Task Force Feedback

Below are the comments and feedback the Task Force has received.

1. I previously communicated a request to the Taskforce regarding my fall 2020 teaching. I’m writing now simply to add an element to the request I submitted. In reading the Taskforce’s minutes for June 4, I saw an item regarding classes for first-year students: We may also want to consider firstyear students who have not had a traditional college experience yet. “Block programming” can make offering in-person or hybrid introductory courses for first-year students a lot easier. In my previous request I explained why I’d like to teach one day a week in a classroom because my hearing impairment makes two-way online teaching particularly difficult. I want to add to that by noting that one of my Ant 1001 sections is in the block programing system. There are currently no students assigned; I will get students when the blocks are created. I’ve been teaching LC classes for years now and I’d like to think that I have a certain affinity for first-year students, and a sense of commitment to helping them learn the ropes. Glenn Petersen, Soc/Anthro Department.

2. Hello members of the Task Force, Thank you for taking on this substantive task for planning and implementing a guideline for future modes on instruction. As everybody does, I am concerned about classes being Hybrid and not fully online. I am sure you have all navigated the avenues of con near through such planning but since Baruch is a  commuter school, there would be a heavy amount of stress placed on students with just the thought of going to classes in person given the circumstances. Cases are rising throughout the nation again and they could very well hit hard in NY, particularly NYC. Students may also have certain health problems that make it nearly impossible for them to leave their homes given a chance of contracting the virus. On top of it, there are out of state members, as
myself, that will face challenges taking public transportation due to the shift and spaces out scheduling buses/trains have. I firmly believe that conducting courses fully online for this coming Fall 2020 semester would be the most safe for all Baruch students as it would place an ease of mind to the student population and their family members. Thank you.

3. Thank you for your time and attention for this subject. I hope that you are all well and safe during these hard times. As a student at Baruch I know that how hard it would be if you decide on “social distancing”. It is not going to work with the space we have. I lost one of my relatives to the coronavirus and it hurt our family deeply. He was young and he was full with life. Fall 20 needs to be online for the sake and health of our students and staff. Coronavirus is everywhere and it’s in your hands to protect all of us from it. Stay well and safe.

4. I do hope that tomorrow’s report will explicitly be termed a “draft.” The task force members may think they’ve been “transparent,” but it’s only been with each other. Most faculty, staff, and students have not had a chance to participate at all yet.

5. CUNY currently has a policy to withhold (official and unofficial) transcripts from students who have an  outstanding tuition balance. They must pay the entire outstanding balance before they are able to access their transcripts. There is currently an open letter circulating that was originally submitted to the Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion that outlines the impacts of this policy on low-income students–including testimonials from students that have lost job, internship and higher ed opportunities, simply because they cannot afford to pay their tuition bills. In the time of COVID, this problem is only exacerbated. This isn’t an issue that the chairs can address per se, but the committee might consider communicating to the administration about the need to  address the disproportionate burdens of this policy.

6. CUNY should back its commitment to student equity with an evidence-based evaluation of the impacts of this policy on students of color, international students, low-income students and non-cis male students. The  credit/Noncredit option that CUNY proposed to provide an equitable solution to grading during a pandemic, while understandable, may possibly create unforeseen challenges for the students who choose to take this option. The correspondence from Felix Matos indicated that there are several unforeseen challenges that students could face if they opt in to Cr/NC. We also know that COVID has disproportionately ravaged communities of color. Anti-Asian hate crimes spiked starting in March. Black and Latinx New Yorkers died from COVID at 2 times the rate of whites. Last week the Washington Post reported that 1/3 of Black Americans know someone who died of COVID. Brookings just released a report that the racial discrepancies from COVID are likely worse than the data shows (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/upfront/2020/06/16/race-gaps-in-covid-19-deaths-are-even-bigger-than-theyappear/). Now is the right time to ask, who are the students that are choosing this option? Are students of color  more likely to opt for the “Flexible Grading Option”? If so, why? We cannot answer these questions without a CUNY-wide commitment to an evidence-based evaluation of the impacts of COVID-19 on students from the most vulnerable population subgroups. Baruch can take steps to implement this analysis for our College in house but should also place pressure on the University system to do the same.

7. Will a draft report be circulated prior to final decisions? Or will non-task force members be allowed only see to the final version, AFTER all the decisions have been made?

8. To Whom It May Concern: My name is Debra and I am currently pursuing my MBA at Baruch College. I am writing this to ask that the Task Force for the future at Baruch consider the hundreds of attacks and hate crimes targeted at Asian Americans of students of Asian descent at this time. Baruch College is known to be diverse and it is my understanding that there are many Asian Americans, along with foreign students who are currently enrolled. I am currently juggling classes and work, without childcare due to Covid-19. Without the classes being taught  remotely, I would have had to drop my current summer courses. I have enrolled in my courses for Fall, assuming that they will be remote. However, due to the fear of hate crimes happening on my way to or from class, I plan on dropping these courses and resuming at a much later time- even if that means waiting a year or two, when it may be safer. I would think that I am not the only student that feels this way. I also urge the Task Force to consider steps they will take in protecting their Asian American students, whether or not it is on campus. Lately, with the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, many schools and employers have been doing the right thing in terminating from jobs, or expelling students who partake or act in a hateful manner. My hope is that Baruch will take steps in reassuring their students that there is no place for racism in our school. Thank you for your time, Debra

9. My mother contracted COVID-19 around Easter, and luckily, she survived and recovered from the disease after being hospitalized for a week. Ever since Baruch switched to distance learning, I feel I have been doing better in classes, managing my stress and concentration. I don’t have to worry about running late or catching trains.  Additionally, COVID-19 has no cure. It is nearly impossible to have everyone maintain social distance in the school because that’s not what it was built for. It was designed to transport and teach as many students as possible. Until a cure is found, the school will be a breeding ground for this virus. That is why I support distance learning for Baruch College for the foreseeable future. I have felt that I have learned just as much through online courses than having to report to a classroom. Therefore, I believe distance learning should continue and attempts should be made to waive applicable fees.

10. I don’t feel like it is safe to have classes in person in the fall. I cannot imagine going into the crowded building and getting stuffed into a crowded elevator and sitting in a lecture hall full of people. I know it is disappointing but I think the top priority is keeping everyone safe. I really hope we can continue with online classes for the fall. Thank  you.

11. Please note that I am a student at baruch. Some professors have been having issues with online teaching. I have had professors who do not understand how to use certain programs and the students end up suffering because either lectures are being posted later than normal and thus, we are unable to start homework. This is a big issue especially  when the homework due date cannot be changed due to a departmentalized class where homeworks are uniformly given out. In addition, for classes that require the cameras to be turned on, I have had a difficult time trying to adapt  because I live in a small apartment that has no sound proofing with 3 roommates who go to Baruch and other universities. Some of us have stayed because we didn’t want to expose our parents to the virus. When it comes to  classes, Noise is not so much of a problem because we can wear headphones. However, we all fervently wish that we could at least opt for our exams to at least be in person because our neighborhood is extremely noisy and it becomes difficult to focus.

12. In his June 9 message to the campus, incoming president Wu stated: The task force process will be transparent and will solicit campus input broadly. I invite you, and the entire Baruch community, to contribute your best ideas at the task force website. I must confess that I’m completely in the dark about what the task force is discussing. The  minutes are cryptic, the agenda refers to subcommitees by number, not topic area, and there’s narry an actual proposal in sight. Where, oh where is the “transparency”??

13. Hello, I hope you are all safe and well. I am an international student and I have faced the pandemic situation in NYC and in my home country (Turkey) I have seen how contiguous these disease can get and how it can be deadly. My country banned all flights (including America) in order to protect its citizens. I do not know when they will lift it, they keep updating us. Almost all colleges (from the areas of high COVID-19 cases) already declared that
they will be online in order to minimize cases of COVID-19. As a student I do think it will be for the best of the students and teachers if the classes are online. The health and safety of our community should be our top priority.  Thank you for your services and all the work you have done so far, I appreciate it. Stay safe and well.

