In response to the recent global news reports regarding the spread of novel (new) coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) and confirmed cases of the respiratory illness in New York, St. Joseph’s College is closely monitoring the situation and following recommendations made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New York State Department of Health.
Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a strain of virus not previously found in humans that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. There are thousands of confirmed cases in China, as well as cases being identified in a growing number of countries, including the United States. In an effort to protect the health and safety of the SJC community, we are sharing the following information.
Questions about Coronavirus
How is coronavirus spread?
Mainly from person-to-person, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. There may also be instances of spreading when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes. The virus seems to be spreading easily and sustainably, according to the CDC.
How long after exposure does it take for symptoms to appear?
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure, and may include:
Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath
How prevalent is coronavirus in the United States?
Patients in a majority and growing number of states, including New York, have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). This includes imported cases as travelers, cases among close contacts of a known case and community-acquired cases where the infection source cannot be determined.
How can I minimize my chances of contracting and spreading the virus?
There are currently no vaccines available to protect against human coronavirus infection. To reduce your risk of infection:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
What is social distancing?
As per CDC recommendations, social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings and maintaining distance (approximately six feet or two meters) from others when possible. The objective of social distancing is to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission.
Is there a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus?
There is no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
How can I prevent social stigma?
Fear and anxiety about a new disease can lead to social stigma toward infected individuals, persons released from quarantine or groups of people associated with the disease or the region from which it is perceived to have originated. With COVID-19, travelers, health care professionals and persons of specific descent have experienced increased stigma.
Social stigma can lead people suffering with COVID-19 to hide their illness and prevent them from seeking treatment. We encourage everyone in our College community to be sensitive and thoughtful when communicating on social media and other communication platforms, to show empathy for those affected, and to demonstrate supportive behaviors when addressing issues involving the virus.
What is the status of Global Studies trips? Will they be cancelled?
St. Joseph’s College is closely monitoring travel warnings by the New York State Department of Health, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the coming days, we may possibly need to cancel some or all SJC-sponsored study abroad trips. The Office of Global Studies at SJC is working with our travel providers in an attempt to extend cancellation deadlines. While cancellations would be very disappointing to the faculty and students involved, the College is considering not only the danger of the virus itself, but the other very real threat of being detained in another country if the virus suddenly spread there. In the event of cancellation, your deposits will be refunded. To date, the College has canceled one international spring trip to Japan, which was issued a Level 2 warning from the CDC.
If you have recently traveled to a country with a Level 3 Travel Health Notice (China, Iran, Italy and South Korea), you will be asked to stay home for a period of 14 days from the time you left the area that saw widespread or ongoing community spread. This has been implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into the United States.
During this two-week period, monitor your health and practice social distancing:
• Take your temperature with a thermometer two times a day and monitor for fever. Also, watch for cough or trouble breathing.
• Stay home and avoid contact with others. Do not go to work or school. Discuss your work situation with your employer before returning to work.
• Do not take public transportation, taxis, or ride-shares during the time you are practicing social distancing.
• Avoid crowded places (such as shopping centers and movie theaters) and limit your activities in public.
• Keep your distance from others (about six feet).
Click here for more travel information from the CDC about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
What is the status of Spring Break trips? Will they be cancelled?
As a result of the ongoing potential threat of the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and out of an abundance of caution, St. Joseph’s College will cancel all SJC-sponsored spring break travel and events that require travel by airplane, effective immediately and until further notice. This includes athletic trips and our previously scheduled Alternative Spring Break mission trip to Panama City, Florida.
The college will continue to closely monitor travel warnings from the State Department, the World Health Organization and the CDC, and will update the College community as new information becomes available. Please continue to check our website for updates on coronavirus.
Additional Travel Notifications
Travel to Asia
SJC has decided to postpone international travel to Asia until more clarity emerges on the dangers novel coronavirus (COVID-19) poses to our faculty, staff and students.
All campus events and activities are postponed until further notice.
Admissions Events
SJC Brooklyn Admissions
All Off Campus Housing tours are cancelled until further notice. For more information and updates please visit the Visit SJC Brooklyn page.
March 28 - Admitted Student Day has been cancelled.
SJC Long Island Admissions
March 14 - Freshman Information Session has been cancelled.
March 17 - Transfer Tuesday has been cancelled.
March 24 - Transfer Tuesday has been cancelled.
March 29 - Admitted Student Reception has been postponed.
