Graduate students must claim their CUNYfirst account to register for classes. Students in the traditional MPA, MIA and MSEd-HEA claim their account and register themselves. Students in the Executive MPA should claim their account, but do not register themselves; this is done by the graduate advisement team. It is recommended that students meet with their advisor to plan out their courses in the correct order to avoid taking classes at the wrong time.

The Schedule of Classes is available prior to each registration period for the upcoming semester for students to search for classes, instructor names, and course information. Students that register themselves must access CUNYfirst to find their appointment time for registration for each upcoming term. Each student is assigned a unique registration appointment time on CUNYfirst and will not be able to register before the appointment time listed for them. Students may add courses to their shopping cart prior to their registration time, however, this does not mean that their seat is secured. To register for classes and be assured of a seat, click “Enroll” and “Finish Enrolling”.

It is imperative that students register for classes as soon as their registration opens. Neither instructors nor advisors can add seats to a closed class; there are also no waitlists for any of our graduate PAF classes. Students closed out of classes are recommended to habitually check the schedule for any seats to open up. If there is a hold on the account (late payments, overdue library fines, etc.), the hold will need to be cleared in order to register.

• Graduate students working full-time should not register for a full-time course load (9 or more credits). Any Marxe graduate student who wants to take more than 9 credits (full-time) in a given semester must consult with an academic advisor and get permission to do so. Please email your advisor or contact mspia.advisement@baruch.cuny.edu.
• It is highly recommended that graduate students should take core required courses before taking elective courses. Core course are foundational courses and pre-reqs to many electives. New graduates students enrolling in their first semester should plan to only take core classes.
• Students should not register for a capstone class (PAF 9190, PAF 9390 or PAF 9490) until they are at the end of their academic program. Independent study capstones are not permitted.
• Students seeking to complete an independent study must make arrangement with a full-time member of the public affairs faculty, who then must obtain authorization from the Associate Dean. Adjunct faculty are not permitted to teach independent study sections.
• If classes are cancelled due to insufficient enrollment or for some other reason, a notification will be sent prior to the start of the semester via Baruch email. A back-up schedule is recommended in the event a class is cancelled or moved to another time slot.
• Courses are offered in a variety of instruction modalities; such as online (synchronous or asynchronous), hybrid and in-person. Click here to read more about instruction modalities.
• Courses with section codes XMPA are not open for registration by traditional MPA, MIA, or MSEd-HEA students.
• Students may take courses at other CUNY senior colleges using the ePermit system on CUNYfirst. Preapproval is required by emailing mspia.advisement@baruch.cuny.edu; please email the course number, title and the description of the course you would like to take on ePermit. After given pre-approval, students can then go ahead and fill out the ePermit on CUNYfirst. We recommend any student doing an epermit to submit this as soon as their registration opens for the following semester. For more information about ePermits, visit the College’s how-to guide to ePermit.

The Marxe graduate advisement team is comprised of experienced professionals whose goal is to guide students efficiently and effectively to degree completion. The team provides direct advisement for the Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of International Affairs (MIA), and Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in Higher Education Administration (HEA).

The team holds memberships in the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and keep up-to-date on the latest trends in higher education administration, including the accreditation standards of NASPAA (Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration). A newsletter is distributed each week with the latest information about courses, new program initiatives, and student opportunities. Any member of the team may be contacted at mspia.advisement@baruch.cuny.edu.

Sandra Fajardo, Director of Academic Advisement

Sandra Fajardo is the Director of Graduate Academic Advisement for the Baruch College Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. She oversees the academic advisement of graduate students in our traditional Master of Public Administration, Executive Master of Public Administration, National Urban Fellows MPA, Master of Science in Higher Education Administration, and our Master of International Affairs from the point of matriculation through graduation. Sandra has over 20 years of experience in the field of Higher Education Administration, with 14 of those years being in graduate academic advisement. She is a member of The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) and College Student Educators International (ACPA). Sandra holds a BBA in Human Resources Management and a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from Baruch.

Maureen Samedy, Associate Director of Academic Advisement

As the Associate Director of Academic Advisement, Maureen serves as the program manager for our Executive Master of Public Administration program, academic advisor to our Master of International Affairs program, and is the liaison to Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honor society in public affairs and administration. Maureen is committed to helping students meet their educational and professional goals. Her professional experience includes working in workforce development, community college teaching, graduate admissions, and servicing students in cohort programs.

Elaine Truong, Assistant Director of Academic Advisement

Elaine Truong serves as the academic advisor for students in the traditional MPA program and MSEd-HEA program, the Marxe liaison for the MA in Arts Administration program at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. She is dedicated to supporting graduate students in their academic and professional goals at Marxe. As a graduate of the Marxe school herself, she has a deep understanding of the graduate programs and the students in the program. Elaine holds a MSEd in Higher Education Administration from Baruch and holds a BA in Political Science from Hunter College.