Current Cohort
Volunteer Service Days
Q. What is a Volunteer Service Day?
- Completing 4 hours of volunteer service throughout the semester counts as one Volunteer Service Day.
- You don’t have to do all 4 hours in one event, that is, you can spread those hours across multiple events, as long as they add up to 4 hours.
Q. Are Service Days mandatory ?
- Yes, you must do 4 hours of volunteering per semester to meet the program requirements.
Q. How many Volunteer Service Day hours are we expected to do in order to meet the program requirements?
- Cohort members are expected to volunteer a total of 8 hours by the end of the program.
- 4 hours in the Fall semester and 4 hours in the Spring Semester.
Q. Can we do more than one Service Day per semester?
- You are expected to do at least one Volunteer Service Day per semester.
- You can do more than one Service Day, however, extra hours completed in the Fall cannot be used for the Spring semester requirement.
Q. How do we find Service Days to be involved in?
- As the semester goes on:
- You will find volunteering opportunities on Symplicity, Email, Newsletter, Website, and etc.
- We will forward email opportunities as they come up.
- You can find volunteering opportunities on your own. The caveat to that is, that those opportunities have to be approved by us beforehand if you want them to count towards your Volunteer Service Day hours.
Q. How do we provide proof of completing our Service Days?
- You should provide us with the contact information of the event Coordinator who can verify your volunteering. (We will contact and verify your volunteering with them).
- A picture of you taken at the site.
Monthly Trainings
Important Update:
- Starting on March 19, 2020, QC Service Corps will hold all monthly training workshops via CUNY Blackboard.
Q. What are Monthly Trainings ?
- Mandatory monthly workshops, facilitated by the Campus Manager, the Student Outreach & Support Specialist, or the Field Liaison, provide a setting in which students can do the following:
- Reflect on their service placement experiences
- Increase their understanding of their civic engagement activities and organization/agency culture
- Gain communication strategies and skills
- Troubleshoot emerging challenges at service placements
- Evaluate their strengths and challenges
- Access resources to successfully find and obtain post-Service Corps opportunities, including internships and full-time jobs
Q. How many Service Corps trainings are required for completion of the program ?
- 7 trainings in total are required for successful completion of the program.
- 4 trainings: September, October, November and December (once a month) for the Fall semester.
- 3 trainings: February, March, April (once a month) for the Spring Semester.
Q. If I attend more than one monthly training in one month, will that count towards the 7 I am required to attend?
- No, attending more than one per month will not contribute towards the requirements for other months.
Q. Am I required to attend monthly trainings?
- Yes, attending one training per month is mandatory.
Q. What happens if I miss a monthly training?
- Missing a monthly training without a valid excuse is grounds for termination.
- If you are unable to attend a monthly training due to circumstances beyond your control, such as an illness, please contact us via email immediately.
Q. What if I cannot attend a Monthly Meeting due to emergency reasons or conflict with schedule?
- Please email us a head of time to inform us if you will miss an event. For the follow up emails, provide us valid documents, letters, or a copy of your CUNY First schedule. Monthly meetings will be held 3 times a month, you are only required to attend one. These Monthly Meetings time will be flexible, these will be held during club hours 12-1:30 or evenings. Do not take Monthly Meetings for granted, many of our past Cohorts were able to secure a job by attending these.
Q. What if I forgot to sign the Monthly Meeting Attendance sheet because I came late?
- This is not a valid excuse. Always sign the attendance sheet before you leave. Failure to do so will result in being marked absent. Repeatedly being absent from monthly trainings can and will lead to an automatic termination from the program.
Payroll, Time Sheets & ePAFs
Q. What do I do for questions related to direct deposit, picking up checks, W2 Forms, pay stubs etc.?
- For any such inquiries, please contact Human Resources using this form.
- For the “topic” field, please pick: College Assistants, Student Aides, and Tutors
Q. What is an ePAF and why do I need to fill it out?
- An ePAF stands for Electronic Personnel Action Form. (Read more about it here)
- In summary, it is what allows us to hire and pay you.
- You must fill out your ePAF as soon as you receive an email about it from us.
Q. Where do I fill out my time sheets?
- After you finish all of your HR Paperwork, you will be emailed detailed instructions regarding where and how to fill out time-sheets.
- You will be using PR-Assist, which can be accessed here
- You will be using your Staff-CAMS account to log-on to PR-Assist.
