Dear Graduate Students, Fall 2021 officially begins next *Wednesday, August 25*. Even as the pandemic continues to pose many hardships and challenges, we look forward to another semester of learning and being in community together, whether virtually or in-person. As always, Hillary and I are here to support you as best we can, so please don't hesitate to email us both if you have any questions or need advising. Please read carefully through these important beginning-of-the-semester announcements (attached and pasted below). We know you’re being inundated with emails about campus reopening, but it’s necessary to read them all closely, as QC and CUNY policies and procedures continue to evolve. FYI, for info and policies specific to the English MA program, please see our most recent handbook, attached here. For info regarding QC's general academic policies and procedures, please consult the Handbook for Graduate Students <https://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/GradStudies/Documents/Graduate-Handbook.pdf> . Hope you and yours are staying safe and taking care and that you're enjoying this last week of summer break, all things considered. Best, Caroline & Hillary, your Directors of Graduate Studies in English -- Dr. Caroline Kyungah Hong Associate Professor of English Director of Graduate Studies (English MA) Queens College, CUNY *she/her/hers* * Please note that I am off email on weekends and will respond to your email during business hours, Monday–Friday 9am–5pm, generally within 1–2 business days. -- *QC English MA Program* *Fall 2021 Announcements* *ACADEMIC CALENDAR* The Fall 2021 semester begins on *Wednesday, August 25*. You can find the QC academic calendar with important dates and deadlines at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/pages/calendar.aspx and the CUNY-wide calendar at https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-calendars/. The last day to DROP classes for a 100% tuition refund is *Tuesday, August 24*. The last day to ADD classes is *Tuesday, August 31*. Other important dates to keep in mind: § There are *no classes* scheduled on the following dates: o *Friday, September 3–Wednesday, September 8* (Rosh Hashanah and Labor Day) o *Wednesday, September 15–Thursday, September 16* (Yom Kippur) o *Monday, October 11* (Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day) o *Thursday, November 25–Sunday, November 28* (Thanksgiving weekend) § For students planning to graduate Fall 2021, the deadline to file for graduation via your CUNYfirst Student Center is *November 1*. § The last day of classes (and the last day to drop a course with a W grade) is *Monday, December 13*, and the Fall 2021 semester officially ends on December 21. *FALL 2021 ADVISING* Due to the pandemic, we will continue advising virtually this semester. If you have any questions or need help, please email BOTH of us to ensure the quickest possible response. Prof. Caroline Hong, Director of Graduate Studies (English MA) Email: caroline.hong@qc.cuny.edu Fall 2021 office hours: by email and by appointment via Zoom Prof. Hillary Miller, Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Email: hillary.miller@qc.cuny.edu Fall 2021 office hours: Wednesdays 11am–12pm and by appointment via Zoom; by email Email is the easiest and fastest way to reach us, but if you would like to request a virtual appointment (via Zoom or Google Meet), please email us with your availability and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please be sure to check your QC email regularly (or set up forwarding to your primary email), as the College and your professors may be communicating with you that way. For routine inquiries (e.g., for faculty contact info), please consult the English Department website at http://english.qc.cuny.edu/ or contact the English Department Office ( english@qc.cuny.edu). *CHECK (AND DOUBLE-CHECK) YOUR SCHEDULE* Before the semester begins, please take a moment to log-in to your CUNYfirst account and check that you’re registered for your courses. If for some reason your registration has been canceled by the Bursar, or if you’re registered for the wrong courses, it’s much easier to sort out any issues if they’re caught before the semester begins. For Fall 2021, most of our English MA courses will be taught online synchronously, with a few courses designated as hybrid (meaning they will sometimes meet in-person). When you check your schedule, please confirm the instruction modes for your courses. Note that, regardless of whether a course is designated as fully online or hybrid, *ALL QC classes will meet virtually on the first day*. If, by the first day of the semester, you haven’t yet heard from your professors about how to join and access their classes, please email them to request this information. Faculty contact info can be found on the department website at http://english.qc.cuny.edu/people/. *ADDING A COURSE AND REQUESTING AN OVERTALLY* If you are looking to add a fall course, there are still several classes with open seats, including ENGL 722, 724, 729, 781-03, and 781-04. Please review the updated course descriptions (see attached) and confirm current availability by checking the Schedule of Classes on CUNYfirst. If you wish to overtally into a course that is already closed, please email the professor and ask for their permission to overtally and/or to be placed on the class waiting list. Please keep in mind that instructors have no obligation to overtally you into classes once they’re full and that all instructor decisions are final. *VACCINATION VERIFICATION, TESTING, AND MASKING* A reminder that all CUNY students taking in-person or hybrid classes in Fall 2021 are required to be fully vaccinated, unless they’ve been granted a medical or religious exemption. If you haven’t already, please be sure to *upload your proof of vaccination to CUNYfirst* and *set up your Everbridge VaxPass* in order to have access to campus (see attached instructions). If you are unvaccinated or have not yet uploaded proof of vaccination to CUNYfirst, you should receive an email from Cleared4.org about how to enroll in the testing program (see testing FAQs at https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-testing-program-facultyandstaff-fa...). Unvaccinated students will need to get tested by Monday, August 23, in order to access campus on the first day of classes. Please also keep in mind that, for now, *everyone is required to wear a mask* indoors on campus, regardless of vaccination status, except when briefly eating or drinking while maintaining social distancing. Everyone is also required to mask outdoors on campus when unable to maintain social distancing. All of the above was outlined in a recent email from the CUNY Chancellor, which you can read at https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/university-updates/urgent-info-on-testing-m.... Please note that pandemic-related policies and procedures may continue to evolve, so be sure to check your QC email address regularly for updates and important announcements. Up-to-date pandemic-related info for CUNY can also be found at https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/. *QC HUB* The QC Hub is a centralized location where you can get answers to questions or resolve any issues related to financial aid, registration, student records, and other bureaucratic matters. You can reach them via email at QCHub@qc.cuny.edu or live-chat with them by clicking on the “Live Support!” link at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/registrar/Pages/Welcome.aspx. If you contact the QC Hub and don’t get a response within a week, please let us know so we can follow up. *INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (ITS)* If you experience any online account issues or other tech-related problems, please contact ITS for help ( https://www.qc.cuny.edu/computing/Pages/New.aspx). You can request an on-campus appointment at https://bit.ly/ITS_ServiceDesk, live chat with them via their website above, submit a ticket at https://support.qc.cuny.edu, call them at 718-997-4444, or email them at support@qc.cuny.edu. You can also find some common student tech issues and solutions at https://support.qc.cuny.edu/support/solutions/15000043651. *QCARD* The QCard is your official QC student ID, and you will need it to gain access throughout campus. If you don’t already have a QCard, you can find info on how to obtain one at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/online/qcard/Pages/gettingyourc... and book an appointment to get your card at https://bit.ly/QCard_Appointments. *ROSENTHAL LIBRARY AND ZOOM ZONES* Rosenthal Library (https://library.qc.cuny.edu/) is open by appointment only. There are also designated areas in the library for studying and for joining online classes. As these spaces are limited, we suggest making reservations ASAP at https://qc-cuny.libcal.com/r/new.