14. I was amused to see this in the minutes: Members of the Task Force expressed that there are also concerns of air quality in buildings, such as the Newman Vertical Campus, where classroom windows cannot be opened to circulate fresh air. It was discussed that when reopening, we may want to think of using a preferred building, such as the 17 Lexington building, to hold in-person courses where windows can be opened and circulate fresh air. I take seriously the threat of airborne transmission, and have read not only news articles about this, but also the published articles in the medical and scientfic journals. But it’s laughable to think that air circulation is necessarily better in the 17 Lex  building. The windows open only a little bit (at least those that actually open, many are sealed completely shut), to obtain cross ventilation, you have to keep the doors open, but then you also have to listen to the hand dryers down the hall. By the way, hand dryers are themselves problematic for airborne transmission. And, the recommended health and safety practices include frequent handwashing, and that relies on running water. Which is not guaranteed in 17 Lex. If we’re going to use 17 Lex during this stage of potential transmission, the bathrooms must be immediately be refurbished. And we must do this even if the only parts of the buidling that are used are the labs. Some of the floors in the building only have men’s rooms, with women required to take the stairs to another
floor. Sorry, but this no longer works.

15. Hello, I am a student of Baruch. I suggest that the school continue to teach online courses in the fall semester because the epidemic is not a simple virus, this virus comes from the laboratory, not from nature. Moreover, after reading various sources of information, I think it is very likely that there will be another outbreak. This is not a simple matter like the epidemic. This is a war without smoke, and the death toll far exceeds 9/11, as of 6 /10/2020  the number of COVID-19 deaths was 114,000. According to the US CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases report: “Evidence Supporting Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 While Presymptomatic or Asymptomatic” The report states: “transmission while asymptomatic reinforces the value of community interventions to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Knowing that asymptomatic transmission was a possibility”. I am worried that the epidemic will increase in the Fall semester, and a healthy body is our biggest capital. For the sake of the health of the students, the school needs to conduct online teaching. This is not only that we have entered a new teaching model, but the use of 5G Internet will also be the future trend.

16. The task force must conduct a real assessment of any institutional biases and develop a plan to eliminate them.  The president-designate’s June 9th statement and the CUNY chancellor’s May 30th statement only look outward and consider CUNY as part of leading change. That can only happen when the CUNY house is put in order. This task force should use the Marxe School Diversity Committee’s June 5th Statement of Solidarity and Purpose as a reference. Another good reference is the June 8th statement by the Zicklin dean, who, at least, acknowledges the need for internal review. And notes actions to take, much like the Diversity Committee. The historic and systemic racism in this country includes fresh evaluations of all institutions, including CUNY.

17. Hello, I just wanted to bring to your attention that students will benefit from receiving information regarding the Fall semester as soon as possible. Personally, my lease is up July 1st and my living situation (whether to sign a new lease in NYC or move my stuff back to my folks’ place in California) depends on whether classes will be in person or  online. I imagine many other students are in the same boat with their living situations and anxiously awaiting any guidance from the school as to whether we can do our Fall classes remotely or whether we will need to be in NYC in order to take Fall classes with Baruch.

18. As the task force moves forward, I hope you’ll be able to further develop your website so that members of the Baruch community can understand the task force’s table of organization and the flow of communications to it. “Feedback” is sort of vague and it would be good have some more specific information about how the task force is going to operate. I have a specific concern that I want to communicate. I’ve already been in touch with Dennis Slavin about this, but I want to formally place a request on record with the task force. I understand that access to classrooms in the VC will be extremely limited in the fall, and that labs and certain other courses in areas like performing arts will have precedence in being assigned to them. If there is any flexibility, however, I would like to  explain my desire to teach in a VC classroom one day a week. I have a major hearing loss and under normal conditions I depend on special equipment to assist me in my classroom, as part of accommodation under ADA  guidelines. My hearing difficulties make it problematic for me to understand students’ speech during Zoom sessions, given the very different sorts of equipment they are using. It would be invaluable for me to meet in person one day a week and then do the second class meeting each week online, when I wouldn’t have to depend so much on verbal interaction. I fully understand that little space will be available and I’m not trying to push ahead of anyone, just to get onto the list of those requesting accommodation. I teach relatively small classes of 20-30, no jumbos. Thanks.

19. I have spent a lot of money purchasing ink cartridges to print at home due to he closure of Baruch’s library and all public libraries. Many students like me study more effectively and efficiently with printed documents, and face academic difficulty when being left with no option but to stare at our computers screens all day to study. If students  are required to pay a technology fee where a portion is dedicated to printing services, there should be something to assist students with printing needs.

20. 1. instructional and research programs of the College Yes, but how would Baruch reach out and socialize the adjunct faculty? At the beginning of each academic year, a significant portion of adjuncts are NEW. They’re learning
the basics. It takes several semesters to property integrate innovative learning. Adjuncts do NOT know whether the Chair or the faculty who evaluate them supports innovative or experiential pedagogy. During the first few iterations of introducing innovative learning into the classroom, a handful of students might misunderstand some points in the syllabus and complain to the department. Regardless of the immediate outcome, the adjunct will be remembered for wasting valuable time. There is always someone new inquiring about teaching… It’s very easy to be crossed off the list. Adjuncts who do choose to invest many hours developing innovative and experiential learning are at risk of having the class taken away from them by a permanent faculty member, no questions asked. Without the explicit support and encouragement from the Chair of their department, and some guarantee that they will be invited to teach the class in the future, it is NOT safe for adjuncts to follow up on the emails from the Associate Provost about
innovative pedagogy and experiential learnings. Adjuncts are rehired partly because they are considerate of the time constraints of full-time faculty. This means minimizing communication. Less communication means less friction;
less friction means job security (quite a different logic applies to provosts and deans whose job it is to take initiative, communicate and be visible). It’s possible for the “Task Force for the Future” to be successful without addressing the above problems. Witness the 14-page State of the College Report, 2010-2020. It mentions faculty 30 times, but does not specifically address part-time faculty (adjuncts). No mention is made of the new position dedicated to adjunct services. There is no programmatic statement about the challenge of on-boarding hundreds of adjuncts per year, socializing them to the ways of Baruch, extending appointment times beyond one year (3-year appointments) etc. https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/president/messages/documents/BaruchCollege2020StateoftheCollegeReport.pdf 2. Administrative, technological, and operational functions, An example of inefficiency: Baruch advises adjuncts that they can be paid for their participation in adjunct orientation. The catch? The money – approximately $100 per adjunct – is paid by the Baruch College Fund. If they have not been paid before by the Baruch College Fund, each adjunct has to fill out a number of forms: W-4, IT-2104, and I-9. The I-9, is an Employment Eligibility Verification. It’s inefficient to ask adjuncts who have obviously been vetted by Baruch HR to prove that they are eligible for
employment by the Baruch College Fund. Furthermore, adjuncts are asked to report their rate of payment – to study a table with NTA rates or calculate 60% their hourly teaching rate, which they may or may not have handy. The reward for the adjuncts who successfully follow through is approximately $100 in compensation. This sort and similar practices waste administrative time and should be stopped. 3. Admission, enrollment, and student services a. Chatting with students who are waiting in line for the Registrar is a good source of information: The Registrar does  not see whether students paid their bills. Students are sent to the Bursar Office to retrieve a receipt that shows that they have paid the requisite fees. Why can’t the Bursar’s office “paid / not paid” column be shared with the registrar? b. Students who are overwhelmed by family and work responsibilities sometimes complain to me that they do not have enough time for the four to five classes that they are taking. They tell me that they would lose their financial aid if they take fewer than four classes. If this is true, it’s time to advocate for change with the Department of Education etc. Vulnerable students should be allowed to take fewer than four classes and retain their full package of financial aid. Amitai Touval, PhD Marketing Department

21. As a professional staff member who provides student services, my concern is the possible recurrence of the virus in the fall. And even without knowing, how can we be safe while traveling on the subway,and being in confined quarters of the VC with 17,000 people. Even with a hybrid operation, it seems dangerous. We are seeing now in those states who are opening up the rise of the virus. With the subways, how would I ever get to work on time when I would have to pass up many trains until it was safe to get on, and I am over 60 years old. These are my concerns.

