Category: Supporting First-Year Students

Academic Support

How are your students doing at this point in semester? 

Here are some resources you can share to help them stay on track:

  • Encourage students to take advantage of academic support:
    • The Comprehensive Tutoring Schedule is a guide to tutoring from the Atrium Learning Center, the Writing Center, individual departments, and 24/7 online tutoring from tutor.com. Use the tabs at the bottom to explore the offerings.
    • The Library offers 24/7 help via Ask a Librarian, meetings with reference librarians for help with research projects, workshops, computers and printers, and study spaces.
    • More resources developed by City Tech faculty include The Procrastination Station and these Student Success topics.
    • Students enrolled in special programs such as ASAP, ACE, C-STEP, SEEK, Early College, etc., as well as veterans and students using disability services, may have access to workshops, advising, tutoring, or other resources provided by those programs. 
    • Any student can request a Student Success Center coach for help with school/life balance, study habits, or navigating the many other college resources.
  • Provide each student with a Mid-Semester Progress Report as described in the Provost’s March 17 email. You can point students to The Companion for the First Year for a helpful explanation of midsemester grades.
    • Remind students to refer to the syllabusfor important information, including professors’ office hours, course grading rubrics, and important due dates.
    • Invite each student to take advantage of your office hours to discuss any questions or concerns. The Companion for the First Year offers students advice about Communicating with Professors During Office Hours.

Navigate is a helpful tool for emailing or texting students with reminders (or high-fives!) Faculty can also issue Navigate Alerts and the Student Success Center will respond by reaching out to students with appropriate resources.

Consider using the related slides and/or a short activity to raise student awareness of academic help:

  • Students can explore the Student Hub and report back to classmates with details on their favorite discovery.
  • Students and professors can collaboratively create a calendar of dates for deadlines, workshops, and other support sessions.
  • Students can be invited to share testimonials of their experiences with any of the City Tech supports (only if they are comfortable sharing!)

Read this and other “Supporting First-Year Students” posts on the OpenLab.

Photo credit: “Robert R. Wilson’s Tractricious Sculpture” by Michael Kappel via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC 2.0.

Plan Week Spring 2025

Today is the last day of Plan Week. If you haven’t already, please encourage your first-year students to check their email and participate in suggested Plan Week activities.

Fall and summer registration starts soon and many first-year students are registering themselves for the first time. Plan Week prepares them to get the classes they need and the schedule they want before classes fill.

PLAN WEEK MAR 3–7, 2025 Have you made your plan for next semester? Plan Week Activities & Peer Mentors will guide you through these steps. • Speak with your advisor • Register for fall/summer classes • Troubleshoot holds • Make sure you’re on track to graduate • Focus on your career path • Create your Handshake account Plan Week Activities & Peer Mentor Zoom Schedule Tues - 03/04•1 PM - 3 PM Wed - 03/05•3 PM - 5 PM Thur - 03/06•1 PM - 3 PM BONUS: Participate in Plan Week for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card & other Great Prizes. Any Questions? Email FirstYear@citytech.cuny.edu Registration for Fall 2025 opens on March 17th!

PLAN WEEK
MAR 3–7, 2025
Have you made your plan for next semester?
Plan Week Activities & Peer Mentors will guide you through these steps.

  • Speak with your advisor
  • Register for fall/summer classes
  • Troubleshoot holds
  • Make sure you’re on track to graduate
  • Focus on your career path
  • Create your Handshake account

Plan Week Activities & Peer Mentor Zoom Schedule

  • Tues – 03/04•1 PM – 3 PM
  • Wed – 03/05•3 PM – 5 PM
  • Thur – 03/06•1 PM – 3 PM

BONUS: Participate in Plan Week for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card & other Great Prizes.

Any Questions? Email FirstYear@citytech.cuny.edu

Registration for Fall 2025 opens on March 17th!

College Happens in Many Places

As students transition from high school to college they often struggle to take responsibility for their own education and in particular to understand the amount of study time required outside of the classroom.

City Tech’s First Year Programs developed this graphic to emphasize that College Happens in Many Places:

You can empower students to take responsibility for their learning with pointers from The Companion for the First Year at City Tech — a valuable resource that offers advice about navigating the first year:

  • Section 2-D explains that for every hour spent in class, students should spend another two hours outside of class completing the work for that course.
  • Section 2-A encourages students to track what they need to do during the average week. They can use the provided grid to develop a schedule, including time spent in class, at the library, in the Writing Center, at tutoring, in an undergraduate research project, etc., as well as at work and other responsibilities outside of school. This is often an eye-opener for new students!

If you are teaching a class with many first-year students, consider one or more short activities to help students learn to manage their time and learning. These low-stakes activities and sharing can also foster ongoing community and participation in the classroom:

  • Students review and annotate the course syllabus to understand the course’s expectations, including expectations for work outside of class and the attendance policy.
  • Students plan their weekly schedule to include due dates from the course syllabus, incremental work they need to do to meet those due dates; appointments they have with tutors and the Writing Center, etc.      
  • Students share ideas about places on campus to study, such as quiet spaces on the library’s 5th floor, or group study rooms, computer labs, and student lounges.
  • Students share ideas about places off campus to study, including other CUNY college libraries, public libraries, local coffee shops, etc.
  • Students compile a list of links to these resources, such as the library’s Student Services, the Writing Center’s OpenLab site, and the college’s page of undergraduate research programs.

Consider showing the “Mastering Your Time: Strategies for the First Year” slides and/or posting to your course site.

Photo credit: “‘Things That Should Be on My To-Do List,’ 2011-2013. Artist: Leslie Roberts.” by m kasahara via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Getting Started with Technology

In this first installment of the Faculty Commons’s series on supporting first-year students, let’s think about how we as faculty and staff can help students getting started with technology at City Tech.

Are your first-year students struggling with wi-fi or email?  Do they know where they can get tech help, study, borrow a device, or access free software? You can help! 

Students starting at City Tech should be acquainted with the technologies available and required for their success. Faculty teaching students in first-year courses can help by introducing students to the Student Hub, especially the Technology Resources section and the Getting Started with Technology page, where students can find these links: 

If you are teaching a class with many first-year students, you might consider incorporating short activities that ask students to find and/or access some of these resources. Below are a few examples that can foster student community and participation, and even bolster comfort with short writing or speaking in class, as they share with one another:

  • Students work in groups to find computer labs on campus and explain to classmates how to find them, either in class or via a post in Brightspace or OpenLab.
  • Students who have successfully signed up for wifi or email help other students sign up.
  • Students access their email and use their accounts to sign up for City Tech’s OpenLab or a New York Times account.
  • Students use their CUNYfirst credentials to get started with Dropbox, Office 365, and other software.

If students are working with peer mentors (or would like to request a peer mentor), the mentors can help students navigate the technologies and share their experiences. 

Still having trouble? The City Tech Student Helpdesk is here to assist! 
In person: Namm Complex Welcome Center — Library Building 114
Email: StudentHelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu
Phone: 718-260-4900

Photo Credit: “Network” by Pavlína Rupová via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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