As you know from the news, many people are testing positive for COVID-19. This not only impacts the person who tests positive and has to isolate, but it also impacts those deemed close contacts who may now need to quarantine for a period of time. Some of our students missed finals or other end-of-year activities because they informed us of a positive test or were informed that they were in close contact with someone who tested positive. Given this situation, I am writing to remind those of you who had students in this situation of your options.
1. The student can work on a make-up exam immediately, or
2. the student can make arrangements with the instructor for an INC, and then take the final at a later time. These options offer leniency during this tough time. Some of the students who missed finals did so because they notified us of a positive test (or close contact) from a non-CUNY testing site. We want to encourage self reporting, so we should not unduly penalize students who had a COVID-related reason for missing finals.
I know this has been a challenging semester for many of you, and I appreciate your commitment to our students.
Thanks and I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday break.
By Michael Parrish
