12:00 PM EST. Check your calendar invite for the Zoom link. These meetings will be weekly going forward.

Can't make it? No worries—catch up on Discord afterwards. We'll post notes and recordings there.

Quick Checklist​

  • Get set up on Pawtograder (link GitHub + Discord)
  • Introduce yourself on Discord (#cs3100) + answer the pizza question
  • Set your Discord server profile (name, pronouns, pronunciation)
  • Email Tim (t.howard@northeastern.edu) with your OH availability (volunteer for tomorrow if you can!)
  • Add your photo and info to the course website (PR to cs3100-public-resources)
  • Mark any conflicts of interest in Pawtograder
  • Browse staff materials and think about role preferences
  • Join the first staff meeting — Thursday 12:00 PM EST (Zoom link in calendar invite)

If you have any questions, drop them in Discord (#cs3100). If you have issues getting into Discord, please email me directly.

Looking forward to a great semester!

Best, Prof. Bell (on behalf of Profs. Spertus, Vesely, Lee, and Shesh)