CSI Today

As we look toward the upcoming fall semester and a return to campus, we would like to provide you with some important updates regarding your fall textbook orders. Presently, we are still seeing some delays in the publishing supply chain and therefore want to encourage students to order their textbooks as soon as possible. A communication will be sent out shortly encouraging students to order their fall textbooks early. 

In order to ensure that students have their textbooks as early possible, we are asking for all book orders for the fall to be in at least two weeks before the start of classes on Wednesday, Aug. 25. This will allow us to account for any possible shipping and processing delays and give students ample time to order their books and have them shipped to them so they can have all the necessary materials for the first day of class. Ordering early will also give us a better chance of getting used copies for a lower price, which we can pass on to students.

All book orders should be placed via email to one of the bookstore managers, Nicole Kempster (nicole.kempster@csi.cuny.edu) or Erika Means (erika.means@csi.cuny.edu​) who will enter your book list into the bookstore system and Website. Any orders placed with the bookstore will also be added to your course on CUNYfirst, though it can take one to two weeks for the lists to be updated. This will ensure that your course is compliant with the Higher Education Opportunity Act.  

Thanks to all who have already submitted their fall orders. Your timeliness will help your students be better prepared and avoid any delays that could keep them from succeeding in your course. If you’d like to confirm your order, or have any questions about your order, please feel free to contact us at any time. 

By the CSI Bookstore Team

The Office of Student Life is in the process of planning its Fall Involvement Fair. Our hope is to offer a hybrid experience for students, with both a virtual fair and an in-person fair. In order to determine your offices/programs comfort with this model, we ask that you please complete a brief online survey. 

Thank you in advance. 

By Debi Kee

As the summer comes to a close and we prepare together for a safe and smooth return to campus, we would like to provide you with some information regarding parking guidelines and policies for the upcoming year.

Over the past year, we have implemented a parking program that allows all decal sales and transactions to be performed online. This system will make obtaining your parking decal easier and will certainly provide for a smoother transition back to campus.

Fall 2021 decals will be available for purchase on Monday, August 16,^, 2021. Decals will be sold by semester ONLY and will expire on Jan. 31, 2022. If you are returning to campus and would like to obtain a parking decal, please visit our Website.  

All returning faculty/staff members with a previous decal that expired on Aug. 31, 2020, will have a pro-rated charge on their account for the upcoming semester. Please note that all 2019/2020 decal credits will expire on Aug. 31, 2022. 

Once you have completed your registration and payment information, you will receive further instructions on how to receive your decal.  

If you are new to the campus community, please feel free to contact our office for further information on how to obtain your parking decal or visit our Website for more information.

We are also pleased to announce an additional option for the CSI community. Beginning in Fall 2021, you will have the opportunity to purchase a “Daily Parking Pass.”Our daily parking pass will also be available to visitors and/or students, faculty, and staff looking to access amenities on campus. Please visit our Website to purchase a daily pass. 

All students and faculty/staff who park their vehicles on campus three or more times a semester are required to purchase and display a valid CSI parking decal.

Please feel free to contact our office if you have any additional questions or concerns.
 
Stay healthy and safe.  We look forward to seeing you in the Fall.

By the Office of Parking & DolphinCard Services

The Food Pantry will be open this week on Tuesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 29 from 10:30am to 1:00pm. 

The Office of Student Life would like to remind you that the CSI Food Pantry will continue to be an available resource on campus. If you or a student you know is having difficulties finding food to eat during this challenging time, CSI has a non-perishable Food Pantry that was created to help provide assistance for our students. The pantry remains available to our campus community by appointment only.  ​

​The 2021 Summer CSI Food Pantry APPOINTMENT HOURS will be from 10:30am to 1:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you need to make an appointment, please fill out the link below and someone from the Office of Student Life will contact you. Appointments must be made by 4:30 pm on the Monday and Wednesday before the Food Pantry is open. Please note, if the dates and times listed above do not work for your schedule or if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at studentlife@csi.cuny.edu. 

All CUNY campus locations (including CSI) require that all faculty, staff, and students download and complete the Everbridge Health Checker app before coming to campus. This simple Symptom Checker can and should be accessed from your mobile phone each day before your visit to campus. After a brief one-time setup of the Everbridge app, the daily Symptom Checker takes less than two minutes to complete. It is an important reminder to consider whether you have symptoms of or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 before you enter any CUNY facility. You will need to Login using your CUNY Login credentials: (Username: Firstname.Lastname@login.cuny.edu).  

For more information about CUNY’s policy on Campus re-entry or on the Everbridge App, please go online.

By Carol Brower

The Technology Training Center will continue to offer weekly training sessions on the applications to assist you with your telecommuting efforts. Please use our Registration page to register for any of the sessions. 

If there is a topic that you would like to have covered in the future, please contact us, and we will do our best to assist you. We can also customize and provide group training to meet your departmental needs. 

Please note that this schedule is fluid, and we may add or cancel training sessions, as needed, to serve the College community better.

We look forward to working with you.

Be well.

By Doriann Pieve-Hyland

As the new semester approaches, I know you have many questions about what the return to campus will look like this fall. Next Wednesday, July 28, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm, representatives from the Office of Student Affairs and Health and Wellness Services will be hosting a virtual town hall to address questions about CUNY’s vaccine policy, campus preparedness, and other issues related to the return to campus.  
​Please register online.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. ​We hope that you will be able to participate.

We look forward to addressing your questions and concerns. 

By​ ​Jennifer S. Borrero, JD 

Deadline Extension: Friday, July 23: CUNY OER Grant Request for Proposals:

For the fifth consecutive year, CUNY has released a request for proposals to campus faculty for grant funding to further the reach of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses for our students. Over the past four years of this initiative, CSI students across more than 12 departments have saved more than $1.33M in textbook costs. We invite you to apply for this grant for the 2021-2022 academic year. Proposals need only be less than one page, as they will be aggregated into a single campus proposal by the Library and submitted to the CUNY Office of Library Services. The grant funds conversion of courses to OER, as well as potential OER projects on a case-by-case basis. 

Please see the online RFP for submission requirements and details. For further information on OER, please view the Library’s guide, and please direct any questions to Prof. Christina Boyle, Emerging Technologies Librarian and OER Coordinator at christina.boyle@csi.cuny.edu.

By the Division of Academic Affairs