Dear Faculty,

Just over a year after the start of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, we find ourselves in a different world—with several vaccines, continued and unchanged state regulations for institutions of higher education (e.g., six-foot physical distancing), profound negative fiscal impacts on the postsecondary education sector, new expectations from students related to the online learning they have experienced, and much more, such as permanent health and economic constraints on individuals and families. We have seen great resilience, compassion, and kindness, including from our own faculty and students. I wish to thank those of you who have made generous contributions in response to our students’ needs, including to the Bear Bytes program, which seeks to counter student food insecurity.

While we have, per our student surveys, been relatively successful in transitioning to hybrid remote (i.e., Zoom) instruction to serve our students during this emergency, I thank you for your dedication to making your instruction engaging and some going beyond “ZoomU.” The following reflections on teaching and learning are worth a read and align with what we have heard and are still hearing from students here and across the country:

“A Pedagogy of Choice,” Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 10, 2021
“A Year of Remote Teaching: the Good, the Bad, and the Next Steps,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 17, 2021
“How to Improve Teaching Quality and Effectiveness,” Inside Higher Ed, March 24, 2021

Following are some updates, feedback, resources, and news from the Office of Academic Affairs and Academic Technology Services (ATS):

Operations and Logistics

Our New York campuses have been fully open since March 1, adhering to state guidelines regarding health and safety for higher education. While other sectors such as K-12 education have different guidelines, we expect that similar positive changes will come to fruition for us. Nonetheless, like other institutions of higher education, we hope to maximize as much in-person activity as possible this fall, including class instruction, without jeopardizing our community’s health and safety while following all federal and state guidelines. We have in-person priorities that include experiential learning and courses such as labs and studios. In discussions with the chairs and program directors, a chair-led group recommended more active use of blended modalities: a combination of required in-person and some online asynchronous (possible hybrid-remote for urgent situations) for safety requirements. Opportunities to learn more and gain skills in blended formats are forthcoming. I have spoken with many faculty who are hoping to return to in-person teaching as soon as possible.

And Our Students Say…

In a recent survey of newly admitted undergraduate students, more than 200 responded:

On a scale of 1-5 (most preferred), the average preference scores were:
- In-person classes: 4.44
- Blended (combined in-person and asynchronous online): 3.24
- Zoom (with occasional in-person): 2.62
- Fully asynchronous online: 2.19
Other national reports and results of our December survey indicate that students also want a combination of in-person instruction and limited blended or remote instruction.

I would dare say nearly all potential new students have had experience with Zoom classes (i.e., hybrid remote) and online synchronous learning, with some having outstanding experiences and some not. Given the current state of higher education, the competition for enrolling students will now be dependent on a major factor: the quality of the digital learning experience (whether Zoom or asynchronous online), which comprises high levels of engagement, applications of “new” pedagogies, and first and foremost, increased quality (and quantity) of in-person teaching, too.

The following infographic will be shared with students and others to help explain our different course modalities:

VIEW AS A PDF »

Emerging Technologies
Recent developments in emerging technologies, coupled with parallel developments in artificial intelligence, offer us an opportunity to develop the “T” in our name more fully and provide faculty, staff, and students with exciting new classroom and research experiences. A working group from across the university has been formed to develop strategies and implement activities that will help bring the “T” in New York Tech into a reality. As part of this effort, the group has developed an ongoing seminar series to highlight great work already occurring within the institution and to bring world-class expertise from outside the university to help guide us:

Seminar 1: The first seminar informed the New York Tech community about innovative interdisciplinary work by students and faculty in the emergent technologies of virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence. Participants received an overview of how departments are teaching, learning, and researching using these evolving technologies.
Seminar 2: Guest speaker John Cohn, Ph.D., chief scientist of the MIT-IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence Lab, illustrated how other institutions teach, research, and learn with emergent technologies.

Please email co-chairs Randy Stout or Stan Silverman if you would like to be involved in the Emerging Technologies (ET) Working Group.

Also, please take a few minutes to answer this very short survey the ET group has developed.

CIP Code Updates and STEM Designations
At the beginning of March, Academic Affairs began an expedited review of program CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) codes. Program faculty reviewed their existing CIP code to determine whether a different code would be more appropriate. The focus was on programs that were not STEM designated but should be, based on the most recent list from the Department of Homeland Security. STEM designation can be very beneficial to the recruitment of international students, who may qualify for an extended work experience in the United States (Optional Practical Training) after graduation. After a careful review and approval process, 17 programs and certificates were added to New York Tech’s list of STEM-designated programs and will be posted online and marketed very soon. Many thanks to the quick and thoughtful work by deans, chairs, program directors, faculty, and staff in this effort!

Center for Teaching and Learning News
I am always appreciative for all you do for our students. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), has made it possible to see what some of your colleagues are doing at its “Great Teaching! Conversations with Faculty” events. The schedule is posted online, along with videos of previous conversations. Next up is Dr. Wenjia Li, associate professor of computer science, on Friday, April 16 at 2:15 p.m. Please complete a short form to be added to the list of conversations or to suggest a colleague.

The CTL is also partnering with the Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs to offer a workshop on “Raising Your Academic Profile” on Thursday, April 29, 12:30 – 1:50 p.m. Register here to receive the Zoom link.

