Measures to Protect and Preserve in CUNY and SUNY

Resources to Assist CUNY Faculty with Instructional Continuity:

BEST SITE: CUNY Graduate School GCTLC Considerations for Instructional Continuity

"This site offers guidance for faculty members in anticipation of campuses closing during the Spring 2020 semester. This guidance applies both to faculty teaching at the Graduate Center and to Graduate Center students teaching on other CUNY campuses. Community members who are teaching at other CUNY campuses should look for local support on those campuses in addition to what is offered here. CUNY’s campuses support a range of platforms and will have varying approaches to supporting instruction should a shutdown occur. " Considerations for Instructional Continuity

Things To Do ASAP
Things to Do Should CUNY Close Campuses
Tools Available and Supported at CUNY
Graduate Center Teaching and Learning Center Support
Additional CUNY Resources

CUNY Baruch College Resources for Maintaining Business Continuity during a Potential COVID-19 Campus Closing

"All material below has been prepared for the possibility that CUNY might make a decision to alter class schedules and formats in the event of a wider spread of COVID-19. This material is distributed to provide faculty the time and tools to reflect on and be prepared for possible changes. Faculty should not decide on their own to alter class schedules and format. If any particular accommodations are needed, faculty are urged to discuss those with department chairs and deans’ offices."

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice VIDEO Translating On-Campus to Distance-Learning more than 60 minutes, captions coming

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice TEACH ON : What to do and where to start

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Handbook for Online Teaching

CUNY Baruch College: Making up for Hurricane Sandy An Idea Exchange for Baruch Faculty Using Technology to Make Up for Lost Time

CUNY BMCC: Emergency Preparedness

CUNY CCNY Instruction and learning during a Potential COVID-19 Campus Closing

CUNY Lehman College: Leveraging Blackboard to Support Student Learning

CUNY Macaulay Honors College: Crisis Arrangements https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/crisisarrangements/ . This site will be updated and available as a resource.

CUNY Queens College: Back-up Plans for Course Interruption: What Everyone Needs to Know

CUNY Hostos CC: Online Course Development Guide

CUNY Queens College CETL: Back-up Plans for Course Interruption: What Everyone Needs to Know

CUNY Queens College CETL: Keep Teaching Site

CUNY Queens College calling for online faculty volunteer faculty mentors

CUNY Queensborough Community College --Academic Continuity - Preparation and Resources

CUNY SPH Online Course Manual (PDF)

UC Davis’ Center for Educational Effectiveness has a keep teaching site it is still updating

UC Berkeley keep teaching many guides to be prepared to offer instruction remotely.

Rebecca Barrett-Fox Please do a bad job of putting your courses online Despite title this offers some very good advice to all faculty going online at this time.

Chronicle of Higher Education Moving Online Now:How to keep teaching during coronavirus

Chronicle of Higher Education Going Online in a Hurry: What to Do and Where to Start by Michelle D. Miller March 09, 2020

Chronicle of Higher Education As Coronavirus Spreads, the Decision to Move Classes Online Is the First Step. What Comes Next? by Emma Dill, Karin Fischer, Beth McMurtrie, and Beckie Supiano March 06, 2020

Remote Teaching Resources for Instructional Continuity across the USA

Dr. Anthony G. Picciano : "Theories and Frameworks for Online Education: Seeking an Integrated Model” Pedagogical context to developing online courses.

Messages:

NYSED guidance issued to CUNY gives permission to go online with instruction for Spring 2020, but only in the event of emergency or campus closure.

CUNY Updates

CUNY Updates on Academic Continuity

CUNY CIS FAQ for faculty and staff on accessing and using CUNY technology to support remote teaching, learning and work

CUNY COSI Website for information on CUNY/CSI/COVID-19

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Ph.D.

CUNY Brooklyn College 3-10-20 and updated

CUNY College of Staten ISland

CUNY CCNY President's Message 3-6-20

CUNY Guttmann Community College

CUNY Queensborough Community College

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice Shut Down Message March 10, 2020

CUNY Lehman College

CUNY Medgar Evers

CUNY Queens College

CUNY Queens College Site for Information on the Virus

CUNY LaGuardia Community College Library Lib guide Coronavirus: Outbreak Situation, Fatalities, Number Recovered

PSC - CUNY Letter from Barbara Bowen to CUNY

PSC Preliminary Collective Bargaining Demands on COVID-19 Issues and reply from the CUNY Chancellor

PSC Guidance on the Use of Sick Days and Working Remotely March 11, 2020

SUNY Suffolk Community College

SUNY Farmingdale

SUNY Nassau Community College

NYU

Faculty Questions:

TOP

CUNY

Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Ph.D.

OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR

To:	CUNY Faculty and Staff
From:	Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Ph.D.
Date:	March 2, 2020
Re:	Human Resources Update -- Coronavirus

As we continue to monitor developments related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it is important to gather facts, take preventive measures, and plan for a variety of scenarios. As I am sure you know, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published preliminary recommendations for organizations to consider in case of local transmissions of the coronavirus in the United States.

Although the first case of coronavirus in New York City was just confirmed, the risk to New Yorkers remains low. The NYC Department of Health has “not detected community transmission of COVID-19 in New York City.” Community transmission means the disease is spreading and the source of the infection is unknown. However, it has raised our level of concern and we are stepping up our ongoing preparations for the possibility of our city and campuses being impacted by the virus.

We are also giving our facilities extra attention in terms of restocking hand sanitizers, soaps and other cleaning supplies and ensuring that there are plenty of places throughout common areas where students, faculty, and staff can wash or sanitize their hands. Clear signage regarding proper hygiene (washing hands and covering coughs, etc.) will be displayed in restrooms and in various common areas around campus and CUNY offices.

For our employees, please note:

Employees who are sick and exhibiting symptoms of acute respiratory illness are asked to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F [37.8° C] or greater using an oral thermometer) and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines. Employees should notify their supervisor and keep them informed of their absence. For the health and safety of all employees, staff members who report to work exhibiting these symptoms may be sent home.

Employees returning from a country designated as “Level 3” by the CDC are to contact their Human Resources office by phone or email before returning to work.

Employees who may have international travel plans should check the CDC’s Traveler’s Health Notices for the latest guidance and recommendations for the country of travel.

The University also recommends regularly checking the following resources for updates:

We understand that employees may be experiencing heightened levels of anxiety during this time. We want to remind you that CUNY’s Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) is available to work with you toward addressing this. CUNY’s EAP may be reached at 1-888-993-7650 or www.deeroaks.com.

The NYC Health Department is preparing for all possible scenarios, and we will continue to monitor and communicate with them about any potential impact to our campuses.

Please be assured that CUNY is taking this possible threat very seriously and we are actively making and updating plans to ensure employee and student safety, as well as continuity of our business and operations across a range of possible scenarios.

As you know, CUNY’s academic systems, including its learning management platform Blackboard and our cloud collaboration tools Microsoft Office 365 for Education and Dropbox, can be helpful ways to deliver academic instruction in a remote/online manner, should the need arise. Furthermore, CUNY’s Virtual Desktop environment and many similar Virtual Desktop environments at the colleges provide students, faculty, and staff with remote access to some of the software products commonly found in computer labs across the University, again should the need arise.

We will continue to communicate with you about our ongoing efforts regarding the coronavirus.

Should you have any immediate questions or concerns, please contact your College Human Resources office.

TOP

CUNY Queensborough Community College

From: Office of Academic Affairs
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 1:29 PM
To: _Faculty (Including CLT's) <FacultyIncludingCLT@qcc.cuny.edu>; _Adjuncts <_Adjuncts@qcc.cuny.edu>
Cc: _Cabinet Members <_CabinetMembers@qcc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Academic Continuity Planning: “A Quick Transition to Online Instruction via Blackboard” Workshops
Importance: High

Dear Colleagues,

As CUNY continues to monitor the developments related to COVID-19, Queensborough is developing a broader plan to address a variety of scenarios. As Provost Palmer mentioned in Friday’s emails (below), this will include the use of existing teaching and learning technologies, Blackboard and Blackboard Collaborate.

The Office of Educational Technology has prepared a list of resources and recommendations to support faculty in the technical aspects of moving content online.

Training sessions on Blackboard and Blackboard Collaborate, both in-person and online, will be offered to anyone interested in learning how to use these technologies. The in-person training sessions are scheduled to be held in the Library Building, CETL, L-314. Click here to view the full list of training session dates and times.

For online training, please contact dbejar@qcc.cuny.edu

Sincerely,

Denis

Denis Bejar, MBA

IT Academic Applications Director/Blackboard Administrator

Office of Educational Technology (OET), L - 314

Queensborough Community College, CUNY

http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/oet/

Phone #: (718) 281-5540

From: Office of Academic Affairs <OfficeofAcademicAffairs@qcc.cuny.edu>
Date: March 6, 2020 at 1:24:59 PM EST
To: "_Faculty (Including CLT's)" <FacultyIncludingCLT@qcc.cuny.edu>
Cc: _Cabinet Members <_CabinetMembers@qcc.cuny.edu>, "Bejar, Denis" <DBejar@QCC.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Important Update Regarding Coronavirus

Dear Faculty:

As Interim President Lynch mentioned in his email on Tuesday (below), the College has assembled a team that continues to monitor developments related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

While the New York City Department of Health reports that New Yorkers remain at low risk for contracting the virus, we would like to be proactive and prepare even for the most unlikely of scenarios across operations, including developing contingencies for teaching and learning activities.

FACULTY ROLE

Please consider ways to accommodate impacted students to the greatest reasonable extent, including, but not limited to permitting make-up exams and extending due dates for assignments and projects.
Start thinking about how your students could complete coursework off campus and how you would structure the delivery of your lectures, class notes and assignments.
If you are not already familiar with the College’s coursework delivery systems, including its learning management platform Blackboard, Mr. Denis Bejar, IT Academic Applications Director in the Office of Educational Technology, is available to offer online education advice, resources and training for all faculty. Additional information, including training session dates and times, is available on the Office of Educational Technology webpage.
CUNY also provides a variety of resources to help you navigate and utilize sharing and collaborative services, including Microsoft Office 365 for Education and Dropbox. Additional information, including training session dates and times, is available on the CUNY Microsoft Office 365 Training Resources Page and CUNY Dropbox Training Resources Page.
NOTE: Modifications to instruction should only be enacted after consultation with and approval by the appropriate Department Chair as well as the Office of Academic Affairs.

I want to reiterate that to date, no case of the virus has been reported in the CUNY community, however, it is imperative that we remain ready for the most unlikely of scenarios.

It should also be noted that spring break is often a time when members of the campus community travel internationally. Please keep in mind that travel restrictions have and can change rapidly with little notice. Depending on where you go, you may encounter challenges in departing a country, or face difficulties when you try to return. At the very least, you should plan on extra time for travel and keep up to date on developments at your destination as well as developments in the United States.

Sincerely,

Sandra Palmer, Ph.D.

Acting Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

From: "Interim President Timothy G. Lynch" <PresidentLynch@qcc.cuny.edu>
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 4:25 PM
To: _Everyone <QCCMAILRECIPIENTS@qcc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Important Update Regarding Coronavirus

Dear Colleagues:

I encourage all members of our campus community to read the enclosed memo from Chancellor Matos Rodríguez regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

As Queensborough Community College continues to monitor developments related to COVID-19, we want to assure you that our top priority is the health and safety of everyone on our campus. At this time, we are aware of no COVID-019 cases involving anyone in the CUNY community.

The Emergency Management Operations Team (EMT) has been actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation since January. Currently, the EMT is meeting daily with the objective of being prepared to respond to any situation. The EMT plans to activate its Advisory Council this week, which includes representation from various governance bodies. We remain in constant communication with the University’s Central Office and are following the recommendations of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This is a rapidly changing situation. It is therefore essential that you frequent CUNY’s Coronavirus Guidance Update website for the latest information.

At this time, we remind all members of our campus community to follow the New York City Department of Health’s measures to protect against COVID-19:

· Get your flu shot — it’s not too late. (The Office of Health Services provides the flu shot to all students, free-of-charge.)

· Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing — do not use your hands.

· Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

· Do not touch your face with unwashed hands.

· Stay home if you are not feeling well.

While on campus, any student, faculty or staff member who develops a fever or symptom(s) of any respiratory illness should immediately telephone the Office of Health Services at (718) 631-6375 or Department of Public Safety at (718) 631-6320.

Individuals with general questions or concerns are encouraged to contact The New York State Department of Health COVID-19 hotline at (888) 364-3065.

Sincerely,

Timothy G. Lynch, Ph.D.

Interim President

TOP

SUNY Suffolk Community College

From: Mary Lou Araneo <araneom@sunysuffolk.edu>
Date: March 6, 2020 at 10:42:01 AM EST
To: Ammerman Campus Faculty <AmmrFaculty@sunysuffolk.edu>, Ammerman Campus Adjuncts <AmmrAdjuncts@sunysuffolk.edu>, Ammerman Campus Guild Members <AmmrGuild@sunysuffolk.edu>, Ammerman Campus Exempts <AmmrExempts@sunysuffolk.edu>, West Campus Faculty <WestFaculty@sunysuffolk.edu>, West Campus Adjuncts <WestAdjuncts@sunysuffolk.edu>, West Campus Guild Members <WestGuild@sunysuffolk.edu>, East Campus Faculty <EastFaculty@sunysuffolk.edu>, East Campus Guild Members <EastGuild@sunysuffolk.edu>, East Campus Adjuncts <EastAdjuncts@sunysuffolk.edu>, East Campus Exempts <EastExempts@sunysuffolk.edu>, Central Administration Faculty <CentFaculty@sunysuffolk.edu>, Central Administration Adjuncts <CentAdjuncts@sunysuffolk.edu>, Central Administration Guild Members <CentGuild@sunysuffolk.edu>, Central Administration Exempts <CentExempts@sunysuffolk.edu>
Subject: Ensuring Continuity of Instruction

Suffolk County Community College

College Brief

NO. 69 March 6, 2020

TO: All Faculty and Administrators

FROM: Dr. Paul Beaudin

Vice President for Academic Affairs

SUBJECT: Ensuring Continuity of Instruction

At the current time, there is understandable concern from faculty, students, and community members related to the potential spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). In fact, at Professional Development Day, a few faculty requested guidance from me on the continuity of instruction and academic guidelines related to this issue.

First of all, should President Petrizzo, SUNY, and the Board of Trustees make the decision that there is a reason to suspend face-to-face classes in the short-term, the College will want to provide, as much as humanly possible, the opportunity for the continuation of instruction. Of course, we have Blackboard available to us and that will be the platform to provide such instruction. Most faculty have already web-enabled their in-person classes, but some have not. I met with Dr. Camille Karlson and asked her to clear her calendar next week so that she can provide support to faculty, both full-time and adjuncts, who need help in setting up their Blackboard site. Please ensure that if you do not currently use Blackboard or if you need her help, you reach out to her via e-mail (karlsoc@sunysuffolk.edu) as soon as possible so that, if needed, you are able to continue to provide instruction to students. I ask that Academic Chairs and Campus Associate Academic Deans consult with their faculty to assist in this process.

Secondly, as you may have read, SUNY and CUNY are calling home many of their study abroad students and it is likely that additional study abroad trips slated for this spring are being cancelled. Dr. Yaroslava Babenchuk is closely monitoring this for our own programs slated to begin in June. She will have more information for those of you involved in this, as time progresses.

Thirdly, please reconsider your classroom attendance policies at this time and ensure that modifications are communicated to your students. Students should not be penalized for missing class as a result of either illness or fear of illness.

Fourthly, please reconsider whether or not it is judicious to mandate that students attend large events in New York City or beyond. I would ask that you consider other ways that the related student learning outcomes can be achieved for this semester.

Lastly, Dr. Cheryl Shaffer is in communication with state agencies and local facilities about any issues related to our students in clinical hospital placements. All program directors, coordinators, and Chairs who have students working in schools or health care facilities should also do outreach to our community partners to ascertain particular protocols.

I am grateful for your help and support.

TOP

SUNY Farmingdale

From: "Esposito, Duane B." <Duane.Esposito@ncc.edu>
Date: March 7, 2020 at 9:11:44 AM EST
To: "allfaculty@lists.ncc.edu" <allfaculty@lists.ncc.edu>
Subject: SUNY Farmingdale's Message to the College Community

FROM SUNY FARMINGDALE:

Because of the impending threat of the corona virus in our area, the administration is requiring that all professors develop a contingency plan now for all of their classes in the event that it becomes necessary for the campus to close for an extended period of time. Department Chairs have been asked to prepare a list of how each faculty member will handle their classes from off campus in the event classes are cancelled due to the virus. I am required to compile this list and send it to the Deans' office by next week.

Should classes have to be canceled, you may utilize the BLACKBOARD system and post your course content, lectures, assignments, and exams on the BB system for students to complete. (Each of your courses are provided with a BB course shell which you can populate as needed: check with the Distance Learning office for more details about how to access your shell). Or, you may choose to continue your classes via email, in a sort of “correspondence school” fashion, communicating with your students and sending and receiving assignments through the college email system. Obviously, online classes should not be affected. While class cancellations may not be necessary, we are asking you to prepare now for the possibility that the campus may be closed for a while if the virus finds its way here. The goal is to keep classes going so that the semester can continue for our students with as little disruption as possible. Should classes have to be canceled, you will not be permitted on campus until the “all clear” is sounded.

EXAMPLE:

Reporting Form for Presenting Your Contingency Plans for Completing Your Spring Semester Courses

in the Event of an Emergency Shutdown to Deal with the Threat of a Corona Virus Pandemic

As you know, you are being asked to provide your department chair with a plan of action for meeting your instructional obligations so that your students can complete this semester’s work in the event of a Corona Virus pandemic. The following form is offered for your use in reporting your plan of action for this purpose:

Your name and departmental affiliation:

In the following table, please list each of the courses you are currently assigned to teach, and for each one please provide the requested information about its mode of delivery and the related questions regarding the feasibility of an alternate mode of delivery if the campus were to be shut down for an extended period of time, including final exams week.

TOP

CUNY Lehman College

From: "PROVOST.OFFICE" <PROVOST.OFFICE@LEHMAN.CUNY.EDU>

Date: 3/3/20 6:04 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: FACULTY-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU

Subject: Communication to Faculty re Coronavirus

Dear Lehman College Faculty,

Last night, President Lemons sent a detailed email to the Lehman campus community regarding COVID-19. While there is no imminent threat to the college, we continue to make preparations should the situation escalate and impact campus operations. Information on prevention and symptoms are also available from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We are also developing a new section on our website that will provide updates, resources, as well as related policies and communications.

Faculty Role

Because our faculty play a critical role in our teaching and learning functions, we are recommending additional steps in the event that the situation begins to impact campus operations:

Should the situation escalate and classes on campus are not able to be held, we are examining options for leveraging technology to support remote instruction. Begin to think about how you would keep your course on track if it were not possible to hold classes on campus for a period of time. We will be following up in the coming days with a set of possible mechanisms you might use, but as the instructor you would still have to determine how to structure topic coverage, assignments, quizzes, exams and other elements of your course.

