Coronavirus Update - August 3

Dear Colleagues:

As always, I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 crisis together.  This has been a truly unimaginable experience in so many ways; through it all, I have been so impressed by the resilience and dedication of our students, faculty, and staff, and so grateful for the community that we have built together. 

As we approach the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, and after consultation with the University, I am writing to let you know that CUNY SPS will be maintaining fully remote operations throughout Fall 2020. As you know, as the leader in online education at CUNY, most of our academic programs were already fully online before the COVID-19 crisis. Only three of our degree programs—Human Relations, Youth Studies, and Applied Theatre—needed to transition from in-person to online learning, and these programs have done so gracefully and with alacrity. After consultation with the academic directors of those programs, we have determined that they will remain online for Fall 2020.  I am so thankful to all of our faculty for their commitment and hard work in ensuring high-quality instruction for all of our students.

Similarly, with the advent of the crisis, we were called upon to transfer all of our non-credit and Professional Education and Workplace Learning programming online to continue to support those partnerships, and to transition all elements of our student support services and other administrative operations online so that most members of our staff could work remotely. We will continue this remote-work practice through the Fall 2020 semester. Access to campus will be restricted to essential staff and to those who require access under special circumstances, and these special circumstances will require prior notification and coordination with the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance, Washington Hernandez. 

As we gear up to begin another academic year, I want you to know how much I appreciate the dedication of all members of our community: everyone is working so hard to ensure that every aspect of our School is functioning smoothly and offering exceptional services to our students, faculty, and staff, even as we manage our significant personal concerns of this crisis. Everyone is doing an amazing job -- my heartfelt thanks to you all. 

Sincerely,

John