Dear Graduate Students, Welcome back! The Fall 2022 semester officially begins on Thursday, August 25. Please read carefully through these important beginning-of-the-semester announcements, attached and pasted below. For more information and policies specific to our English MA program, please consult our most recent handbook, also attached here. As Professor Hong mentioned in her message to everyone last week, Hillary Miller and I will be directing the MA program starting this year. We are looking forward to another semester of learning and being in community together. 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. Best, Bill Orchard _______________________________________________ William Orchard Associate Professor Associate Professor Director, MA Program Department of English Department of English CUNY Graduate Center Queens College, CUNY QC English MA Program Fall 2022 Announcements Academic Calendar The Fall 2022 semester officially begins on Thursday, August 25. You can find the CUNY Academic Calender with important dates and deadlines at https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-calendars/. You can find the QC-specific calendar at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/communications/calendar-page/. Important dates to keep in mind: * The last day to drop classes for a 100% tuition refund is Wednesday, August 24. The last day to add classes is Wednesday, August 31. * There are no classes scheduled on Monday, September 5 (Labor Day); Monday, September 26–Tuesday, September 27 (Rosh Hashanah); Tuesday, October 4–Wednesday, October 5 (Yom Kippur); Monday, October 10 (Indigenous People’s Day/Italian Heritage Day); and Thursday, November 24–Sunday, November 27 (Thanksgiving). * Thursday, September 29 follows a Monday schedule. * For students planning to graduate Fall 2022, the deadline to file for graduation via your CUNYfirst Student Center is November 1. * The last day of classes is Tuesday, December 13, and the last day to drop a course with a W grade is Wednesday, December 14. The Fall 2022 semester officially ends on Wednesday, December 21. Fall 2022 Advising For important info about our program and its policies and procedures, please consult the most recent English MA Handbook (attached separately). We will be available for advising both virtually via email and Zoom, as well as in-person. If you have any questions, need advising, or want to make an appointment, please email us. Prof. William Orchard, Director of Graduate Studies (English MA) Email: worchard@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:worchard@qc.cuny.edu> Faculty Office: Klapper Hall 637 Graduate Studies Office: Klapper Hall 604 Fall 2022 office hours: Tue 3:30–5:00pm, Wed 5:30–6:30pm, and by appointment Prof. Hillary Miller, Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Email: hillary.miller@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:hillary.miller@qc.cuny.edu> Office: Klapper Hall 707 Fall 2022 office hours: in-person Mon 2:00–4:00pm and by appointment via Zoom You can also contact us by emailing MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:MAEnglish@qc.cuny.edu>. For general inquiries not specific to the MA program (e.g., for faculty contact info), please consult the English Department website at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ or contact the English Department Office (english@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:english@qc.cuny.edu>, 718-997-4600). Please be sure to check your QC email regularly (and also add any other primary email addresses to your CUNYfirst account), as the College and your professors may be communicating with you that way. Check (and Double-Check) Your Schedule Before the semester begins, please take a moment to log-in to your CUNYfirst 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 before the semester begins. English MA courses will continue to be taught in-person, hybrid, or fully online. When you check your schedule, please also double-check the instruction modes for your courses. If you’re taking an in-person course, please confirm your classroom location the day of your first meeting, as classrooms can sometimes be changed at the last minute. If you’re taking a hybrid or fully online course, your professor should communicate how/where to join their class. If you don’t hear from them by the first day of the semester, please email them directly to request this info. Faculty contact info and office hours can be found at https://qcenglish.commons.gc.cuny.edu/people/. Adding a Course / Requesting an Overtally If you are looking to add a fall course, there are open seats still available in ENGL 728. Please review the updated course descriptions<https://www.dropbox.com/s/2c1blwr1sdswori/2022%20Fall%20ENGL%20MA%20course%20descriptions%20%28revised4%29.pdf?dl=0> and confirm current availability by searching the Class Schedule on CUNYfirst<https://globalsearch.cuny.edu/>. 