CCTOP Director's Blog

We are very excited about the newly formatted CCTOP website.  While previously, it was a general information website, mostly intended for prospective students, we’re confident that the new version will be a valuable resource for prospective students, current students, and for the faculty and administration at our partner schools.  Welcome, explore, and let us know what you think!

We have gone to an online nomination form, as a way to streamline, speed up, and “green” our process.  We would encourage all nominators to please use this form, although we will continue to accept the original paper nominations as well.

Check back often!  I’ll be posting my travel and presentation schedule, so if you would like to speak with me and can’t get to NYU, take a look here- I’ll probably be at your campus soon.  If you’re a current student, and you’d like to visit your old stomping grounds and help others from your community college make the leap, you’re welcome to join me!  I’ll also be posting important deadlines, upcoming events, etc. for both prospective and current students.

To make this website as useful as possible, we need your input!  If there is anything you would like to see added, please just let me know at bart.grachan@nyu.edu or at (212) 998-5139. 

Becoming a part of CCTOP begins with a nomination from a faculty member or administrator.  To help speed up, clarify and “green” up the process, we’ve moved our nomination form online.  Rather than filling out a form, and mailing or faxing it in, the process is now simply typing in the info and clicking, “submit!”  This triggers three things:

1) The student gets an email, with a letter explaining their nomination, links to the online Undergraduate Admissions applications, and a FEE WAIVER to print out and mail in.

2) The nominator gets an email, thanking them and confirming the submission.

3) I get the student and nominator information, instantly and accurately, without having to decipher handwriting!  Speaking as someone who has to type anything to make it legible, this is a great help.

This helps in a variety of ways; it means all of the info is accurate, which is a huge time-saver.  It gets everyone the necessary information immediately, without waiting for me to database the info, create a letter, and mail it out.  Even better, with 150-200 nominations per year, it will save an enormous amount of paper in nomination forms, faxes, letters, applications, responses, and envelopes.   

Students interested in Social Work are still welcome to have nominations submitted through this website; their information will be directed immediately to Dr. Dina Rosenfeld of the Silver School of Social Work, and they will get appropriate information.  Her info can also be found on this website. 

I’m looking forward to getting your nominations!

This week, I'll be visiting several campuses in the area, either for presentations or for transfer fairs hosted by the school. Here's where I'll be and when; if I'm coming to your school this week, I hope to see you there! If I'm not, check back every week for my schedule, or email me at cctop@nyu.edu, and I'll let you know when I'll be on your campus!

Monday, 9/22
Suffolk CCC, Grant Campus: Room 114, Captree, 11:00
Suffolk CCC, Ammerman Campus: Honors Office, 3:15
Suffolk CCC, Riverhead Campus: Transfer Office, 5:30

Tuesday, 9/23
BMCC, Transfer Fair, 11-8

Saturday, 9/27
BMCC Weekend Transfer Fair, 11-2

I'll see you on the road!

I’ll be traveling again on two days next week, so if I’m at your school, by all means, please come by!

LaGuardia Community College:  Monday, 10/6, 4:30-5:30, C-Building, room 261

Westchester Community College: Writing the College Application Essay workshop, Wednesday, 10/8, 12-1, Library room 321

As always, if you want to know when I’ll be at your school, you can contact me at at cctop@nyu.edu, or call me at (212) 998-5139.  I’ll see you on the road!

I have been having some problems with the BMCC student email system; if I try to email a student at their campus address, it gets refused as spam.  This happens even when I am responding to one of your emails.  In the long-term, we’re working on it.  In the short-term, if you have a personal email account, please use that so that I can respond to you as quickly as possible!  If you don’t have an alternative email, you can call me as well, at (212) 998-5139.  I’m sorry for the inconvenience!