Learn more on what you can do now to prepare ahead of time by reviewing recommendations and resources from the Office of Online Education. In addition, most library resources can be accessed remotely via the Library’s website.

The Division of Information Technology is currently working on preparing additional resources to support students and faculty, which will be available on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

Please make sure that your contact information is up to date in CUNYfirst and on departmental lists. Employee instructions are here. It is possible that we will need to reach you with important information during off hours or weekends.

In case you need to reach your students, please ask that they also update their contact information on CUNYfirst and provide this to you immediately. Student instructions are here.

As a precautionary measure, any faculty member who is feeling ill and those who may have had contact with someone exposed to the virus should stay home. We ask you to accommodate students, to the extent practicable, should they be unable to attend class due to illness.

Please direct students with counseling and health-related questions to the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center.

For additional information or clarification, please contact your respective department chair or dean.

Thank you for your cooperation and know that we will provide updated information as it becomes available.

-P

Peter O. Nwosu, Ph.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success

Office of the Provost

Shuster Hall 379

250 Bedford Park Boulevard West

Bronx, New York 10468

P: 718.960.8222

F: 718.960.8042

E: provost.office@lehman.cuny.edu

===============================================

From: "President.Lemons" <President.Lemons@LEHMAN.CUNY.EDU>

Date: 3/5/20 6:08 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: ALL-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU

Subject: Coronavirus Update

We continue at Lehman College to actively monitor COVID-19 developments in the New York City area. One of the conversations we had at the Lehman College Senate meeting yesterday was about handwashing as a good, regular practice and the single most effective way to protect yourself and your family from getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control poster is a good reminder, as are these flyers and posters that will soon be distributed around campus and they also have recommendations for how to wash your hands most effectively along with an explanation of the science behind handwashing.

Another good source of up-to-date information and recommendations is the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy website, which, along with linking to a video on handwashing at the World Health Organization website also highly encourages keeping your hands away from your face as much as possible to limit the spread of germs.

Every day we are inundated with information about COVID-19, and in stressful times like these, it’s easy for misinformation to circulate. For example, enhanced and preventive cleaning throughout the campus has prompted some incorrect speculation. My intent in communicating to the College community daily is to keep us all informed about what is happening on our campus and throughout the CUNY system. Be assured that I will notify you if there is a significant development that directly affects the Lehman family.

But finally, I want to put where we are with COVID-19 in perspective, because there is a lot of rapidly changing information that inevitably arouses fear. Our yearly flu season is a good point of comparison. Nationally, according to the CDC, preliminary estimates for the 2019-2020 influenza season are 32,000,000-45,000,000 flu illnesses, 14,000,000-21,000,000 flu medical visits, 310,000-560,000 flu-related hospitalizations and 18,000-46,000 deaths. These estimates predict an average flu season this year, and these data are almost never reported in the news, in stark contrast to our current news environment around COVID-19. We should also keep in mind what Governor Andrew Cuomo reminded us of today at his press conference which is that 80 percent of COVID-19 cases self-resolve with little sign of illness. The most vulnerable populations are elderly, immune compromised and others with pre-existing health risks. In other words, most students, faculty and staff at Lehman College are the least likely to have an adverse consequence should they become infected with COVID-19.

Concern about community spread is understandable, particularly at a commuter school such as this. But, it would be unfortunate if students missed classes because of a risk assessment that doesn’t square with reality. Wash your hands and follow the other most effective ways to avoid infection by COVID-19 or influenza virus, and then you have good reason to keep calm.

Sincerely,

Daniel Lemons

President

================================================================

-------- Original message --------

From: "President.Lemons" <President.Lemons@LEHMAN.CUNY.EDU>

Date: 3/6/20 5:48 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: ALL-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU

Subject: COVID-19 Update

It is understandable in these uncertain times to be concerned about what we refer to in higher education as academic continuity and how operations will or should continue as we are on high alert with regard to Covid-19. When we are exposed to a lot of conflicting information, it can be overwhelming and that feeling can overcome reason or facts.

So here are some facts about how Lehman College’s senior leadership is proceeding daily in response to COVID-19. We are in touch throughout each day with CUNY’s central administration, which is itself in communication with State and local public health officials. The campus senior leadership is continually assessing what risks there are to the campus community, especially given the proximity of new cases of the Covid-19 in New York State. As you probably know, the state has activated the Emergency Operations Center in Albany along with outposts in Westchester County.

Our decision to remain open and fully functioning follows guidance from the CUNY central administration and arises from several priorities, among the most important of which is not to cause harm and possibly jeopardize the spring term for all students. At this point in time there is no reason to consider closing other than fear. We have received communications from a few members of the campus community who are anxious as a result of this decision, but Lehman College has no more reason to close at this time than any other institution or organization in our area. Please rest assured that if there is indication from public health authorities that closing is the best public health step to take, we won’t hesitate to do so.

Because that is a possibility we can’t dismiss, we are rapidly preparing, but we would only take the step in concert with the CUNY central administration, which is working closely with the New York City and New York State Departments of Health. A great source of updates from an array of agencies is also updated here daily. NYSED has granted us temporary permission to convert courses to online format and we have advised all faculty members who have not yet done so to activate their BlackBoard courses and be sure they are prepared to use that or other online formats to continue courses without meeting on campus. By the same token, all students should be familiar with using BlackBoard and should have the BlackBoard App on their mobile devices. Now is the time to be prepared.

There has been some discussion about the availability of handwashing and drying supplies. The Facilities team has doubled down on its efforts to replenish soap supplies in restrooms, but we have not stocked paper towels for some time due to their repeated inappropriate disposal which has caused many clogged toilets and drains, another health hazard. Concerns have been raised about air hand dryers spreading infection. A study from two years ago found that bacteria were concentrated in the airstream of hand dryers in public restrooms, but the investigators did not measure viruses. A more recent study of bacterial, again not viral, residue on hands after washing found that, “The number and types of bacteria remaining on washed hands were affected by the drying method. Hands dried with a jet air dryer harboured fewer viable bacteria [than after paper towel drying], reducing the risk of infection transmission via touch.” As is often the case, the available science doesn’t point unambiguously to a best practice. One thing is clear, you should keep on washing your hands frequently.

I will probably send out my next email on Sunday evening, but if there are no new developments at that time, I’ll give you a break and update you at the beginning of next week. Have a good weekend and after you’ve done all you can to stay healthy (wash, wash, wash), try not to stress.

Daniel Lemons

President

From: Lehman Community List [ALL-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU] on behalf of President.Lemons [President.Lemons@LEHMAN.CUNY.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2020 2:24 PM
To: ALL-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU
Subject: COVID-19 Update

Dear Colleagues,

You may have heard reports today on WNYC or via social media in recent days that some CUNY students and faculty members are concerned that the university has not closed yet in response to the COVID-19 (C-19) outbreak. In the past two days, we have learned of at least temporary closings of a number of the private universities in New York, including nearby Fordham University. One comment I heard on the radio report this morning was, “Is campus closing only for the rich kids?”

First, I want to reiterate that as we have been responding moment-to-moment to the rapidly unfolding reality of C-19, and planning over the past 10 days for a number of future contingencies, we have always seen closing the campus as a possibility. Each day as we monitor and respond to new developments we have two topmost priorities: Keeping our students, faculty and staff safe and healthy, and reducing the academic impact on students of any changes we make. These two priorities have been at the forefront of every discussion and decision.

Our judgements on threats to the health of individuals in our community rely mostly on what we learn from the New York City and New York State Departments of Health as well as the Centers for Disease Control. Major decisions by CUNY and the New York City schools are reliant on them. Even with their expertise at play, they, like we, are confronting something never before encountered in quite the same way. There is so much that is not yet known about viral transmission and health effects on the population. In light of that, we have tended towards conservative decisions locally to reduce the risk to the campus community as much as possible. In our region, none of those official organizations has called for a cessation of movement and mass self-quarantine, like that seen in China and now Italy. CUNY has now called for considering postponing events that include large numbers of people, and all along, the self-quarantine of individuals at higher risk: The elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

In addition to safeguarding the health of everyone in the Lehman community, we are very concerned about minimizing any academic impacts on our students. The worst imaginable would be the loss of a term, which would mean not graduating almost 4,000 students, as well as prolonging the time to graduation for everyone. So, we have been determined to do everything we can to sustain academic progress through the term. If we close the campus, that will become much more difficult, though not impossible, depending upon several factors, including the length of the closure. It’s important to note that closing the campus is not the same as closing the College.

Besides the length of a campus (not College) closure, the largest factor is our ability to continue academic work remotely. This is no problem for fully online courses, and it is not such a major challenge for partially online courses, of which there are many at Lehman, over 20 percent. However, many courses at Lehman do not even use BlackBoard, and converting these courses to online delivery is a major undertaking. I know from experience, having converted several courses to partially online format, that it takes a long time. I spent over a year doing it. Obviously, we don’t have a year, and would have to settle for what we could achieve in a short period of time. We would use a variety of solutions from simple phone conferencing to fully online conversion.

From the first day of our planning to respond to C-19 we began to put together the resources that would enable our faculty to teach remotely, and that effort has accelerated. In addition to the challenge for faculty members with varying degrees of tech ability, there are other important considerations. Not all students have computers and high-bandwidth internet access other than with handheld devices. Those work well to a point, but are not as good for taking quizzes or exams, or writing papers. This is one of the ways that we differ from many of the private universities that have closed so far. By and large, they don’t have to worry about having students without high-bandwidth internet access.

Nonetheless, we are well along the way to developing a range of solutions for classes so that many could continue remotely, thus salvaging the term, and protecting our students to the greatest degree possible. As I have noted before, all students should be sure their CUNYFirst contact information is up to date, and they should have the BlackBoard App on their handheld devices. This is not the time to delay.

