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
7/28 PSC injuction opposition The university's response in opposition to the PSC.
It includes hints as to how the remaining CARES funds will be distributed
CUNY has received about $251,000,000 of CARES Act funding. (Sapienza Decl., ¶ 17) About $118,000,000 of that funding, was already spent on emergency aid to students, in accordance with the CARES Act regulations. Id.; CARES Act §18004(c). The remaining $132,000,000 may be used for a variety of purposes, with the proviso that CUNY must “to the extent practicable, continue to pay its employees and contractors.” Id.; CARES Act § 18006. The DOE is expected to conduct post-audit reviews, and if it deems something an ineligible expenditure, CUNY will then have a disallowance and have to return funds to the federal government. (Id.)
Although CUNY has not finalized its plans for those funds in detail, it anticipates, broadly, using them for more direct and indirect aid to students: direct financial aid and counseling to students affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, training and professional development to help faculty and staff adapt to on-line instruction, and laptops for students with limited computer access to instruction. (Sapienza Decl., ¶ 19) All of these initiatives will help CUNY students, who, based on the surveys cited above, are struggling with loss of income, food and housing insecurity, and mental stress as a result. (Id.) These priorities are consistent with guidance institutions have received from DOE on the preferred ways of spending CARES Act. Funding.
It raises the threat of retrenchment in the context of HEO positions
Under the current dire economic conditions, however, it is impracticable to continue operations as normal and maintain all faculty and professional staff positions. (Sapienza Decl., ¶ 9) Because about 80 of CUNY’s costs relate to personnel, any serious budget cuts will necessarily involve personnel cuts. (Id.) In the face of these budget cuts, CUNY has so far preserved the employment of its full-time faculty and full -time professional staff, who are also represented by plaintiff. (Id., ¶ 10) Many of CUNY’s full-time faculty have tenure or certificates of continuous employment (for lecturers) and are therefore not subject to annual reappointments, unlike adjuncts. (Id., ¶ 9) Further, CUNY’s full-time staff represented by the PSC, who hold titles in the Higher Education Series (“HEO”), may also eventually earn semi-permanency under Article 13.3(b) of the collective bargaining agreement. (Id.)
CUNY has not instituted layoffs of full-time faculty and HEOs, although under CUNY’s Board of Trustees retrenchment policy, such layoffs are permitted according to specified procedures. (Sapienza Decl., ¶ 10) CUNY also has largely frozen new hiring. (Id.) In seeking to retain its employees to the extent practicable in the face of severe budget cuts, CUNY is continuing to date to pay in full all of its full-time faculty and HEOs represented by the PSC, as well as administrators and full-time white and blue collar employees represented by other labor organizations.
RESOLVED, That effective immediately, the University will implement a temporary suspension of standardized admissions testing requirements (e.g., SAT/ACT) for undergraduate admissions and will communicate to prospective students that it shall not consider standardized admissions tests in evaluating their applications; and be it further
RESOLVED, That this action will apply for the Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022 admission cycles only and the Chancellor shall take such actions as are reasonable and necessary to give effect to the foregoing while maintaining the University’s commitment to inclusive excellence.
7/28 Communicating risks (Thanks Suzy Shepardson)
Wearing face masks and practicing social distancing are not what many students had in mind when they pictured their college experience. Yet for students returning to campus this fall, these behaviors must be normalized if institutions stand a chance of slowing the spread of COVID-19.