For many students, the first week of classes during the spring semester brought a technology failure that stopped them from accessing their classes.

Students were forced to change their CUNY passwords during the first few days of the semester. Many were locked out of Brightspace and CUNYfirst. For an unfortunate minority, the reset process didn’t work online, and they instead had to go in person to the Baruch Computing and Technology Center to resolve their tech issues. 

These issues quickly showed up in the classroom. Students who couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi or access Brightspace had to leave class to resolve the issues. Professors weren’t sure how to proceed when students couldn’t open syllabi, assignments or presentations. 

Important updates and announcements were missed, not because students weren’t prepared, but because they just couldn’t log in. Baruch College is aware that this happens almost every semester as help stations and tents were set up around campus to reset passwords. While those stations helped some students, it is clear that Baruch does not intend to resolve this permanently. A system that breaks at the start of every semester shouldn’t be treated as the norm.

The outage didn’t just affect classes. It also caused problems for student clubs, as MyBaruch was down for over a week. Clubs couldn’t submit paperwork, re-register or process payments. Some couldn’t get reimbursed for food, while others fell behind on deadlines before the semester even started.

Technology is supposed to make student life easier, not harder. When systems fail during the first week of classes, it sends the message that student access isn’t a priority. Baruch needs a streamlined password system, clearer communication and a real plan for when things go wrong. Students shouldn’t have to start each semester with issues that prevent them from keeping up with classes.

The Office of Student Life responded to the MyBaruch outage by getting the platform back up on Feb. 2. The student club deadlines were also adjusted.