Archive: CUNY Guidance Memo #8, April 6, 2020 Content

CR/NC Grading Policy

The policy is based on the University Office of Academic Affairs consultations with college presidents, the UFS, and USS in response to the change to distance learning and the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the lives of students, faculty and staff. The policy was approved by the CUNY BOT on Monday, March 30, 2020.

Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy for the Spring 2020 Semester

As part of The City University of New York’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the Spring 2020 semester, all students shall have the option to convert any or all of the (A-F) letter grades they earn in their classes, to Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading.

1. During the Spring 2020 semester, all students shall have the option to convert any or all of the (A-F) letter grades they earn in their classes, to Credit/No Credit grading.
2. Students shall be able to make this decision up to 20 business days after the University’s final grade submission deadline. Once selected, the CR/NC option cannot be cannot be reversed.
3. If a student chooses to exercise this option, a passing letter grade (A, B, C, or D) will convert to ‘CR’ with credit for the class being awarded, while a failing grade (F) will convert to ‘NC’, with no credit awarded. Credit/No Credit grades will not impact the student’s GPA.
4. Courses taken for a letter grade will continue to be included in the semester and general GPA, while courses taken for a Credit/Non-credit grade will be excluded, just as is the case with such courses taken at a student’s home institution.
5. If a student exercises the option of Credit/No Credit, the Credit (CR) grade will not negatively impact the student’s satisfactory progress toward degree completion.
6. Students with Credit/No Credit grades will be able to transfer those courses across colleges within CUNY, per current CUNY policy.
7. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy shall apply to coursework completed on Permit and will not affect Board of Trustees Policy 1.14 – Policy on Coursework Completed on Permit.
8. Students placed on academic probation by their institution at the start of the Spring 2020 semester shall not be penalized with academic dismissal based upon their grades earned this semester.
9. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy shall not affect the University standards of student retention and progress in accordance with Board of Trustees Policy 1.26.
10. Before choosing this grading option for one or more of their classes, students shall consult with their academic and financial aid advisors regarding potential impact to their financial aid, licensure requirements, and graduate school admissions.
11. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy shall supersede and override all undergraduate and graduate program-level grading policies currently in effect at CUNY colleges and schools, including those related to required and elective courses within the major, minor, general education (Pathways), pre- requisite courses, honors courses, courses taken on permit and maximum number of credits that a student can earn with Credit/No Credit grades.
12. The grade glossary, attached to each transcript, will be updated to include a notation denoting that all Spring 2020 grades, including CR or NC, were earned during a major disruption to instruction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
13. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy shall apply to all CUNY colleges and schools, except the School of Law and the School of Medicine, which may develop their own Pass/Fail policies, subject to approval of the Board of Trustees, to conform to norms in legal and medical education.
14. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy, which shall be effective April 1, 2020, applies to the Spring 2020 semester only and that the Chancellor, may, in his discretion, to meet public health emergency policies and practices, extend this policy to future semesters, if necessary and report such extension to the Board of Trustees immediately.
15. The Special COVID-19 Flexible Grading Policy shall be codified in the Manual of General Policy as Policy
    1.4. and cannot be overwritten by any individual units of the University, including presidents, provosts, or college councils.

The policy will remain in effect for the Spring 2020 semester and will be reviewed by the Chancellor and extended as necessary to meet public health emergency policies and practices.

Student Retention and Progress

Per University policy, each student will be expected to maintain a grade point average of at least 1.50 for the first twelve credits, attempted and at least a 1.75 grade point average for the first twenty-four credits, attempted. In each subsequent semester students will be expected to maintain at least a 2.00 grade point average. Students who fail to meet their college’s retention standards or the conditions of an academic or other probation for Spring 2020, are to be placed on continued probation and will not be subject to academic dismissal.

Course Withdrawal Period

Last Day to Drop with a Grade of “W.” The current deadline date listed on the calendar is Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The new date is Thursday, May 14, 2020 (for KCC/LAG/GCC – Spring Session 1: June 4, 2020; Spring Session 2: August 1, 2020). This is the published “Last Day of Classes,” and before final examination week and also prior to the “End of the Spring Term”.

Incomplete Grades

Students who receive an INC grades in the Spring 2020 term would generally be required to submit outstanding work, “according to a deadline established by individual colleges of the University but no later than the last day of the following semester (pdf).” But the University will allow students to submit incomplete work to faculty for resolution of INC grades for courses taken in Spring 2020 through the Fall 2020 semester, and the new deadline for faculty to submit Incomplete to Grade forms to the Registrar’s Office for resolution will be Wednesday, December 23, 2020 (for KCC/LAG/GCC – March 1, 2021). This date coincides with the “Final Grade Submission Deadline” for Fall 2020 courses. For students who received an INC grade in the Fall 2019 semester, the University will allow students to submit incomplete work to faculty for resolution through end of Summer 2020 semester. The new deadline for faculty to submit Incomplete to Grade forms to the Registrar’s Office for resolution will be August 30, 2020.

Recalibration Period for Educational Equity

In an attempt to ensure that no CUNY student is left behind and that the “distance” in distance-learning does not contribute to widening existing opportunity gaps, the University has instituted a Recalibration Period for Educational Equity (Chancellor’s messages of March 24 and March 25).  This period will allow the University and its colleges to put more tablets and laptops in the hands of students who without them would face difficulty in completing the spring 2020 term.

Brooklyn College students should be directed to the Device Loan Requests page to make a device loan request appointment.

As part of the Chancellor’s communication, the following clarifications were made and are reproduced here for convenience:

• All BC undergraduate students will be off from Friday, March 27 to Wednesday, April 1 and again from Wednesday, April 8 to Friday, April 10, for a condensed Spring Recess.
• Administrators and staff will continue to work as they normally would from March 27 to April 1 and during Spring Recess, albeit remotely in most cases. All local plans to reduce campus density for faculty, staff and students remain in place.
• The University’s previously scheduled Spring Recess will now run from Wednesday April 8 through Friday April 10, encompassing the beginning of Passover and Good Friday. For faculty, staff and students whose religious observation extends into the week of April 13, as always you have the right to request a religious exemption to observe the holiday and we will offer maximum flexibility in addressing the requests.
• Brooklyn College graduate courses will meet during the Recalibration period as will College Now programs.  Courses that were being taught online before the broader move to distance learning may also continue during Recalibration.

Impact of Recalibration Period and Instructional Recess on CUNY’s Academic Calendar

The number of instructional days we need to make are as follows: Mondays (1), Tuesdays (1), Wednesdays (1), Thursdays (0), Friday’s (2), Saturdays (1), and Sundays (1). These days, in the absence of regulatory relief, can ultimately be made up using additional assignments to assist students in making up missed work. Such assignments might include interactive projects, supplemental instructional material, preparation of reports, or other assignments at the discretion of the department and the instructor. This is similar to what the University did to make up lost instruction time during Hurricane Sandy. View the updated academic calendar.

For the updated Spring recess, see the academic calendar. For faculty, staff and students whose religious observation extends into the week of April 13, as always you have the right to request a religious exemption to observe the holiday and we will offer maximum flexibility in addressing the requests. Additionally, see CUNY’s guidance for religious exemptions.

Brooklyn College will offer all its courses through the distance mode in Summer 2020. Special enrichment programming is currently being planned.

Tenure Clock

The University recognizes that the transition to distance learning in the Spring 2020 semester as a result of COVID-19 may cause interruption and delay in faculty research and scholarship. This is particularly critical for faculty advancing toward tenure. Accordingly, the University will permit faculty whose candidacies for tenure are coming up in the fall 2020 semester to receive a one-year extension, if they so desire. Such faculty must request a tenure clock extension by emailing the request to the Brooklyn College Provost Provost, anne.Lopes@Brooklyn.cuny.edu, by May 1, 2020.

Going forward, faculty on the tenure track who subsequently want to request a tenure clock extension based on the circumstances of Spring 2020 must apply by February 1 in the year immediately preceding their tenure review. Faculty wanting to apply for a tenure clock extension should follow the procedures normally followed at Brooklyn College for requesting these extensions to tenure review; the request will be subject to fact-specific review, in accordance with past University practice.

P&B Meetings and Remote Voting

The Brooklyn College campus is working on its procedures and information will be available shortly.

Public Meetings

Per previous guidance, Article 7 of the Public Officers Law, to the extent necessary, permits any public body to meet and take such actions authorized by the law without permitting in public in-person access to meetings and authorizes such meetings to be held remotely by conference call or similar service, provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such proceedings and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed.

Distance Learning and Contractual Obligations

The following guidance is in response to questions pertaining to faculty office hours, classroom observations, annual evaluations, student evaluations, adjunct overload waivers, and the reappointment, tenure, and promotion process. This guidance is based on consultation with the Professional Staff Congress at a recent labor management meeting , provosts, and the Chancellor and his executive team.

1. Both full-time faculty and adjuncts who are responsible for, and paid for, office hours will hold office hours through distance technology and will notify their students and their department chair regarding how they plan to hold the hours. These notifications were due on or before Friday, March 27.
2. Classroom teaching observations that have not yet been conducted during the Spring 2020 semester will only be conducted if requested by the employee to be evaluated. The department may use the new protocol for observations in online settings (Article 18.2(b)3), where the course was changed to a distance modality mid-semester, provided the employee is made aware and has the option to proceed with the observation. Teaching observations for those who have been teaching online since the start of the semester, and who were otherwise contemplated to be observed pursuant to the new provision in Article 18.2(b)3 for online observations, will have their observations conducted.
3. Annual evaluations which include the conference and confirming memorandum will have the conference conducted through distance technology, which may include telephone and/or videoconferencing.
4. Student evaluations will not be conducted this semester at Brooklyn College. This applies to all faculty.
5. Decisions on tenure, promotion, reclassification and discretionary assignment salary differentials that are currently in process shall be completed.
6. Faculty and staff are permitted to retrieve personal belongings and materials needed to work remotely. You must make the request of your supervisor and area vice president. You must send the approval via email to Don Wenz and Ursula Chase in order to make an appointment to access campus at a given time and on a given day.

Prospective Academic and Business Travel (Faculty, Students, and Staff)

All non-essential university-related international and domestic travel is indefinitely suspended at this time, this includes the suspension of all Spring 2020 and Summer 2020 study abroad programs. It also includes all CUNY-sponsored student international travel (including spring break), non-CUNY credit-bearing programs, and non-credit travel under the auspices of CUNY or any CUNY college or student organization. Please know that credits earned on non-CUNY study abroad programs this summer will not be accepted by the University.

Planning For and Returning from Personal Travel

The Department of State’s Global Health Advisory (issued March 19, 2020) warns that a shutdown of international travel options is imminent, and that Americans abroad should arrange to immediately return to the U.S., or risk an indefinite stay abroad. In order to help CUNY students, return home before it is too late, CUNY will continue to offer rebooking support to any CUNY student or employee abroad (regardless of citizenship) who is unable to make these arrangements directly with the airline. Individuals should contact evac-support@cuny.edu with details on their CUNY affiliation (including EMPLID if possible) to receive instructions on accessing this support. Students returning from abroad should coordinate closely with the Study Abroad Office on their home campus to ensure they receive support to complete the semester whenever possible. Employees returning from abroad should contact their supervisors to make arrangements to work remotely, if this is not already in place.

Middle States Council on Higher Education

As previously states, MSCHE is working directly with colleges, as well as with CUNY Central, to provide support and flexibility for accreditation matters. Please know that Central will work with colleges to navigate the current rapid changes, but that MSCHE expects individual college relationships and reporting to remain in place.

The Brooklyn College campus has apprised MSCHE of how it is achieving distance teaching and learning in writing as per the MSCHE guidance in writing before the April 1, 2020 reporting deadline.

All In-Person Courses Suspended

Effective Monday, March 23, all in-person courses were suspended for the duration of the State’s “Pause”. This applies to all undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education courses that have not yet converted to distance-learning modes. Faculty engaged in these courses are asked to continue to explore, in conversation with their students, ways in which the in-person courses can be converted to distance learning. If the course’s learning outcomes cannot ultimately be achieved via distance learning, the courses could resume once the “pause” is lifted, at which time faculty and students would work to make up for lost time. Given the circumstances, students could also opt to withdraw from the course or receive a grade of incomplete if appropriate. For in-progress continuing education courses, colleges will communicate options available to students who decide to drop or cannot continue with coursework. The University is currently developing a refund/credit policy for these types of situations related to COVID-19.

Distance Learning

As we have indicated before, the objective of an academic continuity plan is to help safeguard the academic term from the standpoint of our student’s academic progress and their financial aid as we work to address the challenges posed by COVID-19. As far as distance learning is concerned, the U.S. Department of Education has indicated that at a minimum, our faculty must be able to “communicate to students through one of several types of technology–including email– … and [that] instructors must initiate substantive communication with students, either individually or collectively, on a regular basis.” As an example of this, the USDE offers that “an instructor could use email to provide instructional materials to students enrolled in his or her class, use chat features to communicate with students, set up conference calls to facilitate group conversations, engage in email exchanges or require students to submit work electronically that the instructor will evaluate.” All of these minimal levels of interaction and more are supported by the CUNY licensed software solutions itemized in previous guidance and identified in our www.cuny.edu/coronavirus portal.

Distribution of Tablets and Laptops

The previously described Recalibration Period for Educational Equity, will allow our colleges to continue their efforts to provide their students with access to the equipment they need to complete their semester. After prioritizing degree-seeking students, we may allocate devices to students in pre-matriculation programs, Continuing Ed Programs, and faculty who may need them.

Using Blackboard and Blackboard Collaborate on Chromebooks

Blackboard Collaborate is compatible with Chromebooks.

New Curricular Resources for Faculty

In addition to the open educational resources indexed on the Office of Library Services website and the previously announced free access to commercial e-books offered by Barnes and Noble and Akademos (see below), some companies have offered free resources to colleges and universities affected by the COVID-19 virus, including:

1. Lumen Learning is making its courseware, Waymaker and OHM, available at no cost for courses currently in session. Lumen also provides free services to support the transition. Details here.
2. Pearson is similarly offering digital resources at no charge. Details here.

For faculty members seeking digital alternatives or supplements to their current course materials, these materials may be an appropriate fit. Please note that CUNY is not endorsing or requiring the use of such services. Nevertheless, CUNY is appreciative of their support in making such services available to our students and faculty.

Additional Blackboard Help Desk Support

See the Brooklyn College Center for Teaching and Learning website for details Blackboard Questions Call 646.664.2024 for After Hours Support (pdf) (8 p.m.-8 a.m. and weekends).

Open Educational Resources and Free Access to Commercial Books

Building on the Open Educational Resources initiative and also including CUNY library resources, the Office of Library Services website provides an index to digital resources that faculty may use in online/distance courses at zero cost to their students. Check the Continuity of Library Services page under the heading “Support for Online Instruction.” This site will be regularly updated. If you are aware of additional resources that should be added or if you have other questions or requests, please contact Ann Fiddler, Open Education Librarian, ann.fiddler@cuny.edu. Akademos and Barnes & Noble have partnered with the digital platform VitalSource to offer free access to over 50,000 eBooks to its current customers to facilitate their move to online learning. CUNY students at participating colleges can now access these materials by creating a VitalSource account at bookshelf.vitalsource.com using their cuny.edu email addresses. Free access will last through the end of the Spring semester or until May 25, whichever comes first. More information is available at VitalSource Helps page.

