As you may have seen in various emails and other communications around campus, we are excited to announce the launch of a new food service offering at CCNY in partnership with Aladdin Food Services that provides a wide array of new food choices to our campus.  We are currently in a “soft” launch phase and gearing up for a grand opening in October, which you will hear more about in the coming days ahead. Please share your experience and feedback with Jason Wallace as we continue to ramp up.  Bringing in a world-class food service vendor took a small village to accomplish.  I want to personally extend my appreciation for the cross-sectional team that spent many hours throughout the entire procurement and vendor selection process.  I personally found the team highly engaged and looking out for the best interests of the school.  A special thanks to

Jason Wallace:  Executive Director of AEC
Laurent Mars: Associate Dean of Science
Brian Genzmann: Chief Procurement Officer
Kathy Bravo: Procurement
Khizar Iman: Vice President of Student Government
Ken Ihrer: Vice President of Information Technology
Leslie Pierre: AVP of Facilities

Best Regards,
Scott Gurba
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Please join me in welcoming Ismael to the City College Campus.

Regards,

Scott Gurba
Chief Operating Officer

As you may be aware, there was a small earthquake in the New York City metropolitan area.  Public Safety and Facility teams conducted checks of the buildings and grounds and did not observe any damage or issues. The campus will remain open and we will continue to monitor the situation.  

Please call Public Safety at 212-650-7777 if you need any assistance.

Scott Gurba
Chief Operating Officer

Regards,

Scott Gurba
Chief Operating Officer 

The CCNY facilities team makes every effort to moderate the heating and cooling throughout the year across 18 buildings and thousands of rooms. An extensive cutover process occurs twice a year (Fall and Spring). The shoulder months of September/October and April/May are always an extra challenge as temperatures may have significant swings. The team looks at the weather forecast and identifies a window that causes the least amount of disruption. This season, the college electricians are plagued by numerous electrical outages created by unsafe electrical heaters across the campus. Using a hazardous heater creates an imminent fire danger. Immediate action is required to curtail this activity. As recently as 2015, CCNY experienced a significant fire due to these activities.

Effectively immediately, the Fire Safety Directors are asked to confiscate all electrical heaters that are a problem. The electricians responding to a power outage will notify the FSD every time the outage is caused by an unsafe heater.

Thanks for your immediate attention to this matter and for keeping CCNY safe.

Scott Gurba
Chief Operating Officer

For emergencies please use Public Safety's secondary line (212) 650-6626 which is working as is our emergency number (212) 650-7777. We will update once our main line is operational.

As you know, in response to today’s significant and ongoing rainfall, both Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams have issued a State of Emergency in New York City and surrounding areas. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning throughout the New York City area through Friday night. 

We are aware of the current conditions and are monitoring them closely. In the meantime, please take note of the following:

• There are currently no plans to close CCNY or other CUNY facilities early. However, employees should be advised to consult with their direct supervisors if they prefer to work remotely for the rest of the day. It should be noted though that with disruptions to public transportation, local officials are recommending New Yorkers to consider remaining in place if conditions are too dangerous for travel.
• Any scheduled outdoor activities on your campuses should be postponed or rescheduled, at your discretion.
• Please allow for extra travel time. New Yorkers are urged to use public transportation, but NYCT Subways have been seriously impacted. Again, local officials are recommending New Yorkers to consider remaining in place if conditions are too dangerous for travel.
• Stay informed. Before and during an emergency, the City will send emergency alerts and updates to New Yorkers through various channels, including Notify NYC.

For additional information related to this afternoon’s travel conditions, please check the NYCEM website.  We will also continue to monitor the situation and share information as conditions warrant. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Scott Gurba
Senior Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer

This is just a reminder that while COVID is no longer considered a pandemic, it is still very much active and can still have serious ramifications for your health and well-being. If you test positive for COVID, please stay home. If you feel well enough to work remotely during your illness, check with your supervisor about working from home. If you are a student, please let your professors know and see if they will work with you to provide you with any missed assignments and/or lecture materials.

For those of you who have been exposed to COVID through close contact, I recommend that you follow CDC guidelines for exposure. These guidelines can be found here - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/if-you-were-exposed.html.

Thank you,

Ken Ihrer, CCNY COVID Coordinator

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Information Technology
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

This is a reminder that we are still taking precautions when it comes to minimizing the spread of COVID-19.  One of the ways that we can accomplish this is through hybrid meetings, as called for in our COVID Safety Plan.  Please hold all of your meetings using remote meeting technology so that those who are concerned about being in a crowded space or that are working remotely due to their schedule or accommodation can attend.  Please keep in mind that some meetings, such as Faculty Senate, fall under the Open Meetings Act and attendance in person is vital in order to vote.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Information Technology and COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

CUNY-Wide Enforcement of Information Security Policies and Procedures

Background

Recent incidents at a couple of our sister campuses resulted in Ransomware attacks and the possibility that CUNY would have to pay the ransom in order to have access to our information fully restored.  Here at City College, we are in the process of mitigating our risks so that we can better protect our environment and the digital assets that we are responsible for.

Information Security practices at the campus level have been more relaxed than policy requires and that industry safe practices would dictate.  Our recently performed vulnerability assessments of the CCNY environment found numerous vulnerabilities, which we are now in the process of addressing.  We have started a task force to remediate these problems and will be reaching out to all areas of the campus to work with us toward compliance.  This includes areas that are managed under the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and those areas that are supported locally or by researchers.  All systems connected to the CUNY/CCNY network must adhere to policy or receive a special exemption based on approved alternative controls.

Policy Statements

The following policy documents in their entirety are located on the CUNY website at https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/information-security/security-policies-procedures/ for your reference.  The primary policy statements of concern are from the Anti-Virus Software Standards and the IT Security Procedures – General.

Anti-Virus

A CUNY Standard for virus protection must meet minimum requirements for technical specifications and features. It should:

• be recognized throughout the IT industry as a leader in virus protection
• be schedulable for automatic virus definition updates and scanning
• provide auto protect features for viruses including e-mail viruses
• provide timely updated virus definitions in line with the best available in the IT industry
• seamlessly integrate with a server-based virus protection product (managed centrally).

Vulnerability Assessments

Each University entity must establish a routine program to test, monitor, and remediate technical and data vulnerabilities on its network.  The program should include a combination of continuous monitoring and on-demand testing tools.  Monitoring and testing should report on operating system configuration, software patch-level vulnerabilities, and unprotected data.  The Central Office may initiate vulnerability testing at its discretion.  Regular reporting of test results must be made available to the University Information Security Officer.

Device Management

All devices that are allowed to connect to University networks and systems that support administrative, business, and academic activities and operations must be maintained at current anti-virus/malicious code protection at all times.  In addition, security updates to operating systems must be applied on a timely basis after appropriate testing.  Although the University does not manage student computers, procedures should be implemented to minimize the risk to University files and systems.

The City College Response

We will comply with the Information Security Policies and Procedures in order to best protect our resources.  We are currently running vulnerability scans and working to remediate problems based on the level or risk the vulnerabilities impose.  Current practices, some of which have been in place for many years and do not comply with policy, will no longer be acceptable and solutions will be implemented to meet compliance.  The OIT will work on systems under their control and will work with others who are responsible for systems maintained outside of OIT. For details on the plan, please visit this link https://portal.ccny.cuny.edu/depts/oit/systemPlan/, or contact our IT Security Office at  itsecurity@ccny.cuny.edu  if you have any questions.

We look for full cooperation and if we do not meet the compliance objectives, we will be required to remove devices from the network that pose a risk to the University, City College, and the people whose data we are entrusted to protect.  Thank you for your cooperation in the matter.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

Each semester we receive guidance from CUNY on changes to the COVID-19 Safety Plan.  For Spring '23, there is only one area of change to our plan. 

Starting February 1st, 2023, visitors to CUNY campuses, including CCNY, are no longer required to show proof of vaccination, register with Cleared4 or show a negative COVID-19 test result.  Visitors may enter our campus by showing an official Identification Card and signing in with the security guard at the entrances to our buildings.  Our plan on the website has been updated to reflect this change and can be found at The City College of New York COVID-19 Safety Plan for Spring '23 | The City College of New York (cuny.edu) and at the specific link regarding visitors, located at Guest Access Rules and FAQ's | The City College of New York (cuny.edu)

Faculty, Staff and Students are still required to use Cleared4 and follow vaccination and testing procedures as described in our safety plan.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

CUNY has made the decision to move all email from the local campuses to the Cloud-based system, Microsoft 365 (M365). In this migration, the important thing to note is that your email address will not change.  It will still be in the @ccny.cuny.edu domain.  This migration is supposed to take place at the end of this semester, so as to cause less disruption.  This is just the first of several emails to come as we prepare our campus for this migration.  I am writing to you now because CUNY just released a training schedule that has several classes on M365.  This is an opportunity for you to learn about the product that we will all be using in the near future.

CISTraining has scheduled several M365 training sessions through the end of the year and we look forward to having you learn with us! You can view the CISTraining training calendar  for upcoming webinars and register here. Remember to log in with your CUNY Login (@login.cuny.edu), which is the same login you use to access CUNYfirst and Blackboard.

Collaborate and Listen [October 27, 2-3pm]

M365 collaboration goes beyond simply uploading and sharing a file via cloud storage. Learn how to fully utilize the M365 power of commenting, tagging, and tracking changes.

Teams Chats [November 3, 2-3pm]

MS Teams is one of the most versatile communication platforms. This webinar will focus on one-on-one and small group communication within the Teams application.

M365 in 2022 [November 9, 2-3pm]

An overview of the features that rolled out across the Microsoft 365 platform in 2022. Some examples include Teams transcripts, presenter modes, speaker coach, polls; Forms permissions, timed quizzes, collections, templates; OneDrive comments and image editing, and many more.

Outlook 2021/365 [November 16, 11am-12pm]

This webinar goes over the interface and functionalities of the Outlook 2021/365 desktop clients. Learn how to be more efficient in Outlook by using advanced search, templates, accessibility features, and a lot more!

