Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for a webinar on high-impact service-learning practices on Tuesday, March 10, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in South Wing 137. This webinar will focus on three practices that facilitate achievement of high-impact community-engaged learning (service learning). Participants will develop a deeper understanding of cultivating reciprocal relationships, using a project management approach, and educating about context. Each practice will be paired with processes to provide options for implementation. Examples will be drawn from the development of service learning at St. John Fisher College as the founding director of the program and a stand-alone service-learning course called Social Change through Service. A faculty colleague will provide additional illustrations.

RSVP to Mark Brumby, administrative assistant in the Civic and Community Engagement Office, 878-3919.

The deadline to submit claims for 2019 Dependent Care Accounts and Health Care Spending Accounts is Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Because of the tax advantages of the Flex-Spending Account (FSA), the Internal Revenue Service has strict guidelines for its use, including what is commonly known as the “use it or lose it” rule. Simply put, employees who contribute pre-tax dollars to their FSA accounts in excess of eligible expenses during the plan year, or those who fail to submit claims in a timely manner, lose the balance remaining in their accounts. Enrolled 2019 participants must submit any eligible unreimbursed expenses from the 2019 plan year by March 31.

For information on how to submit a claim, visit the Flex Spending Claims Process web page or call (800) 358-7202.

Winterim provides a variety of activities to support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of the Buffalo State community. Winterim will be held January 14–17 and is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn from one another. Sessions this year include learning about managing student workers, WNY's involvement in the lunar landing mission, rock painting, cheese tasting, a wine and museum tour, and many more. Register for sessions soon; they will fill up quickly!

The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System will hold its Winter/Spring 2020 Pension and Retirement Education Program (PREP) seminars on Wednesday, February 19; Thursday, March 12; and Saturday, April 18, at the Holiday Inn Buffalo International Airport, 4600 Genesee Street in Cheektowaga.

The seminar will include information on NYSTRS benefits; financial planning; Social Security; estate planning; retirement: a new beginning; and the retirement process.

The seminar will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; check-in begins at 8:00 a.m. PREP seminars are free, and spouses and partners may also attend, but advance registration is required. Seminars fill up quickly, so book early. Visit nystrs.org using your My NYSTRS account ("my tools" tab) or call (800) 348-7298, ext. 6180, to register. When calling, you must provide your Employee ID or Social Security number, e-mail address, and phone number. 

Please note: Seminars are not designed for one-on-one retirement counseling. Individual benefits consultations may be scheduled year-round online or by phone through NYSTRS.

The standard mileage rate for employee travel is 57.5 cents per mile, effective January 1, 2020.

For more information, please see the GSA website. You may also contact the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Department, 878-4117.

Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for the free workshop “Generation Z: What Do Students Want from Their College Experience?” presented by Buffalo State alumnus Thomas Vane, assistant director of student engagement at SUNY Buffalo, on Friday, January 17, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. in Medaille College’s Huber Hall, room 206, 18 Agassiz Circle, in Buffalo.

Generation Z students have quickly replaced millennials on college campuses and in our community as part of colleges’ community-engaged and service-learning work. We have heard that this new generation of college students craves authentic experiences and prefers applied learning and immersive educational experiences to in-class instruction. This generation has also grown up with technology from birth and is on its way to becoming the most educated generation in history.

The workshop will explore the following topics:

• Generation Z culture: How does this generation see and interact with the world?
• Generation Z expectations: What are Gen Z students expecting from their learning experiences both in and out of the classroom?
• How to communicate with Generation Z: What are the best methods for our interpersonal communication with Gen Z students?

Thomas Vane has spent 12 years working professionally with college students in areas of leadership development, multicultural education, student activities, and residence life. Born and raised in Buffalo, Mr. Vane received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Buffalo and his master’s degree in higher education and student affairs administration from Buffalo State, where he focused on inclusive education and generational cohort development.

Please register online for this event by Friday, January 17. 

This workshop is sponsored by the Western New York Service Learning Coalition and the Volunteer Administrators of Western New York.

January Term (J-Term) 2020 begins Monday, January 6, and ends Friday, January 24. Be sure to bookmark the J-Term Courses web page and review the J-Term flier (PDF, 179 KB) for detailed information about the term.

The 2020 IPDS Italy cohort invites you to follow its teaching and travel experiences from January 3 to 22. Fourteen education majors and two education professors will be blogging about their adventures.

Applications for the Robert J. Elmes Jr. Memorial Scholarship are now available for the spring 2020 semester. All CSEA Local 640 members and their dependent children who are registered or will register at Buffalo State College for at least 3 credit hours for the spring 2020 semester may apply for the $250 scholarship. Fliers were mailed to all CSEA members with application instructions. Applications must be completed in the Campus Application Portal for Scholarships (CAPS) system by Thursday, January 9. If you did not receive a flier or need assistance or instructions, please contact Mary Codick, secretary 1 in the Teacher Certification Office, 878-6121. Thank you and good luck.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released its 2020 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate (PDF, 174 KB), which is quite different from previous versions. This is because of the federal tax law changes that took place in 2018. Current employees are not required to complete the new form; however, all new employees hired as of January 1, 2020, and current employees who choose to adjust their withholdings during 2020 must use 2020 Form W-4.

Employees may also use the NYS Payroll Online self-service portal to change their tax deductions for 2020.

Even if the IRS does not require you to complete the revised form, and even if your tax situation has not changed, you may perform a “paycheck checkup” to see if you need to adjust your current withholding. To conduct the checkup, you can use the IRS’s Tax Withholding Estimator. To effectively use the estimator, it is helpful to have a copy of your most recent pay stub and tax return. It is likely that the estimator will be updated to account for the 2020 tax tables in early January. Note, if you do not submit a new form, withholding will continue based on your previously submitted form.

Before completing the 2020 Form W-4, please read the instructions that are included with the form. You must complete Steps 1 and 5. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are optional, but completing them will help ensure that your federal income tax withholding will more accurately match your tax liability. Step 1 is for your personal information; Step 2 is for households with multiple jobs; Step 3 is used to claim tax credits for dependents; Step 4 is for other adjustments (additional income such as interest and dividends, itemized deductions that exceed the standard deduction, and extra tax you want withheld); and Step 5 is where you sign the form.

The IRS has published a list of frequently asked questions that you may find helpful as you complete the form.

Please contact the Payroll Office at 878-4124 with questions.