SPARC (Students)

Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course (“SPARC”) logo

Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course (“SPARC”)

All incoming and transfer students (and certain other subsets of students) are required to complete the Sexual and Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Response Course (“SPARC”). SPARC is a web-based training program developed by the State University of New York in partnership with the City University of New York to satisfy the New York State requirement that every college must adopt a comprehensive orientation and ongoing education campaign to educate students about sexual misconduct, including domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, and sexual violence. SPARC educates students about various topics relating to sexual misconduct and harassment.

SPARC can be accessed by logging onto Blackboard. Most students who are required to take this course are already registered and can look for “My Organizations” on the Blackboard Home page. The Training course will be listed there.

For assistance students can reach out to Juana Minaya, Student Life Specialist, jminaya@hostos.cuny.edu or Dean Johanna Gomez, Dean of Student Life, jgomez@hostos.cuny.edu. You can send questions and issues to sparc@hostos.cuny.edu.

SPARC INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In order to login to the CUNY Blackboard you will need your CUNYfirst user ID and password. If you have not yet claimed your CUNYfirst account (you do not have one), click on the following link to get an account or the following link for a narrated tutorial. If you are having difficulty, you may contact the IT Help Desk for assistance.
  2. When logging into the CUNY Blackboard (#3 below), it is best to use another browser such as Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer to avoid compatibility issues.
  3. Login to CUNY Blackboard. After using your CUNYfirst credentials to login, go to the right side of the Blackboard home page and you will see “My Organizations”. Click on “Hostos Community College SPARC 2021-2022” to start the training. It may take a few minutes for the “My Organizations” module to load.

    CUNY Blackboard snip image for My Organizations: SPARC
  4. It is recommended to set aside 30-40 minutes for each training. You must complete entire training in one sitting to avoid technical issues and /or loss of progress.
  5. When you have completed the training, print out a certificate as proof of compliance by clicking “completion certificate” on the left side of the Blackboard dashboard. If you are having difficulty, log out and log back in after 15 minutes-1/2 hour to retry.