Bookings [November 29, 2-3pm]

This webinar will introduce Microsoft Bookings, which is a Microsoft 365 scheduling tool. Learn how to manage calendars, create custom booking links, and more. Note: Bookings can only be used if your campus has migrated to Outlook in the cloud. You will not be able to access or utilize Bookings if your migration has not occurred, but you are welcome to attend the webinar for future reference.

Stream [December 12, 2-3pm]

This webinar is an overview of the updated Microsoft video service – Stream on SharePoint. Learn how to upload and manage videos and playlists, set viewing permissions, create screen recordings, and understand the difference between Stream videos and videos in OneDrive.

Additionally, you are welcome to review our Stream channels containing curated video clips from previously recorded webinars, designed to walk you through the most common tasks and actions within various CUNY-provided applications.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 1003

There will be only one shuttle bus running for the remainder of the week (10-24 through 10-28). The bus will be doing the entire loop, please expect that wait times will be longer than usual and plan accordingly.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you.

Please call our shuttle hotline at 2126508696 for updates and follow us on Instagram @ccnyfacilities for shuttle updates as well.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

Welcome back to campus!

As we continue to return in greater numbers, I would like to remind all of you of the COVID-19 safety protocols we follow on the CCNY campus. For a detailed look at our plan, please see the following link: The City College of New York COVID-19 Safety Plan for Fall '22 | The City College of New York (cuny.edu).

While masks are not required, we recommend that if you choose to wear a mask for your protection that you use a well-fitting KN-95 mask. If you do not have a mask and would like one, please ask the security guard to provide you with one.

Remember that good hygiene is also a way of preventing the spread of infectious germs, so utilize our hand sanitizers and wash your hands thoroughly throughout the day.

Make sure you are vaccinated and stay current with your booster shots for the best protection.

Here are CUNY's quarantine and isolation policies that pertain to exposures and positive tests.

If a faculty member tests positive:

• If possible (meaning you are physically well enough) move your class temporarily to the online modality. Notify ccny-covid@ccny.cuny.edu of your status and include your full name and EMPLID. Notify your chair and your class of the temporary modality change and send an email to provost@ccny.cuny.edu . If you cannot teach, notify your chair immediately Follow isolation directions from Human Resources You may return to campus after a negative COVID test or a note from your doctor (Antigen is preferred as PCR can return a positive result longer after the infectious period)

If a student tests positive:

• Notify ccny-covid@ccny.cuny.edu of your status, the specifics regarding your class (including section and schedule), include your EMPLID.
• Notify your instructor so that they can provide you with additional information so you can keep current with your studies.
• You may return to campus after a negative Antigen test or a note from your doctor (Antigen is preferred as PCR can return a positive result longer after the infectious period)

If a staff member tests positive:

• Notify ccny-covid@ccny.cuny.edu of your status and include your full name and EMPLID.
• Notify your supervisor and discuss if remote work is a possibility depending on your health status
• Follow isolation directions from Human Resources
• You may return to campus after a negative Antigen test or a note from your doctor (Antigen is preferred as PCR can return a positive result longer after the infectious period)

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19, everyone, regardless of vaccination status.

• You do not need to quarantine.
• Wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days.
• Get tested at least 5 days after your close contact (the date of your exposure is considered day 0); if you test positive, stay home and isolate per guidelines above.
• If your exposure is from someone you live with, you must reach out to your Campus Coronavirus Liaison as this may require quarantine procedures.

All faculty, staff and students should stay home if they are feeling sick. Please do not risk spreading the infection.

Please note that CCNY has a COVID-19 testing center in the NAC building (Amsterdam room of the faculty dining area)

Stay well,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

The CCNY Shuttle Bus service will be limited for an undetermined period of time due to mechanical issues.  Our current operating fleet consists of only vans which hold much fewer passengers.  The fleet was serviced prior to the start of semester but the buses are old and are often in need of repair.  The College did order new buses several months ago but due to supply chain issues and shortages, they did not arrive in time for this semester.  The current estimated delivery timeframe is in January.

I bring this to your attention so that you can plan accordingly.  Please note that you may have to wait much longer than expected to get a seat on one of the vans, as they may fill up quickly.  As an alternative, you could choose to get off at the 125th station and walk across the street to the MTA Bus stop (if you took the subway it should be a free transfer). 

I am sorry for the inconvenience this may cause and please know that we are working hard to get the buses that we do have, back operational.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

Outdoor Commencement Ceremonies

Unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a mask and vaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to wear masks.

Indoor Commencement Ceremonies

All attendees are required to wear a mask.

All graduating students participating in any commencement ceremonies must present a valid cleared4 pass and must be fully vaccinated or provide proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AT THIS IMPORTANT TIME – PLEASE CHECK OUR WEBSITE FFOR THE LATEST INFORMATION IN THE EVENT THAT CONDITIONS OR POLICIES CHANGE

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031
 

I wanted to let you know about the updated schedule during Spring Break, as it relates to the safeCircle Covid-19 Testing Center at City College. The Testing Center will be closed from Friday, April 15 - 18 and will open back up on Tuesday, April 19 for the duration of Spring Break. If you are working during Spring Break and require testing to be on campus, please make sure you take into account the shortened testing schedule. 

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

For those who have:

• Completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine over 5 months ago or Moderna vaccine over 5months ago and are not boosted, OR
• Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted, OR
• Are unvaccinated

Stay home and quarantine for at least 5 days.

• Wear a well-fitted mask if you must be around others in your home.
• Get tested. Even if you don’t develop symptoms, get tested on day 6 after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you have symptoms, you cannot get tested until symptoms are resolved.
• You must share test with CUNY campus to gain access to campus

After quarantine

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Continue to stay home until you know the results
• Wear a well-fitted mask around others.

Take precautions until day 10

• Watch for symptoms for 10 days
• Wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public. Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask.
• Avoid travel
• Avoid being around people who are at high risk.

For those who have:

• Have received a booster, OR
• Completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine within the last 5 months or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months, OR
• Completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months, OR

No quarantine

• You do not need to stay home unless you develop symptoms.
• Get tested (even if you don’t develop symptoms) get tested on day 6 after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Watch for symptoms

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Continue to stay home until you know the results
• Wear a well-fitted mask around others.

For those who have:

• Been exposed to COVID-19 and had confirmed COVID-19 within the past 90 days (you tested positive using a viral test)

No quarantine

• You do not need to stay home unless you develop symptoms.

Watch for symptoms

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Stay home until you know the results and wear a well-fitted mask around others.
• Consult your doctor.

As many of you are aware, CUNY has lifted the temporary mask mandate for all campuses. What does this mean for us? It means that you can now go throughout campus, both indoors and outdoors, without wearing a mask if you so choose. Those who are unvaccinated are still encouraged to wear a mask.

I realize that for some of you, this is a concern and one that you are not comfortable with. For those of you who are concerned, the best way to make sure you have enhanced protection under these circumstances—apart from making sure your vaccination is up to date-- is to be committed to mask wearing, mindful of keeping social distance from others, and careful in congregate settings. For those looking for added protection, I highly recommend that you wear a KN95 or KF94 mask. We have KN95 masks available upon request at each of the guard stations. By wearing a well-fitting KN95/KF94 mask you can protect yourself from breathing in potential droplets of the virus in case you are in close proximity of an infectious person.

Please note that like the mask mandate itself, the removal of the mask mandate is a CUNY-wide policy, and individual colleges and areas within colleges cannot set their own mask guidelines. We do ask, however, that all members of our community be as sensitive as possible to one another’s concerns and personal preferences. I understand that some may be uncomfortable with this but our guidance comes from the CDC, local and State government. 

As always, if you are feeling sick, stay home and test. Our best defense is to make sure we do not come to campus if there is the possibility that we are infectious. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer

Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

For those who have:

• Completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine over 5 months ago or Moderna vaccine over 5months ago and are not boosted, OR
• Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted, OR
• Are unvaccinated

Stay home and quarantine for at least 5 days.

• Wear a well-fitted mask if you must be around others in your home.
• Get tested. Even if you don’t develop symptoms, get tested on day 6 after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you have symptoms, you cannot get tested until symptoms are resolved.
• You must share test with CUNY campus to gain access to campus

After quarantine

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Continue to stay home until you know the results
• Wear a well-fitted mask around others.

Take precautions until day 10

• Watch for symptoms for 10 days
• Wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public. Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask.
• Avoid travel
• Avoid being around people who are at high risk.

For those who have:

• Have received a booster, OR
• Completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine within the last 5 months or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months, OR
• Completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months, OR

No quarantine

• You do not need to stay home unless you develop symptoms.
• Get tested (even if you don’t develop symptoms) get tested on day 6 after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Watch for symptoms

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Continue to stay home until you know the results
• Wear a well-fitted mask around others.

For those who have:

• Been exposed to COVID-19 and had confirmed COVID-19 within the past 90 days (you tested positive using a viral test)

No quarantine

• You do not need to stay home unless you develop symptoms.

Watch for symptoms

• Watch for symptoms until 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19
• If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and get tested. Stay home until you know the results and wear a well-fitted mask around others.
• Consult your doctor.

The Cleared4 Health Check system is not operational this morning for most individuals.  Public Safety has been notified and will allow entry to your class or work area.  Please only enter the campus if you are vaccinated or have a valid negative COVID test.  As soon as the system is restored I will be updating you.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

As you may have heard, Governor Hochul lifted the mask mandate for New York State.  However, this change in policy does not impact CUNY as of this memo.  CUNY is still enforcing a mask mandate while in CUNY buildings.  Please make sure you are wearing your masks properly while on campus to protect yourself and others.

Please note that CCNY has purchased KN95 masks, which are available to you at the security guard stations.  If you need a mask or want a higher quality mask, please ask a security guard for a KN95.

If CUNY changes its policy on masking, I am sure the Chancellor will notify everyone.  For now, masks are still required and we are enforcing this policy.

Thank you for your cooperation

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
212-650-7400

On Monday, January 31, 2022, from 8:00AM until 6:00PM, a mobile vaccination van will be onsite outside of the NAC on Convent Ave to offer vaccinations/boosters.  The van will be offering Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.  Vaccines are offered on a first come basis.  Please take advantage of this offering if you are in need of a booster or your initial vaccination regimen.  

Sincerely,

Ken

Due to predictions of significant snowfall, the City College campus will be closed tomorrow, January 29, 2022. In-person classes will meet remotely. Remote classes will meet as previously scheduled. Students should contact their instructors with questions. Instructors of in-person classes should contact their students with instructions for meeting online.

Essential personnel should report to work as scheduled.

As many of you prepare to return to campus, I wanted to ensure that you are aware of the campus access protocols.  Every person coming to campus must show proof of vaccination or have a negative COVID test result that is no more than seven days old. This is done through your Cleared4 account.

Adjuncts only

Most adjuncts have a start date in CUNY First of 1/28/2022.  This means your Cleared4 account is in a state of “paused.”  Because your account is paused, it means that your vaccination information from CUNY First has not been sent across to Cleared4.  This is the case only if your vaccine information was entered after your previous term's last day on payroll (for many this was 12/22/2021).  CUNY will be reactivating these accounts for Adjuncts with start date of 1/28/2022 at 6:00AM on the 28^th (Friday).  I suggest that you check your account on Friday sometime after 8:00AM to ensure it is working.

All Faculty

Please test your Cleared4 link prior to needing to come to campus.  Do not expect that you will show up on the first day you are teaching and that everything will be fine with your access pass (check it and know that it is going to work).  If it doesn’t work or you cannot find your personal link, send an email to  covid-testing@ccny.cuny.edu .  Make sure you include your full name and EMPLID if you know it. 

If your access was terminated because you were unable to take a random test during the time period you were away from campus, it will be restored once you take a test at one of the CUNY testing centers and receive a negative result.

If you are unvaccinated, remember that you must test at a CUNY COVID testing site and that it takes 24 to 48 hours for the results.  Please plan this ahead of time.  If your account is paused, they will not let you in to test (primarily this impacts adjuncts as mentioned above).  If that is the case, please email  covid-testing@ccny.cuny.edu  and mention that you need to test and your account is paused (include your full name and EMPLID).  We can activate your account manually which will allow you to test (this doesn’t provide access as that must wait on the test result).  Also, you will not be able to test if your DOB and mobile phone number are not in Cleared4.  To enter that information, you will click on your personal link using a web browser on your computer (phones will not work for this step) and you can enter that information.

Additional information about COVID Safety and Protocols can be found in our reopening plan and guidance from Human Resources.

I understand that this is difficult and can be confusing.  We are here to help you as best as we can during this reopening.  Please have patience with us as the requests are many and the staff are few.

Sincerely,

Ken

Dear Faculty,

There have been some changes to CUNY’s quarantine and isolation policies that I would like to share as it pertains to classroom exposures.

If a faculty member tests positive:

• if possible (meaning you are physically well enough) move your class temporarily to the online modality.
• Notify ccny-covid@ccny.cuny.edu of your status and include your full name and EMPLID.
• Notify your chair and your class of the temporary modality change and send an email to provost@ccny.cuny.edu . If you cannot teach, notify your chair immediately
• Follow isolation directions from Human Resources

If a student tests positive:

• Notify ccny-covid@ccny.cuny.edu of the student’s status, the specifics regarding your class (including section and schedule), the EMPLID of the student.
• As long as the instructor is fully vaccinated, the class can continue in person. If the instructor is not vaccinated, the class should be moved to the online modality for 10 days.
• Students who are not vaccinated due to an exemption will be notified by the student nurse to quarantine.
• All other students will be informed that they have potentially been exposed but as long as they are fully vaccinated, the can continue to come to class, fully masked, unless experiencing COVID symptoms.

All faculty and students should stay home if they are feeling sick.  Please do not risk your class to infection.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer

Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

FRIENDLY REMINDER: With the ever-changing COVID climate and CUNY/CCNY guidance updates, please be reminded that all "return to campus" and COVID-related information can be found on the CCNY Return To Campus subsite. It is highly recommended that you bookmark this page, and/or subscribe to RSS feeds of content sections to ensure quick and easy access to relevant content. 

Memos from my office, as well as those coming from the Office of the President, and CUNY directly, will also be found on the Return to Campus subsite. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the subsite and its contents. This will be helpful as we prepare to return to campus as safely as possible. 

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
212-650-7400

CUNY has recently changed our COVID Quarantine and Isolation Procedures to align with the latest guidance from the CDC. Below, I am going to share our new procedures with you and also bring your attention to a new reporting process for the campus so that we simplify who you need to contact if you test positive or are feeling symptoms. The new email address for communicating health status regarding COVID is CCNY-COVID@ccny.cuny.edu . This email is monitored by CCNY's COVID Team and will help us respond to you with the information you need. Please make sure you include:

• Your full name (as registered in CUNY First) and if known, your EMPLID
• State whether you are an employee or a student
• The last date on campus.
• Phone number

Now for the new procedures on Quarantine and Isolation.

• You quarantine when you might have been exposed to the virus.
• You isolate when you have been infected with the virus, even if you don’t have symptoms.

Based on the evolving nature of COVID, CDC has revised their guidance on isolation and quarantine.

Isolation Guidelines (if you Test Positive for COVID-19).

This is for everyone, regardless of vaccination status.

• Stay home for 5 days (day 0 is your first day of symptoms, or the day of your first positive test if you do not develop symptoms).
• Stay in a separate room from other household members, if possible.
• Use a separate bathroom, if possible.
• Take steps to improve ventilation at home, if possible.
• Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets.
• Don't share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils.
• Wear a well-fitting mask (CDC Guidance) when you need to be around other people.
• If you're free of symptoms or your symptoms have resolved after 5 days, you can leave your house, which includes returning to campus.
• If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test towards the end of the 5-day isolation period. Collect the test sample only if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. If your test result is positive, you should continue to isolate until day 10.
• Continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others for 5 additional days; if you cannot wear a mask (CDC Guidance), continue to isolate for 5 days.
• If you have a fever, continue isolation until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
• If you were severely ill with COVID-19 you should isolate for at least 10 days. Consult your doctor before ending isolation.

Quarantine Guidelines

Circumstances for quarantine will be based off of your vaccination status.

A person is considered fully vaccinated if they have received the full regiment of vaccine and, if eligible, have received their booster.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19

Fully Vaccinated

If you have received a booster, OR Completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine within the last 5 months or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months, OR Completed the primary series of J&J vaccine within the last 2 months OR Tested positive for COVID-19 with a viral test within the previous 90 days and subsequently recovered and remain without COVID-19 symptoms

Then do the following:

• As long as you are symptom free, you may continue coming to campus.
• Wear a well-fitting mask (CDC Guidance) around others for 10 days.
• Get tested at least 5 days after your close contact(the date of your exposure is considered day 0); if you test positive, stay home and isolate per guidelines above.
• If you develop symptoms, get a test, stay home and follow the isolation guidelines above.

Partially Vaccinated or Unvaccinated

For those who have completed the primary series of Pfizer vaccine over 5 months ago or Moderna vaccine over 5 months ago and are not boosted, OR Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted, OR are unvaccinated

Then do the following:

• Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a well-fitting mask (CDC Guidance) around others for 5 additional days. If you cannot wear a mask for the additional 5 days, continue to quarantine for those 5 days.
• If you are unable to stay at home you must wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days.
• Get Tested at least 5 days after your close contact. If you test positive, stay home and isolate per the guidelines above.
• Do not travel during your quarantine period.

Sincerely,
Ken Ihrer

The CCNY Campus is open today.  Our facilities crew has been working all night to prepare the campus. For those of you who are scheduled to come in, please take all precautions and be careful as you commute. Remember that icy conditions require that you be careful when and where you walk, so wear appropriate footwear and watch your step. If weather conditions do prevent you from making it to campus, please discuss this with your supervisor/instructor.

Stay Safe,
Ken

The rise in COVID cases on campus has had an impact on our Public Safety and Facilities staff and we are currently operating under significant shortages.  Because of this situation, access to buildings where the number of occupants are low, will be by a phone request to public safety.  We have identified the following buildings where access will be by request only:  Compton Goethals, Spitzer and Aaron Davis Hall.  If you need access to one of these buildings, please call public safety after your arrival at 212-650-7777.  After your call, a public safety officer will arrive and check your Cleared4 pass and let you into the building.

Thank you for your cooperation during this difficult time. We will continue to assess the situation and will make changes to the number of buildings, either up or down, based on current staffing levels.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

Many of you will have visitors or other persons of interest that need to come to our campus.  The Cleared4 system is broken into different databases.  The primary database is for Tax Levy employees and a majority of the RF employees.  This database was prepopulated with data from CUNY First. 

We have another database that is used for visitors, contractors, and other people who come to campus (visiting professors, emeritus professors, some postdocs, etc) that are not in our standard database.  In order for these people to be able to access campus, they will need to self-register at https://www.c4wrk.com/ytST2qjjBM6DGMWKA and upload their vaccination information to the Cleared4 system. Once this is completed, they will receive an email with their Cleared4 personal link.

If you know of someone who needs to come to campus and is not in our primary system, please share this registration link with them.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
212-650-7400

It became obviously clear to me that most of you do not know your personal link to Cleared4.  This is understandable because it was sent back in September and, because we had other means of accessing campus, there was no need to use it unless you were unvaccinated and had to be tested on a weekly basis.  For those of you who are vaccinated and now must go through random testing and use the Cleared4 pass for accessing campus, I have forced the Cleared4 system to send you all your personal links – if you already know yours, please excuse the reminder.  This link belongs to you only and most of you will receive it in the email address you have listed as primary in CUNY First.  You may also receive a text message if you have your mobile number in CUNY First.  If you do not get this email by the end of the day, you can use the covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu email address to let us know and we will look into the issue. 

Please look in your email inbox or junk folder if you do not see it and are vaccinated.  Non-vaccinated individuals will NOT receive this email  The email will come from the address no-reply@Cleared4Work.com .