Two months ago, I mentioned that the CTL is offering workshops through the Online Learning Consortium. The response has been strong, and faculty have participated in workshops such as:

Exploring Open Educational Resources
Neuro, Cognitive, and Learning Sciences
Exploring Interactive Video Tools
Engaging Online Learners in Discussions
Using YouTube for Teaching and Learning
Creating Infographics for Learning

There are a limited number of passes still available for upcoming workshops. You will find a link at the top of the list to request a workshop pass. Upcoming topics include:

Copyright and Fair Use
Designing with Accessibility in Mind
Introduction to Audio and Video Tools
Introduction to Digital Badges

Academic Technology Services Updates
The Blackboard countdown clock is ticking. As of today, there are 52 days before we say bon voyage to Blackboard. In addition to existing courses on Gradebooks, Respondus, and other topics, Academic Technology Services (ATS) has started a new series of 30-minute sessions to support you in making the transition from Blackboard to Canvas:

Just the Basics covers 2-3 tools in the Canvas suite to build out a course
Customizing Your Canvas Course focuses on more specialized tools
Customizing Your Blackboard Export to Canvas

Because you are busy during the semester, sessions have been scheduled in the morning and afternoon, three times a week, in May, June, and July to ensure everyone can be ready for the fall. The schedule is available on the ATS web pages.

For your convenience, ATS will be exporting the current academic year’s (fall and spring) Blackboard courses and converting them to Canvas courses. These automated conversions/translations may require some “human intervention” to function as you require, as sometimes things get lost in translation. The third session, Customizing Your Blackboard Export to Canvas, can assist faculty with those “translation” errors.

ATS welcomes two new members: Media Specialist Dave Lopez started on March 29, and Academic Technology Specialist George Ganzenmuller begins on April 26.

ATS is always available to assist faculty with Canvas and other technology-based learning tools that help create outstanding learning experiences for our students. Reach out to Service Central, and an ATS staff member will contact you. Please remember the transition to Canvas must occur before June 1.

Updates on Advising and Academic Enrichment Center Student Success Initiatives
Take a moment to review current and new student success initiatives and resources for undergraduate students listed below. For more details, please email Monika Rohde.

iAchieve
The iAchieve program was launched this semester and targets freshmen in their second semester who earned a cGPA below 2.8. It provides the same support and personalized guidance to students that have proven successful in the ACE program, with individually assigned faculty/staff coach being key, but it’s offered earlier in the student’s academic career. We will be looking for coaches for the fall semester, so please keep an eye out for an interest survey!
Peer Mentoring
Launching this summer, the New York Tech Peer Mentoring program aims to increase persistence, retention, and sense of belonging for first-year students by providing them with a personalized peer mentor (upperclassmen within their same or similar major). Peer mentors will support students throughout their first year, help connect them to a support system, and promote engagement with fellow freshmen as well as other peers.
JumpStart
JumpStart allows incoming freshmen and new transfer students to start earning credits, at a deeply discounted rate, before their fall semester start. This is a great opportunity to encourage incoming students to take courses that help them start on track for their curriculum requirements. It also offers a free college success course to help build engagement.
Early Alert
While there’s a little over a month left in the semester, please remember there's still time to save a student who may benefit from additional support and resources. Take a moment to Issue an Alert and an AEC advisor will connect with your student to discuss their options. For questions or concerns, please email the Academic Enrichment Center.
Student Success Modules
Interested in adding non-cognitive factor, skill-based, and/or resource-specific modules into your Canvas course? Review this list of Student Success modules that you can import. You can also share back modules or request new ones. For more information, email Tadiyos Gebre.
Finding Success in Online Learning Mini-Course
This Canvas course is automatically added to Canvas pages for all undergraduate and graduate courses. It provides resources, tips, and strategies to help students adapt to and manage online learning successfully.

Division of Student Engagement and Development News
The Office of Student Life welcomes new leadership:

Dean of Students Felipe Henao joined us on March 1. Felipe is the former assistant dean of student affairs at Mercy College, where he spent seven years in various roles, including serving as the executive director of student life and the health and wellness programs. Prior to joining Mercy, Felipe served as associate director of student affairs and residence life and as assistant director of student life at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Innovation at New York University.
Associate Dean of Students Patricia Napolitano joined us in mid-March. She is the former associate dean of students at Alfred University, where she worked for more than 20 years. She has served on the National Association for Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Region II Board since 2018 and is cochairing the organization’s June 2022 conference.

Felipe and Patricia will lead the Office of Student Life at the New York campuses and work together on activities such as new student orientation, leadership development, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for students, student governance, supporting over 60 clubs and organizations, general university traditions and events, and addressing basic needs of our students through the Bear Bytes initiative and Student Emergency Fund, emergency response, and student conduct process.

New Online Bookstore and Faculty Training

Beginning with the summer 2021 term, we will transition our textbook services to a new bookstore model in which faculty will select and adopt textbooks through an online system, and students will go to the site to place their orders. Get more information regarding the transition and faculty training here.

So much exciting work to develop new and creative ways to serve our students is going on! My sincere thanks go out to everyone. As we know, many things can change in a short period of time; I think of where the vaccine situation was just two months ago and where we are now!

I encourage you all to take what you have learned from this past year, meld it with your past experiences, and decide what new things, including technologies, you want and need to learn to facilitate an outstanding “new” education for our truly “new” and tech-experienced students, who expect and demand more now from their educations.

As Robert Iger of Disney said: “The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.”

Be well and safe.

Sincerely,

Junius J. Gonzales, M.D., M.B.A.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs