News

Message from the Interim President on Fall 2020 Reopening "To protect the health and well-being of all members of our community, BMCC will deliver the vast majority of instruction and support services from a distance in Fall 2020," said Interim President Karrin E. Wilks in an August 10 email message to the BMCC Community. "Over 98 percent of class sections will be delivered online, and nearly all support services including admissions, advising, tutoring, counseling, career development, the library and Single Stop will be delivered online." To read the message in its entirety, visit the BMCC website.

BMCC Is Education Provider for Apprenticeship Program With Zurich North America
Zurich North America is expanding its professional apprenticeship program to NYC, with BMCC as the education provider. Apprentices earn a full-time salary and benefits, including health insurance and 401(k) matching, and pay no tuition while earning a certification in General Insurance and Associate in Business Management degree.

What is BMCC Navigate? Check it out! BMCC Navigate is an interactive tool that guides and empowers students to take action on critical activities to be successful at BMCC. It also offers a variety of resources and customized information related to financial aid, advisement, orientation, college deadlines and more to help students manage and get the most out of their college experience. BMCC faculty and staff, please encourage students to utilize the Navigate e-tools. As students continue with distance learning it’s important that we provide opportunities for remote student engagement and support to keep them connected and on their path to graduation. Students can download Navigate at the Apple App Store or Google Play. After downloading, students use their CUNYfirst username and password to log in. From there, students can start exploring Navigate, customize preferences to receive notifications and reminders, and review the To-Do list to stay on top of important tasks. For questions about BMCC Navigate, contact Niala Seetahal at (212) 776-6458 or nseetahal@bmcc.cuny.edu. Visit the BMCC Navigate website to learn more.

Announcements

Learn How BMCC Is Being Reimagined for Fall 2020
BMCC will follow CDC and New York State Department of Health guidelines in the opening of campus buildings. To protect the health of the college community, the majority of BMCC classes will be delivered from a distance for the Fall 2020 semester. Learn more about how BMCC is being reimagined.

Learn More About BMCC’s Academic and Career Communities Academic and Career Communities provide students with information on career pathways related to their academic and social interests. They also provide students with opportunities to engage with faculty, staff and peers along their educational journey. Hundreds of faculty, staff and students provided feedback to create the communities as part of BMCC’s Designing for Success strategic planning process.

Summer Blood Drives Scheduled August 19 at BMCC
BMCC will host blood drives at the BMCC Express Center, 255 Greenwich Street, from 12 to 6 p.m. on August 19. For more information, email Health Services Director Penny Jordan at pjordan@bmcc.cuny.edu. To schedule an appointment, click here.

STUDENTS: Virtual Learning Resource Center (LRC) Is Ready to Help The LRC provides online tutoring, academic coaching and more. Students can meet virtually with certified tutors and academic coaches. Faculty can access the LRC's Online Services Orientation for a demo of virtual LRC services for students.

Bursar Holds Removed for BMCC Students  
While balances incurred before Spring 2020 must be paid in full to register for Summer and Fall 2020 semesters, there will be no bursar’s hold on balances up to $4,000 incurred during Spring 2020. For more information, please contact Bursar@bmcc.cuny.edu.

Compliance and Diversity Policies: Equity Is our Strength
BMCC policies protect equal educational and employment opportunity and prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment. These policies may also apply to online and off-campus incidents. If you have experienced or witnessed unlawful discrimination and harassment, you can report it to the Office of Compliance and Diversity.

Campus Planning and Facilities

Limited Building Access
The Office of Campus Planning and Facilities is unable to accommodate individual requests for access to BMCC campus buildings. Thank you for your cooperation. Please follow the Governor’s directive to stay home and help us stop the spread of this deadly virus.

