CUNY’s 275,000 Students And 20,000 Faculty Resume Spring Semester Via Distance Learning

95 Percent Of University’s 50,000 Course Sections Have Transitioned, Early Estimates Show

After a week-long academic recess prompted by the outbreak of COVID-19, the country’s largest urban public university system resumed classes on March 19 employing distance learning modalities, including online instruction. “In a time of crisis, institutions integral to the life of our great state and city and its future have an especially important role to play,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY’s role in the face of the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus is to ensure that all of our students, regardless of their circumstances, are able to continue their education. It is with great pride and renewed purpose that we today [March 19] reopen our doors, literally and virtually, to all who depend on CUNY.” Starting today (March 19), and continuing through the end of the Spring semester, CUNY classes will be conducted through distance education methods utilizing the University’s digital resources. The transition to distance learning serves to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus while maintaining academic continuity and ensuring students are able to finish the semester and protect their financial aid. By moving all of its students and faculty to distance learning and most all staff to distance working, CUNY is also heeding the call of State and City officials to reduce density to the greatest extent possible, while making sure the University stays focused on its educational mission. CUNY campuses suspended in person-classes from March 12 through March 18 for an academic recess that the University and its 25 campuses used to map the transition to distance education. The recess was used to prepare faculty, students and staff to operate in full distance-learning and working mode. Early estimates suggest that CUNY faculty and staff have moved up to 95 percent of CUNY’s 50,000 course sections to distance learning instruction. Courses requiring special facilities, such as labs or performance spaces that have not been able to transition to distance learning, will be suspended effective Monday, March 23. CUNY libraries are closed. Child care centers are open with the minimum number of staff needed to address reduced demand. But CUNY is ready to be part of Governor Cuomo’s efforts to support the childcare needs of medical first responders and any other needs in this growing emergency. Campuses have been directed to cancel, postpone or move to a virtual platform all non-essential, non-instructional social gatherings or events for the duration of the Spring 2020 semester. For more information on the limited services available in campuses, please visit CUNY’s coronavirus page. The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving 500,000 students of all ages and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background.