CUNY is building a model in accessible learning that is dedicated to the development of high-quality online programs, and innovation in online education. We empower colleges to create and sustain successful digital learning environments by providing funding, resources, and expert guidance to expand and enhance the online asynchronous program offerings across CUNY colleges.
Developed in partnership with CUNY Online, our growing slate of online programs are delivered and managed through the individual colleges, ensuring a tailored approach to each institution’s unique needs. CUNY online programs reside in the Brightspace Learning Management System (college campuses will complete the migration from Blackboard to Brightspace by 2025). Technology at CUNY is integrated into software tools made available for use by faculty and students across the university system.
Find numerous resources across CUNY colleges and institutions to advance innovations in online education.
CUNY Online Services
Discover resources across CUNY colleges and institutions designed to drive innovation in online education.
To apply for funding to develop a new, fully asynchronous, online program, please read the Online Program Development Seed Money Proposal Guidelines and submit your proposal to [email protected].
- Proposal submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.
- If accepted, a partnership between the College and CUNY Central will be outlined in the Letter of Understanding.
Focusing on the learner experience throughout the course, instructional designers partner with faculty to develop the course design including how the student will navigate through the course, their online interactions, types of student engagement, alignment of goals and assessments, and accessibility.
Instructional designers ensure that all courses meet industry standards in accordance with the OSCQR scorecard (more information about the OSCQR rubric can be found on the Open SUNY Course Quality Review) or an industry standard rubric used at the College with whom we partner.
For more information about instructional design, contact [email protected].
CUNY Online Marketing helps colleges create awareness of their online programs to increase enrollment in the following ways:
- CUNY Online website
- Brand awareness marketing campaigns
- CUNY Online works with the Central Marketing team to run digital ad campaigns for all online programs
- Marketing strategy consultations
- Provide guidance program marketing
For information about marketing online programs, contact CUNY Online.
Colleges Own and Administer Their Online Program
In partnership with the Colleges, CUNY is investing in the development of asynchronous online programs.
- It supports the College’s faculty by providing instructional design resources to develop the online courses and requires the colleges to commit to sustaining the online programs after development is complete.
- At all times, each College retains ownership of and administers the online program and its courses, and makes all academic decisions regarding the courses and program.
- Each partnership with CUNY Online is unique. At CUNY Online, we work with your specific needs to propose a collaboration timeline and structure that works for everyone involved.
Colleges Sustain and Support Online Program Management
Each college is responsible for course copying from the online course development sites and can enlist the support of their campus LMS administrator to better understand the established process. All student support services are provided by the College for fully online students.
Colleges Review and Update Their Online Programs
The online program is owned and administered by the College. Therefore, the review and refresh process would be incorporated into the existing program assessment approach. Quality of the program should be sustained through regular assessments informed by industry standards (i.e., OSCQR Scorecard). CUNY Online can provide additional guidance on operationalizing online program updates and refreshes.
CUNY Online offers expertise and guidance to help college leadership frame infrastructure and processes to sustain online programs and ensure effective online student support.
CUNY Online offers expertise and guidance on issues related to:
- Program development of fully asynchronous online programs
- Support services for online students to promote student success
- Marketing online programs
For information about program development and support services, contact [email protected].
Brightspace Learning Management System
All CUNY online courses reside in the University learning management system. CUNY’s colleges are migrating from Blackboard to Brightspace.
Academic Technologies at CUNY
There are numerous software tools supported by CUNY for use across the university.
Applications and services widely used at CUNY by faculty, students, and staff.
Third-party tools such as Building Blocks and Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) are used to connect external learning tools into the Learning Management System in order to add or give faculty, students, and administrators access to supplemental information or functionality to complete coursework.
Student Orientation
CUNY provides campuses with an Online Student Orientation workshop through Brightspace. This orientation can be used in its entirety or customized by selecting specific modules to integrate into existing onboarding processes. Each campus also has the option to add college-specific information tailored to their students.
The orientation covers key topics such as getting started in Brightspace, online safety, student success in online learning, academics, student engagement, available resources, and financial aid options.
Student Services departments across CUNY colleges are represented in the advisory group to share successful initiatives supporting fully online students, discuss challenges, and use the forum to communicate needs to CUNY central administration.
Baruch College
Jenny Provo Quarles
Assistant Vice President, Digital Learning Hub
[email protected]
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Michael Hutmaker
Dean for Student Affairs
[email protected]
Bronx Community College
Manny Lopez
Assoc. Dean for Student Development
[email protected]
Brooklyn College
Lillian O’Reilly
VP for Enrollment Management
[email protected]
Central Office
Judith Cahn
Interim Unv. Exec. Dir., Programs and Student Support
[email protected]
College of Staten Island
Danielle Dimitrov
Dean of Students
[email protected]
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy
James Warren
Student Life Coordinator
[email protected]
Lynn Roberts
Assoc. Dean for Student Affairs and Alumni Relations
[email protected]
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
Michael Rymer
Director, SLU Learning Hub
[email protected]
CUNY School of Professional Studies
Zeita-Marion Lobley
Director, Student Services
[email protected]
Guttman Community College
Patricia Jones
Professor, Health Information Technology
[email protected]
Hostos Community College
Silvia Reyes
Director, Special Projects, Student Engagement and CLIP
[email protected]
Hunter College
Shiao-Chuan Kung
Director, Center for Online Learning
[email protected]
John Jay College
Ritu Boswell
Student Success Manager
[email protected]
Kingsborough Community College
Yelena Bondar
Dean for Student Success Programs
[email protected]
LaGuardia Community College
Benjamin Rohdin
VP for Enrollment Management
[email protected]
Rhonda Mouton
Director, LaGuardia Cares (Division of Student Affairs)
[email protected]
Lehman Community College
Olena Zhadko
Director, Online Education
[email protected]
Dermot Foley
Assoc. Director, Online Education
[email protected]
Medgar Evers College
Dr. Deborah Greenblatt
Professor, Education
[email protected]
New York City College of Technology
Jose Diaz
Director, iTECH
[email protected]
Queens College
Sean Pierce
Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
[email protected]
Queensborough Community College
Stefan Spezio
Director of the Center for Tutoring and Academic Support
[email protected]