Staff Manual

This manual is a living document recognizing that CUNY SPH and University policies and procedures may change from time to time. As the school matures, new needs and concerns will arise, along with our capacity to address them.

The purpose of this manual is to provide you with the knowledge and resources you need to excel in your respective role at the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH). This manual is a valuable tool for finding information on services at your disposal at CUNY SPH and CUNY.  As a CUNY SPH employee, you will find information to assist you in performing your responsibilities and support our students, community members, and colleagues.  You will also find an Employee Conduct Code of Conduct which will provide you with an overview of our commitment to you as a CUNY SPH employee.

As a CUNY SPH employee, you need to become familiar with CUNY policies, laws, rules, and regulations in general and specific information on those that apply to your particular role. We encourage you to do so. They provide you with a clear understanding of your responsibility in complying with them.

If you have a question on a specific policy or procedure that affects you or your department, contact your immediate supervisor. And, If you have a general question about an SPH or CUNY policy or practices, speak to the appropriate CUNY SPH Department, e.g., HR, IT, as found in the “Whom to Contact for What” document in the “Helpful Links” section of this page.

Below, you will find links that will provide you with direct access to sections of the SPH Web site, departments and organizations, and other web pages outside our network.

Thank you for being part of our CUNY SPH family!

At CUNY SPH, we strive to maintain an inclusive and diverse school workforce. We are committed to providing a free workplace of discrimination of all types and from abusive, offensive, or harassing behavior. Our students, faculty, staff, and visitors adhere to non-discrimination and affirmative action regulations and laws.

At CUNY SPH, we embrace the school’s values in our day-to-day interactions with students, faculty, staff, visitors, and other SPH and CUNY community members.

At CUNY SPH, we are consistently working to maintain an environment that brings out the full potential in all of us. Having transparent, respectful, and direct expectations communicated contributes to CUNY SPH’s success and translates into our employees’ personal or professional growth and recognition.

The following highlights provide you with a view in our understanding of ethical conduct.

Become Knowledgeable:

Exercise sound judgment and act in CUNY SPH’s interest at all times.  You must familiarize yourself with our School administrative services, academics, research, CUNY policies, and resources, etc.  Please visit our SPH and CUNY websites. Suppose you still need more information or clarification other than the one provided on the websites. In that case, we encourage you to approach your immediate supervisor, the Human Resources Unit, or Legal Advisor if you need further clarification.

You may also find it helpful to look at our SPH Whom to contact sheet for more specific information.

Be inclusive:

Our differences are our strengths, and we find strength in diversity. Different perspectives on issues add value to our commitments, helps us on solving problems, and even generating new ideas.

At SPH, we believe all our employees are essential in supporting an inclusive workplace by adhering to the following:

  • Foster teamwork and employee participation, encouraging the representation of different employee perspectives.
  • Be open-minded and listen when given constructive feedback.
  • Avoid slang or idioms that might not translate across cultures.
  • Address and report inappropriate behavior and discriminatory, harassing, abusive, offensive, or unwelcome comments.

Be patient, courteous, and considerate.

At CUNY SPH, we value respect, diversity, and inclusiveness.  We pride ourselves on our employees serving our diverse community and institution, whether in person or in written communications. Thus, we are providing you with some suggestions for your consideration in regards to email etiquette adapted from Kallos, J, Because Netiquette matters, Xlibris, 2004

  1. Read and respond to your email in a timely manner (generally within 1-2 business days). If you need more time to respond, let the sender know.
  2. Before sending email, consider the most appropriate form of communication for the issue at-hand. Email is not conducive to long, complicated topics. As a general rule, 3 or more long exchanges are a good indication that it’s probably time to pick up the phone or schedule a meeting.
  3. Carefully review your message for accuracy, completeness and tone before clicking “send”. Once you hit “send”, email enters the public domain.
  4. In an email exchange, update the subject line, as appropriate.
  5. Practice “down editing” after multiple replies. (After three exchanges, it’s advisable to start a new email.)
  6. When sending an email that requires a response, let the recipient know why you’re sending it, what you need and by when (preferably in one succinct paragraph).
  7. Consider when it is appropriate to hit “reply all” (e.g. checking on everyone’s availability for a meeting) and when it is appropriate to reply to the sender only.
  8. Make sure attachments are sent in a format that the recipient can easily read. If you expect the recipient to print the document, make sure it is formatted for printing.
  9. Practice courtesy, respect and the human touch. The “freedom of speech” guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution only protects you from governmental intervention in your right to express yourself. It does not give you free reign to use computer resources to send scurrilous emails.
  10. Apologize with sincerity if you have mistakenly offended or misinterpreted another person’s email. Put measures in place to prevent the mistake from happening in the future.
  11. Agree to disagree.
  12. Do not overload the on-line environment.
  13. Be open to improving your on-line skills
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