End of the Semester Checklist

The end of the semester can be a good time to engage students in reflection about the semester. Here are some prompts you can use to lead students through a small group reflection exercise:*

1. Identify at least three things that went well in this course.
2. List the reasons why you were successful in this course (e.g., study habits, note-taking, time management, etc.)
3. Identify at least three things that did not go well.
4. Why do you think you were unsuccessful?
5. What could you do differently the next time? If you’re stuck for an answer, discuss this with your peers.

After the exercise, ask your students to share and discuss in pairs or small groups, then have a full class discussion. (It might be helpful to share resources with your students, such as the Learning Commons, the Writing Center, and Counseling Services.)

After the class discussion, ask students to write again:

• What plans do you have to succeed next semester? What can you do now to help you meet future challenges?

*Adapted from materials produced by Montclair State University Office for Faculty Excellence

Additional suggestions for end-of semester reflection

Please consult Academic Policies & Procedures

Grade changes can now be submitted through the Grade Change Form tile in CUNYfirst. If a student is completing coursework for a prior semester INC (Incomplete), you may now request the grade change directly through the online grade change process in CUNYfirst. To walk you through the process, this video provides clear, step-by-step instructions on how to submit grade changes in CUNYfirst.

• December 16 – Fall 2025 grade rosters open.
• December 26 – Fall 2025 grade submission deadline.

There are multiple ways to enter final grades into CUNYfirst.

• Enter Grades Using the Grade Roster
• Enter Grades Using an Excel Spreadsheet
• CUNY recently enabled the Grade Passback tool which allows faculty to import final grades directly from Brightspace into CUNYfirst.
  • (Video) Grade Passback in Brightspace (5:58)
  • (User Guide) Brightspace to CUNYfirst Grade Passback
  • Brightspace To CUNYfirst Grade Passback FAQs

We suggest waiting until the second week of June to do this because students may want to login to view their grades after the end of the semester.

1. From the CUNY Brightspace home page, use the course selector to search for and open the course you want to make inactive.
   
2. In the Navigation bar, click on Course Admin.
   
3. Click on Course Offering Information.
   
4. Scroll to “Course is active” and deselect the checkbox.
5. Click Save.
   

The Reserves and Course Content department of Rosenthal Library is now accepting requests for new materials to be hosted for the Winter and Spring 2026 semesters. To ensure that new material has the best chance of being available for the first day of the semester, please adhere to the following request deadlines:

Winter semester: December 23, 2025
Spring semester: January 22, 2026

Requests received after this deadline will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Renewals and New Requests

• To renew reserves materials from a previous course, you can submit a Reserves Renewal Request here.
• To request new or additional items, please submit an E-Reserves Request for each item here.

For the Reserves Information and Policies for Faculty site, click here.

For questions about Reserves, contact: qc_reserve@qc.cuny.edu.

To encourage the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiative the library purchases electronic books and streaming videos whenever licensing allows for institutional use.

Our Open Educational Resources (OER)/Zero Textbook Cost Guide has details on how the library can help you find OER alternatives to commercial textbooks. For questions or assistance with OER, contact OER Coordinator Leila S. Walker at lwalker@qc.cuny.edu.

Submit your course adoption information for your Winter and/or Spring 2026 courses through the online book store.  Submission of your adoption information helps to support course accessibility and affordability.

Enter information about textbooks, alternative course materials, or select “no books required” for each of your courses.  Use your CUNYfirst credentials to make your selections.  Textbook information entered through the bookstore will automatically update your course in CUNYfirst. Consider having the library place a copy of the materials on reserve for your class. Information on requesting reserves can be found at Reserves Information for Faculty.

As the semester comes to a close, we would like to remind faculty and staff of the ways in which to communicate with students via email and text. Faculty and advisors may email or text students in their classes or caseload by utilizing the QC Navigate platform. Visit https://www.qc.cuny.edu/eab/eab-messaging-students/ for self-service instructions on how to message students.

For mass communication from staff members to QC students, visit https://www.qc.cuny.edu/es/ to submit a request. Emails are sent on behalf of individuals, departments, and strawman accounts to all students or specific student populations.

Take some time to update your CV. Be sure to list recent conferences, lectures and professional development workshops you attended.