Returning to that student comment about the inequitable distribution of resources among universities – It is of course all too true, and when you consider the vastly different financial resources of CUNY compared to elite private colleges and universities, it’s not surprising that we operate differently. They have little reason not to close, and they are not putting their student’s academic progress at great risk by doing so. While we would love to have those kinds of resources – and in a just world, we would – we should be immensely proud of what we accomplish year after year in spite of not having the nearly as many. CUNY is the lifeblood of the New York region and a key driver of economic activity in the region and our graduates achieve in amazing ways. In a time of crisis like this, we are going to respond differently, but not necessarily less well. We have grit and we are going to do what we always do: Provide a high quality education and support our remarkable students.

Sincerely,

Daniel Lemons

President

From: "PROVOST.OFFICE" <PROVOST.OFFICE@LEHMAN.CUNY.EDU>

Date: 3/24/20 9:36 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: FACULTY-L@LIST.LEHMAN.EDU

Subject: Faculty Mentors

Dear Faculty,

I am pleased to announce additional support that the College is providing to enhance your ability with distance teaching and learning. I have approved the recommendation of nine faculty members to serve as Faculty Mentors until May 31, 2020. The selected faculty will have the broad responsibility to serve as a resource and support for faculty across the four academic schools in leveraging technology to support student learning and quality instruction. Detailed responsibilities are provided below. The Office of Online Education is supporting faculty mentors and will ensure that they have all the necessary resources to be successful in their new roles. Learn more.

Faculty Mentors by School

Human Services, Health Sciences and Nursing

● Alison Behrman (alison.behrman@lehman.cuny.edu), Speech-Language Hearing Sciences

● Natasha Nurse-Clarke (natasha.nurse@lehman.cuny.edu), Nursing

Natural and Social Sciences

● Sean Stein Smith (sean.steinsmith@lehman.cuny.edu), Economics and Business

● Naomi Spence (naomi.spence@lehman.cuny.edu), Sociology

Education (two of the selected faculty will split their time)

● Sherry Deckman (sherry.deckman@lehman.cuny.edu), Middle & High School Education

● Jennifer Van Allen (jennifer.vanallen@lehman.cuny.edu), Counseling, Leadership, Literacy & Special Education

● Julia Hood (julia.hood@lehman.cuny.edu), Counseling, Leadership, Literacy & Special Education

Art and Humanities

● Thomas Spear (thomas.spear@lehman.cuny.edu), Languages & Literatures

● Crystal Curry (crystal.curry@lehman.cuny.edu), English

Responsibilities of Faculty Mentors

Faculty Mentors will:

● Advise department colleagues who need assistance with set-up of Blackboard to support a class (e.g. how to make the course available to students, post an announcement, create a discussion forum, create an assignment, etc.)

● Answer questions concerning instructional approaches and options to enrich their courses like Blackboard quizzes, discussion forums, Grade Center and rubrics, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and/or VoiceThread, and other relevant institutionally supported technologies.

● Learn about their department/school faculty needs and communicate the needs for additional resources, training and support as needed to the Office of Online Education and IT.

I am especially grateful to our colleagues for stepping up and agreeing to take on this important task of working with all of our faculty to transition to and teach effectively in a distance learning environment in such a critical time for the College and the academy. Any faculty member who needs technical assistance should feel free to reach out to them by school at the emails provided.

Thank you and continue to remain safe.

-P

Peter O. Nwosu, Ph.D.

Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success

TOP

CUNY Medgar Evers UPDATE TO MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) ACADEMIC CONTINUITY PLAN (3/9/2020)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in New York State Saturday (3/7/2020) as the number of Coronavirus cases in New York has increased. Governor Cuomo announced 3/8/2020 there are 105 known cases of COVID-19 in New York State. Four Colleges in the NYC region have closed and moved to online instruction: Hofstra, Columbia, Barnard and most of Yeshiva. Medgar Evers College and its Community are committed to the safety of our students and the continuation of our academic operations in case of any interruption in classroom instruction. The entire teaching faculty must be prepared to teach fully online at any notice. Medgar Evers College faculty were first notified 3/8/2020 of detailed instructions on 1) precise explanations of online resources to faculty and 2) instructions to faculty who may not be trained to teach online. We have added to our Academic Continuity Plan:

£ With the recognition that some Medgar Evers College faculty will need additional hands-on instruction in the use of Blackboard for course and instructional delivery to students, instruction will be offered

£ Many courses at Medgar Evers are taught by adjunct faculty who are likely not trained to teach online as an alternative to teaching in the classroom and instruction will be offered

£ We have many students who have never taken an online course and may be unfamiliar with how to enroll and take an online course. Instruction will be offered.

Additionally, the following actions will be taken to further implement our Academic Continuity Plan:

£ Beginning on Wednesday March 11, 2020 an enhanced academic continuity plan will be implemented.

£ The training plan for all faculty who need hands-on-training will be provided in our Blackboard Training room on the second floor of the Bedford Building. As space will be limited, there will be multiple sessions offered.

£ On Wednesday March 11, 2020 all students will be notified that if they have not used Blackboard in any of their classes, they will need to attend Blackboard training.

£ Beginning on Thursday March 12, 2020 large scale training of students will begin. The exact locations will be announced.

£ All current faculty should immediately inform their own students by Blackboard and/or email that students who have not taken a Blackboard online course will need to attend training offered by the College starting Thursday March 12, 2020. Please encourage your students to frequently monitor their College email. Faculty currently teaching online should give their students any additional guidance as needed.

£ Chairs, and any faculty with instructional oversight of students attending nursing clinicals and other majors where instruction is conducted outside the College should make additional accommodations. The policies of the facilities where students attend instruction must be monitored and followed.

£ Adjunct and full-time faculty should also monitor their College email.

£ Medgar Evers Student Health and College information about COVID-19 may be found at https://ares.mec.cuny.edu/student-affairs/health-services/

The College is committed to updating our website frequently.

£ We also encourage you to visit the CUNY Coronavirus web page for daily updates at

https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/

Further communication on the Academic Continuity Plan we will be managed by the Office of Academic Affairs. Ian Josephs Ext. 4869 will be the contact person for OAA. His email is ijosephs@mec.cuny.edu

From: Michael Dreher

Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 3:06 PM

To: Chairs

Subject: Update: Office of Academic Affairs Continuity Plan and Blackboard Training

Importance: High

Deans, Chairs, and Members of the College Council

To Chairs:

As part of the OAA Academic Continuity Plan please identify what faculty (teaching this semester) in your department are not trained in Blackboard. Also include any adjuncts who are not trained. In case of CUNY or Medgar closing and moving to a fully online course delivery, Blackboard Sessions will be conducted to all faculty who need this training and to students too. The sessions and locations will be announced Tuesday and training will begin Wed-Saturday and likely into next week. These mini-training sessions will last 45 minutes with 15 minutes for questions. Chairs, please forward this email to your faculty too. Faculty teaching hybrid courses should be prepared to go fully online.

Please forward these names to Steve Wymore at Extension 4866.

All faculty who need this training are strongly encouraged to attend.

NYC area Colleges that have closed and moving to fully online instruction

Hofstra

https://www.hofstra.edu/index.html

Columbia University

https://www.columbia.edu

Several Locations of Yeshiva University

https://www.yu.edu/health-alert

If you have questions about BB Training contact Steve Wymore at Extension 4866

Ian Josephs will lead the Academic Continuity Plan for the Office of Academic Affairs at Extension 4869

A further Update will be sent later today or early evening.

Heyward ‘Michael’ Dreher, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF Associate Provost & Professor of Nursing Medgar Evers College The City University of New York Bedford Building, Office 3010C Brooklyn, New York mdreher@mec.cuny.edu<mailto:mdreher@mec.cuny.edu>T: 718.270.5011

===================================================================================

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE ACADEMIC CONTINUTY PLAN FOR CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

3/6/2020

As Medgar Evers College examines its academic continuity policies for unscheduled campus closures, like severe weather events, unsafe conditions on campus, and public health emergencies, the College must consider the continuation of instruction for its students. In the event of a closure for an extended period, faculty and staff have available to them various tools and resources for remote instruction to preserve academic continuity. In preparation for such an event, here are the instructional tools, resources, and guidance for your use, below.

In the event of closure:

1. Establish a plan to communicate with students. Share those plans in class, via email and Blackboard.

2. Communicate your plans to hold sessions online, if this is your instructional mode of choice.

Important Note: During a campus closure, students should not be asked or required to participate in other campus activities (rehearsals, practice, etc.)

Tools to Support Instructional Continuity

Blackboard is a Medgar Evers College Learning Management System (LMS) (tool) that allows faculty to add resources for students to access online and facilitate synchronous (through Blackboard Collaborate) and asynchronous communications. This portion of the Blackboard training covers adding your learning materials (files) and associated content in your Blackboard course.

Self-train-now!

Add Files, Images, Video, and Audio

Echo360 Universal Capture

Echo360 Universal Capture is a lecture capture and active learning platform solution that helps instructors capture classroom lectures, screencasts from any device on campus, at home, or anywhere, anytime. The video of the captured content can be shared via internet login in your Echo360 classroom, weblink, or via email.

Self-train-now!

Please complete the form at the link below to register your course in Echo360.

STEP 1. Register your course! Once completed, you will receive a registration email. (See “Register Your Account and Log In”)

STEP 2. Register Your Account and Log In

STEP 3. Accessing Classes and Entering a Classroom

STEP 4. How to create a capture using Echo360

Additional Resources

Welcome to Echo360

CUNY DropBox

CUNY DropBox is available to all active CUNY students, faculty and administrative staff. DropBox can be used to store and access files from different devices, share files, and collaborate on content. CUNY Dropbox Home Page

Self-train-now!