Additionally, I have asked public safety to allow people through using their V-22 next week but that they are to be reminded to make sure that they get this working by the following week. 

Using Cleared4 is as simple as clicking on the link that was sent to you in the email.  If you have been chosen for testing, you will have an additional step of making sure your information is complete so just follow the directions and it is fairly self-explanatory.  Then, on a daily basis, all you need to do is click on your personal link and show the guard your pass.
 
Sincerely,
Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

As of Monday, 12/6/21, we will be discontinuing the use of the V-22 sticker and the Excelsior Pass for campus access (please see my memo on Random COVID Testing).  This means you will need to know how to access your Cleared4 pass. It is best that you practice this before you come to campus.  Please remember that each person has a "personal" link to Cleared4.  This is why we cannot send you generic instructions on how to access your pass.  If you do not know your link or cannot locate it, please send an email to covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu and we will be able to assist you.

Thank you,

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
212-650-7400

*Please view the message from VP Ihrer related to RANDOM COVID-19 TESTING.

As advised by CCNY Human Resources, random testing is not optional.  

Being tested when you are notified is not optional and is necessary in order to obtain campus-wide results each week and thus help keep everyone safe.

In any given week, selected individuals will receive an email from no-reply@cleared4.org with subject line “Message from City University of New York (CUNY)”. This email includes instructions to complete their registration via a personalized link and will have to test at a CUNY test site within 7 days (no appointment necessary). CUNY test centers will be closed over Thanksgiving weekend. For your convenience, the list of CUNY approved testing sites is available here. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT TEST RESULTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FROM A NON-CUNY TESTING SITE

For a list of CUNY COVID-19 testing locations and hours, please visit: https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/cuny-covid-19-testing-site-locations/

This notice is comprised of memos sent by VP Ken Ihrer, and the 11/30 memo from our CCNY HR Department related to Random COVID Testing.
 

Dear CCNY Community,

As communicated to you through a memo by EVC Batista on Wednesday, November 17th, CUNY has started random testing of vaccinated faculty, staff and students who come to campus.  If you are selected for random testing, you will have seven days to complete your testing at one of the CUNY testing centers, including the CCNY center in the NAC building.  The test does not require an appointment.

If you receive a negative test, you will retain your Cleared4 blue pass.  If you receive a positive test, your blue pass will be suspended and you will be contacted by CCNY’s CVOID response team with further guidance on your status and how/when you can return to campus.  If for some reason you are not coming to campus and you receive a notice to test, you can send us an email at covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu and we can suspend your Cleared4 pass until you are ready to return to campus and in the interim you will not receive random test requests.  Please notify us if your on-campus status changes and we can return you to the testing pool and clear your blue pass.

Because we are now performing random testing, we will need to discontinue the use of the V-22 sticker access that we have been using for access to campus, as well as the Excelsior Pass.  The only means of access to campus, starting Monday, 12/6/21 will be through the Cleared4 blue pass for vaccinated individuals and the Cleared4 green pass for tested individuals.

If you do not know how to access your Cleared4 Pass, please send an email to covidtesting@ccny.cuny.edu for instructions and your personal link for access.  In order for you to receive a blue pass in Cleared4, you must have uploaded your vaccination information into CUNY First.  If you have questions about how to upload your vaccination information, please contact our Service Desk at 212-650-7878 or at servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu .

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York

To register, please send your guest the following link: https://www.c4wrk.com/ytST2qjjBM6DGMWKA

Once they have registered and loaded their information, they will receive an email that contains their link to access campus. If you have any questions or problems, Anthony Perez, aperez@ccny.cuny.edu , can assist you.

Rules for registering your guest and FAQ's can be found here. 

*Updated 11/24/2021

Procedures for COVID in the Classroom

When a student reports to an Instructor or to the CCNY COVID team that they have received a positive COVID test or that they are feeling ill and will not be attending class, the following should take place immediately:

1. Respond back to the student telling them not to come to campus and that the College COVID team will be contacting them.
2. An email should be sent to our nurse, Romy Fabal ( RFabal@ccny.cuny.edu ), with a copy to Richard Belgrave ( RBelgrave@ccny.cuny.edu ), our COVID Liaison, indicating the students' full name, EMPLID, and the class they are attending.
3. The school (either Romy or Richard) will immediately reach out to the student and ask them to get a COVID test, if that has not already been done. 
4. If the test is positive, then we would need to move your class online for a minimum period of five days after the exposure date if the instructor is vaccinated and a minimum of ten (10) days if the instructor is unvaccinated.
5. Before your class can resume in-person classes, all class members will need to remain off-campus (preferably in quarantine but not mandated unless they are unvaccinated) and be tested, using a PCR test or Rapid PCR test, within 3-5 days after exposure.
6. Each student and the instructor would then need to provide to the school nurse, Romy Fabal, and the COVID Liaison, Richard Belgrave a negative PCR COVID test or a note from their doctor in order to return to campus.
7. If the student is unvaccinated, then the quarantine must be for 10 days and then a negative PCR test must be provided to the school nurse and COVID Liaison for return.
8. Your class can resume in-person five days after the last exposure, providing that you, the instructor, have received a negative PCR test result and are therefore cleared to come back to campus. 
9. How many of your students can return will depend upon their vaccination status and their COVID test results.

If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Richard Belgrave, COVID Liaison, or Ken Ihrer, COVID Coordinator.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York

The University has moved from the Everbridge application’s VaxPass, for proof of vaccination, to a system called Cleared4.  The Cleared4 system has been in use since the beginning of the semester for those unvaccinated individuals in order to schedule testing and to show evidence of a negative COVID test.  The Cleared4 application will now handle both testing and vaccination status for the University and Everbridge will be retired. When you receive an email from Cleared4, it is legitimate and you should follow the instructions for registration.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York

This is a reminder for students that the Vaccine Mandate, issued by CUNY, is fast approaching, and the last day to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccination is September 23^rd. All vaccines must be loaded into CUNY First before September 27^th in order to remain registered for your in-person or hybrid courses. Additionally, even students who are not taking an in-person or hybrid course must be vaccinated in order to visit any CUNY Campus.

Please note that currently there is an NYC Health and Human Services Mobile Vaccination Clinic on campus now through Sunday, September 12th,  from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM. This Mobile Clinic is offering the J&J vaccine, even though it does not mention that on its website. Please take advantage of this opportunity and do not let time run out on you.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

After careful evaluation of the surrounding transportation systems, it is clear that making your way to campus tomorrow (9/3) could be quite the challenge.  In the interest of safety, we have decided to close the campus, this Friday, for all but those individuals who are required during weather-related events (if you are not sure if you are in this category, please contact your supervisor).  Please stay safe and continue your work remotely during this timeframe as this is still a scheduled workday.  All student support services will remain open, from a virtual posture.

After Friday, September 3rd, we will be returning to our normal CUNY schedule. 

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer

Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

The campus will be open tomorrow, September 3^rd, 2021 even though classes are closed for the Labor Day break, which runs from 9/3 through 9/8.  Please work according to your agreed-upon schedule.

Thank you

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031

Last night’s storm caused a great deal of flooding on campus. We also lost multiple trees and the campus is in rough shape. The campus is closed to all but those individuals needing to support critical functions. We are asking you to work remotely, teach remotely and learn remotely for today. If you are part of our staff that is required to come in, please take all caution getting to campus and while working on campus.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York

I am writing to update you on the state of the CCNY phone system. Back in June, a fire in a Con Edison manhole caused the copper wires to melt that support our phone system. The CCNY Telecommunications team work diligently with Verizon to install an emergency solution that uses antennas to carry our phone signals, instead of the original copper wires.  This was always a temporary measure and work continues on repairing the damaged copper.  In the meantime, our phone system relies on this temporary solution, and because of the technology, some of your calls may have static and in a storm, we may have even greater issues.  The good news is that Verizon anticipates restoring the copper connection sometime in September.  If you are experiencing problems, we can work with you on a temporary solution that may be better for your needs.  You can contact telecommunications at telecom@ccny.cuny.edu if you wish to discuss options or if you're happy with what you currently have, you can wait until our system is back to its original state.

Regards

Ken

We will be exercising a demand response action this evening between 7:00PM and 11:00PM.  In order to comply with contractual obligations, we will be de-energizing all escalators and turning off lights in unoccupied areas. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

As many of you prepare to come back to campus this upcoming week, I thought I would update you on our safety policies and procedures.

MASK MANDATE

Starting August 16th, CUNY has implemented an indoor mask mandate for all persons, vaccinated or unvaccinated.  There is one condition where you do not have to wear a mask, as outlined in the Chancellor’s memo but in all other situations, a mask is required.  The exception is as follows: “The only exception to wearing a mask inside is if a fully vaccinated person is in a classroom, dorm room, office, or other enclosed space, or is at a workspace/desk and is socially distanced from any other occupied workspace/desk.”  Please take this mandate seriously in order to protect yourself, your family, and your coworkers and their families.

CAMPUS ACCESS

If you are coming to campus, you can only do so if you are fully vaccinated or if you have a recent negative COVID test result.  Testing must be done at one of the 20 CUNY testing sites located here. If you are unvaccinated or have not loaded your vaccination information into CUNY First, you should have received an email from Cleared4 indicating that you need to take a test and giving you a link to schedule your test.  For those of you who are fully vaccinated, make sure you load your information into CUNY First so that you will no longer receive the email asking you to test.

Vaccinated individuals will be able to enter our buildings by showing the Everbridge VAX Pass on your phone or by obtaining a Vaccination sticker for your ID at the ID office.  In order to obtain the sticker, you must show proof of vaccination. 

SAFETY

Besides wearing mask and getting vaccinated or tested, we are asking you to closely follow the rules set forth in the Reopening Plan, located here.  This includes, but is not limited to, following signage posted throughout the campus, staying home if you feel sick, frequently washing your hands, covering your mouth and nose if you are going to sneeze, as well as using our hand sanitizer stations.  Remember that we are not out of this pandemic and protecting yourself and others is one of the most important things you can do.  Make sure you give others their space and your patience as we navigate this reopening together.

