Penn Onboarding

This page covers the university-side process for permanent staff joining Penn. For lab-specific access (space, Slack, GitHub, Drive), see Lab Onboarding. If you’re temporary staff, a postdoc, or a student, see your category’s requirements on Joining the Lab instead.

The general process for onboarding staff at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) can be found here: Onboard@Penn. This page catalogues any hitches that may not be explained through that resource.

Virtual Tasks: Part 1

After signing your offer letter, have your reference send a recommendation letter on your behalf — this may take time depending on your reference’s availability.

You’ll receive an email to approve a background check. If it takes more than a week, reach out to Dr. Cheng.

You’ll receive an email from noreply@upenn.edu to set up your PennKey. Keep note of your Penn ID number at the end of that email.

Through Penn Workday, submit your SSN and birthdate. Within the day, you should have a list of virtual paperwork to complete: Setting up your PennKey, Demographic and Contact data, Part 1 of the I-9, Disability Self-Identification, Payment Election Enrollment Event, Payroll Payment Acknowledgement, Preferred Name Changes, Personal Info Changes, Veteran Status Identification. Workday will also present other documents about employee rights that require acknowledgment.

In-Person Task

Once the background check is complete, schedule an appointment at Onboard@Penn to complete part 2 of the I-9. US citizens only need a passport. Location: 2nd floor of the UPenn bookstore.

Virtual Tasks: Part 2

You should also start your virtual Workday onboarding lessons — HIPAA and blood/sharp exposure are required for this lab (wet or dry). Each lesson can take up to 30 minutes.

Penn will assign a number of virtual onboarding lessons, including several CITI-training modules. When finished, sign up for the mandatory in-person onboarding session (~4 hours, required within your first few months).

First Day Tasks

Get your PennCard at the card office next to Onboard@Penn. Any unfinished Workday tasks (besides lessons) will need to be resolved first.

Connect to campus wifi: AirPennNet setup

Once you have your PennCard, continue to Lab Onboarding for building/lab access.