Coronavirus COVID-19 Update
Welcome to the Fall 2021 Semester
Berkeley College is prepared to welcome students, faculty and staff for the 2021-2022 academic year. The fall 2021 semester begins on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. We are excited to be back on campus after the challenges of the past two years. The health and safety of our College community are our most important priorities.
Fall 2021 Courses Offer Flexible Approach
During the fall 2021 semester, Berkeley College students will have the opportunity to select the course schedule that best meets their comfort level. Students may choose to attend all of their classes in-person, remotely, or through a combination of hybrid courses. There are a small number of classes with laboratory requirements in the School of Health Studies, as well as some lab or studio courses in the Graphic Design and Interior Design programs in the School of Professional Studies, which must be completed on campus.
The full range of student support services and resources are available both on-site and online, including the Library, Academic Advisement, Office of Career Services, Student Development and Campus Life, Office of Disability Services, Center for Academic Success and the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs. New and returning students should check the Engage student portal (http://engage.berkeleycollege.edu) for more information on department schedules. Personal Counselors in the Office of Student Development and Campus Life are available to help students with issues related to social, emotional, or academic facets. The Office of Disability Services can provide reasonable accommodations that support each student’s unique learning requirements and professional and personal goals.
COVID-19 Vaccination and Face Coverings
Berkeley College will not require students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend on-campus classes. However, students in the School of Health Studies who will serve clinical rotations at private and public healthcare facilities must meet State of New Jersey guidelines and be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 7, or be tested once or twice every week for the virus.
Students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to receive the vaccine as the best way to protect themselves, their families, and other members of the College community. Click on the links below to learn more about where you can get vaccinated.
Berkeley College will continue to require that masks or cloth face coverings be worn by all students, faculty, staff and visitors while inside all campus buildings, as well as on all College shuttle transportation services. For more information, click the link to view Frequently Asked Questions on the COVID-19 webpage.
Students will also be required to complete the COVID-19 Health Questionnaire (https://berkeleycollege.edu/checkin) each time they come to campus. Through the Questionnaire, you will respond to questions about your health and wellness, and will be required to show a date- and time-stamped “cleared” screen to a Public Safety representative before being allowed to enter the campus.
Let’s all do our part to make it a great year!
General Information
Converting to an Online Modality
Faculty will utilize Canvas and other approved Berkeley College technology to deliver remote instruction during the closure. Keep in mind that students may not have the recommended technology, nor the appropriate technical skills to participate as they would in an on-site environment. Flexibility is critical to their success in this situation.
- Remote instruction will be conducted asynchronously.
- Substantive and regular communication with students is a required component of remote instruction.
- Assignment deadlines must be flexible. Students should incur no penalties for handing in late work.
- Faculty should convert proctored exams to more accessible formats such as unproctored Canvas quizzes, papers, or projects.
- Enrollment verification and progress report procedures will remain the same; students should be marked present for enrollment verification if completing coursework and/or are in contact with faculty.
- Faculty should prepare an email to be sent out upon news of a campus closure that reiterates how to contact them for help (e.g. Berkeley email, Canvas Inbox).
- Faculty will apportion their availability throughout each week.
For information regarding the Berkeley College Office of Disability Services, please visit: https://berkeleycollege.edu/admissions/disability-services/index.html.
The Center for Curriculum, Instruction and Technology (CCIT) is available to support you with respect to any instructional needs that you may have. The CCIT can be reached at ccitinfo@berkeleycollege.edu.
For any technology issues or “how do I” questions related to the Canvas, faculty should contact Canvas support directly. Canvas Support is available 24/7 for all Berkeley faculty by calling (833) 286-8936 or via a Chat with Canvas Support. Canvas also has excellent and videos that walk you through all the various functions in Canvas.
Communicating with Online Students
Tools to Communicate with Students
Substantive and regular communication with students is a required component of online instruction. It is important for instructors to establish and maintain open two-way communication lines with students. Recommended tools/methods to communicate with students:
- Canvas Discussions
- Canvas Inbox
- Canvas Chat
- Zoom
- Canvas Announcements
- Email - (use the BC Class List by Instructor link on Canvas to view student emails)
How to Use Communication Tools
Canvas Announcements
- Announcements Overview Video
- How do I add an announcement in a course?