We expect there will be some unexpected issues to overcome once people return but please know that we will continue to monitor this return and make adjustments when and where they are needed to extent that we can.  I think you will find that when you return, that a lot of effort has been put into making the environment safe.  I want to thank you for your anticipated cooperation and I look forward to seeing you all in person very soon.

Best regards,
Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer!  As we are only a short time away from returning to campus, I am writing you to discuss CIVD-related signage that you may want for your specific areas.  It is important that we keep a uniform and consistent message to make sure our community is appropriately informed and doesn’t receive conflicting messages.  All COVID-related signage should be submitted to me ( kihrer@ccny.cuny.edu ) for review and I will pass it to Communications and Marketing for final design.  Once the sign is ready, it will be sent to the sign shop for official printing.  We can then work with you on attaching the signage in the areas needed.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Regards,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

Our new Fall Reopening Plan has been finalized and is available to you by going to the main campus website. Based on the new reopening plan, there are several changes going forward that you should be made aware of. First, access to campus no longer requires special approval, starting today. Second, our Everbridge Health Screening process will end as soon as we have a testing and vaccination verification solution in place. Third, masks will now become optional for those who have been fully vaccinated. If you are unvaccinated, you are still required to wear a mask. If you do not wear your mask, please note that you are putting yourself at a higher risk of contracting COVID. Please take time to familiarize yourself with the new plan. Please continue to ensure your safety by using proper hygiene techniques and, if unvaccinated, continuing to wear your mask.

More information will be forthcoming when we have details about our testing procedures. Until then, if you need to come to campus, use the Everbridge Health Screening application. For those of you who have been vaccinated, please visit the ID office and show proof of your vaccination status to receive a special sticker for your ID badge. Current proof includes one of the following: CDC vaccination card, WHO vaccination card (international) or the Excelsior Pass.

Sincerely,
Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is working to fully restore CCNY’s telephone service. Working with Verizon we have implemented a workaround solution that has partially restored service to a great portion of the campus. At the moment, most college phone numbers (212) 650-xxxx are currently operational. However, this temporary fix will allow us to operate at a lesser capacity. Given the reduced occupancy on campus, we believe it will allow near-normal service. If you call a campus extension and receive a busy signal, we recommend waiting and then trying to call again.

The telecommunications infrastructure has been extensively damaged. Given the damage and the nearing obsolesce of the existing technology, OIT is in consultation with our telecommunications vendor to upgrade to a modern, more enhanced telecommunications solution.
While it is uncertain how long it will take to repair existing damages, OIT will transition to a different solution, which we expect to take 3-4 weeks. We plan to start as soon as possible with the intention of having our campus telephone system fully operational by August 2nd, when we anticipate a higher volume of faculty and staff to be on campus.

Departments experiencing telephone issues such as no dial tone, can submit a request to ServiceDesk@ccny.cuny.edu . Our Telecommunications technicians will do their best to assess your particular issue and advise you of possible solutions or alternatives.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

Power has been restored to the NAC but is still out in Harris Hall.  However, It appears that the damage to the NAC ConEd/Verizon switch room will cause a phone service disruption for multiple days.  Visit our website for updates.

In the meantime, we are establishing an alternate way for people to contact the College during this time.  Please note that this setup is not ideal and that not all areas of the college will be represented.  Please use email where you can.

To reach the following offices/departments:

• Main Campus – 917-471-1558
• Public Safety – 646-740-8320
• Provost – provost@ccny.cuny.edu
• Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications – 914-216-9797 or communications@ccny.cuny.edu
• Information Technology –  Zoom Mtg ID for the service desk is 2126507000
• Human Resources – Zoom Room Meeting ID: 212 650 7226 To join via phone dial: 1-646-558-8656 and enter meeting ID 212-650-7226# and then press # 
• Facilities – (917) 838-8735
• Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Bursar, Scheduling, Testing, Gateway Academic Center, Office of Student Engagement) - 646-215-0789 and the Virtual Front Desks for the departments are accessible at ccny.cuny.edu/enrollment
• Bursar – Schedule a virtual appointment at https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/bursar, Zoom Room Meeting ID: 212 650 8700, Email service: bursaroffice@ccny.cuny.edu
• Purchasing purchasing@ccny.cuny.edu
• Accounts Payable - ap@ccny.cuny.edu
• CUNY School of Medicine - 

  • CSOM prospective students:   sdadmissions@med.cuny.edu

  • CSOM academic records:    oar@med.cuny.edu

  • CSOM personnel matters:    med-hr@med.cuny.edu

  • CSOM Dean's Office:    dlawrence@med.cuny.edu

• Engineering – gsoedeansoffice@ccny.cuny.edu
• Science – https://calendly.com/sciencedean?month=2021-06
• Colin Powell School – socialscience@ccny.cuny.edu
• Spitzer – ssainfo@ccny.cuny.edu
• Education –   deaneducation@ccny.cuny.edu
• Humanities and Arts – humanities@ccny.cuny.edu
• iMedia – Zoom room mtg id 2126505480 or iMEDIA@ccny.cuny.edu

The Office of Information Technology is in the process of switching services that are in our primary data center to our backup data center on south campus.  Since Zoom, Blackboard and CUNY First are all hosted off-campus, these services should work as usual.

Ken Ihrer 
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York 
kihrer@ccny.cuny.edu

Power has been restored.  However, It appears that the damage to the NAC ConEd/Verizon switch room will cause a phone service disruption for multiple days.  Visit our website for updates.

In the meantime, we are establishing an alternate way for people to contact the College during this time.  Please note that this setup is not ideal and that not all areas of the college will be represented.  Please use email where you can.

To reach the following offices/departments:

Main Campus – 917-471-1558

Public Safety – 646-740-8320

Provost –  provost@ccny.cuny.edu

Office of Institutional Advancement and Communications – 914-216-9797 or  communications@ccny.cuny.edu

Information Technology –  Zoom Mtg ID for the service desk is 2126507000

Human Resources – Zoom Room Meeting ID: 212 650 7226 To join via phone dial: 1-646-558-8656 and enter meeting ID 212-650-7226# and then press # 

Facilities – (917) 838-8735

Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Bursar, Scheduling, Testing, Gateway Academic Center, Office of Student Engagement) - 646-215-0789 and the Virtual Front Desks for the departments are accessible at ccny.cuny.edu/enrollment

Bursar – Schedule a virtual appointment at https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/bursar, Zoom Room Meeting ID: 212 650 8700, Email service:  bursaroffice@ccny.cuny.edu

Purchasing  purchasing@ccny.cuny.edu

Accounts Payable -  ap@ccny.cuny.edu

CUNY School of Medicine - dlawrence@med.cuny.edu

Engineering – gsoedeansoffice@ccny.cuny.edu

Science – https://calendly.com/sciencedean?month=2021-06

Colin Powell School – socialscience@ccny.cuny.edu

Spitzer – ssainfo@ccny.cuny.edu

Education –   deaneducation@ccny.cuny.edu

Humanities and Arts – humanities@ccny.cuny.edu

iMedia – Zoom room mtg id 2126505480 or iMEDIA@ccny.cuny.edu

The Office of Information Technology is in the process of switching services that are in our primary data center to our backup data center on south campus.  Since Zoom, Blackboard and CUNY First are all hosted off-campus, these services should work as usual.

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York 
kihrer@ccny.cuny.edu

This morning we had a series of events, starting with a manhole explosion across from the NAC.  This caused a transformer to pop inside the NAC and a fire to breakout in the ConEd/Verizon switch room, on the first floor. 

What we know at this time:

• The phone system is down. 
• Power to the NAC is out.
• Power to Harris is out.

We have switched email over to the data center on south campus  Email should continue to work as it normally does.  If you need to reach a department or division, please use email, as the phone system is not working.  I recommend that if you are coming to campus to visit the NAC or Harris that you stay home and work remotely.

At this time we do not know the full extent of the damage or how long it will take to repair.  I will continue to update our communications team and they will provide updates on the website.

Thank you for your understanding in this time of emergency.

Ken Ihrer
VP of Operations and CIO
COVID Coordinator
The City College of New York
212-650-7400

We are expecting another snowstorm to hit around 7:00 AM on Thursday morning, 2/18/2021.  Our facilities’ team is at the ready and will work diligently to stay on top of the snowstorm but we are expecting continuous snow throughout the day and into the evening.  Please keep a close lookout for information regarding Thursday’s plans.  At this time we do not know if our campus will be closed by CUNY but if it is you will receive a CUNY Alert.

If you receive a CUNY Alert regarding campus closure, please follow that guidance.  At this time, I recommend that unless you must be on campus that you work remotely.  Please stay safe and warm and look for updates regarding the weather.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
City College of New York

Our facilities crew worked through the weekend to clear the snow left by the latest snow storm.  The campus will be open, Monday, February 8^th, for on-campus classes and for those approved to work on campus.

Please remember, that with all of the snow we have had recently, you should be very careful as you walk around campus.  Our facilities crew will continue monitoring the pathways and will apply salt and provide cleanup whenever slippery spots are identified.  If you see a spot of concern, please let our facilities crew or the nearest public safety officer know.

Stay safe and stay warm.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
City College of New York

Our campus will be open tomorrow, Wednesday 2/3, for those of you who have in-person classes or have responsibilities that require your presence on site. Please make sure you follow COVID safety procedures and remember to take the Everbridge screen prior to arriving.

While our facilities crew has done a great job of removing snow and ice, please be extremely careful, as ice can form quickly and isn’t always easy to see. Our crews will continue monitoring the campus and will be salting wherever it is needed. If you see a location of danger, please let the nearest public safety officer or facilities person know.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
City College of New York

The snow continues to fall with no signs of letting up anytime soon. CUNY has made the decision to close campuses for tomorrow with online classes and support work to continue from home. Please refrain from coming to campus unless your job requires you to come in to support campus safety or facilities. Please stay safe and look for an update from me tomorrow, regarding an updated status.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
City College of New York

Our facilities’ team is working diligently to stay on top of the snowstorm but we are expecting continuous snow throughout the remainder of the day and into the evening. Please keep a close lookout for information regarding tomorrow’s plans. At this time we do not know if our campus will reopen tomorrow. Currently, New York City streets are restricted until 6 AM, 2/2, to essential and emergency travel only. 