Get Started with DropBox

Camscanner

Camscanner is a mobile scanning tool that allows anywhere and anytime, scan, save, archive, and upload of instructional materials. It is a free download for iPhone and Android. It provides the instructors with a means of reproducing leaning materials e.g. textbook content, to a digital format at their leisure. Materials that are scanned with Camscanner can be imported to Echo360 to be used as instructional content. It can also be saved in your Dropbox account for future use and be accessed anytime, anywhere. Download Camscanner!

For more information, please email us at TeachOnline@mec.cuny.edu or call (718) 270-6401

TOP

NYU

NYU going online for all classes from March 11th until at least the 27th

Memorandum

Date: March 9, 2020

To: THE NYU COMMUNITY

From: President Andrew Hamilton, Provost Katherine Fleming, Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, MD, Assoc. Vice President for Student Health

Re: Important New Coronavirus-related Measures and Restrictions, and Possible Future Steps

We are implementing a number of additional actions to keep the NYU community healthy and to contribute to checking the spread of the coronavirus.

Crucial Changes to Class Meetings This Week and the Following Two Weeks

In New York: At our New York campus, we are holding classes as usual through Tuesday, March 10. Classes should meet at their designated time in their designated location.

However, beginning on Wednesday, March 11 we will move to remote instruction. All classes should meet remotely at their regularly scheduled time.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, March 11 -13, will allow us to test for the transition to remote instruction.

Spring break will commence as planned at the end of this week. If students wish to leave following their last class on Tuesday, they can participate in classes remotely from their homes for the rest of the week.

Spring break -- the week of March 16 - March 20 -- will carry on as normal. However, rather than reconvening on campus to recommence in-person classes on March 23, we will continue to hold classes remotely during that week, March 23 - March 27. Early during the week of March 23, the University will communicate if and for how much longer we will continue with remotely-held classes. Under any circumstances, classes will be held through the end of the semester to ensure the academic continuity and progress of our students.

IMPORTANT - WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD BRING HOME FOR SPRING BREAK: Students departing for spring break should take with them any items essential to carrying on their education from home, such as laptops, textbooks, notebooks, essential papers, etc. Students should also plan to carry home valuables and indispensable items in the event that a sustained period will pass before they are able to retrieve them easily.

RESIDENCE HALLS WILL REMAIN OPEN: As is customary, student residences will remain open during spring break. Food service will be available at three dining halls: Kimmel and Lipton in Manhattan, and Jasper Kane in Brooklyn

FACULTY TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES - Here is a technology resource guide for faculty. Faculty should be mindful that not all students will have ready access to quality internet connections; accordingly, they should make advance sessions material available as soon as possible and be prepared to accommodate students using NYU Zoom over the telephone.

Global

NYU Shanghai, NYU Abu Dhabi, and NYU Florence will carry on as they currently are; NYU Abu Dhabi leadership will send out updated guidance shortly.

As in New York, all global sites (including Los Angeles and Washington, DC) will move to remote instruction this Wednesday through Friday. Beginning next week, US and European sites will continue to operate utilizing remote instruction through at least March 27 (spring breaks will continue as scheduled). Madrid is an exception; we will soon have additional guidance to reflect recent decisions by the health authorities in Madrid.

Sites in Accra, Buenos Aires, Sydney, and Tel Aviv will resume in-person courses on Monday, March 16, though of course, will be prepared to move to a distance-only option should it become necessary.

If you are at a global site and have questions about how this guidance relates to your specific location, please contact your local student life team.

Research-related activities

Research-related activities in laboratories, etc. will continue to carry on as usual. Research-related employees should continue to report for their assignments as usual.

Bobst and Dibner Libraries will have their regular hours this week and its regular spring break hours next week.

New Guidance, Restrictions, Postponements, and Cancellations

Cancellation or Postponement of Gatherings and Non-essential Activities

Effective immediately through at least March 29, schools, departments, programs, and units are strongly discouraged from holding non-essential, large gatherings -- meaning those not related to core academic activities. These should be cancelled, postponed, or conducted in a "virtual" way that does not bring large groups of guests and members of the NYU community together in a single venue. We expect members of the community to exercise good judgment to maintain the health of the NYU community and check the possibility of the coronavirus' spread.

New Travel-related Restrictions

o Domestic travel: Effective immediately, in addition to the previously announced international travel restrictions, the University is also now prohibiting all upcoming, non-essential, University-sponsored travel to the states of Washington and California and discouraging all other upcoming, non-essential domestic travel.

o Visitors to campus:

o Cancelling or postponing international visits: NYU strongly encourages all non-essential, in-person international visits -- such as for lectures, events, and scholarly meetings -- be cancelled, postponed, or converted to a virtual appearance.

o Restricting guests in student residence halls: Effective Thursday, March 12, NYU students will not be permitted to sign in short-term guests (including those with NYU IDs) into any residential facilities, at any location in New York City, or at any of our Global Academic Centers (aka, study-away sites). This policy will be in effect until further notice, and applies to both daytime and overnight guests.

Changes to Admissions Activities

Cancelling admissions tours and info sessions: In-person admissions-related visits to campus -- including tours, info sessions, and admitted student events -- will be cancelled as of this week, effective though April. Instead, we will be providing opportunities for virtual campus visits and dialogue with admissions staff.

University Administrative and Business Operations

The University's business operations will remain open. On the whole, administrators and staff are expected to be at their work assignments, and those deemed essential to NYU operations must be present.

However, we are giving managers flexibility regarding teleworking and employees’ hours if circumstances warrant.

To be clear: even if NYU moves to conducting administrative and business operations remotely, we will continue to support the academic mission by ensuring the on-going function of all our offices and operations. Some employees performing essential functions will be required to report to work on campus. Other employees will be expected to work from home. Employees, supervisors, and managers should be clear about status, expectations, and responsibilities, including clerical employees, and be sure that everyone has all the necessary technology and applications to carry on their duties from home.

School-specific Guidance

For a variety of reasons, there may be some instances in which specific schools' instructions will vary from aspects of the guidance in this memo. Where there is a discrepancy, follow the specific guidance from your school dean.

NYU Up-to-Date Information and Current Status

Click here to keep up with the latest information related to COVID-19 and see the status of NYU campuses and operations.

We realize that this communication may not answer every question. Please refer to the NYU Coronavirus Information and Resource page for further information -- we will be updating it regularly, and we will be sending out more detailed follow-up communications as well.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to those who have worked so hard to make NYU ready to take these steps, as well as for the steadfastness, resiliency, and patience of the NYU community in responding to these changes.

Memorandum

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020

To: The NYU Community

From: Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, MD, Assoc Vice President for Student Health

Re: New Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a New Self-Reporting Form

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines for those who have been traveling abroad and returned to the US.

The New Guidelines

In essence, the new guidelines say:

o If you have traveled in China, Iran, Italy, or South Korea any time within the last 14 days

o you should self-quarantine at home until 14 days have passed from the last day you were in one of the aforementioned countries. You should not come in to work, class, or activities.

o you should monitor your health by taking your temperature twice daily and staying on the lookout for other symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.

o you should practice social distancing -- avoid going out, gatherings of people, public transit, etc. Try to stand six feet from others.

o If you start displaying symptoms -- a fever of 100.4F/38C, difficulty breathing, or cough

o seek medical care.

o let the healthcare facility know you are coming (students should call ahead to the Student Health Center and ask to speak to a nurse).

o avoid contact with others while en route.

o If you have any questions about any of this, please contact the Student Health Center at 212-443-1000.

Travel Survey

In order to help comply with CDC guidance and keep our community safe, all NYU affiliates -- students, faculty, administrators, and staff -- who have traveled outside of the United States in the past 2 weeks or plan to travel outside of the United States for any purpose through March 31 should complete this health form by 6 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, March 6). Based on your specific travel history, the University can follow up with you with the appropriate information, guidance, and assistance.

COMPLETE THE HEALTH FORM »

Given the possibility -- or even likelihood -- that additional countries will be added to the CDC roster of Level 3 countries, we will also ask you about future travel plans. That will enable us to reach out to you more promptly if CDC guidance changes.

Any information you provide will be kept confidential.

A Word of Advice Regarding Any Personal Travel

The University has prohibited upcoming, non-essential, international travel that is sponsored by NYU. We know that spring break, which begins soon, is often a time for travel. I would urge you to reconsider any personal international travel as well. In the current environment, it is entirely conceivable that you may end up in a quarantined zone, or that a country you visit will be added to the CDC list, requiring you to self-quarantine for up to 14 days on your return, which could be highly disruptive to your studies, research, or work responsibilities.

And finally, a special word for those students studying abroad. We know that for many of you, international travel can be as easy as hopping on a bus, train, or inexpensive flight, and that this ease of international mobility may have been a factor in your decision to study away in the first place. We are, nevertheless, strongly urging you to postpone any short-term international plans that you may be considering, both over weekends, and spring break. You face the very real risk of encountering travel restrictions, including the possibility of mandated isolation periods and/or bans that were implemented while you were traveling. Moreover, each of us has responsibilities to the communities of which we are a part; were you to contract COVID-19 through your travels, you could pose a risk to your classmates, faculty, and staff. Accordingly, please consider staying put, and taking the time to fully engage with your host city or unaffected parts of your host country.

Memorandum

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020

To: THE NYU COMMUNITY

From: President Andrew Hamilton

Re: Taking the Measure of the COVID-19 Circumstances

Dear NYU Community Members,

For all of us, the media environment is filled with coronavirus-related alerts: new statistics, new locations, market swings, et cetera. With recent word of New York's first confirmed case and new guidance to universities from the CDC about foreign travel, I thought it important to write to you.