- How do I edit an announcement in a course?
Canvas Inbox
- How do I use the Inbox as an instructor?
- How do I send a message to all course users in the Inbox as an instructor?
Canvas Chat
Canvas Discussions
- Discussions Overview Video
- How do I create a discussion as an instructor?
- How do I publish or unpublish a discussion as an instructor?
Zoom
- How do I schedule Zoom meetings through Canvas?
- How do I schedule a meeting through Zoom’s website?
- How do I use Zoom's in-meeting controls?
Instructional Strategies for Online Teaching
Instructional Strategies
Convert Activities and Assessments to Support Online Instruction
You may need to adjust or replace activities and assessments. Consider alternative assignments and assessments to support online instruction. As you make adjustments to your course, remember to communicate the changes to your course.
Options include:
- Use Canvas Discussions to replace in-class discussions.
- Use Canvas Pages to add relevant worksheets, lecture notes, files, or other content to your Canvas course.
- Use Canvas Modules to organize course content and activities.
- Convert written assignments to Canvas Online Assignments.
- Convert tests, quizzes, and exams to Canvas Quizzes.
- Convert an oral presentation assignment to a PowerPoint to be submitted as a Canvas Online Assignment.
- Use Zoom or Canvas Chat to conduct office hours.
Instructional Tools
Canvas Discussion
- Discussions Overview Video
- How do I create a discussion as an instructor?
- How do I edit a discussion in a course?
- How do I assign a graded discussion to everyone in a course?
- How do I publish or unpublish a discussion as an instructor?
Canvas Modules
- How do I add a module?
- How do I edit a module?
- How do I add assignment types, pages, and files as module items?
- How do I move or reorder a module?
- How do I publish or unpublish a module as an instructor?
- Modules Overview Video
Canvas Pages
- How do I create a new page in a course?
- How do I edit a page in a course?
- How do I publish or unpublish a page as an instructor?
- Pages Overview Video
Canvas Rich Content Editor
- How do I add and modify text in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?
- How do I embed images from Canvas into the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?
- Rich Content Editor Video
Canvas Assignment Groups
- How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
Canvas Online Assignments
- How do I create an assignment?
- How do I create an online assignment?
- How do I add or edit details in an assignment?
- How do I publish or unpublish an assignment as an instructor?
- Assignments Overview Video
Canvas Quizzes
- How do I create a quiz with individual questions?
- How do I create a Multiple Choice quiz question?
- How do I create a Fill-in-the-Blank quiz question?
- How do I create a Matching quiz question?
- How do I create an Essay quiz question?
- Quizzes Overview Video
Zoom
- How do I schedule Zoom meetings through Canvas?
- How do I schedule a meeting through Zoom’s website?
- How do I use Zoom's in-meeting controls?
Chat
Instructional Tools Self-Help Guides and Tutorials
Communication Tools
Canvas Announcements
- How do I add an announcement in a course?
- How do I edit an announcement in a course?
- Announcements Overview Video
Canvas Inbox
- How do I use the Inbox as an instructor?
- How do I find my unread messages in the Inbox as an instructor?
- How do I send a message to a user in a course in the Inbox as an instructor?
- How do I send a message to all course users in the Inbox as an instructor?
Chat
Discussion Boards
- How do I create a discussion as an instructor?
- How do I edit a discussion in a course?
- How do I assign a graded discussion to everyone in a course?
- How do I publish or unpublish a discussion as an instructor?
- Discussions Overview Video
Zoom
- How do I schedule Zoom meetings through Canvas?
- How do I schedule a meeting through Zoom’s website?
- How do I use Zoom's in-meeting controls?
Content Creation and Organization
Modules
- How do I add a module?
- How do I edit a module?
- How do I add assignment types, pages, and files as module items?
- How do I move or reorder a module?
- How do I publish or unpublish a module as an instructor?
- Modules Overview Video
Pages
- How do I create a new page in a course?
- How do I edit a page in a course?
- How do I publish or unpublish a page as an instructor?
- Pages Overview Video
Assignments
Canvas Online Assignments
- How do I create an assignment?
- How do I create an online assignment?
- How do I add or edit details in an assignment?
