"Campus Update" is a weekly e-newsletter published by LaGuardia's Division of Communications and External Affairs to provide news and information to the college community. | |
The Division of Communications and External Affairs offers various additional resources to help you share news with the campus, including an event calendar, photography, graphic design, and more. | |
The U.S. National Science Foundation recently awarded a $530,000 grant to LaGuardia Community College for professional development in STEM degree programs. The grant award is part of NSF’s comprehensive investment of $14.5 million in an inaugural set of awards through its Innovation in Two-Year College in STEM Education (ITYC) program. The program aims to support potentially transformative projects that will advance innovative, evidence-based practices at two-year colleges nationwide in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Dr. Reem Jaafar, a professor in the Math, Engineering and Computer Science Department and Ljubica Depovic, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning are co-principal investigators of LaGuardia’s STEM Professional Development project that was funded by NSF. Dr. Jaafar said, “With the grant, we plan to investigate the effectiveness of a cohort-based, two-tiered faculty development model that incorporates leadership training and data coaching on persistence in foundational STEM courses.” | |
New Student Orientation Offers Incoming Freshmen Opportunity to Learn About Support Services and Programs | |
On August 27, incoming Red Hawks attended New Student Orientation. The orientation featured a full day of activities aimed at getting new students acclimated to the campus environment. Students attended a general presentation in the Main Stage Theatre in the morning before breaking out into departmental sessions throughout the afternoon. LaGuardia also hosted a Resources Fair Block Party and Campus Tours on the LaGuardia Community Greenway, located on 29th Street and Skillman Avenue. The event included a live DJ, games, and the opportunity for new students to meet with various areas of the college including Campus Life, Student Financial Services, Veterans Services, Health Services, LaGuardia CARES, Student Success Mentors, and the Wellness Center to name a few. The block party is part of the festivities to welcome new students to the college for the start of the Fall 2024 semester. Another New Student Orientation session will take place on September 3. | |
The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE), directed by Nava Lerer, Ph.D., Dean for Institutional Effectiveness, produces an annual Institutional Profile, a comprehensive summary of five-year trends in student enrollment, demographics, and graduation and transfer rates over the past decade. Student information from the most recently available semester is compared against benchmarks from previous years. Highlights of the recently published 2024 Institutional Profile, available online, include a 70% increase in grant funding over five years, a boost in enrollment for both credit and non-credit programs in the past year, and among the highest pass rates on licensing exams for Nursing and other clinical majors—both statewide and nationally. Areas for improvement identified through the report include the three-year graduation rate for students entering as first-year full-time freshmen. Faculty and staff will receive printed copies of the 2024 Institutional Profile at Opening Sessions on Wednesday, September 4. | |
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CUNY Reminds Students to Familiarize Themselves with University Policies and Guidelines | | |
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In a letter to students sent on August 22, 2024, Dr. Wendy Hensel, CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and University Provost, shared information about new and revised policies and guidelines for students. Dr. Hensel mentioned beginning Fall 2024, the deadline for students to withdraw from a course and receive a grade of “W” has changed to the completion of 60% of the course rather than the last day of classes. The exact deadlines for the 2024-2025 academic year are posted on CUNY’s Academic Calendar. | |
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Remember that an official withdrawal (W) must be initiated by the student. A “WU” (Withdrew Unofficially) will be assigned where the student “attended class at least once, stopped participating, did not drop the class or receive approval for an incomplete, did not officially withdraw from the course, and did not complete enough work for the instructor to calculate an earned grade using the criteria outlined in the course syllabus.” Please remind students to familiarize themselves with CUNY's Uniform Grade Guidelines, which can be found here. Also, the CUNY Board of Trustees recently approved a new Learning Management (LMS) Use Policy (LMS Use Policy). The policy requires instructors to use the University LMS for synchronous and asynchronous online classes. The LMS is the primary tool students will use to access course materials for online courses. If students are enrolled in an online course (designated as "O" when they register), the course should be delivered in either Blackboard or Brightspace LMS. To learn more students can visit the LMS transition website or the LMS login page. Other new and revised policies students should familiarize themselves with include:
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Introducing Navigate, LaGuardia’s Student Portal | |
Navigate enables LaGuardia students to meet with advisors and connect with other members of the campus community. For students, it replaces My LaGuardia, which shut down earlier this summer. For faculty and staff, it will replace C2C and SEMS; C2C has been deactivated, while SEMS will be deactivated November 1. Navigate offers a user-friendly experience for appointment booking, messaging campaigns, shared student notes, and more. Please visit our Navigate landing page to access the portal and learn more, or contact navigate@lagcc.cuny.edu. | |
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Sign Up for Professional Headshots for Faculty and Staff | | |
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LaGuardia’s Communications and External Affairs Division is hosting a series of “Photo Days” for faculty and staff who need to update their professional headshots! The Photo Days are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Room E-509. Book your timeslot here for one of the following dates:
- September 18
- October 23
- November 13
- December 11
For more information contact Anastasia Figuera, photographer, Ext. 7471.
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Faculty Encouraged to Submit Profiles for LaGuardia Website | |
All LaGuardia faculty members are invited to submit personal profiles to be included on the website. Faculty profiles include a personal biography, information about your research interests, contact information, and other relevant details to share with the campus community. These profiles will be accessible through each department's "Faculty and Staff" webpage. You may submit a faculty profile for yourself here. | |
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Rebel the Red Hawk Try-Outs Scheduled September 16 and 26 | | |
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LaGuardia is looking for students to show their school spirit and become the next Rebel the Red Hawk. Rebel is the college’s official mascot and symbol of unity, academic excellence, and school spirit. Do you know a student who might be a good fit? Encourage them to try out next month! Students who want to be Rebel should demonstrate their abilities to entertain, interact with individuals and crowds, while exhibiting professionalism, following instructions, showing initiative, and participating with reliability in scheduled events. Students who would like to tryout must fill out an INTEREST FORM. Try-outs will be held in room E-111 on the following dates:
- September 16 from 1 to 4 p.m.
- September 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Learn more about Rebel the Red Hawk here.
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Although the summer is coming to a close soon, there's still plenty of time to enjoy the warm weather out on the LaGuardia Community Greenway. Several events are scheduled to take place on the Greenway through October:
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Wednesday, September 25: Fall Fest & Welcome BBQ
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Wednesday, October 16: Casa de las Américas’ Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
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Wednesday, October 30: Grand Finale
Learn more about upcoming programming on the LaGuardia Community Greenway here.
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IT Update: Mandatory CUNY Cybersecurity Awareness Training Course | | |
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Beginning this year, all faculty and staff must complete the 40-minute Cybersecurity Awareness training annually. This course will help safeguard the security of our data against increasing cybersecurity risks, such as phishing attacks, spam, and hacked accounts, while providing best practices for safeguarding your data. You can access the course on Blackboard, under the "Organizations" tab. We encourage you to take it as soon as possible to protect the University's data, as well as your own. If you have any questions regarding the training, please contact Maritza Acero. | |
Students looking for enrollment services support can now access virtual office hours every Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Virtual One Stop takes place on Zoom and allows students to drop in and meet with staff from the Admissions, International Student Services, Registrar, Student Financial Services, Student Information Center, Transfer Credit Evaluation and Testing offices. | |
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Updates from LaGuardia’s Library | | |
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During intersession, the Library has reduced hours. Please see our full list of Library services and hours. | |
HUMAN RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL UPDATES | |
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In-Person New Employee Orientations Are Back!
We’re happy to announce the return of in-person new employee orientations. They’re a great way to help new employees feel more comfortable by learning more about LaGuardia’s history, values, work environment, culture, employee resources and more. Orientations are also a terrific opportunity for new employees to meet other newly hired colleagues and begin establishing strong working relationships.
Scheduled for September and October:
- September 25 – New Employee Orientation - Faculty and HEO Series
- October 2 – New Employee Orientation – Adjuncts
- October 9 – New Employee Orientation – All Classified Staff – Full and Part Time
Save the date that applies to you. More information will follow in future issues of Campus Update and other College communications channels.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact Human Resources at HRHelp@lagcc.cuny.edu or at (718) 482-5075.
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Reminder: Remote Work Agreement in Effect | |
As we prepare to welcome students back to campus over the next few weeks, please keep in mind that beginning Monday, August 12, staff members are required to work 70% of the time in person, just as in Spring 2024 and Fall 2023. This means seven in-person days and three remote days for every two weeks that full-time staff work. The remote work agreement is currently in effect through June 30, 2025. Completed and signed remote work agreements are due to Human Resources by Friday, September 13. Please see the email delivered on Monday, August 12 with the subject line "New Remote Work Agreement w/ Schedule A&B Option for 70/30" for more information. You can also review the CUNY Flexible Work Arrangements to learn more. If you have any questions, please speak to your supervisor, or contact Human Resources at HRHelp@lagcc.cuny.edu or at (718) 482-5075. | |
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Security Alert: Guard Against Increasing Phishing Email Attacks
There has been an increase in phishing attacks directed at CUNY from a variety of Gmail accounts. Most are of the familiar job scam variety which students are prone to acting on. CUNY/CIS teams are working with Microsoft to block these attacks, which are not “spammy” or “phishy” in nature so they aren’t automatically blocked by email security measures. CUNY/CIS urges all to guard against responding to potential phishing emails, as well as to communicate with colleagues and students to generate greater awareness about the scam increase.
Recommended User Actions Include:
- DO NOT reply to unexpected or unusual emails.
- DO NOT reply to emails with personal information or passwords.
- DO NOT click links or open attachments in unsolicited emails.
- DO read the CUNY Ransomware and Phishing Advisories.
- DO complete security awareness training at security.cuny.edu.
If you suspect you’ve received a suspicious or phishing email, please forward it to spam@lagcc.cuny.edu. Do not forward it to the LAG Information Technology Division or other group distribution lists or employees, including IT personnel. If you already responded to a phishing email, immediately contact our IT HelpDesk by submitting a ticket through the Faculty & Staff Portal or by email at ITHelp@lagcc.cuny.edu, or call 718-482-6134. If you have questions, please contact LaGuardia's Information Security team.
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LAGUARDIA IN THE HEADLINES | |
"Campus Update" is produced and published by the Communications and External Affairs Division. Faculty and staff who wish to submit items for publication can email CampusUpdate@lagcc.cuny.edu. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday to be considered for publication on Wednesday. |
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