Testing Options and Efforts to Secure Proctoring of Distance Learning Exams

The University previously indicated that CIS was working with Respondus, an online assessment and learning tool to support the immediate needs for an exam proctoring solution for Apple iOS, iPads, and windows based browsers (CIS is exploring ways to expand access via the Enterprise VDI environment). Respondus currently used by Hunter and a solution that some CUNY campus Provost and CIOs recommended, is partnering with educational institutions throughout the world to transition to fully remote administration of classes. They are offering an “unlimited” license for free through May 30 (June 30 for quarter systems). Two products they offer, LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor enable students to take online exams from home, while deterring cheating and protecting the exam content itself. Both applications integrate seamlessly with Blackboard and used with over 80 million assessments annually. As CIS works to complete the important effort, they are also continuing the review of other solutions the University could consider. Recommendations should be shared with CIO Brian Cohen who will bring them to our University CIO’s attention. Additional information will be forthcoming. For more information, contact: Brian Cohen, brian.cohen@cuny.edu. Today, we are pleased to announce that CIS is making progress on the Respondus tool for exam and proctoring. OGC has approved the current agreement for the trial period and that will get us moving for now. We will need a final approved agreement to go beyond the free trial period.

Online FAQs and Training

CIS Training offers a variety of training resources for CUNY-wide cloud applications that support remote collaboration, such as Dropbox and Microsoft Office 365. Webinars on these applications have been added as a result of the increased demand – registration for the webinars is available to all faculty and staff. Additionally, faculty and staff can view CUNY-specific video tutorials for Office 365 Teams, such as creating teams, sharing files, and posting announcements, on the CIS Training Stream channel. CIS Training is available for training questions and requests at CISTraining@cuny.edu. On Monday, we will also be launching a new IT Training site that consolidates links to all sites with training guides, videos, etc., so that users can more easily find the training they need to work and teach remotely. Again, we hope that the CUNY community will appreciate having one resource to find desired training and guidance. This site will also be accessible from the new IT Remote Resources site.

Cloud Resources

As a reminder, most CUNY applications and cloud resources, such as Blackboard, CUNYFirst, Microsoft Office 365 (including OneDrive), and Dropbox can be found online on CUNY’s Technology Resources pages and accessed through web browsers. Also, please know that Blackboard course shells are automatically created for every CUNY course based on CUNYFirst data.

Blackboard and Collaborate

To accommodate greater use of Blackboard for distance learning, CIS asked Blackboard to double the default quota for all Spring 2020 courses (from 750 MB to 1.5 GB). In addition, the Blackboard Collaborate tool, which CUNY licenses will also be able to support 300,000 students. Collaborate is Blackboard’s all-in-one video conference platform that works through computer, tablet, or mobile device. As a fully interactive web conferencing environment and asynchronous voice authoring solution, Collaborate enables faculty to establish web conferences and connect with one student or an entire class, up to 500 participants per Collaborate session.

Cisco WebEx Access

WebEx is now available for all faculty and staff across the University under a 90-day license. They can initiate calls with students now, and student-initiated calls are being enabled. It is also integrated WebEx within Blackboard for setting up a collaboration workspace, online meetings and online office hours for courses. See the ConnectCUNY WebEx Quick Start Guide (pdf) for instructions on accessing and information on using WebEx Meetings and WebEx Teams.

Microsoft Teams

Faculty can now easily add students to Microsoft Teams meetings. The CUNYfirst Class Roster now contains students’ CUNY login usernames that can be downloaded and inserted into Teams Meeting invitations. Accessing the Student Roster for Dropbox/Microsoft Office 365 (pdf), available on the Microsoft Office 365 for Education Training Resources page, provides step-by-step instructions.

Cloud-Based Adobe Licenses for Students

CIS is working now with Adobe to enable student access through the CUNY Login page using their @login.cuny.edu credentials. Faculty already have home use of these tools under our current CUNY licensing agreement. The services in question are described below.

• Adobe is making temporary at-home access to Creative Cloud available until May 31, 2020 for universities who currently have only lab access for students, at no additional cost.
• Adobe provides a student asset migration portal that enables graduating students to transfer the assets associated with their assigned school account to a personal account.
• Adobe will be sharing a curated set of resources soon on the Adobe Education Exchange website to help faculty with their transition to online instruction.

