Things To Do ASAP
- Make sure that you can log into all the CUNY systems that you might need — Office 365, Dropbox, CUNYFirst, The CUNY Academic Commons, Blackboard, etc. Please keep in mind that some of the resources you will need require your CUNY login while others use your campus username/password.
- Save your course teaching materials to your Dropbox account or where you can access them outside the office.
- Make sure your students know the best way to reach you (email, voice mail, personal phone, etc.) in the event that the College closes.
- Survey students in your courses to get a sense of their levels of connectivity, and how the cancellation of face-to-face instructions might impact their ability to engage with your course.
- Check your access to technology from off-campus using your personal devices. For example, can you use a personal desktop, laptop and/or mobile device such as a phone or iPad to access CUNY systems remotely? This is a good opportunity to make sure that all your operating systems are up-to-date and compatible with any software you might use.
- Test forwarding your office phone calls to your home phone or personal cell phone and changing your office voicemail message.
- Be aware of student anxiety and health concerns, and the particular situations of international students who may be under significant distress. Acknowledge a willingness to accommodate a range of needs and connect your students to support resources. Here are some tips for addressing student anxiety and communicating with vulnerable students to assess their needs. (Thanks to UC Berkeley, University Health Services for these models).
- Share the facts with your students and keep things in perspective. Talk to your students about identifying reputable sources and encourage them to cut down on their exposure to inflammatory social media.
- Stay Healthy and Connected. Regularly wash your hands and use hand sanitizer as frequently as needed. Avoid crowded places if possible, but do stay in touch with family and friends to stay positive.
- Be aware that international students may have particularly acute stress about their summer travel plans, their families’ exposure, and long-term health and safety concerns. Be flexible with these students as they attempt to complete coursework.
- Remind yourself and your students to be mindful of our assumptions about others. Someone who appears sick or looks a certain way does not necessarily have coronavirus. For information and teaching materials about the rise in racial profiling as a result of the coronavirus, check out this teach-in guide: “Treating Yellow Peril: Resources to Address Coronavirus Racism”, founded and curated by Jason Oliver Chang an Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut.