Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss
End of Term Reminders
A message from Annie Del Principe:
Saving student work/records
Please remember that each faculty member is required by the CUNY Records & Retention Policy to keep copies of their own students’ final exams and/or sample final coursework for one year after final course grades have been assigned. The precise form the student sample coursework takes will depend, of course, on the courses you taught this term and the final projects you assigned to your students. Please make a plan to retain student work that is appropriate to the courses you’ve taught this term.
Creating, saving, and submitting a final grade roster
The CUNY Records & Retention Policy also states that instructors must keep a copy of their “grade records, tests scores, and marking sheets” for two years after final grades have been submitted. While this is the responsibility of each individual faculty member, the department requests that you complete and submit to Shelly Benjamin a simple, grid roster for each of your courses that includes very basic information: student name and ID number, last date of class attended, final grade, and, if you assigned an “Incomplete” grade, a simple list of what the student is required to submit in order to resolve the incomplete. I am attaching a blank grid in a Word document on this email that you can use and complete for each course. If you have a different grid you’d like to send Shelly, that is fine, but please ensure that it is digital, is sent to Shelly as either a PDF or Word attachment, is legible, and contains the information I’ve listed here.
Next English
Gone, although its departure has been less graceful than we might hope.
Grade Changes
If you need to change a grade that you have filed, the grade change form can be found here: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/registrar/registrar_forms.html To sign in, please use this email address format: firstname.lastname@kbcc.cuny.edu and your office computer password (not your CUNYfirst password).
Fall 2024 Courses: Textbook Information
If you already have fall 2024 courses listed under your name on CUNY first, please add your textbook information to those courses asap. Federal law requires that students know the cost of course materials at the time of registration, and these courses have been open for registration since April.Thank you for your attention to this.
Best of English 2400 Essay Contest
A message from Carl Schlacte:
Please consider submitting outstanding student work to the annual Best of ENG 2400 essay competition. You can include student work from your Fall 2023, Winter 2024, and Spring 2024 classes. You can submit work here: https://forms.office.com/r/UCaumG1sTi
Please contact Carl if you have any questions: carl.schlachte@kbcc.cuny.edu
Juneteenth Performance in Damrosch Park
As part of a Juneteenth celebration, English Department colleague Jonathan Holley will sing in Toshi Reagon’s Songs of the Living: Freedom Songs. This concert in Damrosch Park on Wednesday June 19 at 7:30, marks his third consecutive year working with Reagon under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Summer for the City series. A 2022 concert of excerpts preceded the 2023 Geffen Hall New York premiere of Reagon’s opera, based on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. For more information, see https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city/toshi-reagonand39s-songs-of-the-living-freedom-songs
Open Education at CUNY: Proposals Due 5 July 2024
A message from Gordon Alley-Young and Shawna Brandle:
We write with the excellent news that there is funding for Open Education at CUNY next year! Funding can be requested for course conversions, assessment studies, creation of teaching materials, and creating Zero Textbook Cost degree pathways. You can see the full call for proposals here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dmet6V99A-uzvptjXEu8Fe6B2xh5i20Rt5rjkNZXyZE/edit
to get an idea of what kinds of project the grant can support, and if you’d like to be added to the campus proposal, please complete this form https://forms.gle/HHzaJ5vRr622GG3X8
as soon as possible, and no later than July 5, 2024. You can see the projects that have been funded in previous years on our OE@KCC Site: https://kctlopened.commons.gc.cuny.edu/:
learn about open education, browse the OER created at KCC, and read the blog posts by your colleagues who have been working on open education projects!
We have some exciting pieces planned for the proposal already, such as full-year, funded professional development experiences for:
those wishing to convert a course to Zero Textbook Cost
those wishing to refresh a course that was converted years ago but needs updating
those wishing to explore Open Pedagogy
those wishing to be supported in Teaching on the Commons
those wishing to serve as Open Education Liaisons in their departments
those wishing to explore using Open for Anti-Racism
But Open Education should be open to new ideas, too- so if you have an idea that does not fit into any of these categories (such as creating an open textbook, either from scratch or by adapting and expanding some existing resources), or any other idea related to open, we want to include that as well! I am happy to virtually meet with anyone who wants assistance in developing a proposal- just email me for an appointment.
Whether you’re interested in course conversion, joining a professional development fellowship, or have an idea for an Open Education project that does not fit into any of those categories, please complete this form https://forms.gle/HHzaJ5vRr622GG3X8 (you can add a short project proposal comprised of a short description, budget request, and budget justification directly on the form) so we can compile the best proposal possible.
As in prior years, our plan is to include proposals from all interested members of our KCC community, so please submit to be part of our campus proposal!!! If you have any questions, or would like to discuss any ideas for getting involved in Open Education at KCC, please feel free to email Shawna M. Brandle: Shawna.Brandle@kbcc.cuny.edu
A Note about the Newsletter
A message from Jane Weiss, the Newsletter editor:
This is the final issue of the Newsletter for Spring 2024; the Newsletter will return in September 2024. In the interim, time-sensitive announcements can be sent to the English Department Office.ReplyForward