22. Please share readings and background materials regarding best practices etc. thx and kudos to the Task Force members

23. From Neil Bennett, MSPIA: In addition to recommendations I made in an earlier post, I have one more (for now): We should seriously consider moving to a three-semester model, which would provide students with year-round schooling options. They would be expected to take courses in two of the three semesters (each of which would be similar in duration to the semesters we have now, thus this is not a trimester system). Some might choose to take the same number of courses per year as they had in the past, but now spread them over three semesters. Yet others might take full courseloads year-round, and thus graduate more quickly than they had been able to until now. The College might survey students in advance of a proposed change to a three-semester semester system to get a sense of what proportion of the student body would take which approach to this new system. The bottom line, however, is that fewer students would be using our classrooms at any given point in time, allowing for a greater degree of social distancing.

24. Dear Task Force for the Future, I am glad you are convening to discuss the myriad issues facing our College and how we will function in a changing pandemic environment. There are other serious issues to contend with but it is my understanding that you are taking this issue as a separate one. Members of the Task Force In reviewing the members of the Task Force, greater representation of staff would provide insights critical to the reopening of our College. They include: 1) Public Safety officers who serve at the welcome desks of the College, and 2) members of our staff who come in close contact with students including office administrative assistants, staff in Academic Advisement, staff in the Registrar’s office. Transportation to Baruch Most of our staff, students and faculty use pubic transportation (trains, buses, ferry) to get to Baruch. When considering how and when to open oncampus classes, it is critical we consider what our staff, students and faculty will be exposed to as they make their way to the College. Assessment It would be valuable to collect information – expectations, needs, challenges, limitations, concerns – around coming back to the College from staff, students and faculty. Having that data will help guide the goals you set and how you will achieve them. It will also be useful to have pre-post data to determine how our College community feels we have supported their needs. Best wishes as you take on this daunting task, Mindy Engle-Friedman Department of Psychology Baruch College Ombudsperson

25. As an AANAPISI designated institution, it is my hope that you will create pipeline for more Asian faculty and staff (and more underrepresented minority) to be at Baruch teaching and serving our students. Our students need to see role models at Baruch that look like them.

26. Missing from the committee representatives from the Department of Management and the Department of Marketing. After all, who are better in formulating a strategic plan than strategy/ Management experts and who are better in selling the plan to the various internal and external stakeholders than Marketing experts?

27. The school should consider allowing adjuncts lecturers who have been teaching for a few years who for no fault of their own are not given a course in a particular term to be able to continue to use the electronic library so they can continue reading journals etc.online so they can keep up with area of their expertise. Also they should be invite for Continuing Professional Education events. Adjunct lecturers were successful in ensuring that classes transitioned seamlessly from face to face to online classes. They should continue to have some privileges that does not coost the school any money..

28. Concern: At least according to Rate My Professor, eight out of the 12 faculty members on the Task Force have mediocre to abysmal ratings. If the focus is on the future (presumably a quality future), then why not choose the best professors we have to serve on this task force?

29. I am writing to express my profound concern over the lack of teaching faculty representation, particularly from Weissman, on this Task Force. It is absurd that there is ONE teaching member from the school and three administrators. How on earth do you hope to plan for “the future,” if you exclude the very people who do the bulk of the teaching at the institution. I hate to break it to you, but teaching is, in fact, our primary mission. Perhaps it is time for this school to begin acting as that is actually the case?

30. My question is a simple one: Unless I am reading this wrong, not one faculty member (tenured or tenure-track) of the Management department-the largest management department in the US and one of the largest departments in Baruch-is on this task force. So why is that? Prof. Ray LaManna

31. Incoming students are asking for a decision on the state of the school (remote or in person) for Fall 2020.

32. I am a full time faculty member. I am disappointed at how obscured and slow the messages coming from leadership have been. The messaging is strategically ambiguous at best, which I understand is a method for remaining non committal but leaves faculty in a difficult position. Transitioning entire classes over to online for fall will take more time than the measly >2 months offered at a June 30th announcement “with the aim to producing an initial report” Aim to produce? Please, be clear, be concrete. Offer direction rather than vague aims.

33. Some thoughts from Neil Bennett, MSPIA: CLASSES:

• Permanently – or at least for the foreseeable future – designate a sizeable proportion of our course offerings as exclusively online. It’s a new world, and I believe it’s going to stay that way for quite a while. What “sizeable” means exactly, I don’t know. Perhaps half, three-quarters, I can’t say at this point.
•  To allow for social distancing, all classes over a certain size should be delivered exclusively online. Thus, bigger classrooms can be used for smaller classes. With a substantial number of courses of medium or small size also designated as online, this will somewhat free up the competition for the larger classrooms.
• In this light, beef up the College’s ability to accommodate that online delivery; not only the mere ability to do it, but to do it in excellent fashion. This would entail continued efforts to offer substantial training opportunities for both faculty and students, teaching the ways of both synchronous and asynchronous methods. Simplifying remote access to a wide range of software is necessary, as well.
• We know that a number of students will have trouble accessing the internet or may not have a laptop or printer. We have to continue to work towards ensuring that the playing field is level in this regard, as CUNY has tried to do in recent months. Little details have to be ironed out. For example, some faculty ask their students to submit their work via email or Blackboard, but if documents are hand-written, they have to be scanned. We have to teach our students simply how to download a scanning app onto their phones and how to use it.
• Depart from past practice in which we scheduled any given course in one of just a few time slots. For in-person classes, this has resulted, as we well know, in a crush on the elevators and escalators. Instead, for example, rather than schedule a class at 2:30-5:25pm, we should create classes at 2:00-4:55pm, 2:15-5:10pm, and 2:30-5:25pm. The next set of classes would take place at, let’s say, 5:50-8:45pm, 6:05-9:00pm, and 6:20-9:15pm. These may not be the best slots we could create, but you get the idea. We need to spread out the stream of students going to and leaving their classes. This kind of rescheduling may seem nightmarish and it will require flexibility among our students and faculty, but I believe it must be done.
• BATHROOMS: Of course, the following changes would have been great before COVID-19 struck, but they’re certainly even more appropriate now.
  • For all possible cases, install entrance/exit bathroom doors that swing both ways, without handles or knobs. • Install touchless bathroom sinks, soap dispensers, and paper towel dispensers. MASKS, DESANITIZER, AND SOAP MUST BE ABUNDANTLY AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE CAMPUS
• RETURN TO CAMPUS: Do not return to campus until the Spring 2021 semester, assuming it’s safe to do so.  Reimagining” and constructing our new new-world facilities will take a good deal of time and it should be done right and done completely. It’s a critical investment for the health of our students, staff, and faculty, and for the College’s future.

34. I’m delighted to see this and more pleased at the urgency with which this task force has been told to proceed. This is the right thing to do and I hope it bears fruit—-quickly.

35. Please consider including safeguards for operations as a “new normal” (eg. sneeze guards, cleaning supplies, sanitizer, restrictions on # of guests/participants in any given space, etc). Also, there are members of the community which have extensive online learning experience in running online divisions (I personally have 8 years of being the  executive director of graduate education and executive education online learning operations in my portfolio and continue activity in the online learning community through a variety of ways of engagement. I’d love to help.

36. Many offices in the Admin building at 135 East 22nd Street have windows that open. Faculty should be allowed to to use their offices on a staggered schedule, perhaps by reserving time slots. For those of us with small apartments already full of people, even having 4 hours per week in a quiet office is enormously helpful. I for one would be much better off if I could use my office for even a few hours, once or twice a week, on the weekend, early morning or at night. Even without printers, copiers or a bathroom, it would help.

37. With 25 members, how come only one person is exclusively a faculty member from the Zicklin School of  Business–the largest School of Business in the US?

38. I am happy to see this task force thinking beyond mere response to crisis. I am deeply concerned by what sound like coded phrases that indicate a willingness to downgrade the quality of education for our students–terms like “flexible” and “fundamental paradigm shift” signal an acceptance of a second-class education that subordinates true best practices and our longstanding high standards and expectations to student preference (cast as consumer demand) and the opportunistic budget cuts of a hostile Cuomo administration. Let us not mistake our ability to continue to deliver* some* education to our students remotely for anything like the rigorous, embodied engagement that they seek and deserve. Online can serve some students very well but it is vital that this task force examine research from with Baruch and from beyond that shows compromised outcomes for populations that are already disadvantaged. I will be horrified if this task force uses a health crisis as a cover for disinvestment in face-to-face education and an excuse to direct resources to technology

39. Hello. It doesn’t appear that there are any librarians on this task force. Their presence seems essential as they provide curriculum and research support, and that support will change depending on in-person or remote  instruction. Also the library building poses unique challenges for staff, faculty, and students. I urge you to include a library representative on the task force.

40. I am concerned that there is not enough Zicklin representation on the committee. 80% of the students are Zicklin students. Zicklin needs to be more prominent on the Baruch website and in all Baruch communications.

41. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/239-experts-with-1-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html

42. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020317876

43. I believe that the College should operate fully remotely in fall 2020, and perhaps in spring 2021, if no vaccine has been created by then.

44. Our offices have been vacant for many months and I am hearing that while they were supposedly “deep cleaned” at some point they are now covered in dust and have not been touched in many months. Given how strapped we are for funds and staff, will it be possible to clean them for return and/or maintained when we reopen?

45. Please keep in mind any decision the College makes should take into account the status of NYC public schools, since a huge percentage of Baruch employees have school-aged children. If the NYC public schools enact remote learning (full or hybrid), that will impact working parents’ ability to work from campus. Please also lobby HR to provide options to working parents who must also figure out at home distance learning with their students – options that do not penalize parents for this situation, such as allowing parents of school-aged children to use any form of their paid leave (including sick) to provide schooling/childcare in the event of school closures, rather than just unpaid leave or staggered schedules that would leave working parent employees feeling depleted and demoralized.

46. Dear Task Force Members,
Student evaluations reports for the Spring are scheduled to be released on August 28 which is approximately 3 months after the term ended. Issuing timely reports to teachers who are teaching in the summer would enable them to determine whether there are any student concerns that need to be addressed.

47. I was on campus a two weeks ago to check the office mail.  The buildings have NOT been cleaned.  They are extremely dirty – a major concern of mine pre-COVID-19 and even more so now.

My office is working extremely well 100% remote and virtual and my entire team is working more than 7 hours a day and has exceeded 7 hours a day of work to help/serve students since March.

I am concerned about the massive crowds of students and staff in all of our buildings.  Many of our students live with mulitgeratons of families in their house who are at risk for COVID-19. A lot of students and staff come from parts of NYC with extremely high cases of COVID-19.   Additionally, students and staff all take NYC Public transportation to work which increases our risks of contact.

I am very much in favor of staying 100% remote/virtual this fall.  I hope Baruch and CUNY use logic and science to make a decision for us to be 100% remote and virtual this fall and not punish the office and staff that are doing an exceptional job working remote.

48. I am very worried about going back to campus this fall for any live classes and open administrative offices that require in person contact with others.

49. Hello! I am anxious about a fall return, but am most interested in being able to work from home as an accepted alternative a few times a week. Thank you.

50. My concerns about returning to Baruch are mainly related to how crowded the elevators are especially during high traffic time. The elevators are already packed prior to this so I cannot imagine the length of time it will take to get to one’s destination once we return considering social distancing rules. Secondly, I do hope that the college really considers a more flexible work schedule for administrators to work from home.

51. There is no way to safely re-open Baruch this Fall. It is not worth risking the lives of staff, faculty, and students. We should continue to work remotely and do as much as we can to maintain and build the Baruch community online.

52. The fact that international students (F1 visas) will be forced to leave the country/not come into the country unless they are coming to at least a hybrid course will force us to come up with work arounds that include coming on campus.   If the student cannot find a hybrid course, lets have a course specifically for international students that maybe meets once a month or rotates when they come on campus.

53. we should have a review committee that joins instructor’s courses to give feedback on their online facilitation.  Continue to have professional development events to help build professors online skills.

54. I hope that if we are going into the office that we will have certain days and staggered start/end times.

55. Hi – I was told that this was a place to share concerns over reopening amid COVID-19. I’m a relatively younger employee (mid 30s) and I am seemingly in good health, but I have major reservations about going back to the office. For starters, I have been even more productive working from home, so the past few months have not impacted my output. Second, I have major reservations about taking an elevator every day to work (I work high up in the 17 Lex building), not to mention taking the subway. I may seem in fine health, but there are still so many unknowns about this virus. The top doctors in the world still cannot pinpoint who is most at risk – and who knows if any of us have underlying conditions of which we are not aware. Even if we go back to the office, I would still encourage my colleagues to have virtual meetings from our desks – we have been fine meeting on Zoom every day, so I would suggest we simply keep doing that. In the end, I must confess that if we are mandated to go back to the office, I would likely refuse. I think people should be given an option to return to the office if they’d like – but not mandated. That is, if we even reopen at all – I think it also would make sense to just remain all-online as much, and for as long, as possible. Thanks for your time.

56. I’m personally nervous about Baruch reopening this coming fall semester.  I work in the Vertical Campus building and the idea of seeing crowded elevators and passing back and forth through the turnstiles doesn’t seem like a smart idea.  Even with students and staff wearing masks, there will still be large crowds of people throughout the building.  I’m not 100% certain that masks will catch all the germs.

Also, people will have to begin commuting again on busy trains and subways.  The last thing people want to do is immerse themselves in small crowded spaces for considerable periods of time.

57. Hello Task Force! I would first like to start off by saying that I hope this finds you in good health. This has been a hectic, scary, and anxious time for all of us, but we will manage to make it through. My concern stands with having a fully online semester. My mental health and grades probably couldn’t take it. Being home, with all of its distractions and stresses, keep me from being the best student. I agree with the hybrid option, or giving students a choice.

58. I feel safe to assume Baruch will continue offering online classes in the fall. Students need to be notified of this as soon as possible. Unfortunately at this stage our international students are being threatened with deportation by ICE. We must focus on supporting them and providing them with alternative school options, or options to return home safely. In terms of services Baruch operates far behind many other CUNY colleges. There must be technology in place to assure current and former students can access their records (diplomas, transcripts, admission documents) online.

59. Good morning,

Hope all is well. My name is Bradley Howard and I’m reaching out because I wanted to make you aware of a fintech I believe every business and economic student should know about and have access to. I recently came across a fintech app called Finimize that has become a great resource in understanding business and finance as their aim is to make finance more accessible to millennials through a daily audio newsletter, app and global events. Their goal is also to empower millennials to become their own financial advisors and to invest and engage with the world of finance and business by removing jargon and breaking down topics through informational packs w/ pop culture references. I started my career as an intern at Goldman Sachs and later converted into a full time employee. One of the things I appreciated about Goldman was the training programs we attended. Finimize has been very valuable to me in gaining a better understanding of business and finance and thought it would be a great resource for all new hires starting their careers at Goldman Sachs and would’ve definitely been helpful for me when I was there. As an alumni of GS, I reached out to suggest all new hires have access to this app and we now have a meeting with the lead of the Digital Center of Excellence within the Learning and Engagement department to discuss Finimize and possible future opportunities of synergy. Similarly, I think it would also be a great resource for business students and students studying finance and economics as there are informational packs on multiple business and finance topics in addition to a 6-8 min daily brief that covers the main financial stories of the day in an easily digestible way. My thought was once students listened to the daily briefs, they could absorb the info and take it to class and discuss how what their studying in school actually manifests itself in real life business and finance. I wanted to reach out and see if it was possible to also connect you with the Global Community Leader of Finimize regarding possible synergies, opportunities and partnerships to work together in the future. I’ve included a link to their Community page https://www.finimize.com/community , and the Finimize home page https://www.finimize.com/ . Finimize is a london based fintech that currently has 800,000 subscribers globally and in the past year, Finimize events have been held in 50 cities all around the world. Previous speakers at Finimize events have included the former UK CEO of UBS Wealth, Global Head of Sustainability at JP Morgan, CIO at S&P Global and the former CEO of Vodafone.