International Students

SEVP has permitted institutions to accommodate students as they deem necessary for instance, if a student cannot complete one course of his/her program because the course has been cancelled, that student is permitted to remain in status in SEVIS. The Designated School Official will indicate that the student was unable to complete the particular class due to the coronavirus outbreak and the student will be deemed to be in valid status in the country, and they can continue with classes once everything is back to normal. However, no clarity has been given in the event the student choses to withdraw from all courses but still remains in the country. Our understanding is that SEVP is still working on such kind of cases to come up with proper guidance for the schools. Below is recap on the last clarification from SEVP:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) provided some clarification on department’s guidance to colleges/universities about how to handle student-visa issues during  the coronavirus  outbreak.  SEVP informed  colleges  that  they  would be given leeway  to adapt policies for international students during the public-health crisis. Though the latest guidance was more on students records in SEVIS, it still gives an idea on the process. The three common scenarios below were based on the questions from the international higher education community related to emergency procedures/operations that colleges have put in place:

• The first scenario is in the event the college completely closes without any online courses or alternate learning opportunities and how the students’ records should be recorded in in SEVIS.
• The second scenarios refer to colleges/universities that cancel in-person classes and shift to online instruction, and the international students decide to stay in the United States instead of going back to their home countries. In this case, students could count online courses toward their full course of study, superseding the restrictions that limit them to a single online course per semester.
• The third situation is similar to the second, except the international student leaves the U.S. In that case, students will still be allowed to engage in online study and the records in SEVIS will remain in active status even though the students are outside the country.

Due to the “fluid nature of this difficult situation, SEVP will continue to provide updated guidance as more issues and scenarios arise making the current guidance subject to further tweaking. Please be advised that the current guidance does not address any school operations beyond the spring 2020 semester yet.

Student Veterans, National Guard and Reservists

Please advise students who are activated to communicate with their campus Veterans Services Coordinator, Registrar’s Office, and faculty. The University might be facing one of the following scenarios: 1) National Guard students called up as early as the week of April 1, 2020; 2) military personnel may be activated in 30 days; or 3) Military units might be given notice of activation at any time. Students’ response to all three scenarios SHOULD NOT be to drop classes or discontinue their Spring 2020 coursework. Rather, as per CUNY Military Activation Policy Sections 3.1 – 3.3 listed below, faculty can and should accommodate activated students to enable them to complete the Spring 2020 semester. For more information, contact: Lisa Beatha, lisa.beatha@cuny.edu.

• 3.1 A student who is called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States or National Guard should be given every consideration around either making up the work for the course, obtaining an Incomplete, or being given the grade that he or she has earned at the time that he or she is called to duty.
• 3.2 At each college, the appropriated committee or other designated authority shall be empowered to grant the remaining number of credits required for graduation to a member of the graduating class who lacks twelve or fewer credits in elective courses to complete the requirements for the degree for those called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States. Credits should be applied from the service members JST (Joint Service Transcript) as MILT elective credit
• 3.3 Colleges shall encourage students who enter military service to maintain their status as students by availing themselves of such opportunities as may be offered to them (by the colleges, by other accredited colleges, and/or by service agencies) to continue their studies while in Military Service.

CUNY EDGE Research Foundation Campus Staff

CUNY EDGE Research Foundation (RF) campus staff, both FT and PT, may work remotely with the approval of their supervisor. CUNY RFguidance can be found here, which outlines the recommended policy and includes a Remote Work Agreement to be completed and signed by each staff member and their supervisor. CUNY OAA EDGE leadership fully supports this move and has worked with college program directors to ensure EDGE students can be served remotely. All advisement activities can be conducted via phone, email or text, and campus staff are already using a variety of platforms to do so that have been in place for more than a year. Additionally, CUNY OAA EDGE leadership has received approval from our funder, the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) to suspend all new referrals to our HRA Fellowship Program and to submit required documentation to HRA remotely. CUNY EDGE is fully prepared to support participating students through remote work arrangements.

Disability Services

During this transition to distance learning, CUNY’s faculty remain the University’s most vital resource in ensuring reasonable accommodations for our more than 11,000 students with disabilities. As our faculty prepare to deliver course content via distance learning modalities, we ask that they consider the following overarching principles and key resources:

• Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), CUNY college are still required to provide equal access to our University’s academic programs – even in a distance learning environment.
• Campus Offices of Disability Services (ODS) continue to serve as key sources of technical assistance and support to faculty in determining the best ways to reasonably accommodate students with disabilities in distance learning instructional modalities; please use this link to contact the ODS on your campus: http://cats.cuny.edu/reasonableaccommodations/COSDIDirectory.html.
• The barriers that exist at the intersection of a student’s disability and course design may be different from those posed by the original course format. Some accommodations students used before may no longer apply in distance learning formats, and some accommodations not considered previously may need to be considered now; we appreciate our faculty’s flexibility and collaboration with ODS staff and students with disabilities themselves to meet their accommodation needs in distance learning modalities.

To aid in these efforts, the guide Reasonable Accommodations: A Faculty Guide for Teaching Students with disabilities resource was developed specifically for CUNY faculty to provide them with information and best practices to be most effective in meeting the needs of students with disabilities and achieving the goal of equal access. This guide includes helpful information in accommodating students with disabilities in distance learning, including the following two sections: Technology in the Classroom and for Online Courses and Alternative Text for Students with Disabilities. Please know that our campus Offices of Disability Services will work closely with our CUNY Office of Student Inclusion Initiatives to ensure that our faculty have the support they need to successfully and meaningfully accommodate students with disabilities. We are grateful to our faculty and to our disability services professionals for their abiding commitment to the access, success, and wellness of students with disabilities.