April 25 - Graduate, Adult Professional Studies and Online Open House
Alumni Events
March 10, 2020
Presidential Tour Events
Due to the continued threat of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading throughout our region, the College has cancelled its Presidential Tour events scheduled for Thursday, March 26, in Patchogue and Tuesday, March 31, in Brooklyn.
Athletics Events
All SJC Brooklyn and SJC Long Island athletic events for the remainder of the winter season and the entire spring season have been cancelled.
The Skyline Conference, in which most of St. Joseph’s College’s athletic teams compete, announced on March 13 the cancellation of the remainder of the winter athletics season and all of the spring season, including all competitions and championships.
This decision comes from a desire to protect the health of all student-athletes and the health of their loved ones.
Please note that the NCAA has said it will approve blanket waivers for sport sponsorships and seasons of eligibility for affected student-athletes.
Student-athletes can check here for further information:
It has become clear that our current health crisis will continue into the coming weeks. Although I know with certitude that we will overcome this challenge, many aspects of our lives will have to be transformed, modified or put on hold. Some of those things include events very dear and important to us like our upcoming commencement ceremonies. With that said, it is with much disappointment and sadness that I announce the cancellation of our face-to-face 2020 commencement exercises that were previously scheduled for the end of the semester.
In the coming weeks, I plan to consult with our SGA leaders, faculty and staff about how we can best approach creating a meaningful substitute for a traditional commencement this year. There are several potential options, including the possibility of a delayed celebration. In the meantime, I want to reassure you that there will be no fees charged by the College for commencement, nor will you be required to purchase any of the regalia for the event at this time. Also, if you have already paid your graduation fee, it will automatically be refunded to you by the end of the semester.
Should you have questions or concerns about commencement, please contact Ms. Shantey Hill-Hanna at [email protected] for SJC Brooklyn or S. Karen Donohue at [email protected] for SJC Long Island.
Food Service Update
Evodio’s in Brooklyn and the Nest and Perch in Patchogue are closed until further notice.
Other Events on Campus
March 9, 2020
SCPP Forum
As a precautionary measure due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Superintendents College Presidents Partnership (SCPP) Annual Forum scheduled for Friday, March 13, at SJC Long Island in Patchogue has been postponed. Please note that to date there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on campus. However, we do understand that regional leadership will be focused on the safety of their students and personnel. The event will be rescheduled for a future date. Thank you for your continued support of the partnership.
March 10, 2020
Presidential Concert
The College has cancelled Dr. Boomgaarden’s spring concert scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, in Brooklyn.
March 11, 2020
SJC Brooklyn
March 14 - Youth Manhattan Championships
March 29 - Learnatory Open House
SJC Long Island
March 15 - Section XI Basketball
March 22 - Back Bay Fishing Expo
March 27 - Vision LI Summit
The College has established a website called Carry On to provide the Community with resources to support Faculty, Students and Staff to maintain continuity of teaching, learning and campus operations.
Faculty and Staff Resources
Carry On Advising
Carry OnAdvising provides information to support the remote advisement processes, recommended best practices and a variety of multimedia resources highlighting everything you need to know to successfully counsel and support your advisees during the registration process. Advisement on both the Long Island and Brooklyn campuses is fully addressed.
Carry On Teaching
Carry On Teaching provides information to support faculty in transitioning their class meetings to an online delivery. As our campus prepares for the disruptions to college operations and instructional delivery caused by COVID-19, representatives from our Office of Information Technology Services are available to meet with academic departments and units to provide remote workshops and training on features in Canvas that support the following:
Conducting live classes, meetings and office hours using Canvas Conferences
Communicating with students, and securely collecting assignments and issuing grades using Canvas
Recording videos for course content to securely share it with students using Kaltura
Carry On Working
Carry On Working provides resources to support Employees should they need to work from off campus:
Communication and collaboration tools
Forwarding of office phones / Access to voicemail
Accessing MySJC Applications and files
Libraries
Please visit SJC Libraries Remote Services & Support page for guidance on accessing library resources from off-campus. Library reference/information services are available via the AskUs! Chat Service during the hours posted on the library calendar. All materials borrowed during the Spring 2020 semester have been renewed until May 31, 2020. All overdue fines and fees accrued during this period have been waived. Since the college is closed it is not possible to accept returns at this time. Please hold on to borrowed materials and disregard any automated notices.
Student Resources
Carry On Learning
Carry On Learning provides resources to support Students to successfully participate in their courses:
Clear communications
Internet and device access
Knowledge of Canvas
Familiarity with cloud resources
Commitment to spend time in your online classes daily.
