UPDATED Support Services for Students

May 4, 2020

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

Listed below are some of the most important support services available to our students—all available remotely this spring. (Updates to the version circulated in early February are in red and on-campus contact in formations has been crossed out.) Please feel free to share with your students as finals approach and to follow up yourselves for more information. What follows are brief descriptions with contact information (in alphabetical order) for:

Baruch College Honors Programand Macaulay Honors College at Baruch
The Baruch College Ombuds
Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute
The Campus Intervention Team (CIT)
Counseling Center
Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising
Office of Undergraduate Advisement and Orientation
SACC– Student Academic Consulting Center – the College’s tutoring center
The Starr Career Development Center
Student Disability Services(SDS)
Tools for Clear Speech(TfCS)
William & Anita Newman Library
The Writing Center

Baruch College Honors Program and Macaulay Honors College at Baruch (137 East 25^th St., Suite 306; 646 312-2122) Working remotely, see the Honors Staff page to sign up for a Zoom appointment.

In addition to serving approximately 300 Macaulay Honors College students at Baruch, the Honors Program invites students to join Honors once at Baruch through the general education-focused Provost Scholar program or the research-based Inquiry Scholar program. Honors courses encompass Macaulay Honors courses and Honors sections of regular courses. More information can be found on the Honors webpage or by mailing Baruch.Honors@baruch.cuny.edu. To learn more about teaching in Honors or reviewing Honors applications, contact Dr. Jody Clark Vaisman, director (Jody.Vaisman@baruch.cuny.edu), or 646 312-2122.

The Baruch College Ombuds (NVC 8-283 Ombuds: 646-312-3815; NVC 7-263 Assistant to the Ombuds: 646-312-3974) Students, faculty, and staff can contact the Ombuds:

Mindy.engle-friedman@baruch.cuny.edu or glenda.hydler@baruch.cuny.edu

The Ombuds office offers a confidential, neutral, and independent resource for faculty, staff, and students within the Baruch College community to voice concerns about conflicts that arise between members of the College. The Ombuds does not share information concerning any case unless permission is given by the person who brings the concern to the office. The Ombuds does not maintain permanent records of individual cases. While the Ombuds provides support to those who bring conflicts to their attention, the Ombuds has no power to create or change Baruch College policy or rules. The Baruch College Ombudspersons are Prof. Mindy Engle-Friedman, Ombuds, and Glenda Hydler, Assistant to the Ombuds. Please feel free to contact them if you have questions.

Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute (137 East 25^th St., Room 315A; 646-312-2068)
Although the Schwartz Communication Institute is not a stand-alone destination for the general student body, students working on communication-intensive assignments can use our online model speech and model slide resources for effective oral and visual communication. More broadly, the Schwartz Communication Institute works directly with faculty to devise customized course-support partnerships, often including supplemental support for students to practice and develop the communication skills they’re learning in your class. We welcome the opportunity to explore new course partnerships! Students and faculty can learn more about our work at blsci.baruch.cuny.edu or be in touch with the director, Dr. Meechal Hoffman, who can be reached at Meechal.Hoffman@baruch.cuny.edu. Our course support partnerships are in effect, with necessary augmentation, during the current period of remote learning.

The Campus Intervention Team (CIT) works together as a support system to provide assistance to students in crisis. Any member of the college community (faculty, students, staff) can reach out to the CIT to report a concern about a student. The CIT is constituted to assist in providing support for students in crisis. (Faculty or staff concerns should be reported to the Office of the Provost or to Human Resources, respectively.) Concerned faculty, staff or students may fill out an Incident Communication Formif they have noticed student behavior which is perceived to be harmful to the student him/herself or to others, including: Unusual or erratic behavior in class; Extended absence from class by a typically engaged student; Written work with troubling themes or references; Verbal or written threats made by a student toward another student; Written or verbal expressions of suicidal ideation; Messages on social media with concerning language; Other actions which cause an alarm or call into question the safety of the student or his/her peers. All reports are confidential and will be handled by members of the CIT. To alert the CIT to a concern, complete and submit the Incident Communication Form. A member of the team will receive and review your submission. Please note that you may be contacted for follow-up information. Members of the CIT may be emailed at cit@baruch.cuny.edu or call us at 646-312-4570.

Counseling Center (137 E. 25^th Street, 9^th floor; 646-312-2155)

Through culturally sensitive counseling, psychological services, and outreach, the Counseling Center assists students in achieving their academic, professional, and personal goals. Counselors work collaboratively with students to improve their emotional well-being, balance priorities, enhance interpersonal relationships, and empower them with useful coping skills to attain success in and out of the classroom. Counseling services to students include intake assessments, short-term individual psychotherapy, group therapy, psychiatric medication evaluations and treatment, emergency and crisis intervention, outreach, internal and external referrals to other services, and consultations for faculty and staff. The director of the Counseling Center is Dr. Teresa Hurst. The Counseling Center is up and running during this time of distance learning. Students interested in COVID-19 support sessions or needing individual support, should email the Counseling Center at counseling@baruch.cuny.edu.

Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising (137 East 25^th St., Room 1027A; 646-312-2126)

Baruch’s Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising provides assistance to all Baruch undergraduate and graduate students in developing their potential as candidates for nationally competitive fellowships. Nationally competitive fellowships provide funding opportunities to help students realize their goals. There are fellowships to fund study abroad; to fund professional development opportunities; to gain research experience; to fund graduate school; and to work for the good of their community. More information is available at http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/fellowships/. The Office is open and able to meet with students via Zoom or by Phone. Zoom Meeting ID: https://baruch.zoom.us/j/6851929996. Students are also welcome to email the Fellowships Advisor with any questions or requests for support by contacting, Valeria Hymas(Valeria.Hymas@baruch.cuny.edu).

Office of Undergraduate Advisement and Orientation (NVC 5-215; 646-312-4260)

The Office of Undergraduate Advisement and Orientation provides comprehensive academic advisement to all Baruch undergraduates. The advisement staff promotes student-centered partnerships that encourage and support students both in their academic success and in meeting academic and personal goals. We are dedicated to helping students transition into college and navigate their academic careers. Our many programs include: early intervention programs for first-year transfers and freshmen, new student advisement sessions, academic probation workshops, and one-on-one advisement sessions. Our advisement activities include: walk-in advisement, student peer advisement, worksheet appointments, and e-advisement. We sponsor events and programs, such as the Majors/Minors Fair. We encourage and support students with information and strategies for utilizing the resources and services available at the college. The director of the Office of Undergraduate Advisement and Orientation is Sharon Ricks. For more information, call 646-312-4260, or send an email to academic.advisement@baruch.cuny.edu. We also encourage you to visit our website at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/undergraduate-advisement-and-orientation/.

SACC – Student Academic Consulting Center – the College’s tutoring center (NVC 2-116; 646-312-4830)

SACC supports the academic success of undergraduates at Baruch College through small group peer tutoring and other programs, serving students in a wide variety of subjects across the curriculum. The Center’s primary mission is to help students succeed during their college years and beyond by helping them develop as active, independent learners who possess the knowledge and skills necessary for both academic and workplace success. SACC also coordinates the summer and winter math immersion programs. Beginning March 19, all SACC programs have moved online. Tutoring, workshops, PLTL, and recitations are all happening in Zoom and should be accessed through AdvisorTrac by going to the SACC website and clicking the link that says “manage your appointments online.” If you need help, you can visit SACC’s Virtual Front Desk during posted hours, or email us at sacc@baruch.cuny.edu. The first step to accessing everything you need is to visit the SACC website at baruch.cuny.edu/sacc.

The Starr Career Development Center (NVC 2-150, careerdc@baruch.cuny.edu)