CS/MS and Adult Literacy and Language Immersion Programs

CUNY Start/Math Start, CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP), and the Adult Literacy Program are all moving their instruction online. The Central Office staff that support each program have been working with college teams to develop plans for this transition using both synchronous and asynchronous delivery via platforms like Blackboard, Dropbox, Zoom, and WebEx, and how to make use of video, discussion tools, chat, and other technology tools to deliver instruction. Each program will develop a plan, to be provided to the appropriate college leadership, that details how content will be delivered, multiple options for communicating with students, and how student work will be assessed to document learning outcomes have been met. Colleges are encouraged to make any local resources that are available to faculty to assist with this conversion available to these programs as well. CUNY CIS is also supporting assessment of technology needs for these programs if there is not a local college resource readily available. We will provide further guidance on any standardized testing that typically takes place in CUNY testing centers, which would also be developed for students in developmental education classes that require the CUNY Assessment Test in Writing (CAT-W) and CUNY Elementary Algebra Final Exam (CEAFE). CUNY OAA has also confirmed with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Adult Career and Continuing Education Services that our adult literacy programs should follow the guidance of their respective agencies/organizations (i.e.: CUNY, SUNY, DOE) regarding the use of distance learning strategies to maintain program continuity and keep students and teachers engaged while in-person classes are suspended.

Clinical Placements—HHS Programs

CUNY HHS programs have submitted alternative training model applications to NYSED OOP for 22 programs across 14 colleges, representing more than 50 certificate and degree programs. To date, NYSED has approved 13 programs (37 certificates and degrees) and denied only one program. Based on feedback and decisions from NYSED, programs may provide additional information or adjust their proposed model for reconsideration. The majority of applications are for Nursing, followed by Social Work, with the remainder for Speech-Language-Hearing Disorders, Mental Health Counseling, Audiology, Clinical Psychology, Physician Assistant and Physical Therapy programs. In general, NYSED has supported the use of simulation, telehealth, clinical case studies, online resources, reducing or adjusting scheduled training hours to the minimum state requirement for the licensed profession, and extending clinical rotations and field placements to late spring/summer as alternative training models. NYSED decisions are based on specific training/internship and supervision requirements by the respective NYS Licensing Board. Please contact Patricia Simino Boyce (Patricia.boyce@cyny.edu with questions regarding proposed models and the application process.

Clinical Placements—Education Programs

As of Monday, March 16, education students who are participating in clinical placements for fieldwork or student teaching required by their academic program, and their faculty supervisors, were told not report to school/field sites until further notice. Education Deans and Chairs are receiving specific guidance and resources on conducting virtual fieldwork from Ashleigh Thompson via email and postings on http://www.cuny.edu/teachered. In light of the DOE school closure, and plan for three-days of professional development for teachers at school sites this week, we have heard requests from schools, CUNY students and faculty about candidates attending these days so they can participate in training and assist with remote learning delivery for their school site. Upon careful review, CUNY will support clinical fieldwork placements that support schools’ use of remote learning, under the following conditions:

1. The principal invites/approves the candidate's continued participation;
2. cooperating teachers can provide adequate supervision to students in the context of remote learning;
3. faculty are willing and able to support student placements, as required; and
4. students are aware of risks and willing to take the necessary precautions, as per available guidance, to participate in the school-based training during the crisis.

The health and safety of our students and faculty remain a top priority, therefore considerations for placement may be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Please communicate with Ashleigh Thompson with any questions or updates on your decisions to continue with remote clinical fieldwork so we are aware of the student placements across programs and facilities. This update does not preclude colleges from engaging in virtual fieldwork, which was previously recommended. This policy, and its four conditions, pertains to social workers, therapists, counselors and other students with required school-based placements.

College Now Courses and Early College High Schools

NYCDOE schools are implementing a remote learning model beginning March 23 through April 20, 2020, following an instructional break from March 16 - 20. No in person instruction can take place in DOE high schools beginning March 16, through April 20. We recommend any courses enrolling current NYC DOE students, including those taking place on CUNY campuses, follow this model. Early College High schools will fully implement NYCDOE's remote learning plan beginning on Monday, March 23 - April 20, 2020. Students should not report to NYCDOE school buildings for instruction during this time. Students can request remote learning devices through this form.

Admissions (UAPC/WC)

Office of Admissions staff at 42nd Street and UAPC/Kingsborough CC will continue to assist applicants, process applications and provide recommendations per published calendar. The majority of staff is telecommuting but maintaining regular business hours. Mail deliveries are being processed two days a week. Admissions staff is available via phone/email to answer questions from applicants / counselors / college staff. Admission decisions are being delivered without delay by college admissions offices and applicants can also review their application status via CUNYfirst self-service. For more information and updates, please visit: University Admissions or contact Mark Ciolli (mark.ciolli@cuny.edu), University Executive Director of Admissions.

