A summary of some new news related to CUNY's and CSI's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See https://csi-covid19.github.io for the archive.
To add/suggest news, please email John Verzani
5/28 Testimony by Chancellor to Reimagining Education Committee
We know there are many factors to be considered, and numerous entities to be aligned prior to deciding and communicating a final way forward for CUNY but I thought it would be good to share why our thinking today is that a mostly online semester is our most prudent option for the fall. We believe it is the best way for CUNY to secure safety, ensure equity, maintain academic momentum for our students and continue to be the nation’s leading engine of social mobility. It is consistent with the advice of an increasing number of health experts, and it is the course being adopted by institutions such as the California State University, the nation’s largest system of public higher education with 23 campuses and half a million students.
Let me be clear that no final decision has been made but in determining what the best possible course of action for the Fall could be, we are considering a range of factors.
Ajunct appoints letters deferred...
All of us in the PSC leadership, however, are aware that the extension to June 30 means a longer period of uncertainty for adjuncts awaiting notice. We don’t underestimate that hardship and anxiety—especially now. But the June 30 date is the final deadline for notification; as always, notices may be sent before that date. Union activists and staff plan to be in contact with every adjunct this summer and make sure you receive all the benefits and rights you are entitled to. And we salute the department chairs, who have worked with courage and compassion during this crisis.
5/26 NYPOST: Behind Andrew Cuomo’s stall on slashing spending to balance NY’s budget
The governor assumes that Republicans and Democrats in Washington will agree to a fourth huge stimulus bill, including general budget relief for states and localities. That’s probably a safe bet, although the final deal may not come until late June.
Meanwhile, egged on by the state’s teachers’ unions, the Legislature’s income-redistribution fantasists have introduced bills they claim can balance the budget with massive tax hikes on “millionaires and billionaires.”
Cuomo knows better. In the past, he has warned: “God forbid the rich leave” — and now, fleeing COVID-19, many have done just that. Fear of a resurgent virus, or the prospect of tax hikes, or both, could prompt more than a few to stay away.
5/28 Cutting us to the bone is no way to run a university system
“We are at the bone,” she said, “There’s no more flesh.” (And that was then...)
There was the time in 1976 when the state decided that Hunter and City College, the two original city universities, should cut their budgets by 10 percent, but Brooklyn and Queens, the newer kids on the block, would face a 15 percent cut. In response, the Provost and all five Academic Deans of Queens College quit.
5/28 Amid the Pandemic, Some Universities Plan to Continue Tuition Hikes
Despite student protests, the City University of New York (CUNY) system has yet to change course on a tuition increase approved before the pandemic, in December. In the 2020-2021 academic year, CUNY’s tuition will go up by $200 and it will charge an additional $120 ‘wellness fee.’
In an interview with Spectrum News 1 earlier this month, CUNY chancellor Dr. Félix Matos Rodríguez acknowledged students’ financial struggles and that “the world is a different place today” than when the increase was proposed. However, “we’re also aware that the state, the city might be facing tough budgeting times. So, no decisions have been made about tuition for next year …” he said. “We are waiting to see what the landscape is closer to the end of June when we have to enact our budget to make that decision.”
5/28 Demanding End to 'Failed Billionaire-Backed' Policies...
The letter demands that Biden include in his platform a number of policies that have long been at the center of progressives' education agenda
5/28 Facing Budget Cuts, CUNY May Keep Distance Learning Through "Virtual" Fall Semester
But in guidance sent to faculty and staff last week, which was shared with Gothamist, CUNY officials appeared to acknowledge that remote learning will continue for their students.
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The difference in what CUNY and the private universities are planning to offer go beyond setting foot in a physical classroom – the very foundations of the educational experience are dramatically different between remote and physical learning, one education expert said. These differences are compounded for lower-income students, which CUNY has historically served as a self-proclaimed “transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City.”
“This is a huge problem. And of course, again, we really don't know what's going to happen at any of these institutions yet,” said Sandy Baum, a senior fellow for the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute, in a phone interview on Tuesday. “The evidence about online learning is that it made it very clear that the students who suffer the most, who struggle with the online coursework, are low-income students without strong academic preparation. If you know how to learn already, then you can do your courses online. But if you don't, you're really going to struggle.”
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Hunter, the CUNY student (and USS President), pointed out that remote learning or not some things will remain the same at the school.
“Regardless, if we go back to classes in person or not, we're going to be going back to overcrowded classes,” he said. “That's a guarantee – you know, classes where we're probably going to have a Zoom call, and there's going to be one professor and maybe 80 students on.”