- How do I publish or unpublish an assignment as an instructor?
- Assignments Overview
Canvas Quizzes
- How do I create a quiz with individual questions?
- How do I create a Multiple Choice quiz question?
- How do I create a Fill-in-the-Blank quiz question?
- How do I create a Matching quiz question?
- How do I create an Essay quiz questions?
- Quizzes Overview
Assignment Groups
- How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
Gradebook
Using the Gradebook and SpeedGrader
- How do I use the Gradebook?
- How do I arrange columns in the Gradebook?
- How do I filter columns and rows in the Gradebook?
- How do I get to SpeedGrader from the Gradebook?
- Gradebook Overview Video
Sharing Canvas Content with Colleagues
Share with Another Instructor
- How do I use Direct Share to send an assignment to another instructor?
- How do I use Direct Share to send a quiz to another instructor?
- How do I use Direct Share to send a discussion to another instructor?
- How do I use Direct Share to send a page to another instructor?
Share with Another Course
- How do I use Direct Share to copy an assignment to another course?
- How do I use Direct Share to copy a discussion to another course?
- How do I use Direct Share to copy a page to another course?
Manage Content Shared with You
Additional Support
Turnitin Support
For Turnitin Support:
- Call 1-866-816-5046 ext. 241
- Submit a Turnitin Help Desk Ticket
- Access the Turnitin Help Center
Zoom Support
For Zoom Support 24/7:
- Call 1.888.799.9666 ext 2
- Chat live with support by visiting your account and selecting “help” in the lower right-hand corner
- Submit an online support request
Library Support
- Request a Librarian
- Chat with a Librarian
- Make an Appointment with a Librarian
- Directory of Librarians
- Central Email: library@berkeleycollege.email.libanswers.com
- Text#: 19739478988
- Faculty Services & Instructional Support LibGuide
New York State Department of Health Hotline: 1-888-364-3065
Up-to-date Information from New York State:
https://health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/
New Jersey Department of Health Hotline: 1-800-222-1222
Up-to-date Information from New Jersey:
https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH):
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/coronavirus.page
World Health Organization (WHO):
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education:
https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/index.shtml
More about Coronavirus COVID-19
From the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Frequently Asked Questions about the Coronavirus from the World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
Advice to Students Transitioning to an Online Environment
https://berkeleycollege.edu/newsroom/2020/03/advice-to-students-transitioning-to-an-online-environment.html
Berkeley College Tips for Online Success
https://berkeleycollege.edu/newsroom/2020/03/tips-for-online-success.html
Center for Academic Success Virtual Guidelines
https://berkeleycollege.edu/newsroom/2020/03/center-for-academic-success-virtual-guidelines.html
Berkeley College will offer on site and hybrid options for our study abroad and degree-seeking students in the April 2021 term which starts April 5 and April 26.
Please note, prior to visiting the Berkeley Campus, there are CDC requirements in place for international travelers.
- Every air traveler entering the U.S. needs a negative Covid-19 test result. Passengers are required to take a viral test within three days before their flight to the U.S. departs, and to provide documentation of their lab results, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19.
- Upon arrival in New York, individuals can take a viral test 3-5 days after their trip. It is recommended that travelers stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel, even if your test is negative.
- If you don’t get tested within 3-5 days upon arrival, you will need to stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days prior to visiting the Berkeley Campus.
Click for more information on CDC travel guidelines.
Nori Jaffer, Ed.D.