Guidance for CUNY Students Working in Internships

CUNY students working as interns, whether with private or public sector employers, should abide by the internal protocols of their internship site. They may work if the site remains open and is allowing interns to report. In addition to the work site’s coronavirus policy, students who are sick or have knowingly been in contact with anyone who is sick should notify their internship manager and CUNY program manager or contact immediately. We ask that all students and supervisors touch base to work on a course of action. Some students may be working with individuals in vulnerable populations, so we ask that supervisors and students use their best judgment. Companies or organizations may institute telecommuting or work from home policies that apply to students. We ask students to inform their internship manager or CUNY program manager if their employers move to telecommuting/work from home policies. Students should confirm that they have the tools they need to do this effectively and reach out to their internship manager or CUNY program manager with any questions or concerns. In some cases, students have negotiated a leave of absence from internships, that will end when the statewide "pause" is lifted.

Guidance for Campus-Based Internships

Similar to the guidance for public and private sector internships, students and supervisors should abide by the protocols and policies set by the institution.

Guidance for Credit Bearing Internships

Students will maintain enrollment in Spring 2020 campus-based academic internship courses at their discretion and the discretion of college faculty with whom they are registered. Students and faculty will continue to meet in seminars via online/distance learning tools once they are introduced at the campuses. Students and faculty will work together to redesign any assigned internship deliverables, to ensure that learning outcomes reflected in course syllabi are met and measured at the conclusion of the semester. Where permissible, academic internship responsibilities given to students by outside organizations at the beginning of the semester will continue to be carried out via remote. In cases where internship responsibilities cannot be carried out via remote, campus faculty will develop and assign alternative experiential learning responsibilities and goals to students enrolled in credit-bearing courses.

Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) Financial Management

As is generally the case for University-wide academic and administrative programs, all college business managers and budget directors should be keeping track of COVID- 19 expenses for all areas of operation, including Adult and Continuing Education. ACE units should be working with College leadership and Presidents to manage any new or existing financial needs resulting from COVID-19 impacts. The CUNY Budget Office is in process of working with the colleges on updating their current financial conditions. For more information, contact: Angie Datta Kamath, angie.kamath@cuny.edu.

Employer/Employee Resources Related to the Impact of COVID-19

Many of our students work while attending school, perhaps especially in our Adult and Continuing Education programs, are navigating difficult financial times, both in terms of their personal finances as well as their small business operations. Below is a list of resources that may help them during these difficult times. For workers: 1) The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) has a number of helpful links, including here; 2) Unemployment Insurance (pdf); 3) City of New York’s Virtual Service Center; 4) Please also encourage people to call 311 with any questions – particularly New Yorkers who lack internet access. For Employers: 1) General Guidance for Business Owners; 2) Zero-interest loans and payroll grants for small businesses; 3) NYS Department of Labor has a program available called Shared Work that enables employers to reduce their workers’ hours, and also enables those workers to be eligible for part-time Unemployment Insurance to supplement their income.

Financial Aid for Veterans

Student Veterans will continue to receive their GI Bill benefits under S. 3503, which President signed into law March 21. The law enables VA to continue providing the same level of education benefits to students having to take courses online due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The law gives VA temporary authority to continue GI Bill payments uninterrupted in the event of national emergencies. This allows for continued payment of benefits even if the program has changed from resident training to online training. Thanks to the law, GI Bill students will continue receiving the same monthly housing allowance (MHA) payments they received for resident training until Dec. 21, or until the school resumes in-person classes. Students receiving GI Bill benefits are not required to take any action. Benefits will continue automatically. VA will work closely with schools to ensure accurately certified enrollments and timely processing. Updates will be provided to students via direct email campaigns and social media regarding VA’s effort to implement these new changes. For more information, please contact Lisa Beatha, CUNY Director for Veterans Affairs, at lisa.beatha@cuny.edu.

Summary of Financial Aid Considerations in $2 Trillion Congressional Relief Package

A $2 trillion COVID-19 Relief bill passed yesterday, of which, $14 billion was allocated to Education. This must now be put into action by USED, and it should include guidance on how institutions will indicate students affected by this emergency, and direction on implementation. The relief includes:

• Emergency aid based on enrollment of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) recipients, for both the students in the form of emergency grant and for the institution to assist with expenses incurred due to COVID-19;
• More flexibility in the managing of the FWS and the SEOG programs; including allowing "emergency SEOG" to be awarded up to the maximum Pell award amount, and permitting FWS to continue to get paid during the emergency.
• If able to administer by USED, loans and Pell grant will not count as having being used for students unable to complete the term;
• Instituting a waiver process where the amount of grant or loan associated with each withdrawn student would not have to be returned by the school or the student;
• Removes the "attempted" credits requirement of the Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations;
• Extends Leave of Absences process to standard colleges permitting students to return and complete courses at a later time;
• For the duration of the declared emergency, it will allow Title IV-participating foreign institutions the ability to offer distance education;
• Suspends interest and payments until 9/30/20 of all Direct Loans.