Enrollment

STUDENTS: Virtual Admissions and Enrollment Services Can Assist You To keep everyone safe and healthy, admissions and enrollment services have transitioned to an online-only format. Students can explore online the many resources BMCC has to offer, and they are welcome to reach out by email, phone or text. They can also join zoom sessions for more assistance:

• ADMISSIONS. Students with questions including how to complete the BMCC application or apply as a readmit can zoom with an admissions specialist on Tuesdays, 2 p.m. or Thursdays, 10 a.m. 
• REGISTRATION. Students with questions including how to register for a class or change their class schedule can zoom with a registration specialist on Tuesdays, 10 a.m., Wednesdays, 2 p.m. or Thursdays, 2 p.m.
• FINANCIAL AID. Students with questions including how to file a FASFA, loans and TAP can zoom with a financial aid specialist on Mondays, 10 a.m., Mondays, 2 p.m. or Wednesdays, 10 a.m.

Virtual Chat with a Campus Tour Guide While COVID-19 might prevent our traditional on-campus tours, college tour guides are available via Zoom on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. to engage students in a conversation about the BMCC experience.

Say Hello to the Admissions Office on Social Media We appreciate your likes, follows and thumbs up.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat

Making Headlines

Alumna Ihssane Leckey runs for seat in the Massachusetts 4th Congressional District 
August 10, 2020 — Massachusetts Patch

Professor Schneur Zalman Newfield weighs in on the Netflix series Unorthdox
August 10, 2020 — allevents.in

Human Resources

BMCC Staff Required to Watch Return-to-Work Video
Before returning to campus, all staff must view a training video on Blackboard and each day before their shift, complete a Daily Staff Screening. If the staff person answers "Yes" to any question in that screening, they must immediately inform their supervisor and Human Resources via email and will not be permitted to enter BMCC.

Payroll Distribution: August 20
Please bring your own pen to sign the registry when you visit 199 Chambers Street, Breezeway 2 South, to pick up your paper check on August 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. only.

Deadline for all Employees to Take Mandatory Training Extended to August 14
Per New York State law, full- and part-time CUNY employees must complete these online trainings by August 14: The Employee Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course (ESPARC) and Workplace Violence Training (WPV). Please log into CUNY Blackboard to access each course. For help disabling pop-ups or other assistance, contact Maria Deckinger, mdeckinger@bmcc.cuny.edu or Lori Mazzola, lmazzola@bmcc.cuny.edu.

How to Receive Paychecks or Pay Stubs by Mail
To receive paychecks by mail, send several self-addressed, stamped envelopes to: Bursar-Payroll Distribution Unit,199 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007. To receive pay stubs by mail, send several self-addressed, stamped envelopes to: HR Pay-stub Distribution, 199 Chambers Street, NY, NY 10007.

Claim Paychecks Before They Expire
Employees who have not picked up paper paychecks issued from January through March are urged to email, as soon as possible, officeofhumanresources@bmcc.cuny.edu, and have the checks mailed out before they expire.

Sign up for Direct Deposit or Suspend Transit Benefit Deductions
It's easy! Complete the Direct Deposit form or Transit Benefit form and send to: officeofhumanresources@bmcc.cuny.edu

Alumni and Donors

An Easy Way to Make a Positive Impact
Interested in helping BMCC with our mission but feel anxious about possibly outliving your assets? A simple way to ensure that we can continue our life-changing work for years to come is a gift in your will or living trust, known as a charitable bequest. A charitable bequest is a written declaration that a donation be made to BMCC Foundation. You may indicate the purpose and use of your bequest; such as scholarships, food insecurity or general needs. For more information or a confidential conversation, please contact Phillip Keefe, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at (212) 346-8650 or pkeefe@bmcc.cuny.edu. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Use your IRA-Qualified Charitable Distribution to Help During this Time of Student Need 
The CARES Act of March 2020 waives the requirement for IRA owners to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) in 2020. However, the Qualified Charitable Distribution allowance (QCD), for donors 70½ or older is still in force, and the annual limit remains at $100,000. This means that at age 70½, you can still help students and use your IRA to make a QCD of up to $100,000 for the year.

Calendar

Last-Minute Interest Session (BMCC Admissions)
August 13

Coffee, Startups and Innovation
August 19

Degree Under Three Information Session
August 19

Connect with BMCC

@BMCC is produced and published by the Office of Public Affairs.

Faculty and staff: Submit items for consideration in an upcoming @BMCC to publicaffairs@bmcc.cuny.edu by 12 noon, Wednesday.