I want you to be aware that COVID-19 is the topic of daily analysis and consultation at NYU. We set that level of scrutiny because we take the issue seriously; it allows us to collectedly keep on top of new developments, to evenly make the adjustments necessary to keep our community safe and well, to communicate clearly and regularly, and to have a decision-making process as dynamic as the situation.

This week, we are taking several steps -- prohibiting upcoming non-essential international University travel, postponing some events at NYU Abu Dhabi, and allowing students to voluntarily leave Study Away sites and pursue their classes remotely -- that we think are measured and prudent, yet decisive.

And that is just the manner in which I believe we should continue to proceed. Because just as we are committed to safeguarding our community's health, so too do we think it is important to safeguard everyone's academic progress and research, and to maintain, to the extent circumstances permit us to do so wisely, the daily rhythms of university life.

I appreciate how readily uncertainty can give rise to anxiety, and anxiety to impetuousness. That is why we have made the coronavirus the subject of such close and sustained attention -- so that we can act quickly and decisively, but not impulsively.

At the moment, the most authoritative voices tell us we can go about our business normally, using the precautions we should typically take in flu season. And so we should. For now, while continuing to be attentive, we should not let our worries get the better of us. We need not don special gear for normal NYU activities. And we certainly should not allow those whom medical authorities tell us do not present any danger to be ostracized, bullied, or mistreated.

Perseverance is part of NYU's character. I am proud of and grateful for everyone's steadfastness at this moment. And rest assured, if the moment comes when there is reason to act, or to act more sweepingly, we shall do so thoughtfully but unhesitatingly.

TOP

SUNY Nassau Community College

From: Office Account President <PresidentsOffice@ncc.edu>
Date: March 8, 2020 at 12:31:41 PM EDT
To: "ALLCAMPUS@LISTS.NCC.EDU" <ALLCAMPUS@LISTS.NCC.EDU>
Subject: COVID-19 Coronavirus Update

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am writing to update you on the College’s efforts to monitor and respond to the ever-evolving COVID-19 virus. I want to assure you that the health and safety of the NCC community is our first priority.

We have been in close communication with our County and State officials and given the Governor’s announcement yesterday we have pivoted our response plan. Please review the Governor’s announcement and understand this action is focused on resource acquisition and allocation. At this time, we have not been provided with any State or County guidance to cancel mass events.

Our Executive and Incident Command Teams are engaged in extensive contingency planning efforts to decrease the likelihood of an incident on campus and ensure business and educational continuity in the event the campus is closed. We are committed to making sure our students are able to complete their Spring semester without any disruption.

Faculty should expect to receive a communication from the Office of Academic Affairs in the coming days detailing the Instructional Continuity Plan should on-campus learning be disrupted.

In addition, based on the updated cleaning guidelines from the CDC, our custodial staff has enhanced cleaning protocols to include more frequent wipe downs of surfaces in public areas and our hundreds of hand sanitizers throughout the campus are continuously monitored to ensure they are filled. These hand sanitizing stations are primarily located at the entrances and exits of all buildings on campus and in large public areas. We encourage you to use them often.

We recognize that this can be a stressful time and we encourage the whole NCC community to take the proper steps to safeguard your personal health. First and foremost, if you are not feeling well we strongly encourage you to stay home.

As a reminder these are the steps that everyone can take to help prevent the spread of any illness.

· It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and it is recommended to get a flu vaccine if not medically contraindicated and you have not already done so

· Washing your hands with soap and water often for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer where soap and water are not available

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth prior to washing your hands

· Avoid close contact with people who are sick

· Cover your cough or sneeze

· Clean or disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

We encourage you to continue to check the College’s COVID-19 website here for updates, health recommendations, the latest answers to FAQs and additional resources.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding and resiliency as this is a rapidly evolving situation. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, as the health and safety of the NCC community is of paramount importance to us.

Regards,

Jermaine F. Williams, Ed.D.

President – Nassau Community College

TOP

CUNY Queens College

From: Provost Office <provost@qc.cuny.edu>
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 9:31 AM
To: Provost Office <provost@qc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Coronavirus Update - QC Office of the Provost

Dear colleagues:

We understand that the coronavirus outbreak has raised understandable concerns around the campus. A number of faculty members have reached out with concerns about COVID19 and asked whether faculty can convert courses or assignments to be done online as a response. NYSED guidance just issued to CUNY (https://www.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/coronavirus/NYSED-Coronavirus-Guidance-Colleges-and-Universities.pdf) gives permission to do so for Spring 2020, but only in the event of emergency or campus closure.

I encourage you to develop contingency plans now, in consultation with your chair, so that if the need arises, we are able to ensure that students’ education is not interrupted. Our Center for Teaching and Learning can serve as a resource to assist in your planning. They are compiling useful suggestions here: http://ctl.qc.cuny.edu/back-up-plans-for-course-interruption/, and will be conducting workshops that you can attend to learn about putting course materials online, conducting online discussions, making up online assignments, etc. Check the CTL calendar for a list of scheduled workshops: http://ctl.qc.cuny.edu/events/.

If you are experienced at teaching online and are willing to serve as a resource, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/KSBDTcHBz9JJ8GdT7. CTL Director Michelle Fraboni is forming a team of faculty experts.

If you are unable to come to class now for medical reasons or because of concerns about exposure, please contact the campus health services office at 718-997-2760 or email healthquestions@qc.cuny.edu, and also contact HR to provide documentation. Once we are notified by HR, we will work with you to arrange alternate delivery of the class.

If a student informs you about possible COVID19 concerns, please have them contact the campus health services office at 718-997-2760 or email healthquestions@qc.cuny.edu and report this to your chair and dean, so that we can arrange the appropriate notifications and accommodations. CUNY has asked faculty and staff to be prepared to accommodate affected students to the greatest reasonable extent, including, but not limited to, facilitating enrollment after the deadline, fast-tracking academic advising, permitting make-up exams, and extending due dates of final assignments and projects. As we learn about students who have been asked to self-quarantine, we will inform the instructors. To protect privacy rights, student information should not be shared in the classroom unless you are specifically asked to make an announcement.

Finally, the page https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/health/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx is a useful source of information that will be frequently updated.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns

Betsy Hendrey

Elizabeth Field Hendrey

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Queens College CUNY

http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Provost

TOP

PSC Letter from Barbara Bowen to CUNY

From: Barbara Bowen <psc2334b@pscmail.org>
Date: March 6, 2020 at 4:39:07 PM EST
To: papqcccuny@aol.com
Subject: Letter on Coronavirus to CUNY Chancellor
Reply-To: psc2334b@pscmail.org

Colleagues:

Earlier today I sent the message below to Chancellor Matos-Rodríguez asserting the union’s right to information about health and safety procedures during the coronavirus epidemic and our right to negotiate over any changes in employment conditions in response to the virus.

Thank you for the messages we have received reporting on issues that have arisen on your campuses. Members have expressed concern not only for themselves but also for vulnerable students and colleagues. The union principle that an injury to one is an injury to all is literally true now. Please take good care of yourself.

I will provide updates as we receive more information and as we enter into negotiations. Please read the letter, and know that your union is stepping in to insist that our rights and our workplaces are protected.

In solidarity,

Barbara Bowen, PSC President

March 6, 2020

Chancellor Felix V. Matos-Rodriguez

City University of New York

205 East 42nd Street

New York, NY 10017

Dear Chancellor Matos-Rodríguez:

With a half-million students and nearly 50,000 faculty and staff, many of whom work in close proximity to each other and some of whom already endure significant health stress, CUNY has an urgent responsibility to issue a comprehensive plan in response to the occurrence of COVID-19 in New York. The PSC has the legal right to be part of discussions of those plans as they affect the health and safety and the terms and conditions of employment of the faculty and staff we represent.

I am writing with a formal request to bargain concerning the University’s procedures for maintaining a safe and healthy workplace and concerning changes in employment provisions that may be necessary in the event that normal work schedules are disrupted.

The PSC recognizes that the University has created a website dedicated to coronavirus procedures and that Human Resources has sent communications to the CUNY community. We also appreciate that you have created a Coronavirus Task Force, although we need more information about the composition of the task force and its purview. And we understand that many CUNY officials are devoting substantial energy to trying to respond.

The PSC does not underestimate the difficulty of preparing CUNY for a potential pandemic in New York, especially when the University is already suffering from austerity funding. But CUNY management must anticipate the questions and needs that will arise. A comprehensive plan, with relevant issues negotiated with the union, will not only protect PSC members but enable all of us to work with a greater sense of safety and clarity. Although the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains low, lives are potentially at stake.

Since February 13, the PSC executive director has repeatedly sought answers to questions about employment protocols, pay for hourly workers, hand-washing facilities and other issues, but she has not received satisfactory answers. While University management has taken steps regarding travel and other concerns, management has so far failed to address the full range of issues confronting the faculty and staff or to recognize the union’s legal role as a partner in developing certain plans.

For instance, the University’s website assures us that “CUNY is giving all facilities extra attention in terms of restocking hand sanitizers, soaps and other cleaning supplies and ensuring that there are plenty of locations throughout common areas where students, faculty and staff can wash or sanitize their hands.” Yet just yesterday a faculty member at City Tech reported a campus bathroom with sinks that had no running water at all, and colleagues across the University have sent the PSC reports of bathrooms without soap or drying facilities. The promised signs on hand-washing have yet to appear in many places. While there is an urgent need for such facilities right now, CUNY students, staff and faculty should not have to wait for the threat of a pandemic to get basic sanitary facilities in college bathrooms.

