Preparing and Partnering Starts Now With CCPP  

Infusing the academic curriculum with career education and workplace exposure has been a core component of Guttman’s experiential education model since the College was founded over a decade ago. Today, the College’s Center for Career Preparation and Partnerships (CCPP) is innovating to ensure students of every major have the critical thinking and industry-specific tools they need for greater options and agility in the ever-changing world of work.

On Nov. 9, CCPP collaborated with Women of GRIT to host a LinkedIn workshop. Students created and enhanced their professional profiles, thanks to free headshots taken by Guttman’s student Media Club. Participants gained insights and actionable tips on the potential of networking for their future success. Additionally, students selected some brand-new complimentary professional attire to further empower their career journeys. Networking was again the focus of CCPP’s "Cookies, Cider, and Careers" event on Nov. 16, organized by Tasreen Rahman, Internship Coordinator. Combining cookie decorating, hot cider, and career exploration turned out to be a fun and informal way for students to mingle with guest panelists in technology, film, banking, and nonprofits, many of whom are Guttman and CUNY alumni.

The new Information Technology Internship Program Orientation launched on Nov. 14 with the help of CCPP’s Internship Manager, Shaina Davis. Actively participating in career readiness sessions, prospective graduates prepare for their upcoming internships. Noteworthy partner organizations from past collaborations that have provided invaluable opportunities for our IT interns include Phipps Houses, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, Coexist Gaming, Progress Tech Solutions, and others. 



On Wednesday, Nov. 15, CCPP partnered with Guttman’s Immigrant Success Initiative to host “Professional Development Opportunities for Undoc Students.” Two John Jay Alum presented to Guttman staff and students and shared valuable insight on how to seek out paid work experience opportunities as an undocumented student, build their own brand, network to create a community, and more. By providing examples from their personal experiences, they helped students feel less alone and more empowered to start or strengthen their own professional development journeys.

Counting on Success: Guttman Does The Math 

While national pundits wring their hands over low math scores, Guttman math faculty do what they’ve always done: roll up their sleeves and get to work. Math instruction at Guttman has always utilized the brain-based and culturally-informed science of learning math, an approach backed by decades of research and evidence.   

Led by Math Program Coordinator Dr. Forest Fisher, Guttman math professors are using current student assessment data and studying data of the last ten years to design the appropriate interventions to solidify students’ basic skills and confidence in numeracy in Bridge and across their First Year Experience coursework. They work to increase students’ quantitative literacy in specific academic programs of study through college algebra, statistics and calculus.  

Guttman is a leader in CUNY’s first-year gateway math course completion, according to the University’s annual cross-system performance metrics. As part of the First-Year Experience program, students enroll in a math course aligned with their interests and educational goals during their first semester. “These courses will include embedded advising and tutoring,” said Dr. Shadi Ghaderi, Mathematics FYE Coordinator. 

“One of our five Guttman Learning Outcomes is Integrative Knowledge, which includes bolstering mathematical skills across disciplines, said Dr. Vivian Lim, Math Across the Curriculum (MAC) Coordinator. Two of Guttman's foundational courses for first-year students, AMST103: Introduction to Social Justice and AMST 203: Civic Engagement in a Global Society, engage students with both quantitative and qualitative approaches to examining issues of injustice and civic engagement. Each FYE instructional team has a mathematics area representative who supports their team in developing best practices for integrating relevant mathematics and key quantitative skills into students’ courses. Dr. Ghaderi provides ongoing professional development to the mathematics area reps targeted to specific quantitative-focused learning outcomes.  

Math strives to be ubiquitous around Guttman, creating and normalizing a sort of “math culture.” In addition to 24/7 tutoring, math opportunities abound on the College’s monthly calendar for all students to plug into weekly workshops and drop-in sessions offered by the Academic Success Center or to stop by the open Office Hours of math professor, Dr. Rebecca Walker, who publishes her weekly availability for any student on campus needing math support. Several Math faculty regularly employ mindfulness techniques within their classes, a practice introduced by Dr. Tashana Samuel who conducts research on math anxiety.  

“We also have our first cohort of five MAC Spring Fellows,” said Dr. Lim. “These are faculty representing different disciplines such as English Composition, Sociology and Urban Studies, who learn how to incorporate essential math concepts and skills into engaging course projects that deliver on course objectives. A second cohort of MAC Fellows will be named in Spring 2024 to expand faculty expertise in integrating mathematics across Guttman majors.” 

For incoming students, Guttman offers Math Start, a seven-week intensive pre-college program offered during summer and winter sessions, which prepares eligible associate degree-seeking students to increase their understanding of math, prepare for college-level coursework and meet CUNY’s math proficiency milestone. Guttman aims to increase the number of committed students who can achieve proficiency in math prior to matriculation.

OAA Sets Pace for Progress 

The College’s Office of Academic Affairs (OAA), located in the Guttman North building on 42nd St., is on a roll with new initiatives derived from a close study of over ten years’ worth of student success data since the College’s founding in 2012. Flowing from “Guttman Forward 2028,” the institution’s six-year Strategic Plan, the documents drafted by Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Nicola Blake and her team align with multi-year enrollment management targets. Currently, OAA is creating a six-day student-centered and comprehensive schedule with a three-year completion goal of incrementally offering 12 houses per academic year, with nine houses in the fall and three houses in the spring. In addition to new sixth-floor classrooms, the college is maximizing space at Guttman South to include student meeting spaces and improve corridor traffic flow.

Not only do OAA’s five new documents together comprise a defining map for the strategic growth of academic departments and programs, but according to Dr. Blake, “We’ve undergirded each of our plans with careful consideration to celebrating our students' strengths and breaking down the structural barriers to their success.” Below are highlights from each of the new plans:

• Academic Master Plan – Credit for prior learning, evening and weekend courses, online degree programs, improving classroom climate with Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) principles and Culturally Relevant Pedagogical (CRP) strategies 
• Career Innovation Hub Roadmap – Credit-bearing certificate programs that align with in-demand careers, curriculum-embedded career preparation, deepened industry partnerships 
• Assessment Plan – Implement Middle States Commission of Higher Education (MSCHE) recommendations such as: greater emphasis on direct assessment of student learning, use assessment results for improving educational effectiveness, offer departments and programs ample opportunity to engage in analysis, reflection, change implementation, and impact evaluation 
• Pre-College Plan – Expand Guttman’s offering of College Now in Spring and Fall semesters for NYCPS high school students across the five boroughs to earn at least three credits in college-level coursework prior to matriculation, explore adoption of CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP) to support students’ English language literacy skills and LINCT to Success, a college access, transition, and success program addressing pandemic learning disruption   
• Global Connections Plan – Details yet to come!

Guttman Granted NSF

EAGER Award

The National Science Foundation awarded the College a $197K Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER). The grant will support the innovative development of the Certificate in Cybersecurity and an Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology degree in response to the sector-specific needs of Guttman’s partners at the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA). Read more.