If you receive a CUNY Alert regarding campus closure, please follow that guidance. If campus conditions are still in poor condition at CCNY around 5:00 AM, I will send out another notification with additional information for you to follow. Please stay safe and stay off of the roads if at all possible.

Sincerely,
Ken Ihrer

With the probability of a major snow storm hitting our campus tonight and through Monday, I’d like to let you know that our facilities' crew will be ready to tackle what mother nature throws our way.  If you find that you must make your way to campus, please park in the second or third rows off of Convent Ave in the NAC parking lot.  CUNY has announced a school closure through CUNY Alert.  For details on the CUNY Alert, you can visit our main website – www.ccny.cuny.edu.  Only those employees who are responsible for keeping the campus facilities safe and operational should attempt to come to campus.

We have no way of knowing how this storm will impact power in the city or where you may be working remotely.  As we learn more during the storm, we will try to communicate this information out to you.

Stay safe and warm, 

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
The City College of New York

The campus will reopen buildings and operations on 12/18/2020, just as they were prior to the snowstorm. Please note that access continues to be restricted due to the pandemic and remains in that state now. If you have the approval to be on campus and are providing an essential service that requires you to be on campus, you may return.

Please be careful in your travels to and from campus as the sidewalks and streets remain slippery as temperatures continue to stay below freezing. Facilities will continue to salt and work on slippery spots across campus for your safety but being mindful and keeping a close watch may prevent an unintended accident.

Stay safe and warm,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

For those of you who receive CUNY Alerts, the first one may have led you to believe that tomorrow is a snow day and only essential staff would need to work. That is not the case, as you can see from the second CUNY Alert (below). While our campus buildings are closed, offices should continue to work remotely. 

CUNY Alert Message:

Due to inclement weather, CUNY colleges and offices will be closed Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Essential personnel needs to report to work in consultation with their supervisors. All other remote CUNY personnel will continue to work remotely as this is not an authorized snow day

Thank you,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

With the snowstorm hitting our campus, we are closing down buildings to all but essential staff required to manage snow removal, operate our critical plant facilities, and provide for building security. Please refrain from coming to campus during this closure. Our facilities crew will be clearing the campus as quickly as possible and we will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. Please check our website home page for updates regarding our campus status, as we will place all new information there.

All end of semester academic activities for Thursday will take place remotely. I know that it is a very critical time in the semester with numerous exams taking place. We will do our best to keep you apprised of any system-wide problems or potential power outages.

Stay safe and stay warm.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

With the possibility of a major snowstorm hitting our campus sometime tomorrow through Thursday, I'd like to let you know that our facilities crew will be ready to tackle whatever mother nature throws our way. If you find that you must make your way to campus due to essential campus operations, please park in the second or third rows off of Convent Ave towards the center of the NAC parking lot. 

We have no way of knowing how this storm will impact power in the city or where you may be working remotely. As we learn more during the storm, we will try to communicate this information out to you. I know that it is a very critical time in the semester with numerous exams taking place. We will do our best to keep you apprised of any system-wide problems.

Stay safe and stay warm.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

As we continue to persevere through this COVID Pandemic, I thought that I would provide everyone with a gentle reminder of safety protocols here on campus as well as to remind you to take precautions whenever you are out and about. As most of you are probably aware, the number of positive cases are on the rise across the country, as well as here in New York State and New York City.

Until a vaccine is widely distributed, our best defense is to wear a mask and exercise proper hygiene. If you are on campus, a mask is mandatory at all times unless you are in an isolated and closed-off office. As soon as you go into any shared space, a mask must be worn covering your mouth and nose. Please take advantage of the sanitization stations across campus and wash your hands frequently. If you are feeling ill, please DO NOT come to campus. Please report to the COVID-coordinator@ccny.cuny.edu if you are feeling symptoms and have previously been on campus within two days of symptom onset. Regardless if you have been on campus or not, we are here to assist you in finding a testing center and providing support.

In order to give you a better picture of how the CCNY Campus is doing with regards to COVID, I want to bring your attention to a couple of resources. First, we are starting a daily COVID Update webpage where you can see which buildings are open/closed, the latest positive COVID cases of people who have been on campus, and information specific to our cleaners who are working hard to keep our campus safe. This resource can be reached at Return to Campus.

The second resource is the NY Forward COVID Report Card for schools. This is located at School Report (ny.gov) and you will click on Higher Education Institutions and then enter CUNY City College. The report is displayed in 14 day periods and you can select which period to look at.

Overall, the City College campus community has been very diligent in keeping cases low. We have undertaken measures to reduce campus occupancy to around 325 people per day. This low concentration of only essential people has been the key to keeping our rate low. Our residence hall (The Towers at CCNY) has also done a very good job of keeping COVID cases very low. Prior to Thanksgiving, residents of the Towers were tested and results showed a 100% negative rate. The residents were once again tested after returning with also a 100% negative rate.

We can fight this virus together and if all of us follow the guidelines and do our part, we can keep infections down to a minimum within our community. We all look forward to the day we can all be together again. In the meantime, stay vigilant and know that we are here and we are a community. Please reach out to us if you feel the need for support or assistance. Our Human Resources department and our Student Services are ready and willing to assist in any way that we can.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Coronavirus Coordinator
The City College of New York

REMINDER

As per the August 24, 2020, communication from the Offices of the Provost and VP of Operations all individuals entering the campus must have prior authorization do so. 

Additionally, all authorized individuals must complete the health screening questionnaire prior to coming to campus by utilizing the Everbridge Health Screen application on their smartphone.

The processes and directions for requesting access and downloading the Everbridge Health Screen application can be found in the Provost's and VP of Operations' August 24, 2020, communication.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Beginning the week of September 14, 2020, individuals who believe that they have erroneously received a RED TOKEN / NOT APPROVED, on the Everbridge health screening questionnaire will not be able to retake the health screening questionnaire without first being cleared by a negative COVID-19 test or by a licensed healthcare provider.  Supporting documentation to clear an individual must be submitted to one of the following:

• Faculty and Staff- Human Resources-  humanresources@ccny.cuny.edu
• Students – Student Affairs-  studentaffairs@ccny.cuny.edu

Visitors and all others- CCNY Campus Coronavirus Coordinator-  covid-coordinator@ccny.cuny.edu

Everyone is advised to read the questions carefully and to review answers carefully before submitting them.

For your guidance, please be advised of the following:

1. Regarding the health screening question "Do you have any of the following SYMPTOMS (New or Worsening)?" A few of the symptoms listed in the question may occur with a pre-existing medical condition, such as allergies or migraines.  You should only answer "Yes" to the question if your symptoms are new or worsening.
2. Regarding the health screening question "Have you had any known close contact with a person confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 in the past 14 days?" If you are employed in a clinical or health care setting and following strict personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols, you should only indicate that you were in close contact with a person suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 if –
   1. There was a known breach in your PPE while present in the clinical or health care setting
      OR
   2. You had contact with someone outside of the clinical or health care setting.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Human Resources at  humanresources@ccny.cuny.edu  or (212) 650-7226 or the CCNY Campus Corona Virus Coordinator at  covid-coordinator@ccny.cuny.edu .

Thank you.

Working at a distance, while offering new advantages to establish innovative approaches to our daily work, also means adding new contact methods for each of us who work with the general campus public, including new student prospects. 

As we look at ways to ensure the continuity of our work, we recognize that the issue of managing incoming calls and voicemail responses is a high priority for the college. It is imperative that we maintain communications with our community, even when working from a distance.  I realize that the logistics of determining who should answer the line may be a challenge but we must continue to be responsive and that means, at a minimum, your main departmental number should be transferred so it is answered by someone in real time as often as possible. 

The way our phone system works, a phone can be transferred in one of two ways, you can transfer the number from the handset (must be on campus) or you can make a request to telecommunications ( telecom@ccny.cuny.edu ) to transfer the number for you.  The limitation here is that unlike some offices where multiple phones are programmed with the main number, the transfer will only go to one phone number. To provide a workaround for this limitation, each department could set up a cloud-based phone number with an application like Google Voice, Talkatone or others.  This way, the departmental manager could assign times where different people could manage the cloud-based phone number through an application. The Telecommunications department is available to assist you in making the correct choice for your needs.

Regardless of how this is handled, it must be handled.  The following is a list of main numbers that are not transferred.  Please note that some of these departments may have staff that are on campus and are answering phones or may have others means for ensuring all customers are responded to in a timely matter.  For those of you who don’t, you need to designate a phone number to transfer your main line.  Additionally, if you need your personal desk line transferred, please make a request to the Service Desk or Telecommunications ( telecom@ccny.cuny.edu ).

Thank you,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
The City College of New York

Please note that only a limited number of these sessions are offered, and seats are available on a first-come basis. You can register for these training sessions here. Please feel free to contact  CISTraning@cuny.edu  with any questions.

Please see the schedule below for this week’s training on CUNY’s cloud solutions.  If you have any questions or need additional support, please feel free to reach out to CISTraining@cuny.edu

Webinar schedule for this week – registration here (log in with your CUNY Login, Firstname.Lastname##@login.cuny.edu ):

• New! Microsoft Power Automate (Flow) – Tuesday, April 14 @ 2pm
• Dropbox – Wednesday, April 15 @ 1pm 
• MS OneDrive – Thursday, April 16 @10 am 
• MS Teams – Thursday, April 16 @ 2pm 
• New! MS Teams and SharePoint for Managers – Friday, April 17 @ 10am

Self-paced training resources:

• Office 365
• Dropbox

The following is a notice from CUNY Computer Information Services' (CIS) Chief Information Officer, Brian Cohen.​​

Recently, the use of the Zoom video and audio conferencing tool has raised serious privacy and security issues. Hackers have taken advantage of the unsecured use of Zoom to intrude on calls and post offensive speech and images, known as “Zoom bombing.” As a result of this behavior, the FBI has issued warnings about its use, several State Attorneys General, have begun investigations, and the NYC Department of Education has ordered teachers to cease using Zoom for their K-12 classes. Zoom has also made changes to its tool, turning on password protection and the waiting room in the default mode.

While CUNY has not prohibited the use of Zoom, we are highly concerned for the safety of our students, faculty, and staff and ask that you take the following actions if you using this collaboration platform.  If your campus has a license for Zoom, please be sure that anyone using Zoom on your campus reviews the CUNY security guidance (also attached) on using Zoom safely and provides an acknowledgment that they have understood and will abide by its terms before continuing to use Zoom.  For those campuses that do not have licenses for Zoom, please ask your campus community to consider these security concerns before using this product in classrooms or other CUNY-related work.

CUNY has licensed other audio and video conferencing tools for all faculty, staff, and students, which we highly recommend you consider in place of Zoom. These tools, including the Webex conferencing tool, Microsoft Office's 365 Teams, and Blackboard Collaborate, have built-in security features and are highly effective for audio/video conferencing with your students. CUNY offers guidance on using Webex and self-guided and in-person training on Teams to assist you in the use of these tools. Please see the CIS IT Resources for Remote Work & Teaching or www.cuny.edu/itremote for guidance and training on these tools.

CUNY will continue to closely monitor the security and privacy issues with Zoom and may revise this current policy if concerns increase.  In the meantime, thank you for complying with the above requirements and protecting our CUNY community.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

Zoom Features

1. Zoom Settings
2. Share Zoom Window
3. Host/Co Host Privileges 
4. Waiting Room
5. Breakout Room
6. Share Screen
7. Remote Control
8. Annotation
9. Record Meeting

Dates & Times

• Monday, March 30th at 11am
• Tuesday, March 31st at 11am

Join by Computer

• Visit https://zoom.us/j/861489441 on your web browser and follow the instructions

Join by Smartphone or Tablet

• Downloaded the Zoom mobile app 
• Select "Join a Meeting"
• Input meeting ID 861 489 441 and click "Join"

Reservation Desk is now closed for daily operations. For those who are still in need of a device, please send an email to imedia@ccny.cuny.edu . Please leave your City College email address along with your contact number and name. We will reach out to you with a date that we will be able to accommodate your request. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

This memo supersedes all previous memos on laptop and tablet loaners.  The IT Reservations Desk will be taking appointments for you to pick up a laptop or tablet, while supplies last, this Monday through Wednesday from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.  Due to our mandate to reduce crowds, only 20 people per hour will be allowed to sign up for a spot.  To reserve a time for you to pick up a device, please go to https://portal.ccny.cuny.edu/depts/oit/devicereservation/ and reserve your spot.  Once devices are gone, we will notify those with upcoming reservations so you do not make an unnecessary trip.

If we receive more devices after Wednesday, we will reach out to anyone on the list who did not receive a device and schedule a time and a process where you can get a device.  We will try our best to accommodate all who need a device to work remotely.  Please keep in mind that if you already have technology that will work for you, save these devices for those who do not.  We thank you for your cooperation.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

This memo supersedes all previous memos on laptop and tablet loaners.  The IT Reservations Desk will be taking appointments for you to pick up a laptop or tablet, while supplies last, this Monday through Wednesday from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.  Due to our mandate to reduce crowds, only 20 people per hour will be allowed to sign up for a spot.  To reserve a time for you to pick up a device, please go to https://portal.ccny.cuny.edu/depts/oit/devicereservation/ and reserve your spot.  Once devices are gone, we will notify those with upcoming reservations so you do not make an unnecessary trip.

If we receive more devices after Wednesday, we will reach out to anyone on the list who did not receive a device and schedule a time and a process where you can get a device.  We will try our best to accommodate all who need a device to work remotely.  Please keep in mind that if you already have technology that will work for you, save these devices for those who do not.  We thank you for your cooperation.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

The Office of Information Technology is extending reservations for laptops or tablets through the remainder of the semester.  If you are in need of a device in order to work from home, please stop by the Reservation Desk, first floor NAC, and pick up a device – don’t forget to bring your ID card.  Supplies are limited so don’t wait too long.  Hours of operation will start on Monday and run through Thursday, from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.  If we run out of devices before Thursday, I will send out a notification.

Sincerely,

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

IT Website Resources

Main Site
https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it

Academic Technology Services (iMEDIA)
https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/conferencing-services

Service Desk

Our Service Desk can be reached by sending an email to  servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu .  Your request will be handled as quickly as we are able, realizing that our staff anticipates a large volume of requests.  I have asked ServiceDesk management to prioritize calls from faculty that are impacting a class.  For students, remember that your classes should be recorded so if you are unable to participate live, due to a technology issue, you should be able to watch the lecture once your problem is resolved. 

The service desk will also have the ability to open up a zoom session with you if one is required to resolve your issue.  Zoom has the ability for you to share your screen with the technician or have the technician remote into your machine to assist.

24 Hour Office of Information Technology Chat Room

The Office of Information Technology will be monitoring a chat room that is available to you 24/7.  While we will not have staff monitoring this channel 24/7, I have asked my staff to frequently check for questions and try to respond as soon as possible.  To reach out to us through this channel, go to https://tinyurl.com/CCNYOIT and login with your CUNY login credentials ( firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu ).

Instructional Technology Chat Room

This chat room is for questions regarding using the teaching tools provided – Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Zoom and BlueJeans.  It will be monitored by staff who can assist you, as well as by anyone reading the chat room that may know the answer to your question.  We are encouraging those faculty with experience to occasionally check in on this chat room and see if you can be of assistance.  We are hopeful we can all work on this together.  The channel for this room is https://tinyurl.com/CCNYInstructionalTech and login with your CUNY login credentials (

Virtual - Distance Learning & Conferencing Support Bridge
https://ccny.zoom.us/j/2126505480
Ask questions regarding Blackboard, Zoom, and BlueJeans. 

Virtual - Technology Support Bridge
https://ccny.zoom.us/j/2126507000
Ask questions about your technology problems including hardware, software, and networking issues.

CCNY Conferencing Service Support
https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/conferencing-service-support

Activate your CCNY Zoom account at:
https://ccny.zoom.us

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

With an unprecedented number of schools closing and students across the country shifting to digital learning because of COVID-19, several companies are offering free services for the next 60 days, in addition, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and Comcast have announced additional services during the coronavirus outbreak, such as the removal of data caps and waiver of late fees.  Students should check with their individual carriers for these arrangements.  https://www.cnet.com/news/carriers-are-suspending-internet-data-caps-during-coronavirus/

Verizon has made digital resources available to schools and teachers across the country.

The Verizon Innovative Learning Schools Connection website has a number of resources including tips to prepare for and implement robust digital learning plans and Verizon’s partner Digital Promise has helpful COVID-19 online learning resources and FAQs.

Knowing many students also rely on schools for more than learning, Verizon is working with nonprofit partners to ensure children from low-income families still have access to healthy meals while their schools are closed. 

Altice USA and Charter Communications both announced on March 13, 2020 that they would offer free broadband services to students taking online classes.  Both providers cover different parts of New York City.

Charter announced that it would offer free high-speed Spectrum Internet service and Wi-Fi for 60 days to households with students taking online classes because of the coronavirus outbreak.  Students can call (844) 488-8395 to enroll. Installation fees will be waived for new student households, the company said.  Spectrum said regular pricing will take effect at the end of the 60-day period if a customer doesn’t cancel or change the service.  For more information, see  https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/charter-to-offer-free-access-to-spectrum-broadband-and-wifi-for-60-days-for-new-K12-and-college-student-households-and-more

Charter/Spectrum is also offering their wifi hotspots for free. Here's a map: https://www.spectrum.com/wifi-hotspots.

Altice USA said that it would offer Altice Advantage 30 mgbs broadband service for free to college students without Internet service for 60 days.  Eligible students can call 866-200-9522 to enroll.  For more information see https://www.alticeusa.com/news/articles/feature/corporate/altice-usa-brings-free-broadband-k-12-and-college-students-during-coronavirus-pandemic.

Comcast is offering free access to Xfinity wifi hotspots. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit xfinity.com/wifi. They're also offering 25mb service with free installation for the next two months. For new customers, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com. The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.

Altice/Optimum: Altice is also opening up their wifi hotspots, which includes AlticeWifi, OptimumWifi, and CableWiFi: https://www.optimum.net/internet/hotspots/.

For households with K-12 and/or college students who may be displaced due to school closures and who do not currently have home internet access, we are offering our Altice Advantage 30 Mbps broadband solution for free for 60 days to any new customer household within our footprint. 

Starting Monday, March 16, 2020, eligible households interested in this solution can call: 
866-200-9522 to enroll in Optimum region 
888-633-0030 to enroll in Suddenlink region 

Sincerely,
Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

This announcement is to notify you that our purchase of Zoom Enterprise is complete. Each of you will have access to a licensed copy of Zoom, with the features listed under the “licensed” category below. You can access your own Zoom account by logging in to https://ccny.zoom.us and entering your CCNY login credentials (same as your email). Zoom Enterprise will provide the following:

CUNY Computer Information Services has announced the availability of WebEx as a collaboration platform.  They have integrated it in with Blackboard so that it is preconfigured for each class.  The following is a short video on how it works https://youtu.be/HIHJCVnPJHA.

I want to reiterate that CCNY’s Office of Information Technology is only prepared to support the platforms we have had in place for a long time (Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Zoom and BlueJeans).  If you would like to use WebEx, it is available to you both inside of Blackboard and as a standalone product but our ability to support you will be limited until CCNY’s IT department become more familiar with the product.

To reach WebEx in standalone mode, go to connectCUNY.webex.com and login with your first name.lastname##@login.cuny.edu credentials. The video posted above shows how to access it through Blackboard.

Ken Ihrer
Vice President of Operations
Chief Information Officer
The City College of New York

Course instructors should take some time now to decide which of the following technologies best fit the needs of your class, and test everyone’s ability to log on and use the system. Keep track of students who have no way of connecting from home or another safe space, bearing in mind that most of these work with smartphones as well as with computers. 

Below, you’ll find some of the tools we have for you to use along with instructional links on how to use them. Specific resources for students are located near the end of this document.

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous?

There are two options for instructors to facilitate class sessions remotely:

Synchronous: instructors and students gather at the same time and interact in “real-time” with a very short or “near-real-time” exchange between instructors and students.

Asynchronous: instructors prepare course materials for students in advance of students’ access. Students may access the course materials at a time of their choosing and will interact with each over a longer period of time.

Instructors may choose to engage their students synchronously or asynchronously depending on the course content or material that needs to be taught. There are many advantages and disadvantages to asynchronous and synchronous teaching options.

Advantages of Synchronous Teaching

Immediate personal engagement between students and instructors, which may create greater feelings of community and lessen feelings of isolation

More responsive exchanges between students and instructors, which may prevent miscommunication or misunderstanding

Disadvantages of Synchronous Teaching

More challenging to schedule shared times for all students and instructors

Some students may face technical challenges or difficulties if they do not have fast or powerful Wi-Fi networks accessible

Advantages of Asynchronous Teaching

Higher levels of temporal flexibility, which may simultaneously make the learning experiences more accessible to different students and also make an archive of past materials accessible. 

Increased cognitive engagement since students will have more time to engage with and explore the course material.

Disadvantages of Asynchronous Teaching

Students may feel less personally exchanged and less satisfied without the social interaction between their peers and instructors.

Course material may be misunderstood or have the potential to be misconstrued without real-time interaction.

Blackboard

Our learning management system, Blackboard, has a feature known as Collaborate Ultra. It is a powerful web conferencing tool that enables instructors and students alike to have “in class” experiences (Synchronous) from anywhere with a computer and internet connection. With Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, you can share live video from your web camera, PowerPoint presentations, use a whiteboard, and even record your online session for future reference.

You can access Collaborate Ultra from any course on Blackboard, and it does not require a license or accessory in order to function – if you teach a course or are an enrolled student, you are ready to use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra!

This is the Link for the Blackboard User Guides for information on how to use many of Blackboard’s features: http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/core-functions/cuny-blackboard/user-guides/faculty/#1445874180784-dff4039f-45ef

For specific information on how to use the Collaborate Ultra tool, follow this link https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/core-functions/cuny-blackboard/user-guides/blackboard-collaborate-for-students-and-faculty/

Again, it is important that you test this feature before you actually need to use it. Set up a trial with your students so that they become familiar with the use of Collaborate as well. Additionally, we have found that this product works best with the Firefox or Chrome browsers, so please let your students know. Students can also use the Blackboard app on their tablets or phones (IOS and Android).

Blackboard Assignments and Tests

There are two modules available in Blackboard for online submission of work: Assignments and Tests & Quizzes. Assignments are the easiest option to implement (see instructions here: https://blackboardhelp.usc.edu/collecting-student-work/creating-assignm…). Students submitting a Blackboard assignment either create their own document or write answers using a web form and it submit the assignment within the Blackboard site.

You can use the Blackboard Grade Book functionality to grade these assignments and send comments on them directly to the students. SafeAssign and Turnitin are options that you can use to check for plagiarism.

Tests and Quizzes are a separate functionality and allow for some limited automation of grading if you are using multiple choice/true-false/simple calculation formats. When writing a test or quiz on Blackboard, you first write the questions and then you add the questions to the test you are developing. Make sure to check the point totals for the questions and to test the test yourself prior to going live to verify that it is working.

A decent guide to running a test through Blackboard is available here: https://bbhelp.cit.cornell.edu/blackboard-tests/

Tips to avoid cheating:

1. Set up a timer to limit exam time
2. Turn on “Auto-submit”
3. Set up “display time” so that all students will take the exam at the same time.
4. Set up a password for each exam
5. Select show question to students “One at a Time” – present one question at a time
6. Prohibit Backtracking – prevent changing the answer to a question that has already been submitted
7. Randomize Questions – randomize questions for each test attempt

After submission- select “correct”, “submitted” and “show incorrect questions' '. This is usually what is done for students to self-review their answers after submission and getting their grades. However, some students take screenshots of the answers. You could tell students that all online testing questions won’t be reused in other exams, and will be changed for the next semester.

Makeup exam questions need to be different from the original ones.

Notes: Sometimes the Blackboard App on smartphones and tablets don’t work well for taking exams, especially as it won’t show answers after submission. A laptop or desktop is a preferred choice.

An additional way to monitor for cheating is to have students take the test when they are in the Blackboard Collaborate session. You can achieve this functionality by giving the test a password and then requiring the students to log in to the Collaborate session to receive the password while making it clear that they must have their webcam engaged.

Note that it is very difficult to prevent students from using internet resources during an examination. One option is to explicitly allow students to use the internet (the open book exam model) while they take the exam. In these instances, a strict time limit is preferred. It is advisable to do some Google searches of the questions in your exam to see whether it is straightforward for students to copy/paste the correct answer (for essay questions) or quickly find the same multiple-choice question solved.

If you include any images in content you are creating for your students, please be sure to provide alternate text (now a standard option when you insert images in all word processors) for those who use screen readers.

Conferencing Applications

We also offer alternative conferencing software – BlueJeans and Zoom. We have limited licenses for these products and if you need to use one of these applications, please reach out to Academic Technology Services at iMedia@ccny.cuny.edu to request assistance. Please know that Blackboard is our preferred tool as we have unlimited licenses for this product.

Presentations (PowerPoint, Prezi)

If you do not require the interaction that Collaborate offers, there are additional tools that can be used in a more simplistic manner (Asynchronous). With PowerPoint 2016 or higher (available through your O365 account), you can record your lecture on top of PowerPoint slides. You can record material over any of the slides in your PowerPoint deck, giving information that you might typically provide in a live lecture. The presentation can then be saved and shared on Blackboard, OneDrive or Dropbox. We recommend using Dropbox to store the files and posting the link on Blackboard.

Use the following link to learn how to use this feature - https://support.office.com/en-us/article/video-record-presentations-2570dff5-f81c-40bc-b404-e04e95ffab33. Please test the option out before relying on it in case of a campus closure. Set up a trial with your students to ensure they are able to play your lecture.

Academic Commons

The Academic Commons of The City University of New York is designed to support faculty initiatives and build community through the use(s) of technology in teaching and learning. It provides for the free exchange of knowledge among colleagues across the university is central to better educating the student body and expanding professional development opportunities for faculty research and teaching. Creating networks and support systems that are enabled by easy access to quality digital resources will nurture faculty development through sharing replicable materials and best practices.

The Academic Commons could be used as a teaching and learning tool between faculty and the students. The following Videos will give you a tour and show you how to set up a learning community and use Academic Commons. 

• Overview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxzjwwHZtHg
• Setting up your account - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhNZa-fdMU
• Setting up a blog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ZnAAAQlKE

If you plan to use the Academic Commons, please make sure your students have set up an account and can access your blog.

Digital Content

CCNY Libraries has electronic resources available through our web site: http://library.ccny.cuny.edu/

CCNY Libraries licensed digital collections offer a wide array of material types that could be incorporated into courses. These include articles, books, videos, image collections, newspapers, historical archives, music, and journals and magazines dating back to the 18th century.

To browse databases by subject use the All Subjects dropdown tab.

Open Educational Resources (OER), which are freely available text and course materials, are listed by broad general discipline areas here: https://library.ccny.cuny.edu/oer. These can substitute for physical books.

Handling Administrative Tasks

Remote Access to Systems - The “LOGIN” menu on the College’s home page can be clicked on to provide up-to-date links to access all our major systems, such as Blackboard, E-mail, Password Reset, etc. Using these links ensures that the address of a site is the most up-to-date.

Remote access to office desktop computers – In some cases, faculty and staff members may need a VPN account to work on their office computers from off-site. Some examples are:

• A faculty member who needs access to large amounts of research data that must be stored on College servers for security reasons.
• A faculty or staff member who needs access to special software that is installed only on the office computer.
• A faculty or staff member who needs to work with confidential information, such as student grades or records, that cannot be stored on Office 365 or Dropbox.

Faculty and staff may request a VPN account using the following link https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/vpn-access-request. Once access is granted, the user will receive an email with instructions about how to connect to campus resources using a VPN.

VPN is not necessary for faculty and staff who only need to access email, Blackboard, CUNYfirst, or want to access/share course materials and other non-private information. CUNY Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive are a much easier way for faculty and staff to store and share documents that do not include personally-identifiable information.

Office Telephone Calls – Faculty and staff members can request to forward calls to an external telephone number. This request will have to be made to servicedesk@ccny.cuny.edu . Users can also update their voice mail greeting from off-campus to provide instructions to callers on how to best reach them by following the instructions on the voice mail web page, https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/voicemail

Resources for Students

Follow the guidance of your instructors on how each of your courses will be handled. In all likelihood, you will have at least a couple of different ways professors will conduct their classes. You should be familiar with each potential method. 

Make sure you can access your resources remotely. These resources include Blackboard, CUNYFirst, Citymail, Office 365, Dropbox, and the CCNY website. Additionally, if you need specialized software to work on projects, make sure you have access to that software. The CUNY virtual lab provides access to several software packages. For information on the virtual lab, please go to https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/virtual-desktop/. 

In addition to the software available in the virtual lab, there are other software packages available to students. The following link shows the software platforms available to you: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/technology-services/#student and, https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/software_stu.

Adobe Enables Distance Learning Globally for Schools Impacted by COVID-19

Free Creative Cloud tools offered to students through May 31, 2020: https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-enables-distance-learning-globally-schools-impacted-covid-19/

Communication is Key

If we must move to alternative instruction and use distance learning tools, communication is key to success. Please ensure that you communicate clearly the instruction methods and tools that will be employed. Assignments and how they are to be handled should be understood by your students. If tests are given during this period, realize that we do not currently have a way of proctoring or ensuring that a test is being taken without the aid of outside resources.