General Issues

The University has communicated with campus financial aid directors regarding USDE Guidance for interruptions of study related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and HESC guidance related to the effect short-term and long-term school closures would have on student financial aid regulations. The expectation is that beginning March 19, students will successfully transition to distance education, and the guidance provided below is for the exception, not all students. To date, HESC has indicated that it will work with colleges to ensure “continued eligibility for awards under all circumstances related to the Coronavirus.” The USDE guidance addresses the following five scenarios among other important matters, such as Satisfactory Academic Progress, Federal Work-Study payments in the event of a closure, etc.:

• A student was enrolled or was supposed to begin a travel-abroad experience and either the student has been called back to the U.S. or was never able to begin the travel abroad experience;
• A student was enrolled in a program and met the requirements for full-time enrollment; however, due to the COVID-19, one or more classes – such as an internship, a clinical rotation, student teaching or fieldwork – have been cancelled and now the student has fallen below the 12-credit hour minimum and is no longer considered to be a full-time student;
• A student is quarantined and misses class, or a student is incapacitated due to COVID-19 illness;
• A campus temporarily stops offering ground-based classes in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19;
• A foreign school that serves U.S. students who participate in title IV programs temporarily suspends operations due to COVID-19.

Federal Financial Aid

Key topics discussed in most recent guidance: 1) Supplementing the Professional Judgement form for COVID-19-related reasons; 2) Federal Work-Study for students who are unable to continue working due to closure or inability directly due to the crisis; 3) If a student is appealing SAP on a COVID-19- related circumstance. Additional guidance for the treatment of Federal Aid can be found here. Finally, a Central communication was sent recently to all 2019-20 FWS students, whom accepted their award and were enrolled, providing guidance on job locations, working remotely, closures, and the location of the FA COVID-19 Form. FA Offices were provided with a copy of the template communication and a list of the students communicated to.

USDOE Guidance on Federal Student Loans

“The US DOE directed all federal student loan servicers to grant an administrative forbearance to any borrower with a federally held loan who requests one. The forbearance will be in effect for a period of at least 60 days, beginning on March 13, 2020. To request this forbearance, borrowers should contact their loan servicer online or by phone. Also, an automatic suspension of payments was authorized for any borrower more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, 2020, or who becomes more than 31 days delinquent. To request the forbearance or more details on the suspension of payments, borrowers should contact their loan servicer online or by phone. "

New York State Financial Aid

HESC has allowed for COVID-19 impacted students who are adversely affected by the crisis to be held faultless for the term. They must be documented individually and retained in the student file. HESC will accept the designation by the school’s determination. Such instances are:

• Excelsior failed to earn 30 credits by the end of the term.
• HESC Scholarship GPA requirement not met.
• Failed Progress and Pursuit making them ineligible for Fall 2020 TAP award.

These students can only be certified online at HESCWeb and must have the Impacted by COVID-19 Check box selected. Students who were previously certified and then later report a negative impact, may be recertified by program to have the designation on the term. Documentation is mandatory. The form can be found here (pdf). HESC has released additional guidance as follows:

• State Aid: HESC is looking to address changes in family income based on COVID-19. Board would have to approve; HESC is sending communications to students, including incoming freshmen, regarding experiencing processing delays—auto processing emails still being sent which provides real time application  updates and  award  amounts; Upcoming  changes  to HESC website  and  screens to soften deadlines to students; Students can continue to email and upload documents to HESC; HESC is launching online student facing page soon.
• TAP: Processing is continuing and receiving and processing online applications. Additional messages added as well due to some processing delays.
• Excelsior Scholarship: Still  processing  records for 18-19 and 19-20 years.  20-21 application period  has not yet been determined.
• Other Scholarships: Scholarships where students are initially applying for eligibility determination have a processing delay. Deadlines have been extended, including for  any  scholarship that requires signing of contracts.
• APTS: Colleges may send initial recipients list; file submission deadlines have been removed; Errors are not being worked on by HESC at this time.
• DREAM: Still asking schools to defer tuition using information on the Student Status Listing file; Vendor is still accepting and processing applications; A list of another 590 students are being processed; HESC is still working through all the first year start up issues.

As we continue to navigate this time of uncertainty and change, we want to provide you with important information regarding our student veteran population.  If you have any student veterans in your courses that inform you they have received orders of activation please contact the Veteran and Military Programs Office. The Veteran and Military Programs team will work with you and the student to ensure a seamless academic transition. Working together we can make sure our students who are called to serve our country at this time feel fully supported by our college community. The V&MP Office can be reached via email at veteransaffairs@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

For your information, here is the CUNY policy about student veterans being activated:

• 3.1 A student who is called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States or National Guard should be given every consideration around either making up the work for the course, obtaining an Incomplete, or being given the grade that he or she has earned at the time that he or she is called to duty.
• 3.2 At each college, the appropriated committee or other designated authority shall be empowered to grant the remaining number of credits required for graduation to a member of the graduating class who lacks twelve or fewer credits in elective courses to complete the requirements for the degree for those called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States. Credits should be applied from the service members JST (Joint Service Transcript) as MILT elective credit
• 3.3 Colleges shall encourage students who enter military service to maintain their status as students by availing themselves of such opportunities as may be offered to them (by the colleges, by other accredited colleges, and/or by service agencies) to continue their studies while in Military Service.

If you have a student that is activated, here are 2 easy steps to take.

1. Instruct the student not to drop their courses;
2. Contact Veteransaffairs@brooklyn.cuny.edu and the team will make certain to assist the student every step of the way.