Dear Graduate Students, Hope your spring semesters are winding down as smoothly as they can, given these tough circumstances. I'm making slow progress through my email inbox but still woefully behind. If you've emailed recently and it's been over a week, feel free to follow up. And as always, if you have any questions or need advising, please continue to email BOTH me and Bill (worchard@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:worchard@qc.cuny.edu>), so that whichever one of us is able to can reply first. Please read on for some important end-of-the-semester announcements and updates. Also look out for an announcement soon re: virtual grad festivities! Update on CR/NC Flexible Grading Policy for Spring 2020 Through June 25, all CUNY students can opt for CR/NC instead of letter grades in any or all of their courses. You can find info and instructions on how to choose this option here<https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/credit-no-credit-policy/student-information/>. For English MA students, I encourage you to consider this option if you receive a letter grade lower than a B, since you need to maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in good standing in our program. If you have questions about how this might impact your financial aid or professional certification, please contact the relevant offices or advisors. Taking an INC If you're unable to complete a final course assignment and want to take an incomplete, please discuss and make arrangements with your professor. Keep in mind that an incomplete is a temporary grade and should be resolved ASAP. All INCs must be completed within 1 calendar year (so an INC in Spring 2020 must be resolved before the end of Spring 2021). Registering for Summer and Fall 2020 Classes Please register for your summer and fall classes ASAP, if you haven't already. Courses that are underenrolled will be under extra scrutiny and in danger of being canceled by the College administration. Just in case, I've attached the course descriptions again. FYI, our department has decided that all fall English courses will be online. We made this decision because, due to the pandemic, we anticipate that it still won't be safe enough for us to meet in our small, poorly ventilated classrooms or commute to campus via public transit. We also didn't want to wait till the last minute to make the call, so that we (and you) could begin to prepare. Faculty teaching online will be participating in trainings in online teaching pedagogies over the summer. Unlike this semester, when the move to distance learning was sudden and unexpected, faculty will now have the opportunity to better prepare to teach online. In CUNYfirst, course info will be updated so you can see how your courses will be taught. "Synchronous" means that the course will be taught via videoconferencing at the scheduled times. "Asynchronous" means that the course will be taught mostly at your own pace, with set deadlines, lectures posted online, and discussions in online forums. Some professors will choose to do a combination of these two things, and in the next few weeks we will post this info in the "notes" for courses in CUNYFirst. If you have questions about your specific classes, as each class may look a bit different in terms of the schedule, workload, and online platforms/apps used, I suggest reaching out to your individual professors (you can find their email addresses on our department website<http://english.qc.cuny.edu/people/>). Registering for ENGL 791 and 795 If you're planning to write your thesis essay or take an independent study in the fall, you should've already been in touch with me and/or Bill and also already asked the faculty members you'd like to work with. If you have questions or need copies of the sign-up forms, which can be submitted via email anytime between now and August 3, please let us know. Looking Ahead to 2020-2021 We don't know exactly what the academic year ahead will look like, but please know that we faculty are here for and with you, as we figure things out together. Bill will be on sabbatical next year, so in August our wonderful colleague Prof. Hillary Miller will be joining me as Assistant Director of Graduate Studies. We're really going to miss Bill but will send him off with wishes for a restorative and fruitful leave, and we're very lucky to have Hillary come on board! Please continue to stay safe and healthy, and let me and Bill (at least through August) know if you have any questions or concerns. Best, Caroline -- Caroline Kyungah Hong, PhD 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 8am–5pm. At this time, there may be a delay in response time.