I appreciate that you’re very busy so thank you for your time in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,
Brad Howard

60. We need to not only advocate for online career services, but also the supports so that students are able to successfully engage from home, which includes:

Problem: Students may not have optimum computer/equipment

Solution: Providing computers/laptops/tablets for those who don’t have their own

Problem:  Students may not have cable/WIFI
Solutions: Provide WIFI subscription to NYC students/ Can CUNY negotiate with Spectrum/FIOS for some sort of a subscription WIFI or at least a low cost student rate (paid for by student activity fees perhaps?) I don’t know how hotspots work, but is that a possibility?

Problem: Students may not have adequate private space for studying/interviewing for jobs
Solutions:  Can CUNY negotiate with WeWorks or some other shared office space to offer low cost student swing space for interviews/studying?

Can we consider keeping the library open for students and develop strategies for social distance in that setting?
Can career services be open to allow students to use our offices as swing space for online interviews/video screeners ONLY?

(implication-we need to develop cleaning protocols for after each interview to ensure we are keeping a clean environment for this swing space.)

Problem:  Students do not know how to present themselves in a professional manner in an online setting
Solution:  Provide coaching/workshops on professionalism in an online setting (i.e., interviews, workshops, informational interviews, webinars).

Problem:  Students still need career services even in an online setting
Solution: Offer 100% online 1-1 career counseling/coaching, workshops, information sessions, virtual career fairs.  If we are open on a limited basis, we can see students on an emergency basis if needed (i.e., overwhelmed with anxiety before a big interview).

Problem:  People/employers still long for in person connection to get a sense of their future hires
Solution:  Offer socially distant events to practice networking in a socially distant context

Implications:  Need to review premises/cleaning protocols and develop strategies to mitigate risk of spreading virus to ourselves and the students.

61. For international students, please go hybrid with a few classes in person.

62. As a concerned staff member of Baruch College, I would like to ask that the college take consideration of the work environment the staff is in at the Vertical Campus. As you know, the Vertical Campus does not have sufficient air flow as there are no open windows. Given recent scientific reports from the CDC and WHO that COVID-19 is an airborne disease, i do not believe that the current air filtration system is adequately equipped to handle this disease. Even before COVID, there were times where Buildings and Ground were called about ventilation issues. Crowd control is also an issue at hand. While the standard protocol is 6ft social distance, with students being able to come back to the campus, there will be crowds of students and staff on the trains, elevators, escalators, atrium, etc. The campus is just not big enough to allow for that kind of spacing among people. Having non-essential staff members work remotely is a way to alleviate this problem. The current situation where non-essential staffers are working remotely during the spring and summer 2020 semester is adequate enough as communication through zoom meetings, live chats and emails have been sufficient. Please continue letting non-essential staff members continue to work remotely. Making staff go in and work puts not only them at risk, but the students as well.

63. I have been a staff member at Baruch for seventeen years. I have numerous medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) and a mother who is a immunocomprised. While I am pleased that staff being on campus will be minimized my hope is that staff with pre-existing conditions and live with relatives with who are immunocomprised will not be forced to be on campus until a viable vaccine has been made and distributed.

64. Thank you for your work. As we move forward, one urgent reminder: Faculty in the three schools get vastly different workload credits for jumbos–to the point where a class of 115 students gets a WSAS faculty member 6 credits, a ZSB faculty member 7.5 credits, and with just 5 more students, a MSPIA faculty member 9 credits. If these faculty members teach one jumbo per semester, compared to the WSAS faculty member, the ZSB gets one whole course release more per year (or the equivalent of one sabbatical semester every three years) and the MSPIA faculty member gets one whole course release more per semester (or the equivalent of one sabbatical year every 3 years). This is unacceptable! Let’s move equitably into the future; i.e., either give everybody the same workload credits . . . or make WSAS a teaching school with significantly reduced standards for tenure and promotion (esp. for those faculty how teach jumbos).

65. We need to know much much MUCH sooner about what is happening regarding in person or online classes because international and out of state students need to figure out housing. Vague emails giving no clear answer only confuse us further rather than giving us hope. Every other school in New York did a much more sufficient job at informing their students of what is going on, it’s disappointing how Baruch is handling this.

66. Something that I’d like to be taken into consideration is the commute to Baruch. As much as I’d love to go outside and meet with my friends again, I still prioritize my safety over everything else. Commuting on crowded trains (especially those in Manhattan) can be extremely dangerous once colleges start announcing that classes will be in person (if they do).

67. Will there be a Pass/ Fail option again? Many professors were far from equipped to effectively teach online last semester and I worry that this will be the case, once again, in the fall.

68. How will we know which classes are online and which are not?

69. First of all, I would like to thank you S. David Wu, the President, Baruch College for managing this situation during this pandemic along with other faculties who were involved. I am a hundred percent agree with the decision that you guys made for continuing the online system for the rest of the semester (FALL 2020). Since the situation still ambivalent for this virus while hoping for the best vaccine to be release anytime soon plus the struggles that international’s student have with their visas. It is a hard decision and there is pro and con doing this virtual system education. You’re doing the best by thinking further and benefits all the faculties & the students the most, so for that , thank you!! Cheers -Ferry

70. Does this mean we will not be living in the dorms?

71.  I think that online education doesn’t give students so much as classes on campus. From my Spring semester experience, my every professor for every class made classes shorter than 1 hour instead of 1:15. Usually all classes lasted in average time of 40 minutes. My CIS professor skipped every other class because he said we were ahead. I think there is no “ahead”. I think there are a lot of extra interesting things that we can learn if you got that extra time. Also, to be honest, none studies hard for online tests and exams because we can find all the answers in Google for seconds. And, there are so many posts on social media where students look for a full time job because they say “all my classes are online now and I don’t have so much pressure, i can work full time”. No one gets much pressure, neither students nor professors. What are we paying for and what kind of education is that. Not everyone can manage himself and study by his own. Some students need to get a pressure.

72. I feel like going back to campus is important. I personally don’t feel like I’m fully learning and taking in the knowledge the professors are sharing when they are on a computer screen. I understand that it’s for the best, and it is important to keep everyone’s health out of risk, but having the ability of going back to campus will help with getting things back to normal. Thank you for the hard work everyone’s putting behind the scenes!

73. I had a lot of trouble learning online during the spring. I cannot concentration well when everything is online. I’m not learning well. Other schools in New York are opening fall in person and CUNY should’ve done the same. I don’t like this decision

74. Please begin Tech Support in real -time via phone.  I had to drop a class over the summer as I could not get real-time support.  The helpdesk link took about a week to get a response, much too late for a summer immersion class moving at fast speed, with homework due daily that I could not complete due to an unresolved tech issue.  Baruch expects from its students, we expect from our institution.

75. I read President’s email. So by when are you guys going to announce which classes are either online or hybrid for sure? I’m international student currently outside of the US and I don’t know when I should come back to the States because I don’t know if my classes are fully online or not and the International Student Office hasn’t given any statement to international students especially who are currently abroad regarding their i20 status. I already deferred my flight plan twice because of all these uncertainties happened with Covid and the US president. Now I’m not even sure when to book my ticket to come back to the States because of those vague statements from Baruch. Flight ticket price is going up as time goes by. Could you guys make sure your plan clearly as soon as possible please???