Q. What is military time/24 hour time?
- Please refer to this wikipedia entry.
- You may also use this link to do conversions.
Q. What happens if I submit an inaccurate time-sheet?
- Any mistakes should be reported via email as soon as possible.
- Any corrections must be approved by the Campus Manager.
Q. What happens if I don’t fill my time-sheet out on time?
- In a situation where you were not able to fill in your time-sheets on time, please send us an email or report to the Service Corps Office as soon as possible.
- Your paycheck for the time-period you missed will be retroactively added to the next pay-period pay date.
Learning Action Plan (LAPS)
Q. What is a Learning Action Plan?
- Students work with their Service Corps Manager during the first month of the service placement to develop an intentional Learning Action Plan, which will
- Promote academic, career and/or personal development
- Connect students’ learning goals with the specific work at the service placement site
Q. Who approves a Learning Action Plan?
- Learning Action Plan is approved by the students’ onsite supervisors
Q. When are Learning Action Plans due?
- A Learning Action Plan is typically submitted online in Symplicity in September/October
Q. When I go to the “Learning Action Plan” on Symplicity, I see a “transcript required” message which directs me to contact the Campus Supervisor. What does that mean?
- The LAP has to open up before you can submit the required details.
- If you are seeing this message you should assume that submission hasn’t opened yet.
Mid Year & Final Evaluations
Q. What is a Mid Year Evaluation & what is it used for ?
- It is expected that at the halfway point and end of the placement each supervisor will complete performance evaluations of their Service Corps members.
- CUNY Service Corps members will be evaluated on professionalism, communication, interpersonal skills, and progress towards the learning objectives. Each student articulates his/her learning objectives in the Learning Action Plan completed at the beginning of the program.
- The mid-program evaluation will serve as a reference point for subsequent performance assessments
Q. When are Mid Year Evaluations due?
- Mid-semester evaluation: Due in November
Q. When are Final Year (End Year) Evaluations due?
- Final evaluation: Due in April
Q. What do I do if my supervisor is unable to do my Mid Year Evaluation because of technical difficulties, not having the link etc. ?
- Please send us an email at servicecorps@qc.cuny.edu as soon as possible, with the name & email address of your supervisor.
Touch Points
Important Update:
- Touch Point appointments will be held online via CUNY Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.
- You can use CUNY Blackboard Collaborate Ultra via PC or via phone App.
- Please schedule your touch point appointment via form sent to your qmail.
Q. What are touch points and how will they be completed?
- In addition to participating in the monthly workshops, all Corps members must experience one “touch point” with Service Corps staff per semester. Touch-points are an opportunity for members of the cohort to meet with Service Corps staff to discuss their service experience, Learning Action Plan and to provide feedback on their current progress within the CUNY Service Corps. As such, a Touch Point is defined as an in-person individual or small group meeting conducted by a core Service Corps staff person. Individual meetings should be at least 15 minutes. Small group meetings should include no more than 7 students.
- Individual in-person meetings (scheduled or open office hours) – Individual meetings can be scheduled or take place during manager’s open office hours and should be at least 15 minutes.
- Small group meetings (2-7 students) – Small group meetings allow students to engage in group problem solving, offer/gain support from peers, and improve communication skills. When students are facing a common issue or challenge, a small group meeting may provide opportunities for students to learn from one another.
Q. How long is a Touch Point?
- Touch Points are 15 minutes or longer.
Q. When are Touch Points due?
- Touch points – need to be completed by the end of a given date provided.
General Questions & Contact Information
Q. How can I contact the Service Corps office?
- Although classes will take place online, the Service Corps staff will be working from home and will observe regular office hours. You can reach us by sending us an email at: servicecorps@qc.cuny.edu
Q. What the the office timings?
- Office Timings are as follow:
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Q. In case of an emergency, how do I contact the Service Corps office ?
- For urgent matters call, Taruna Sadhu, the Campus Director, directly at: +1 (516) 595-0405
Q. What if I need to speak with the someone outside of the hours listed above?
- Please send an email to servicecorps@qc.cuny.edu to schedule an evening appointment.
Q. What if I missed an important event because I did not know about it?
- Please regularly check your QC email and our website for important programming updates. However,if you missed an event, please contact us at servicecorps@qc.cuny.edu immediately and we will let you know what next steps you can take to ensure you are meeting all of the necessary program requirements for graduation in May.
Q. Where can I find resources for students?
- Resources are available here.