Carry On Advising
Carry OnAdvising for students provides information to stay up-to-date on advisement and registration dates, changes and expectations for remote academic advising. Contact information, instructions for Student Planning, and other helpful support materials are also provided in case you have questions or concerns.
Bookstore/Textbooks (SJC Long Island and Online Only)
Many textbook publishers have joined to provide commonly-used texts as free rentals online providing instant downloads for students who are now engaging in online learning.
The following is the fastest, easiest and most efficient way to have your textbooks for the rest of the semester. Please set up an account with your SJC email with VitalSource. Click on the "Explore" tab in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Once there, you can enter an ISBN or title with authors last name to search for your textbooks. When you find the textbook, click on the tile and a tab will come up with the option to "borrow." This will add the book to your digital library and you will see a counter at the bottom of the screen showing how many titles have been borrowed. You may borrow up to seven titles.
The Office of Career Preparation and Professional Development continues to offer its services without requiring students to come to campus. Use the links below to learn more about these services.
SJC Brooklyn’s Office of Counseling and Wellness is providing services to students via email, telephone and other online modalities, including confidential counseling through a virtual counseling clinic for students. If you have questions or need assistance, please email [email protected].
You may also follow the Office of Counseling and Wellness on Instagram @sjcbkwellness to access online programming. In the upcoming weeks, programs offered will include:
Breathing With SJC – In these times of unrest, the SJC community will benefit from calming and soothing activities. Join us for mindfulness and meditation, and anxiety reduction techniques on Instagram Live.
In With The New – Students can adjust to remote learning with support to manage change and develop new habits. Join us on Instagram Live for techniques to manage time, develop routines and encourage physical movement.
Please email [email protected] or visit Instagram (@sjcbkwellness) to access online programming.
SJC Long Island
SJC Long Island's Office of Counseling and Wellness is offering confidential counseling through a virtual counseling clinic for students.
You may also follow the Office of Counseling and Wellness on Instagram @sjcliwellness to access online programming. In the upcoming weeks, programs offered will include:
Breathing With SJC – In these times of unrest, the SJC community will benefit from calming and soothing activities. Join us for mindfulness and meditation, and anxiety reduction techniques on Instagram Live.
In With The New – Students can adjust to remote learning with support to manage change and develop new habits. Join us on Instagram Live for techniques to manage time, develop routines and encourage physical movement.
Please email [email protected] or visit Instagram (@sjcliwellness) to access online programming.
Food Insecurity Resources
SJC Brooklyn
Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens: 718.722.6000 or 718.722.6001 (M-F 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.). Walk-In Centers: 191 Joralemon St., Brooklyn (M, T, W, F 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.); 91-14 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica. Please note that changes are happening daily.
Center for Family Life in Sunset Park Food pantry: 718.492.3585, 443 39th St., Brooklyn
SJC Long Island
For any SJC Long Island students struggling with food scarcity issues, visit the Island Harvest Website to search for a food bank near you.
Libraries
Please visit SJC Libraries Remote Services & Support page for guidance on accessing library resources from off-campus. Library reference/information services are available via the AskUs! Chat Service during the hours posted on the library calendar. All materials borrowed during the Spring 2020 semester have been renewed until May 31, 2020. All overdue fines and fees accrued during this period have been waived. Since the college is closed it is not possible to accept returns at this time. Please hold on to borrowed materials and disregard any automated notices.
Off-Campus Housing (SJC Brooklyn Only)
Due to the current state of the COVID-19 outbreak coupled with the fact that we are following recommendations from health and government officials regarding social distancing to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, we have made the difficult decision of requiring all SJC students residing at EHS to depart immediately and for the remainder of the semester. We understand that this is a significant disruption to you, and that there is a great deal of uncertainty during this time, but please know that we are here to support you in any way we can.
At this time, we are asking that all SJC students who currently reside in EHS housing to please return for your belongings and check-out of the facility if you are able. In an effort to maintain appropriate social-distancing and orderly conduct, checkout will be done by appointment only between Friday, March 20 and Sunday, March 29 by noon, as local, state and federal travel restrictions allow. Please click the appropriate link below to schedule a checkout date and time. You should note that time slots will be strictly enforced to reduce large concentrations of people in shared spaces.