76. Math classes cannot be taken online at all. It should be an interactive class.

77. Will tuition be the same for classes held 100% online?

78. When will we know the status of classes? Please put labs online

79. I would like sciences courses to be in person if possible. Lab work is difficult to do at home with limited material and information and is often confusing. Also, science lectures in person will prevent cheating and make it easier to ask questions in and communicate more easily with the professor. Of course, this is true for all courses, but that is too much to ask.

80. Ranking(Accounting), Performing Arts, Lab class should be in person on Campus

81. Want virtual learning for Fall 2020 semester

82. I just want to know when I will know if my classes will be online or not. All these generalized emails do not help me when I have to pay rent in multiple places. You should have each professor send and email to let us know if classes will hybrid, online, or on-campus. It’s mid-July and we still don’t know.

83. Please do distance online learning classes, for Fall 2020. I do not want to get sick or died.

84. Since the vast majority of classes will be online for Fall 2020, there should be a reduction or complete elimination of certain fees, such as the student activity fee, the technology fee, and the academic excellence fee. Many students will be unable to utilize the services that these fees supposedly support and it is unfair to require these fees given the hardships currently being faced by CUNY students.

85. I would like Zicklin classes to be online because the Coronavirus is still uncertain.

86. Which classes will be online? Will it just be classes that require in-person activity such as lab classes and theatre, or will it be based upon the amount of individuals in a class? Such as above 30 students would be online and below would be in person?

87. Baruch has taken the most passive approach possible and imaginable.
Why didn’t they perform the same litigation as Harvard and MIT and stand up for their students?
Very very disappointed of being a soon to be Baruch graduate.
I will look to transfer soon.
No credit goes to Baruch, none.

88. Hello,
If most of the classes are going to be online I don’t think it’s fair to be charged the same tuition rates. I think Baruch should offer some price reductions for this. Especially since not all students get finical aid.

Thank you

89. As parents of an incoming freshman, are we expected to pay full tuition for on-line classes for a full time student?

90. I’v been accepted as an international transfer student on Fall 2020 semester. I’m currently in South Korea (my country) due to COVID-19.Will it be possible to take online courses in South Korea for Fall semester? I currently hold an F-1 visa expiring next year Febuary.

91. When will we be aware of which classes have been selected as online classes and which are face to face? How would it affect our schedule and where we go after our in school classes end?

92. Thank you for your work. Please consider reducing tuition and/or eliminate fees that won’t be used such as Student Activity fees, Technology etc.

93. LOWER TUITION AND FEES! I understand that the school needs to make classes online, but no one can argue that the quality will remain the same, and yet, the tuition isn’t adjusted? So the quality of education lowers but the price we pay don’t not? How is that fair? You can offer a lower quality experience for students but continue to charge the same amount? That is predatory behavior and you are taking advantage of students in this tumultuous time!

94. Will the library be open?

95. Hello I am going to be an incoming freshman at Baruch College this fall semester of 2020. However, I was planning on living at the dorms on campus this fall semester as I had my $300 deposit ready to mail. I was wondering how the situation regarding living at the dormitories is going to be and whether or not it will still be possible within this time period. Thank you for your time.

96. I am a student at Baruch College and I do not qualify for financial aid, so I have to pay my tuition out of pocket.

Yesterday, I received an email from Baruch college informing that most classes on the fall semester will remain online. I would like to know if they plan to keep the same amount of tuition if the classes remain online. I find it excessive to pay $ 3730.60 for tuition if the classes remain online, also tuition includes “CUNY Technology Fee” and “Student Activity Fee”. If classes continue online, they should not include those tuition fees and they should determine to readjust the cost of tuition to a reasonable amount based on we are going to take a class from our home without using the classes or school facilities.
We have been experiencing very hard and difficult situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I feel that they should be more considerate of all students who cannot qualify for any financial aid and at the same time, we are working really hard and struggling to pay tuition and be able to go to college. I prefer classes in person, but at the same time, I understand that the most important is the health and safety of all the students, professor and people who work and are part of Baruch college.  If classes are going to remain online during the fall semester, at least please have some consideration on the tuition fee.

Thank you very much, I hope you can read my concern and be valued and taken into consideration.

97. Dear President,

Thank you for your email. I would like to request fee concession as they are quite high for graduate students at Baruch.

98. Good afternoon,

As per the latest email update from the president fo the college, most classes for fall 2020 will be online. Taking that as an anchor, I wanted to ask you when can an international student who has been counting on college’s decision for which classes will be online be updated. Let me briefly explain the scenario a typical international student is facing, after the finals a student has to accommodate a living space as Baruch residence hall have been closed, after overcoming that hurdle new policy from ICE has already created turmoil. Hopefully, that ended, now there have been no updates whether the classes a student is enrolled in online or in person.

I am solely waiting for management who is responsible to announce which classes will be online and which will be in-person. Because without knowing that I can not make any decisions. For instance, If I need to go back to my country due to some special circumstances, what will I do if I have an in-person course? Additionally, should I take a lease for an apartment that starts in the month of July, but what if my courses are online than I won’t be staying in states will be flying back home? The above questions are just a glimpse of uncertainty am international student is facing.

I would like to bring to your notice that in such times if management responsible for letting students know whether they are enrolled in online classes or unperson can be announced to at least international students they can make a decision on what to do next. Just, for example, my decisions such as making a lease, how to book evacuation flights to India, what should I do with my courses if am quarantined after going back to my country and courses have been started, such questions demand clarity from the administration, I hope you can put yourself in the shoe of an intention student and help us out by providing information which allows us to take next decisions.

Thanking you in advance.

99. How do we find out if the classes we signed up for in Fall 2020 will take place online exclusively or in person?

100. ***This is a message that has been shared with President S. David Wu after his announcement of the Phase One report***

Following your recent announcement of the Phase One report from the Task Force, I am glad to see that my school is preparing a diligent analysis of the school’s future with respect to all of its stakeholders, including students, professors, and administrative employees. Initially, with the completion of the Spring 2020 semester, I envisioned that the COVID-19 crisis would be controlled and manageable by the time of the Fall 2020 semester’s commencement, and that in-person class meetings would largely resume. Unfortunately, with some time having passed and slow progress being the overarching theme in the world, it seems that this will not be the case and that (according to the Task Force’s recommendation found within their report) online classes will resume for the Fall semester, to a major extent.

I will begin my query with a belief that I think is fundamental to the education system that we Americans subscribe to: that the success of education within the classroom is a two-way street, depending on input from the student as well as the instructor. Having served as an instructor for five years in my personal life and having excelled consistently in my own studies, I know that this is true. With regards to the Spring 2020 semester’s mid-way transition to online learning, I have a concern—a complaint—that I feel can be reasonably addressed and resolved, with a benefit to both the students and the instructor within the hypothetical online class. Truth be told, with my initial prognosis of schools reopening in the Fall semester, I had largely chosen not to make my concern known to the school’s overseers as it would probably be received with less priority and would lack the impetus that is present amongst more dire situations. However, with the Task Force’s recommendation (and likely approval) of continuing online classes for the Fall semester, I feel that it is my duty as a stakeholder to finally make known this issue which is likely to reoccur with even greater complacency during the upcoming Fall semester.

You must understand that, as a student of the Finance major, I have grown accustomed to making decisions based on their incremental benefit and loss. The goal of any successful transition of a process or system towards “online” (I hope you will agree) is to allow a long-distance form of executing the process without sacrificing the inherent value of the process outcome and integrity of the original system. It is also understood that in order to implement this change in a system, there must be additional effort exerted (…,accommodations provided, compromises made…) by its participants in order to adjust for the change in environment (for example, adjusting the presentation of an exam question in order to control for the element of cheating). The difficulty of enforcing such a change in effort scales with the complexity of the system (it suffices to say that the modern classroom has many moving parts). However, it is only fair to the structure of the belief, stipulated in the opening sentence of the paragraph above, that the burden of implementing the additional effort required for this change would naturally be distributed equally between the students and their instructor. I am sorry to say that this is not what my peers and I have experienced during the Spring 2020 mid-semester transition, although I am not aware of whether this apparent discrepancy is relevant solely to the upperclassmen of the Finance Major or to specific instructors within that department.

