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Ten Immediate Action Steps

(Adapted slightly from https://continuity.commons.gc.cuny.edu/things-to-do-now-2/ Thank you, Graduate Center Teaching & Learning)

1. Make sure that you can log into all the CUNY systems that you might need — Dropbox,  CUNYFirst, BC WebCentral, Blackboard, Office 365, etc.  Please keep in mind that some of the resources you will need require your CUNY login while others use your campus username/password.
2. Save your course teaching materials to your CUNY Dropbox account. This way you can access them outside the office and the Brooklyn College IT staff will be better able to support you, if needed.
3. Make sure your students update their contact info in BC WebCentral and CUNYFirst so you can be sure to get in touch with them in the event the College closes.
4. Make sure your students know the best ways to reach you (email, voice mail, personal phone, etc.) in the event that the College closes.
5. Survey students in your courses to get a sense of their levels of connectivity and how the cancellation of face-to-face instruction might impact their ability to engage with your course. Where and how do they access the internet?
6. Check your access to technology from off-campus using your personal devices. For example, can you use a personal desktop, laptop and/or mobile device such as a phone or iPad to access CUNY systems remotely? This is a good opportunity to make sure that all your operating systems are up-to-date and compatible with any software you might use. Download relevant apps on your mobile device (like related Office apps and Drobox).
7. If you have an office phone, test forwarding your office phone calls (pdf) to your home phone or personal cell phone and changing your office voicemail message.
8. Be aware of student anxiety and health concerns, and the particular situations of students who may be under significant distress (international students and students navigating various forms of vulnerability and precarity). Acknowledge a willingness to accommodate a range of needs and connect your students to support resources. Here are some tips for addressing student anxiety and communicating with vulnerable students to assess their needs (pdf) from the UC Berkeley, University Health Services ).
9. Stay Healthy and Connected. Regularly wash your hands, use hand sanitizer as frequently as needed, and avoid touching your face. Avoid crowded places if possible, but do stay in touch with family and friends. Stay connected and stay positive. Encourage your students to do the same.
10. Remind yourself and your students to be mindful of our assumptions about others. Someone who appears sick or looks a certain way does not necessarily have coronavirus. For information and teaching materials about the rise in racial profiling as a result of the coronavirus, check out this teach-in guide: “Treating Yellow Peril: Resources to Address Coronavirus Racism”, founded and curated by Jason Oliver Chang an Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut.