Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss

Welcome to the Fall 2023 Semester

A message from Annie Del Principe, English Department Chair:

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

            It’s officially the start of another academic year on our campus and in our department. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with you all this year to offer meaningful, inspiring courses to our students and to work together to steer our programs and offerings in some (possibly) new directions.

            When you’re in C309, you will notice that Audrey Phillips, my assistant, has a new office location right in the English department office suite. We felt it was necessary to bring her closer to the action now that she will be assuming more administrative duties more directly related to the functioning of the department. She’s tucked in the spacious office off the copy room. Stop by and say “hi”! Speaking of which, as you stop by and say hi to Audrey, Christine Marchese, and Shelly Benjamin, please remember to keep the office space as calm and quiet as possible. Our administrative team works out in that open, public space, and they do need relative quiet in order to do their important work.

            Ok, here are some basic, but important, housekeeping reminders as you kick off your classes:

• Please double-check that everything (modality, room assignments, etc) looks correct for your courses on CUNY first. Email me, Christine Marchese, and Audrey Phillips if you see something that looks odd to you.
• While you’re in CUNY first, please ensure that you have provided textbook information for each of your courses.
• If you wish to request a room change, please email Shavone Sease to make that request. Please understand that all room change requests are subject to availability.
• If you wish to request a room change to a computer lab classroom, I recommend doing two things, simultaneously. 1) Contact Elsie Quiles in IT/Academic Services; 2) contact Shavone Sease and copy Christine Marchese on your request, so we can keep track of these and follow up if need be. IT keeps track of the computer labs, but they are all ultimately assigned by Academic Scheduling, it seems.
• Please ensure that your syllabi contain all necessary information for students, such as: college name, your name, department name, course name/number with section and CF number, meeting pattern and modality(ies), number of credits, instructor contact information, your office hours, any required course materials, course description from KCC catalog (plus your own additions), course learning outcomes (the standard ones that were passed via governance), at least a sketch of a course outline with key modules/units and major required assignments, an explanation of how grades and assessment will work in the course, any behavioral and academic policies you have, and various policy and program statements. Finally, all syllabi should include a note that the document is tentative and is subject to change 😎.
• If you do not already have a key to C309, please request one. Christine has the pink forms for this. As we all know, keys take forever around here, but it’s still a good idea for all FT faculty to have a key to the dept office.
• Please be sure to email Shelly Benjamin a copy of the syllabus for each of your courses. Really!

            Have a great semester!

                        Annie

Fall 2023 Workload Forms

A message from Annie:

            If you have not already handed in your Fall 2023 workload form, please do so immediately. The workload forms are the way the college accounts for your labor, and they ensure that you are paid for the work you do.

            You have been sent a pre-filled out form, so using that is obviously best. If you need to download a blank workload or multiple position form, you can use this link to the forms page on our department website: https://kccenglishonline.commons.gc.cuny.edu/forms/ . For instructions on how to fill out the form, see this quick (a mere 19 pages) guide: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/aa/documents/KCC_Faculty_Workload_Quick_Guide.pdf

           At this point, all processing of these forms is done digitally, so please do not print the form to submit as a hard copy to C309. It is important that you complete the forms as PDF forms (please do not convert to some other file type), and email completed and signed PDF forms back to the Engworkload.KCC@kbcc.cuny.edu email address. There are many possible ways to “add text” or “edit” or “sign” PDF forms via your office or home computer.  If you’re uncertain how to do this, please do not hesitate to reach out to the KCC faculty helpdesk by phone 718-368-6679; fax: 718-368-4626; email  helpdesk@kbcc.cuny.edu ; or create a helpdesk ticket https://inside.kingsborough.edu/servicepro/, and they will walk you through the process.

            If you do not have software on your computer that can help you complete the forms as PDFs, the helpdesk can resolve that issue for you as well. All CUNY faculty have access to Adobe software that can edit and sign PDFs.and KCeL has shared this guide : https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/How%20to%20Save%20a%20PDF%20Form.pdf with us.

Fall 2023 Faculty and Staff Convocation

            KCC will hold its Fall 2023 Faculty and Staff Convocation on Thursday, September 21, 2023 in U219.  Check-in begins at 2:45 pm | The program begins promptly at 3:00 pm. Please RSVP Here: https://rebrand.ly/KCCconvocation

KCC Chapter of PSC-CUNY Meeting Tuesday 26 September 2023 at 4:00 PM

            A message from Scott Cally, KCC Chapter PSC-CUNY Chair:

Please join us for our first union chapter meeting on Tuesday, Septebmer 26th at 4:00 PM via zoom. At this meeting we will be joined by members of the PSC/CUNY bargaining team who have been hard at work negotiating with management for our next contract. Zoom information will be send in a later email. Please also mark your calendars for our upcoming chapter meetings at 4:00 on both October 25th and December 12th. Finally, please be on the lookout for an email announcing a University-wide union mass meeting via zoom scheduled for the end of this month.

Wednesday October 4 2023 at 3:00: AI discussion

A Message from Steve Amarnick and Matthew Gartner:

            We invite you to save the date of Wednesday, October 4 at 3:00 for a discussion of what we are seeing and what we are doing in our classrooms in relation to generative AI. Lots to say! We will send a reminder and a Zoom link as the date approaches. Happy beginning of the semester, all. For more information contact Steven.Amarnick@kbcc.cuny.edu or Matthew.Gartner@kbcc.cuny.edu.

Save the Dates: English Department Meetings

A message from Annie Del Principe:

            This is just a short note to request that you save Tuesday, October 17 3-4:30 (room TBA) and Tuesday, November 28 3-4:30 (room TBA) for English department faculty meetings this fall. I will also add these to our department calendar in Outlook and will send you invitations to save them as events in your own calendars.        

Invitation to Join the English Department on the CUNY Academic Commons

A message from Elizabeth Dill:

            Last semester, an invitation to join the Kingsborough English CUNY Academic Commons group should have arrived in the inbox of your KCC email account. If you you haven’t already accepted this invitation, please do so! And if you can’t find it, please email Elizabeth Dill so she can get you signed up. Our excellent weekly department newsletter will be shifting over to the Commons format! Soon, the department newsletter will be sent as a blog post from this group rather than as a department email; eventually, you will stop getting department newsletters as separate emails (unless you subscribe to the Academic Commons group). So please join! If you don’t receive an invitation at all, please let Elizabeth know at Elizabeth.Dill@kbcc.cuny.edu

KCC Information Technology Services Office

            You can call KCC’s ITS Help Desk at (718) 368-6679 or email helpdesk@kbcc.cuny.edu 9:00 – 5:00 on weekdays. For Blackboard support during hours when KCC’s Help Desk is not available, call 1-646-664-2024.

A Note about the Newsletter  
                The next issue of the Newsletter will come out on Monday 18 September 2023. Please send newsletter items by Friday, 15 September 2023 to Jane Weiss at Jane.Weiss@kbcc.cuny.edu. Please keep items brief (preferably 100 or fewer words). Longer items will be abridged. Items about publications and achievements are very welcome.