Dear Faculty,
What a spring it’s been! We know wrapping up our last Blackboard semester while prepping for Brightspace rollout this summer has kept everyone busy, and we are all learning more about our new LMS each day. We hope you can take a minute to celebrate all your progress so far!
Speaking of celebrating, there’s still time to sign up to participate with commencement preparations or at the in-person ceremony on May 23rd! Sharing this proud moment with students can be a great reminder of the meaning and the impact of our work together.
Brightspace Updates
Brightspace Day in May
All students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for Brightspace Day in May on Wednesday, May 15th, 2024!
The OFDIT Team will facilitate activities during virtual sessions for faculty (10am-12pm and 2-4pm) to ready you for a smooth transition to our new learning management system, Brightspace. Drop by and take the opportunity to log in, explore the environment, and ask us anything!
Brightspace Open Office Hours
Throughout the month of May, OFDIT is also offering Open Office Hours in morning, afternoon, and early evening sessions. Drop by office hours as often as you like to get a question answered! Check our Brightspace Office Hours page for the weekly schedule and the link to join.
CUNY Instructor Training Series Continues
In addition to exploring our asynchronous, self-paced training mini-course, Brightspace Essentials, you can attend CUNY Central’s ongoing series of facilitated training sessions, which focus on getting started, creating quizzes, engaging students, the Brightspace gradebook, and more! Register for as many sessions as you like – you’ll receive a recording of the session in case your schedule changes or just as a helpful reference later on. Central also maintains a YouTube channel playlist of training sessions.
Brightspace launches May 29 for summer courses! For more information visit the CUNY SPS LMS Transition site or email brightspace@sps.cuny.edu.
Events and Announcements for SPS Faculty
OFDIT Faculty Advisory Board:
Nominations for 2024-26
Interested in serving on the OFDIT Faculty Advisory Board in the next two academic years? The Advisory Board plays an important role in planning and organizing OFDIT events, and guides the direction of our programming and activities.
If you are interested or would like to nominate someone else, please fill out our nomination form. We are looking for new members to join our board in the fall and would value your participation. Thank you!
2024 CUNY SPS Adjunct Faculty
Teaching Excellence Prize
Congratulations to SPS faculty Jill Johnson, who teaches in the Psychology program and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with the 2024 CUNY SPS Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award this May! Her skill at supporting success in statistical methods and Senior Capstone courses was recognized as key contributions to the program and student achievement. We are proud to work with such dedicated and adept instructors here at SPS!
Universal Design for Learning Series
If you missed the CUNY Office of Student Inclusion Initiatives and Disability Program’s Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles to Your Teaching series, you can still learn more about providing multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression into course design, instructional materials, teaching methods, and assessments. Check out the session slides and recordings and get inspired as you prep your summer and fall courses!
Entering Final Grades in CUNYFirst
Finally, as you get ready to wrap up the Spring semester, you can refer to this guide for entering final grades into CUNYFirst. If you have questions or encounter technical issues with CUNYFirst, helpdesk@sps.cuny.edu is available to assist.
As always, OFDIT is here to help! We are available for one-on-one support and are also happy to schedule a Zoom call to discuss any questions you may have. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at facultysupport@sps.cuny.edu.
All the Best,
Your OFDIT Team