Vice President, International
877-381-3237 ext. 4304
NAJ@BerkeleyCollege.edu
For questions relating specifically to the Global Alliance program at the White Plains campus, please contact:
Suzeana Stewart
888-307-5543 ext. 3333
Suzeana-Stewart@BerkeleyCollege.edu
We understand that members of the Berkeley College community may be experiencing heightened levels of anxiety during this time. Berkeley College encourages students who feel anxious or worried about friends and family because of the coronavirus to contact a Personal Counselor by campus:
New York City
Diane Georges, Director of Personal Counseling and ADA Coordinator
212-986-4343 ext. 4216
Diane-Georges@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Sarah Nickerson, Personal Counselor
212-986-4343 ext. 4217
Sarah-Nickerso@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Newark
Danielle Hewitt, Personal Counselor
973-278-5400 ext. 6183
Danielle-Hewitt@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Online
Sandra Coppola, Senior Director of Personal Counseling
973-278-5400 ext. 1320
SEC@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Santa Rock, Personal Counselor
973-405-2111 ext. 6402
SGR@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Paramus
Santa Rock, Personal Counselor
973-405-2111 ext. 6402
SGR@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Woodbridge
Danielle Hewitt, Personal Counselor
973-278-5400 ext. 6183
Danielle-Hewitt@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Woodland Park
Sandra Coppola, Senior Director of Personal Counseling
973-278-5400 ext. 1320
SEC@BerkeleyCollege.edu
Sheri Burkat, Personal Counselor
973-278-5400 ext. 1321
Sheri-Burkat@BerkeleyCollege.edu
For faculty and staff, Berkeley College’s Employee Assistance Program is available to help:
The Employee Assistance Program is designed to assist families with balancing the demands of work with those of their personal lives. The Employee Assistance Program is a one-stop resource that offers consultation, information, and personalized community referrals, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for you and your family members.
When you call, you will be assisted by expert consultants who can help with emotional well-being. These calls are confidential.
When face-to-face sessions are warranted, you may receive up to three.
You can call any time, day or night at 855-775-4357 or Online Work-Life EAP Resources http://rsli.acieap.com.
Additional details can be found on Berkeley365 – Human Resources – Benefits – Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
We want to take this opportunity to remind our diverse Berkeley College community that we are an institution that takes pride in its welcoming environment and unwavering promotion of the values of equity and inclusion. These challenging times are not an excuse to behave differently toward any individuals or groups. We must maintain civility in our interactions with peers, students and colleagues. As always, any student who experiences discrimination of any kind can speak with their campus’ Student Development and Campus Life office for support. Likewise, faculty or staff can speak with Human Resources.
Berkeley College continues to closely follow new information and guidance from the states of New York and New Jersey.
New York Reopening, Guidance, and Dashboards
New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub and Dashboard
Berkeley College has postponed or cancelled all events until further notice. When possible, the College will host virtual events instead. The College is taking this action to minimize any potential health and public safety risks associated with COVID-19. When possible, the College will host events virtually instead.
The College continues to monitor the status of COVID-19 and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization, New York State Health Department and New Jersey Department of Health.
Please continue to check this webpage for any updates.
June 4, 2021 - COVID-19 Update: Returning to Campus
May 5, 2021 - Spring 2021 Semester COVID-19 Update
April 9, 2021 – COVID-19 Update and Town Hall Recording
March 18, 2021 – Winter 2021 Semester COVID-19 Updates
February 25, 2021 – Winter 2021 Semester COVID-19 Updates
January 26, 2021 – Winter 2021 Semester COVID-19 Updates
December 15, 2020 – Paramus Campus to Close for Cleaning Dec. 16 to Dec. 18
November 22, 2020 – Emergency Notification: Woodland Park Campus
November 13, 2020 – Newark Courses to Transition to Online Modality on Monday, November 16
November 12, 2020 – Berkeley College COVID-19 Dashboard
November 4, 2020 – COVID-19 Planning Update
November 3, 2020 – Information on NY and NJ COVID Alert Apps
September 8, 2020 – Message from the President: Welcome to the Fall Semester
June 19, 2020 – Message from the President: School of Health Studies and Fall 2020
April 26, 2020 – Message from the Provost: Welcome to the Spring Semester
April 3, 2020 – From the Provost: Important Message About the Spring 2020 Semester
April 3, 2020 – Commencement Update Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
March 27, 2020 – Message to Parents: Berkeley College's Response to Coronavirus COVID-19
March 27, 2020 – Berkeley College Student Resources by Department
March 19, 2020 – Berkeley College Commencement Update
March 17, 2020 – Institutional Update: COVID-19
March 12, 2020 - Message to Students: On-site Classes in New Jersey and New York to Move Online
March 12, 2020 – Berkeley College Student Resources
March 5, 2020 - Message from the President to the Berkeley College Community on Coronavirus COVID-19
February 27, 2020 - Message from the Office of Public Safety: COVID-19 Tips and Travel