In the event that a student is not able to return to campus by March 29 to complete the move out process and retrieve their belongings, the items will remain in the assigned rooms until May 16, 2020, which is our traditional check-out date. If checkout has not occurred by this date, students will be billed directly by EHS until the process is complete. In the event that you will have someone other than yourself complete the checkout process, a waiver must be completed. Additionally, if you have already moved out and did not inform us, please do so in order for us to keep our records accurate.
Please note, for senior students who reside in the residence hall, you will receive a refund of your housing cost that will be pro-rated from March 29. For all other students who reside in the residence hall, your student account will be credited the pro-rated housing cost from March 29. We ask all students to please allow the College until the end of the semester to process these refunds, however, we will do our very best to try to make this happen sooner.
SJC understands that some students may have extenuating circumstances preventing them from returning home, and as such, we will work with these students on an individual basis. Please contact Michele Corsetti at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this very challenging time.
Students have virtual tutoring and testing via FaceTime; Skype; and Google calendar, hangout, classroom and docs. These platforms allow specialists and students to work on the same document simultaneously for visual and audio learning.
The staff has every students’ cell phone number and email to communicate.
Specialists will provide written feedback to the director, with the student's name, the time they worked with them, what was accomplished in the session and what is pending.
The Director will continue to communicate with faculty remotely.
All students are expected to alert the Director of test dates.
All testing will continue to be one-to-one.
All students must confirm receipt of the virtual PASS code of conduct.
Specialists already have access to syllabi and are on top of due dates.
The director will meet with parents remotely, as long as the student is present.
Student Accessibility Services
SJC Brooklyn
SAS accommodations and testing: If you are a student and have not yet given your professor your accommodation letter, faculty can verify your accommodation via [email protected] or [email protected].
If the professor is giving an exam online, faculty should incorporate the following for both PASS and SAS students:
Extended time for a timed assessment
In the event that the student needs a reader, the test should be available for 24 hours to log in (a family member can assist).
The scribe accommodation can be done with the speech-to-text smartphone feature.
Accessibility Students may need accommodation adaptations for their online classes. For example, a student may decide they no longer need a note taking accommodation as they can now replay Kaltura lectures, or another student may need more time on tests formatted to the online platform. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out as soon as possible to [email protected].
SJC Long Island
Virtual Registration for SAS Protocol
Students must reach out to the Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to register for accommodations.
The student must scan medical documentation (psych evaluation, 504 plan, doctor's note - we do not accept Rx pads) to [email protected].
On the documentation, the accommodations need to be clearly stipulated (Example: Extended time on testing 2.0). We cannot give accommodations if we do not know what they are.
We will review the documentation to see which accommodations are applicable.
We will issue the digital accommodations letters (see below for the protocol).
SAS Accommodations and Testing
If you are already registered with the office and have not picked up your letters yet, we have a master list of students with their accommodations to verify/issue accommodation emails to faculty remotely.
Virtual Testing Protocol for SAS
If there is an exam, please make sure you do the following:
Provide the digital accommodation letter to the faculty in order to receive extended time for timed assessments.
Reach out to Kathleen Blumenthal at [email protected] for the Academic Center to coordinate testing.
In the event that the student needs a reader, a screen reading program will be utilized.
The scribe accommodation can be done with the speech-to-text smartphone feature. This way the student does not need to rely on psychomotor skills.
Virtual Accommodations Protocol for SAS
Students must reach out to the Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) for accommodations.
In the event that they disclose to the professor without previously providing documentation (in-class) and/or an email with a CC to the Director ([email protected]), please urge the student to reach out. The faculty can also forward the student's email to the Director for verification.
The student must email the Director of SAS a copy of their schedule with the class and professor.
If we do not have this information, we cannot issue/email an accommodation letter.
We email the student with the accommodations letters. They then forward that email to the professor, while CCing the Director.
If the faculty do not see a CC, then the student must resend with the CC.
The faculty put in accommodations with the timed assessments.
The COVID-19 Student Emergency Assistance Fund at SJC will help those students who have been most affected by COVID-19 and its impact on SJC campuses and programs. Donations will be used to provide critical resources to directly assist students, as well as some SJC offices and other departments, to meet immediate and emergency needs to ensure students academic continuity and success.
Resources will be used to meet various needs including:
Technology and equipment to provide connectivity and support remote learning
In response to the recent global news reports regarding the spread of novel (new) coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) and confirmed cases of the respiratory illness in New York, St. Joseph’s College is closely monitoring the situation and following recommendations made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New York State Department of Health.
Get social with SJC
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