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. COVID-related Policies + Campus Access Pandemic-related policies and procedures may continue to evolve, so please check your QC email regularly for updates and announcements. QC COVID-related info can be found at https://www.qc.cuny.edu/covid/. CUNY COVID info can be found at https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/. A reminder that all CUNY students taking in-person or hybrid classes must be fully vaccinated (unless they’ve been granted a medical or religious exemption). If you haven’t already, please be sure to upload proof of vaccination to CUNYfirst<https://cunyithelp.cuny.edu/sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0012414&sys_kb_id=8837c4341b8dc1906f9821be6e4bcb53> at least 10 days before classes begin. Once your vaccination verification has been approved, you can access campus at entry points by tapping in with your QCard or showing a Cleared4 Access Pass<https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/howtoregister-cleared4/>. Please note that the CUNY random COVID testing program<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/covid/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2022/03/Random_COVID_Testing.pdf> is still in effect. If you get an email from no-reply@cleared4work.com<mailto:no-reply@cleared4work.com> that you have been selected for testing and do not comply, your campus access will be revoked until you do. If you were selected for testing this summer and did not get tested within the 14-day time period, please get tested ASAP before the semester begins at any CUNY testing site (including the one on the 1st floor of QC’s Student Union; all CUNY testing locations and hours can be found at https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/cuny-covid-19-testing-site-locations/). Any questions re: campus access should be sent to ReturnToQC2022@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:ReturnToQC2022@qc.cuny.edu>. Please also keep in mind that QC is a mask-friendly campus, and you’re encouraged to continue masking indoors, especially as COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths remain high in NYC. And if you feel ill, please stay home. QC Hub The QC Hub is a centralized office with staff from the Registrar, the Bursar, Financial Aid, etc., and is the easiest way to get any financial or registration problems resolved and your bureaucratic questions answered. You can make a virtual appointment with them via the QC Navigate app (https://qc-cuny.navigate.eab.com/, using your CUNY Login<https://www.cuny.edu/cuny-login/>) or email them at QCHub@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:QCHub@qc.cuny.edu>. For more info and their hours, see https://www.qc.cuny.edu/qchub/. Please note that, unfortunately, the QC Hub is understaffed and can get overwhelmed. If you contact the QC Hub and don’t get a response within a week or two, please let us know so we can help follow up. Information Technology Services (ITS) For help with online account or tech issues, contact ITS (https://www.qc.cuny.edu/its/). You can try live chat support<https://chat.qc.cuny.edu/UserForm.aspx?busy=true&deptid=14&userid=> (Mon–Thu 9am–10pm; Fri 9am–5pm), call them at 718-997-4444 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm), email support@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:support@qc.cuny.edu>, or submit a ticket online<https://support.qc.cuny.edu/support/tickets/new>. You can also check their knowledge base for potential solutions to common issues<https://support.qc.cuny.edu/support/solutions>. QCard The QCard is your official QC student ID, and you will need it to gain access to and 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/its/qcard/. Rosenthal Library You will need to tap in with your QCard to access the Rosenthal Library building. There are study areas located throughout the library, including Zoom Rooms and Group Study Rooms<https://library.qc.cuny.edu/services/spaces/> on levels 4 and 5. Visit their website (https://library.qc.cuny.edu/) for their hours and for help with your research (https://library.qc.cuny.edu/services/research/ask-us/). Our librarian, Prof. Leila Walker<https://library.qc.cuny.edu/profile/leila-walker/>, can also help you with any research-related questions; you can email her at leila.walker@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:leila.walker@qc.cuny.edu>. Counseling Services Being a grad student can be really stressful. For free and confidential mental health services, check out QC’s Counseling Services (https://www.qc.cuny.edu/cs/). You can call them at 718-997-5420 or email CounselingServices@qc.cuny.edu<mailto:CounselingServices@qc.cuny.edu> to make an appointment. Learn more about CUNY mental health services at https://www.cuny.edu/current-students/student-affairs/student-services/couns.... And if you ever find yourself in crisis, you can also connect 24/7 with a trained crisis counselor by texting CUNY to 741741.