Keep in mind that, while I reference my own experiences, I am speaking for more than myself. By the time that the Office of the Chancellor announced the “five-day instructional recess for pedagogical retooling” on March 11th, I have already grown accustomed to the nature of the material of my classes: Professors of 4000+ level courses have already administered midterms to their classes and others have only had a chance to issue other testing tools such as quizzes and written papers in order to grade our understanding of the material. The results I was receiving were consistent if not superior to my performance during previous semesters—this consistency alluded to me that other students were observing results consistent with their expectations as well. Following the instructional recess, the delivery of lectures through online means were smooth and enjoyable, just as they were during in-person sessions. However, when the time came to sit for the second round of midterms, I felt like I was put into a different set of classes, judging from the exams alone. For my 4000+ level Finance courses, the exams (unlike the exams we received before the switch to online) were constructed so as not to allow for adequate time for completion, and this discrepancy was magnified by the time that final examinations arrived. As many students complained about the structure of those midterms on the following day’s lecture, it was our understanding as students that this testing discrepancy would be taken into account for the final exams. Both of the finance courses in question used McGraw Hill Connect as a substitute for the in-person exams that were given before the switch—I believe that the misuse of the flexibility offered by the McGraw Hill Connect program, along with the misguided attention and complacency of the professors, is to blame for this discrepancy in examinations. Judging by the questions on the exams for one of those classes, it was apparent that the McGraw Hill platform offered much flexibility as to the construction of the exam questions and was therefore more than adequate a tool for constructing an exam that was similar in structure to those administered previously within the classroom. This caught many students, including myself, off-guard and created no solace during the exams, despite all the preparation that was done beforehand.

This disregard and complacency from the professors is particularly worrisome, as one of the professors (leading up to the first post-transition exam) voiced his honest uncertainty as to how to properly test our knowledge, listing viable alternatives that I (and I believe other students as well) preferred tremendously. Judging from the actual exams that we sat for, it was later understood that he had dropped the idea and gave up altogether, which was disappointing given that my peers and I enjoyed the professor’s lectures tremendously, as well as his choice of creative assignments and attention to detail.

Contrary to my disappointment with these two courses, I had courses during the same semester where exams proved to have maintained the same expectations after the transition as outlined during the first half of the semester, and furthermore included questions that were 1) in reasonable quantities, and 2) were modified so as to prevent any substantial form or concern of cheating. This was the case for three-fifths of my courses and they provided a cushion to the disarray that was occurring within the other two.

Reasoning off of the fact that my experience is just a sample of Baruch College’s student population, I am not doubtful that it was experienced by students within other advanced courses and STEM majors as well, which I would argue require greater but nonetheless required attention to detail during major shifts such as a transition to online learning.

In summary, I am sure that the issue(s) aforementioned are made possible by the misuse and misguidance of two important assets: the McGraw Hill platform and our body of Instructors. Firstly, I believe that the McGraw Hill online platform is a tremendous asset to our school due to its flexibility and expeditious delivery of material. However, it is no excuse for professors to use the system in an expedient fashion that would be more convenient for them yet less rewarding and practical for the student when it comes to important and sensitive stages such as testing. Secondly, there must be some accountability present in our body of instructors—over the course of my education at Baruch, I have witnessed and been a part of many a great classroom where the instructor’s creativity, drive, and passion motivated me to do my best no matter what subject matter I pursue. It is disheartening to see some professors making such silly mistakes and disregarding the concerns of students when it is during times like these when we need their clarity and attention most. We cannot underestimate the creativity and passion of our professors as they are part of the school’s reputation and they are largely responsible for the confidence that students take with them when they leave the premises of Baruch College. I can assure you that measures can be taken to revitalize their attentiveness and good intent within the scope of their decision-making, as many professors (most of my professors) are active in pursuing what is best for their classes. What remains is the question of spreading that attitude across the entire body of professors and maintaining it during the roughest of times.

I understand that the Credit/No-credit grading policy for the spring 2020 semester was implemented as part of an initiative to address several problems and concerns. It is entirely possible that concerns presented in this message were one of the many issues and roadblocks that this policy was meant to address—I have accounted for that in my plea. And while that policy may have mitigated the negative effects of my main concerns, I still believe that it is not a complete and permanent solution—I know that crafting a more sustainable one would be a more honest mission.

I agree that time is of the essence, and there is no point in making reparations for the previous semester—it was a difficult time for everyone and I believe that Baruch College, as a whole, responded with the best intentions in mind for their stakeholders. But, I do think that now is the time to think forward for the upcoming fall semester and to focus your oversight and resources towards polishing the “online contingency plan” of our school for the long-term, as it would not be wise to assume that we will be immune from similar global health crises in the future.

I hope that my concerns and advice will be taken into your consideration. I appreciate your taking the time to read this lengthy letter and I wish you the best in your endeavors.

101. Hello, To whom may concern,

I suggest night class can change to online class because more crimes occur in every days. More crimes and less polices during this Covid-19.

Thanks!
Ziqiao Liang

102. Hello,

Will there be any form of Tuition decrease for Fall 2020?  It it is without a doubt that Baruch’s ability to provide an education that matches the quality of the in-person structure has greatly diminished the value of what it is capable of offering. There will be no access to the gym, reduced library resources or campus networking.I’m currently enrolled in several summer classes and Professors are not creating value.They don’t respond to emails, some can’t work Zoom which results in the cancellation of classes & no one provides feedback in regards to the lessons. These are just a few of the many reasons why the value of current tuition has decreased.I look forward towards your reply in regards to the question of whether or not a tuition decrease will occur for Fall 2020. If not, its safe to say I will have to wait till Spring to continue my education.

Best regards,

Andre Campos

103. Hi,

I do have a concern about Fall 2020 semester. Since most of the classes will be online. Have you think about students who will be returning to work after Labor Day? I already experienced synchronously classes and I didn’t like it at all because you have to log in on time to count as attendance and this will happen in the Fall and I will be back to work at the office and I won’t be on time because I work in Brooklyn and I live in the Bronx which means I will rely on the train commute if is on time. No all students in Baruch are just students, we are also employees who work 8 hours and then have to log in for another 2 or 3 hours in a computer. What type of consideration have you think of mental health awareness? I felt overwhelmed and frustrated not only by the fact that I have to log in and do a video class which I haven’t authorized because is my privacy at home and it’s like trespassing my space. In addition, experienced a professor who just reads power point slides that not teaching. Also be aware that amount of work that we have to deal with just to compensate the time that we are not in campus. We are not machines, we are human beings and at the end we want at least a professor who can understand that this is a transition post-COVID and is a process. All that I ask is to give students the option to decide what is the best for us. We are the ones who knows better what’s going on in a virtual class and what works better.

Thank you.

104. Hi
I am an Incoming international student for MSF. As we know that the law which was rescinded is now applicable on new incoming students especially the one who have not applied for F1 visa yet.
I want to tell you that with these restrictions regarding not giving F1 to students enrolling in Fully online course and also not letting them enter USA this semester will make it highly unlikely for us to continue this fall.
The resons being :-

1. Course is online so F1 visa will not be issued this fall
2. Embassy are not open yet so anyways we will be facing visa trouble.
3. If we still manage to get F1 we will not be allowed to enter USA with complete online classes.
4. Our F1 will not be in active status so taking classes without F1 will mean just taking classes online without getting benefit of OPT, CPT and paying almost 3 times for taking classes from colleges instead of online platforms such as coursera.

5. I havent heard any lawsuit going on to challenge the guideline applicability on incoming students or allowing them to study in their home country without compromising on F! or OPT. So II highly doubt that these regulations will be taken back or changed in near time before start of semester.