As another example, the website and communications from the CUNY administration appear not to have addressed how the University will make provisions for payment of adjunct and hourly employees in the event classes are cancelled or rescheduled, or for the special needs of faculty and staff who are immuno-compromised. I have received numerous communications from faculty and staff who have pre-existing health conditions that put them at risk, such as lung disease or cancer. This morning I heard from a faculty member who has learned that a student in one of her classes lives in a community where many residents, including the student’s immediate family members, are being tested by health authorities because of possible exposure to coronavirus. The instructor urgently needs guidance on whether there are any measures she should take.

These questions, and many others, must be answered. Our members cannot be expected to put their employment or their health at risk.

Therefore the PSC urgently requests negotiations, and we are committed to do our utmost to make the negotiations productive on behalf of our members. The issues we seek to discuss include those listed below.

· Does CUNY currently have a comprehensive crisis-management plan that specifically addresses readiness for a potential pandemic? If so, does the plan incorporate scenarios for various levels of illness among students and employees and types of community containment interventions?

· Has CUNY identified the essential crisis-management personnel and their roles? We believe that a list of such personnel was developed during Hurricane Sandy, but we need to understand whether it has been updated.

· Has a pandemic response team been developed, indicating defined roles and responsibilities and the union(s) as stakeholders? We recognize that there is a CUNY-wide task force on the coronavirus and that there may be college-level response teams, but we need more information.

· What policies and procedures has the University developed for early identification and isolation of suspected or confirmed cases?

CUNY’s comprehensive plan and college-based plans should address the elements below, which CUNY is obliged by law to discuss with the union:

· What practices are in place for regular and rigorous cleaning and decontamination of surfaces and equipment, including keyboards, door knobs and other areas?

· What disinfectants are being used, what protections are in place for those using them, what training has been provided, and what safety data sheets are being kept?

· Are there plans to ensure continuity of instruction in the event any campuses are closed or classes rescheduled? We are aware that the University’s website mentions the availability of resources for online instruction, but is there a plan for how large numbers of classes could be quickly switched to distance technology?

· In the event that distance learning technologies are required for classes normally taught face to face, have provisions been made for the thousands of CUNY students who do not have access to computers at home and for the faculty who have not had experience with online instruction?

· Will the University ensure that adjunct faculty and other hourly employees receive full pay even if work schedules are disrupted in response to the virus?

· Has the University made provisions for faculty and staff who are immuno-compromised and may need to seek accommodations in order to remain safe?

· Has the University developed policies and procedures on employee sick leave that are unique to a pandemic?

· Is there a continuity-of-operations plan, including payroll, security, maintenance, the special needs of science labs, and ongoing communications in the event of required closures?

· Is there a plan to disseminate information about preparedness? Is there an emergency communications plan? Have preparedness sessions been scheduled to inform faculty, staff and students?

The PSC and CUNY management have worked cooperatively together in the past to address urgent issues, and I believe we can do so again. We share many goals. I request an answer as soon as possible to when negotiations and discussions with the union can begin.

Yours sincerely,

Barbara Bowen

President, PSC

cc:

Members of the PSC Bargaining Unit

Mr. Henry Garrido, Executive Director, AFSCME District Council 37

Mr. Vincent Alvarez, President, New York City Central Labor Council

TOP

PSC Preliminary Collective Bargaining Demands on COVID-19 Issues

From: Barbara Bowen <psc2334b@pscmail.org>
Date: March 9, 2020 at 7:16:53 PM EDT
To: papqcccuny@aol.com
Subject: Coronavirus Bargaining Demands
Reply-To: psc2334b@pscmail.org

Dear Colleagues,

Late this afternoon the PSC sent Chancellor Matos-Rodríguez a preliminary list of demands on coronavirus issues that must be resolved immediately. PSC members cannot wait for answers to our urgent needs.

Many, many members wrote in response to my letter on COVID-19; thank you. Your thoughtful comments helped to shape this first round of demands on the issue. The union may propose additional demands as conditions change and may need to take other action.

PSC officers and staff will continue to fight to ensure that your health and your rights are protected. We are actively monitoring other school and college closings.

Again, thank you for your generous responses to my last message, many of which expressed concern for the specific needs of the CUNY student population. Keep washing those hands and take care of yourselves, and each other.

In solidarity,

Barbara Bowen, President, PSC

Professional Staff Congress/CUNY

Preliminary Collective Bargaining Demands on COVID-19 Issues

March 9, 2020

The PSC makes the following preliminary demands concerning the terms and conditions of employment for PSC bargaining unit members on issues relative to COVID-19. The union reserves the right to advance additional demands on COVID-19 issues as further information becomes available.

· CUNY will immediately issue information to the entire University community on each college’s schedule for regular and rigorous cleaning and decontamination of all facilities to minimize the risk of contamination. CUNY will provide information to the PSC and other CUNY unions on the disinfectants used in such cleaning and will permit access to facilities, if requested, by licensed health and safety inspectors retained by the PSC.

· Effective March 10, 2020, CUNY will permit members of the bargaining unit aged 60 or older, members of the bargaining unit who self-identify as at serious health risk if they contract COVID-19, and members of the bargaining unit who share a residence with someone who would be at serious risk if infected with COVID-19 to work temporarily from home or other off-campus location, provided that they notify the College Human Resources Office and make arrangements for off-campus work with their department chair or immediate supervisor. Such employees will be responsible for their normal responsibilities.

· Faculty with expertise in online instruction shall be identified in each college and invited to provide training for other faculty about effective temporary use of distance learning technology, to be used in the event of a short-term closing of a college or an individual employee’s need, for health reasons, to work remotely. Full-time faculty who agree to provide training will be compensated through the pilot provision on stipends or through appropriate reassigned time. Adjunct faculty who lead such trainings shall be paid at their full hourly rate. Adjuncts and other hourly workers who attend such trainings shall use their paid professional hours, if available, or be paid at their full hourly rate.

· Professional staff, both full-time and hourly, shall be offered the option of staggered shifts wherever possible in order to allow employees to travel to work at times when public transportation may be less crowded than at peak times.

· Effective March 10, 2020, a member of the bargaining unit who has contracted COVID-19 and who has exhausted their temporary disability leave or, for adjuncts and other employees named in Article 14.8, their personal leave, shall be paid for days absent while ill with COVID-19.

· All employees working at CUNY, including student employees and employees not on the CUNY payroll, shall be allocated full-paid sick days, to be used if necessary.

· CUNY will immediately report on the availability of hand-washing facilities in every public restroom located in a CUNY building, specifying whether the restroom provides running water, soap and drying facilities. The report will be updated weekly, and restrooms without adequate facilities for hand-washing will be corrected within 24 hours.

March 9, 2020

Barbara Bowen, PhD

President

Professional Staff Congress/

CUNY61 Broadway, 15th Floor

New York, NY 10006

Dear Professor Bowen:

As we all know, the recent events concerning the outbreak and the spread of the Coronavirus in the State of New York have singularly focused CUNY leadership on how best to ensure the health, welfare and safety of all of our faculty, staff and students. Notwithstanding the rapid and ever changing pace of information developing each day around the circumstances of the Coronavirus, the University has been proceeding methodically to share information and implement the recommended CDC and DOH guidance as it is received. As you point out in your letter, I have directed the establishment of a Coronavirus task force under the leadership of Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista. Among others, Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the CUNY School of Public Health, is on the task force and available as a resource. You also indicate your awareness with the University’s creation of a website containing relevant information about Coronavirus and links to appropriate guidance. We are using this website as our primary method of communicating to our internal and external constituencies, as circumstances and protocols may be subject to a rapidly changing environment. In addition, we continue to respond to and provide guidance to our campus presidents and personnel either directly through the Chancellor’s Officer and/or through the Coronavirus task force.

Regarding your assertion that PSC executive director Debra Bell has, “since February 13 sought answers to questions about employment protocols, pay for hourly workers, hand washing facilities and other issues, but she has not received satisfactory answers,” both Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Doriane Gloria and University Director of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management Howard Apsan have responded to Ms. Bell pointing her to CUNY’s website which contains our most current information, and is periodically updated as new information becomes available. To date, our employment protocols have not changed except for employees who are self-quarantining consistent with CDC and DOH guidelines, to the extent that they will not have leave deducted for the self-quarantine period; this has been conveyed to Ms. Bell. Tomorrow we will forward a list of point people at each of the colleges to whom you, PSC campus leadership or your members should address location- or college- specific concerns, such as those you raise in your letter about sinks having no water or restrooms without soap, as well as local cleaning concerns, and concerns about individual employees. Central Office is working with the colleges to assist them in procuring adequate supplies. We continue to interface with our vendors and colleges in an effort to insure that they are taking appropriate action, which is including deep cleaning in certain instances.

We appreciate the suggestions in your letter, and while many of the items you raise are presently under discussion at the highest levels of CUNY, we are being guided by the CDC and DOH guidance and discussions with the State and City of New York. At this time, other than the information available on our website, staff and employees — other than those directed to act in a particular way based on the posted information — should continue to work, as they have been and will be paid accordingly. We are constantly updating our CUNY website as we receive new information, and we are preparing FAQ’s for our Human Resources Directors across our campuses which summarize the work we have already been doing.

Regarding questions such as adjunct and part-time faculty being paid in the event classes are cancelled or rescheduled, it is premature to make any decisions in that regard and any decisions that CUNY contemplates making will be done in consultation with the State and City of New York; where necessary we will bargain with our unions regarding changes to employment protocols. Thus while you raise many issues, we are dealing with them in due course, as circumstances arise; many of the answers you seek are in the process of development and will be done so in the context of our emergency planning and based upon external guidance as the situation evolves, and based upon consultations with the State and City of New York’s Public Health Departments.

Very truly yours,

Félix V Matos Rodríguez, PhD

Chancellor

TOP

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice

From: Important Announcements to JJC Faculty and Staff [IMPORTANT-ANNOUNCEMENTS@LISTSERVER.JJAY.CUNY.EDU] on behalf of Important Announcements
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2020 11:39 AM
To: IMPORTANT-ANNOUNCEMENTS@LISTSERVER.JJAY.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Coronavirus Update

To: All Students, Faculty and Staff

From: Anthony Bracco

Date: March 9^th, 2020

Re: COVID-19 Actions

As we continue to be proactive with the COVID-19 Virus, in addition to our current practice of cleaning all restrooms and high touch surfaces in common areas during the week, the Facilities Department dispatched additional staff to perform cleaning of the campus on Sunday, March 7^th. We are committed to be proactive with the cleaning of the campus and follow CUNY and State guidance.

We encourage you to continue to practice good hygiene, wash your hands and follow other necessary precautions. We thank you for your continued vigilance and thank all of our Custodial Staff for their dedication and hard work.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Anthony Bracco at 212-237-8613 or Anne Goon at 212-237-8543.

TOP

CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice shut down

March 10, 2020

TO: The John Jay College Community

RE: Coronavirus Update - College is Closed Tomorrow, Wednesday March 11

I am writing to inform you that we learned late today that a member of our John Jay community has tested positive for the coronavirus. The student is safely at home recovering under medical guidance, and our thoughts are with her and her family for a speedy recovery. Because the student was on campus only Thursday evening for one class last week and did not develop symptoms until Saturday, we have been advised by State health officials that the risk to our community is low. However, out of an abundance of caution, the school will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11.

We will use the day tomorrow to consult further with public health and state and city officials. We will contact directly the other students in her class and their instructor to make them aware and answer any questions they may have. In the meantime, all on-campus classes are suspended tomorrow, but any fully online courses will proceed as scheduled. Unless otherwise notified, all students, faculty, staff, and visitors should not come to any of the College’s campus buildings tomorrow, March 11.

What You Should Know Now

If You’re Sick: As always, if you feel sick, please contact your health provider. If you feel you can’t afford or are otherwise unable to seek care, please call 311. You should know that hospital staff cannot ask you about your immigration status or deny you care based on your ability to pay. If you come into contact with someone who is known to have been exposed to the coronavirus or just tested positive, please contact Malaine Clarke at 212-621-4101 or maclarke@jjay.cuny.edu.

Cleaning & Disinfecting Campus: Because we have been proactive in our efforts to minimize risk to our community from this virus, by coincidence, the Facilities Department dispatched additional staff to perform a thorough cleaning of the campus on Sunday, March 7. This was in addition to our practice of routine environmental cleaning for all restrooms and high-touch surfaces in common areas during the week.

Prepare for Remote Classes: Faculty should spend the day tomorrow preparing for the event that their courses may need to be moved online for distance learning. Faculty can review the resources that have been shared and posted on the College website to assist with the process of translating their courses to distance learning. The Department of Online Education and Support and the Teaching and Learning Center will also continue to post resources here.

Please continue to visit the CUNY website and John Jay’s College website for the latest updates, information, and resources, and I will continue to update the community as we receive new information.

During these uncertain times, I am grateful for the care and concern that you have shown for your fellow community members, as well as to those who are the most vulnerable among us and in our communities. At a time like this, we are truly one community where everyone is committed to working together and taking care of each other.

Thank you,

Karol V. Mason
President

TOP

PSC Guidance on the Use of Sick Days and Working Remotely

From: Barbara Bowen <psc2334b@pscmail.org>
Date: March 11, 2020 at 11:09:21 AM EDT
To: papqcccuny@aol.com
Subject: Guidance for Faculty and Staff at Higher Risk
Reply-To: psc2334b@pscmail.org

Dear Colleagues:

Chancellor Matos-Rodríguez’s reply to my letter demanding negotiations on the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on our terms and conditions of employment indicates that the University is not willing to negotiate with the union at this time on procedures relative to the COVID-19 epidemic. The PSC believes his position is a mistake, an insult to the 30,000 people the PSC represents, and a failure to meet a legal obligation.

But the union’s immediate focus remains on the health and wellbeing of the faculty and staff we represent, especially those whose health may be at serious risk. Therefore we are providing the guidance below for faculty and professional staff who are at serious health risk if they continue to work on campus.

We are aware of the calls from the University Student Senate and from many faculty and staff to close the University, and we will have a further update later today. But the PSC leadership believes it is essential to provide guidance for our members that can be acted upon immediately.

The guidance applies equally to staff and faculty, to part-time, hourly and full-time employees represented by the PSC. Even if you are in a position that normally requires presence on campus, such as college laboratory technician, librarian or financial aid counselor, you need to be able to protect yourself if you are in a higher risk category.

Unfortunately, a student at John Jay College has tested positive for COVID-19. John Jay buildings will be closed today. The John Jay president reports that the student is recovering safely at home, and we join our John Jay colleagues in wishing her well.

Thank you for the support you have offered to students and each other during this public health crisis. The effect of years of inadequate funding for CUNY becomes dangerously apparent in a crisis, when even basic supplies like soap and paper towels are not available in some campus bathrooms. The union’s demand for increased funding for CUNY has become more urgent than ever. Please join the day of action on the budget tomorrow, and know that many of the ways to participate include actions you can take remotely.

My thanks again for all the messages you have sent. If you have questions about the guidelines below, please contact the PSC office: 212-354-1252.

In solidarity,

Barbara Bowen

President, PSC

PSC Guidance on the Use of Sick Days and Working Remotely

During the COVID-19 Epidemic

March 11, 2020

In the absence of a willingness on the part of CUNY management at this time to negotiate specific procedures for PSC bargaining unit members who are at serious health risk if they continue to work on campus, the PSC provides the following guidance. The guidance applies equally to staff and faculty, to part-time, hourly and full-time employees represented by the PSC.

1. If you are unwell, regardless of whether your illness appears to be related to COVID-19, stay home. Use your temporary disability leave or sick leave under the contract or, for adjuncts and certain other hourly employees, your contractual personal/emergency leave. If you do not have sufficient sick days, contact the union office.

2. Effective March 11, 2020: If you are in a title represented by the PSC and you are in a higher-risk category of contracting COVID-19 as identified by the Centers for Disease Control, or if you share a residence with someone who would be at serious risk if infected with COVID-19, and you believe you should temporarily work from home or other off-campus location, you should be permitted to do so—provided that you notify your College Human Resources Office and notify your department chair or immediate supervisor as to how you will continue to fulfill your work responsibilities while temporarily not on campus. You should be prepared to provide supporting documentation of your circumstances.

Once you are working remotely, you should fulfill your work obligations, and you are strongly advised to document the work you perform each day.

If you are told you are not permitted to work remotely, maintain your regular schedule during that day and contact the PSC immediately.

TOP

Faculty Questions

1) If classes are moved online, how do we guarantee students without either internet access or computers will be able to complete their coursework? If those resources cannot be provided to students, what alternative means of instruction and evaluation besides going online will faculty have to offer? What will be the status for such students without access? Incompletes? Withdrawals? Refunds?

2) If classes are moved online, how will faculty not adept at using Blackboard or other instructional technologies be trained in time to ensure a smooth transition from face-to-face to online format?

3) Can faculty be forced to work from home? Is there a potential contractual issue here?

4) What happens if the college remains open, but a faculty member falls ill and there is no one available to fill in?

5) What happens if the college remains open but students, worried about potential infection, decide to stop attending classes? Do those students fail? Are they offered incompletes? Are faculty still required to come to campus?

6) What provisions are being made for adjunct faculty who may find their workload significantly increased by a move from face-to-face to online format? Will they be compensated for this additional work?

7) What provisions are being made to protect the college's custodial staff? They are responsible for cleaning bathrooms and other public areas where they may face increased risk of infection. Will they be provided appropriate protective gear? Will they still be paid if they fall ill and cannot come to work?

8) If the college is closed and a faculty member becomes ill and is quarantined, who teaches their classes?

9) Are vulnerable faculty being explicitly offered accommodations to teach online?

10) If a campus is "closed" or classes do not meet in the classrooms what does that mean? What operations will remain active on campus? Will there still be IT support and CETL support and other support staff for faculty who have gone online? Can faculty still go to their offices for the information they need for classes and for access to their computers to conduct online operations in support of instruction?

11) Will faculty be given instruction as to how to safeguard information they may be moving online or moving from their offices to computers and systems not within the CUNY firewalls and protections?

Is there any way the campus community could receive some clarity on these questions? If the college were to close suddenly, it seems that a plan of some kind would be helpful to students, faculty, and staff.

TOP

CUNY Graduate School GCTLC Teach@CUNY Handbook Version 3.0

Chronicle of Higher Education Going Online in a Hurry: What to Do and Where to Start by Michelle D. Miller March 09, 2020

Chronicle of Higher Education As Coronavirus Spreads, the Decision to Move Classes Online Is the First Step. What Comes Next? by Emma Dill, Karin Fischer, Beth McMurtrie, and Beckie Supiano March 06, 2020

Crucial Changes to Class Meetings This Week and the Following Two Weeks

Global

Research-related activities

New Guidance, Restrictions, Postponements, and Cancellations

Cancellation or Postponement of Gatherings and Non-essential Activities

New Travel-related Restrictions

Changes to Admissions Activities

University Administrative and Business Operations

School-specific Guidance

NYU Up-to-Date Information and Current Status

The New Guidelines

Travel Survey

A Word of Advice Regarding Any Personal Travel