Guru's Verification engine ensures consistency, confidence, and trust in the knowledge your organization shares. Learn more.

Getting Started with Guru

Welcome to Guru

Duration: 2 minutes
Audience: All Guru Users

Congratulations! You've made it to, Guru a university-wide tool for storing and managing institutional knowledge such as university policies, operating procedures, frequently asked questions, and more.

Check out What is Knowledge Management? for additional information about Guru and Content Management.


How to Access Guru

These trainings presume you already have access to Guru... because, well, you're here!

That said, here are the basics to understand when, how, and why users receive Guru Access:

  • Only New School Faculty and Staff have access to Guru.
  • Employee access permissions are automatically synced with WorkDay upon login.
  • Employees are sent a registration link via email at the time they begin work at The New School,
  • Guru is available as a web application and browser extension for Chrome.
  • Guru cards can be exported as PDFs to share with team members without Guru access.
TIP: Change your Chrome homepage to Guru, and download the browser extension, to connect your internet experience seamlessly with New School policies and procedures!

For a broad overview of Guru and its functions, visit Guru Knowledge Base Overview.

NOTE: If you believe your account should have permissions outside of the scope of your current role, reach out to Our Team for more information.

1. Introduction to Guru

This section provides an overview of functions for each Guru Access Type.

1.1 Guru User Training

Duration: 12 minutes
Audience: All Guru Users
Learning Goal: Develop a basic understanding of the mission and function of the Guru database.

View the User Training Curriculum

1.2 Guru Author Training

Duration: 30 minutes
Audience: Guru Authors
Learning Goal: Feel empowered to make your own content in the Guru Database.

View the Author Training Curriculum

2. Managing Your Guru Workspace

Now that you've become acclimated to the Guru Knowledge Base, we'll cover some more robust functionality to access and maintain your preferred content in Guru.

  • For an overview of all items in the hub toolbar, visit My Hub (Tasks)
  • For Card Management information for Authors, visit Card Manager

This video content is one video, separated into two sections based on level of user permissions. Guru Users without Author permissions are not expected to review section 2.2 Managing Guru Author Content.

2.1 Customizing Your Guru Workspace

Duration: 5 minutes
Audience: All Guru Users
Learning Goal: Understand where to access your favorite information in Guru.

View the Custom Workspace Curriculum

2.1.1 Favorites

Users may Favorite Cards and Folders similar to traditional "bookmarks," which may be organized into lists for quick access. You may also Follow a Card or an Author to be notified of changes and new content.

You'll also find a listing of Recently Viewed and New Cards here.

2.1.2 Following

Users may Favorite Cards and Folders similar to traditional "bookmarks," which may be organized into lists for quick access. You may also Follow a Card or an Author to be notified of changes and new content.

2.1.3 New and Recently Viewed Cards

You'll also find a listing of Recently Viewed and New Cards here.

2.2 Managing Guru Author Content

Duration: 10 minutes
Audience: All Guru Authors
Learning Goal: Understand how to fulfill Guru User content requests.

4.4 Drafts

Drafts is is where those with advanced permissions (Authors, Collection Owners, etc.) can view and manage their unpublished drafts.

4.5 Card Verification

Portrays your cards in need of verification in Guru.

4.5 Card Manager

Provides a birds-eye view of all content available to each author.


Other Guru Basics

On-Demand Archive

The look and feel of Guru has changed quite a bit since our initial adoption in 2023. Consider these additional on-demand sessions a jumping-off-point for your own up-to-date Guru exploration.

Visit the Guru Training Archive

Faculty Guru Session
September 26, 2024
We recognize that learning to navigate a new tool can be overwhelming, especially at the busy start of a new semester. Join us as we walk you through how to log in, how to navigate the system, how to search for information, and tips and tricks to make the most of this valuable resource. This session is geared towards faculty and those who support them.
>> Video | Transcript | Slide Deck

Migrating Existing Content into Guru
August 15, 2024
Looking to clean out your Google Drive or consolidate information from various Google sites, shared folders, or wikis? Migrating content into Guru creates a searchable repository for staff and faculty to find valuable content. Join us as we review the ins and outs of migrating your content into the system and discuss the strategies you can use to build your collections.
>> Video | Transcript | Slide Deck

Formatting & Style Session
August 20, 2024
Guru has introduced a wide array of new formatting and style features over the last year, from collapsible drawers and callout boxes to new text and photo alignment options. In this session we’ll review best practices for designing and formatting your cards, review accessibility standards, and demonstrate how using card templates can help you create quick and easy card content.
>> Video | Transcript | Slide Deck

Writing Instructions & Guides
August 22, 2024
Guru is the perfect place to document how to complete tasks and processes and to post instructions that can be easily searched and shared. We’ll walk you through the process of creating a ‘How To’ card, review examples utilizing different formatting options, and discuss the ways you can ensure your instructions are clear and easy to follow.
>> Video | Transcript

Creating Onboarding Materials in Guru
August 28, 2024
Effective onboarding materials improve the new employee experience and are also a reliable resource for current staff. Join this session to review the onboarding materials we’ve created for all new university employees and learn how to create customized onboarding content for your unit or department.
>> Video | Transcript

You must have Author or Collection Owner permission to create Guru Cards. Contact your team's Guru admins to use this template.