105. Since Baruch has planned to conduct Fall semester primarily online, incoming students who wish to start in fall 20 are devoid of availing f1 visa which is critical for being eligible for CPT/OPT. Starting online classes without being offered any discount and facing the uncertainty regarding student visa in future would be a mental harassment for incoming students. Therefore, I request Baruch Task Force team to press this issue to the concerned authorities so that incoming students can start Fall 20 online with visa secured in their hand. This would help them to stay fully committed to the Baruch institution and study without any potential visa hassle in the future.

106. I am a staff member whose spouse has returned to work in -person. I have two young children (under age 5) who I send to daycare, which opened the week of 7/13. The daycare is in Manhattan, while I reside in Queens. When working in person, this has not been an issue, but it would currently be easier to have the ability to work in the office given the childcare situation. I have my own office and am able to socially distance while on campus.  There might be other employees in a similar situation and wonder if the task force might be able to provide a solution of working from the office for those that opt in.

107. My classes are still showing that 1/3 of my back to back classes are in person. This means that I will need to come to campus, watch 2 lectures on campus, then go to class. This will be impossible if the library is not open in the fall.

108. STOP GIVING INTO THE COVID SCAM – OPEN BARUCH UP FOR FALL SEMESTER.  THE ECONOMIC DISASTER LOOMING FAR OUTWEIGHS ANY SLIM CHANCE OF GETTING CORONAVIRUS, WHICH IS A COLD OR COVID19 WHICH IS A FLU.  TEACH CHARACTER, NOT FEAR.

109. OPEN BARUCH FOR FALL SEMESTER. DISTANCE LEARNING DOES NOT WORK.

110. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO ATTEND COLLEGE – IN PERSON.  OPEN BARUCH.  OTHERWISE, PLEASE SEND PARTIAL TUITION REFUNDS.  THINK OF THE CONTINUED ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO NYC WITH NO STUDENTS VISITING LOCAL STORES, EATERIES ETC.

111. OPEN BARUCH. LET STUDENTS ATTEND CLASSES IN THE FALL.

112. PLEASE OPEN BARUCH FOR THE FALL SEMESTER.  STUDENTS NEED TO BE OUT OF THEIR HOMES, THEY NEED TO RESUME THEIR STUDIES  INA CLASSROOM.  DISTANCE LEARNING IS A DISASTER. TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE TO OVERCOME FEAR OF GETTING SICK, NOT TO RUN AND HIDE.

113. WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF BARUCH WOULD RECONSIDER THEIR DECISION AND OPEN UP THE CAMPUS FOR CLASSROOM LEARNING.  CLASSROOM LEARNING, CAMPUS ATTENDANCE IS ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENTS LEARNING AND WELL BEING.  PLEASE OPEN UP BARUCH CAMPUS FOR FALL SEMESTER.  THE MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL HARM THAT ENSUES BY NOT ATTENDING A COLLEGE, WILL FAR OUT WEIGHT ANY SLIM TO NIL CHANCE OF GETTING COVID.  NEVER FORGET, LIFE IS FULL OF PERIL AND WE MUST TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE TO COPE, NOT RUN AND HIDE.

114. Thank you for scheduling the Town Hall. I am writing to ask if you would consider a town hall for staff so that their questions are concerns are not co-mingled with those of faculty and senior/executive leadership? The communications from the College during the pandemic have often omitted addressing the concerns of staff (emailing the whole community regarding reporting to campus but only providing information to faculty and students) , or inadvertently communicated to staff that their physical safety is of lesser value (notifying the campus of an infection, and the disinfection of a building 24 hours after receiving the information, and at a time where only staff were remaining in the building.). While the new town hall format is appreciated, my concern is that it will continue the legacy of staff questions being relegated to the lowest priority. Furthermore, being required to register by name may make staff uncomfortable to ask questions in full view of their leadership or other vectors of power within the College. I truly do not believe that you can not come to understand the concerns of staff without speaking with them directly, and in a context that indicates the intent to listen to concerns independent of other groups. Being invited to join into a faculty and staff town hall is like being invited to a Thanskgiving diner in which you are expected to refrain from eating and conversation.  At Baruch, and especially in the pandemic, the channels for raising staff concerns upward are not perceived to be fully open, and the narrative by which you are appraised of the campus climate is through parties that have a long standing track records of not acknowledging staff. Pandemic communications were particularly harmful to staff morale, especially those that omitted entirely any recognition of staff as a campus constituency. There are fences here that need to be mended. You have the opportunity to reset the relationship with staff members at Baruch but it will require changes in practice, and communications.

115. The College has suffered from very poor internal communication for years. The timing of when information is communicated, and the completeness of the information is typically out of sync with reality.  Messages are often tone deaf to the concerns of the overall campus community. The pandemic further highlighted this deficit. As the College forges a way forward I hope a close eye will be paid to when, what and how information is communicated. Something really must change.

116. A Pass/Fail grading option will be very beneficial to the students. This is because we work full time jobs as well as balance our schoolwork with limited access to technology.

117. In the spirit of inclusiveness, what steps or training is provided to faculty, staff, and students to ensure documents, presentations, platforms, etc. are accessible to students with disabilities (mobility and vision for example)? I understand that for disability accommodation requests students have to access a certain department, but the burden is generally put onto the student rather than on the institution to ensure slide presentations are accessible to screen readers, or have appropriate color contrast, headings that make it easy for anyone to navigate syllabus in a quick and easy way. The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities provides a number of resources that create an inclusive digital environment. How is Baruch supporting an inclusive environment in this respect? Thanks!

118. Hello,
I am an adult transfer student and I would prefer to have access to remote instruction, especially for classes that are not required for my major. I think administrative services need major improvements, I’ve not had any meaningful help from the college, except for the Starr Career Development Center which has been great.

Of all the colleges that are subject to disruption, Baruch has an advantage because of it’s cost and access to large employers in NYC.  Other than that, I think it’s pretty obsolete to require classes that have nothing to do with your major. It’s a waste of time and money, particularly for low-income and adults students with families.  We should be able to choose what courses we are interested in or will help us build the skills that each individual needs.  There are classes I would love to take that are relevant to my career or would help me work on weaknesses I have,  but I am limited by an outdated educational system that requires irrelevant courses that I will never use. There are some classes that should be required that are relevant to everyone, Finance and Accounting are two that are more useful (no offense theatre group, it’s just not part of my career track). Expanding to online instruction will allow the college to admit more students to offset the income lost from requiring these courses.

The reason why Coursera is a game changer is because you learn by doing. I’ve taken two Courses and I learned more in two weeks than a whole semester of memorizing and cramming. I recommend the documentary “Most likely to succeed”, which can offer some ideas for more hands on, individualized learning. Every student is different, if you create a program that is tailored to enhance the skills or address weaknesses of each person, it will yield better results than the traditional one size fits all approach.

I am a 4.0 GPA student and I have considered dropping out for these reasons. Why should I pay thousands of dollars for classes that are basically worthless when I can take Google’s Data Analytics course and maybe start off lower, but work my way up over time? The reason is that I’m scared to not a have degree, but that could change in the very near future.

Lastly, I had a professor for Finance at my last school that had no standardized tests and it was the best class Ive ever taken. I was actually analyzing financial statements and I could enjoy learning instead of worrying about a test that nobody cares about in the real world.

My recommendation would be to focus on skill building, hands on learning, and connecting with companies as much as possible. Please watch the documentary. These are not new complaints, people have been talking about this for years.  Just do it already. Be first.

-anonymous

119. lower tuition!!! online school is an even bigger scam than in person school

120. Implementing CR/NCR would definitely be helpful for students especially those who do not have the financial access to certain technologies or live in different time zones. A surge of cases may also affect the health of students which will affect performance

121. I would like school to re-open, possibly on a part time basis.  Perhaps students who have one three-hour class can go to class once every three weeks.  I suggest masks being available at Security desk for anyone who forgot; sanitizer dispensers all over, better and more frequent cleaning of restrooms with a chart posted to verify they’ve been cleaned, the Newman Library OPEN (even if you do it by reservation and 50% capacity), the Help Desk on the 6th floor OPEN for business, guards monitoring elevators to prevent overcrowding.