Policies

December 11, 2023

Policy Owner: Executive Vice Chancellor & University Provost

Responsible Office: CUNY Academic & Faculty Affairs

Contact Information: Academic Program Review & Policy

Effective Date: By campus following the transition to D2L Brightspace.

Constituencies: Faculty, instructional staff, and administrators

Policy Statement

All online classes, whether synchronous or asynchronous, must be delivered through the University-supported learning management system (LMS) beginning in the first semester following the implementation of D2L Brightspace on a campus.

The University-supported LMS is CUNY’s only platform for delivery of online instruction that:

• Addresses user data privacy under various privacy laws, including FERPA, GDPR, CCPA, COPPA, PIPEDA, ISO 27001, 27018, SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), and Security Trust and Assurance Registry (STAR);
• Contains tools to assess, support, and improve accessibility of course materials to facilitate compliance with legal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act;
• Is integrated with CUNYfirst to facilitate automatic data transfers such as class rosters and grades;
• Supports best practices framework for instructional design for distance education courses and programs, aligned with national standards (e.g., Universal Design for Learning);
• Contains interactive features that foster student engagement and active participation;
• Provides 24 x 7 x 365 support for faculty, students, and staff;
• Records academic engagement for financial aid disbursement to confirm eligibility for Title IV funds; and
• Enables reporting compliance for IPEDS, ADA, homeland security/visa status, and NC-SARA.