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CUNY MFA

CUNY MFA has been applied to the CUNY login, including any services that leverage the CUNY login account (e.g., Zoom, Brightspace, Dropbox).

Instructions can be found under the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) tab on our website

Fall 2025 Newsletter

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IT, Data, Information Technology
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Message from CIO/AVP Patty Kahn

As we start the Fall 2025 semester, I want to share below some updates on Information Technology initiatives. 

  What’s New in IT! 

  • Phone project 
    CSI will be moving to a VoIP phone system. What does this mean? VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. We will be migrating off our legacy analog phone system to a networked system, which will allow phone calls to be made over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. Our current phone system is obsolete and can no longer be supported. The new phone system will allow for greater collaboration.  More to come as we await CUNY’s rollout. We are next in line after CUNY completed BXCC 

  • Network Refresh 

    • What a summer it’s been for Networking .Leveraging CUNY capital funding for a network refresh, a major switch replacement was completed for those areas with switches that have reached end of life .These new switches will allow for improved connectivity and greater capacity. Original switches could only handle 1G throughput. Now we have the ability for greater than 10G in some locations. This upgrade required many hours of planning and detailed documentation to assure proper configurations and connections to the network infrastructure and firewall. This was completed in an expedited manner without any impact on the College’s operations. Kudos to the networking team for a successful project. 

    • The capital fiber upgrade project for the replacement of horizontal fiber providing network connectivity to the College’s buildings continues. Completed buildings include south side (1S; 2S) and the Library. The remaining buildings, should begin sometime during the fall semester. When completed, the new fiber will allow for 40G of backbone connectivity to the new switches installed over the summer. 

    • The replacement of the vertical fiber between the floors in the buildings that connect to the switches in the closets will be replaced as well. We are awaiting funding and anticipate this project to begin during the fall semester. 

Technology Initiatives

  • Business Continuity Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Training 
    OITS has developed a dynamic "Choose Your Adventure" BCDR tabletop Presentation in which users take on key cybersecurity roles and make critical decisions influenced by knowledge and dice rolls. Each choice impacts the storyline, challenges, and outcomes, creating an interactive and customizable training experience. All scenarios, questions, and paths are easily editable.   We provide training for the campus community so they can think critically and confidently when working with technology. For more information contact George.DavisIV@csi.cuny.edu 

  • Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) 
    MFA has been enabled for all applications requiring a  CUNYfirst login. These include:  

    • BrightSpace D2L  
    • CUNYBuy
    • CUNYfirst – Self-Service, Campus Solutions, HCM and Finance
    • DegreeWorks
    • Dropbox
    • EAB Navigate
    • Ezproxy
    • FACTS
    • LinkedIn Learning
    • Schedule Builder Zoom 

Training workshops have been offered throughout the summer. For more information, documentation, and an instructional video visit the IT Website.  Additional training workshops are available by registering here

  • W11 
    As a reminder, the Windows 10 Operating System will no longer be supported as of October 2025. Communication was sent to the campus community impacted by this change.   

  • Preferred names 

              Implement preferred names on diplomas and local reporting systems. 

  • ADA 

    • Implemented Optimize, a new software to ensure ADA compliance on the CSI website.  

    • Provided training for remediating documents 

    • Provided website with ADA resources. 

  • Wireless 

    • Networking team deployed (77) additional access points across campus, specifically in buildings 1A, 1C, and 1R.

    • Please note: If you are a Verizon customer, you may experience limited cellular coverage in certain areas of campus. To address this, connect to the CSI-Staff Wi-Fi network — do not use the guest network. Additionally, we recommend enabling Wi-Fi Calling to ensure uninterrupted voice service.

    • Instructions for enabling Wi-Fi Calling can be found here: Wi-Fi Calling Setup Guide

Life Cycle Replacement (LCR), total = 280

  • 1N111 lab (16 )
  • 1L214 (43)
  • Makerspace (18)
  • Podium upgrades (140)
  • Additional systems throughout campus (26).
  • 1S108 (37)       

Audio/Video/Smart Classroom 

  • Smart Classrooms:
    • 1L202 open lab
    • 1L212 open lab
    • 4S114 (Psychology Genius Academy) 

M365 CoPilot

  • Prompt-a-Thon – In May & June, members of the College Community participated in Microsoft Prompt-a-Thons.  The sessions, led by a team from Microsoft, walked through exercises on strategic ways to use MS Copilot.  See the Training & Support section to learn about CSI’s Copilot month. 

Workday

  • CUNYfirst is being replaced with Workday; new software that CUNY is using to manage Human Resource and Finance services. IT will support the implementation of new CUNY Work HCM (Human Capital Management) and Financial modules. The proposed go-live date is January 2027, which will involve IT’s support with data extraction, cleanup and data validation, and sunsetting current shadow systems.  Some of the services Workday will support include:
    • HCM
      • Onboarding
      • Benefits & compensation
      • Time and Leave
      • Payroll
    • Financial
      • Budget
      • Expenses
      • Procurement

CART – The Technology Training Team led Technology Overview Sessions for incoming students during this year’s CART days.  The in-person sessions assisted students with accessing their technology accounts, including student WIFI, SLAS, Email, CUNYfirst, Brightspace, Office 365, Zoom, and Dropbox.  Feel free to share the Helpful Links flier with your students.

Training session – As we say goodbye to Summer, we will say hello to Training Sessions.  August will bring the following topics for faculty and staff: MFA for CUNYfirst Logins and Zoom.  Topics for students will include MFA, Brightspace, and Zoom.  We will also be offering Virtual Technology Orientations for students who did not attend our in-person sessions or for those who need a refresher.

Copilot Month – As a follow-up to the Microsoft Prompt-a-Thons, October will be Microsoft Copilot Month.  The series will explore ways to integrate MS Copilot into the Office applications you currently use, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.  Dates/times/topics will be announced in September, so be on the lookout for our email showing the training calendar.

Overview & Department Training – As the semester begins, you may have new staff who could benefit from a technology overview, or you may want to streamline some of your work processes. Please reach out to Doriann to schedule customized Technology Overviews and Departmental Trainings for your areas.

Training for Classes – We offer in-person and virtual training for classes.  If you have a class that needs assistance with any of our supported applications, please contact us to schedule a training session for your students.  You can also direct students to our Technology Literacy Workshops Calendar for sessions that offer information as well as CLUE credit.

Training Calendar – If you miss the emails, you can always find a list of the training being offered on our training Calendar.  

Please reach out to Doriann.Hyland@csi.cuny.edu for additional information.

  • MFA for student email - estimated time frame January 2026 

  • Wayfinding 
    We are excited to announce CSI’s new wayfinding kiosk, which will be located in front of 1P. Once installed, the interactive display will provide updated campus information as well as navigation maps, which can be viewed from your mobile device to specific locations on campus. Estimated time of completion will be the end of the fall semester.

  • New Chatbot - We are researching using Copilot to implement a new Chatbot for the website.