The Starr Career Development Center (Starr) helps provide the services, resources, networks, information and opportunities students need to choose their major, launch successful careers and or apply to graduate school. Starr is now operating 100% remotely. Starr supports students with online videos, virtual career counseling, virtual resume reviews and mock interviews, online employment expos and fairs, and new jobs posted daily. Since Starr moved its services online, it launched a series of Instagram Live sessions featuring employers and staff. We also offers approximately 300 workshops, employer information sessions and programs each year that facilitate students’ professional development and nurtures their knowledge of companies and industries. To access all webinars, appointments, job fairs, and internship/job opportunities, students can log on to Starr Search, the online career management portal, located on our new website at https://studentaffairs.baruch.cuny.edu/starr-career-development-center/ Starr Search houses a free video mock interview module and online portals such as FOCUS 2 where students can take free career assessments, VAULT where students can research companies and career paths, and GoinGlobal where students can learn about international job/internship opportunities. In addition, Starr runs a variety of award winning professional development programs such as Peers for Careers, Rising Starr Sophomore Program (RSSP), Passport to Partnership Program (P2P) for Accounting Sophomores/Juniors, Financial Leadership Program (FLP), and the Max Berger Pre-Law Program. Starr is proud to launch the Technology Leadership Development Program for students interested in the Tech Sector. For more information, please contact Dr. Ellen Stein, Director of the Starr Career Development Center at ellen.stein@baruch.cuny.edu.

Student Disability Services (SDS) disability.services@baruch.cuny.edu

Working remotely, SDS is committed to providing full access for individuals with disabilities to Baruch’s programs, services, and activities in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and the ADA Amendments of 2008. By advocating for and creating an accessible environment for students with disabilities, Baruch empowers students to become their own advocates. Once students have self-identified, applied for services, and provided documentation of their disability, our staff works to determine eligibility for academic adjustments and accommodations. Accommodations include but are not limited to: extended time for exams, less distractive testing environment, material in alternate format, assistive technology, notetaking services, sign language interpreters, and text/writing/reading software. Through our CUNY LEADS program we provide career counseling, resume assistance, interview skills workshops, and access to internships. Please refer students to Student Disability Services disability.services@baruch.cuny.edu. The director is Patricia Clarke Fleming, LMHC, CRC.

Tools for Clear Speech (TfCS) (17 Lex., Suite 1207; 646-660-6433)

The Tools for Clear Speech (TfCS) program improves the pronunciation, fluency, and pragmatic abilities of English language learners (ELLs) and non-native English speakers at Baruch College. Our participants achieve more effective and intelligible communication, developing skills that empower them to succeed in their classrooms, careers, and beyond. TfCS offers a range of in-person services with our professional Speech Consultants, including One-to-One Sessions, small-group Focused Skills Series sessions, large-group Overview Workshops, and a weekly Conversation Hour. In addition, participants can find extensive practice materials on our online platform Tools To-Go, and through our program podcast, Just to Be Clear. Visit the TfCS website at tfcs.baruch.cuny.edu for more information or email tfcs@baruch.cuny.edu. The TfCS director is Dennis (DJ) Dolack.

William & Anita Newman Library (Newman Library Building, 2^nd floor; 646-312-1610)

At this time all library services are provided virtually and are accessible through the Library’s web site: library.baruch.cuny.edu.

Newman Library provides a wide range of information resources and services for students with strong emphasis on assisting students individually and in groups with finding, using, and evaluating information for specific purposes. Library faculty members are available for scheduled consultations with students, creating guides for specific assignments and course topics, and offering drop-in assistance at the Reference Desk. As information literacy and subject specialists, Library faculty can provide in-class presentations for courses. The contact for these presentations is available by calling 646-312-1621 or by completing a form on the Library’s website at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/library/. Other services such as Reserves for course materials, laptop loans, and other forms of technology are also available.

The Writing Center (646-312-4012) http://writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu/
The Writing Center offers online, one-to-one writing support via text-based chat, audio sessions, and video conferencing; we also provide asynchronous written feedback by email. Our staff of professional writing consultants are all working remotely to support Baruch undergraduate and graduate students, and we hope faculty encourage students to make use of these services. In terms of our faculty support, our classroom visits and in-class workshops are temporarily unavailable, but we encourage faculty to use our workshop lesson plans and handouts in their classes:https://writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu/register/workshop-materials/. As always, we’re also available for conversations about writing pedagogy—if you have questions about responding to student writing in an online context, email the director, Diana Hamilton, at diana.hamilton@baruch.cuny.edu.

Dennis Slavin, PhD
Associate Provost and Assistant Vice President
Baruch College, CUNY
dennis.slavin@baruch.cuny.edu
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/provost/teaching_learning.htm