Today is the last day to make changes to the pre-tax/after tax contribution status for health insurance deductions or to make limited changes without a qualifying event.

Each November, enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) may elect to participate or decline participation in the Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP) for the upcoming plan year. During November, current PTCP enrollees may also make the following changes to their coverage, which affect the NYSHIP deduction for the upcoming plan year, without a qualifying event:

• Change pre-tax status for health insurance deductions
• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel health insurance

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your share of the health insurance premium is deducted from your wages before taxes are withheld, which may lower your taxes. Enrollment in PTCP also restricts changes that can be made to the NYSHIP coverage (e.g., switching to individual coverage) to situations in which a qualifying event takes place. Not enrolling in PTCP allows greater flexibility to make changes to NYSHIP coverage throughout the plan year.

Your paycheck shows whether or not you are enrolled in PTCP.

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular Before-Tax Health in the Before-Tax Deductions section. If you are not enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular After-Tax Health in the After-Tax Deductions section. Your health insurance premium is deducted from your wages after taxes are withheld.

November 1–30 is the only time you can change your Pre-Tax Contribution Program election.

For more information about PTCP and the allowable coverage changes while enrolled in PTCP, please refer to the PTCP fact sheet (PDF, 334 KB).

If you wish to change your PTCP selection for 2019, you must complete sections 1–9 and 13 of the NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB) and file the completed form with the Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by the close of business today, November 30.

No action is required to keep your current PTCP status.

Tomorrow is the last day to make changes to the pre-tax/after tax contribution status for health insurance deductions or to make limited changes without a qualifying event.

Each November, enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) may elect to participate or decline participation in the Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP) for the upcoming plan year. During November, current PTCP enrollees may also make the following changes to their coverage, which affect the NYSHIP deduction for the upcoming plan year, without a qualifying event:

• Change pre-tax status for health insurance deductions
• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel health insurance

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your share of the health insurance premium is deducted from your wages before taxes are withheld, which may lower your taxes. Enrollment in PTCP also restricts changes that can be made to the NYSHIP coverage (e.g., switching to individual coverage) to situations in which a qualifying event takes place. Not enrolling in PTCP allows greater flexibility to make changes to NYSHIP coverage throughout the plan year.

Your paycheck shows whether or not you are enrolled in PTCP.

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular Before-Tax Health in the Before-Tax Deductions section. If you are not enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular After-Tax Health in the After-Tax Deductions section. Your health insurance premium is deducted from your wages after taxes are withheld.

November 1–30 is the only time you can change your Pre-Tax Contribution Program election.

For more information about PTCP and the allowable coverage changes while enrolled in PTCP, please refer to the PTCP fact sheet (PDF, 334 KB).

If you wish to change your PTCP selection for 2019, you must complete sections 1–9 and 13 of the NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB) and file the completed form with the Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by the close of business tomorrow, November 30.

No action is required to keep your current PTCP status.

Each November, enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) may elect to participate or decline participation in the Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP) for the upcoming plan year. During November, current PTCP enrollees may also make the following changes to their coverage, which affect the NYSHIP deduction for the upcoming plan year, without a qualifying event:

• Change pre-tax status for health insurance deductions
• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel health insurance

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your share of the health insurance premium is deducted from your wages before taxes are withheld, which may lower your taxes. Enrollment in PTCP also restricts changes that can be made to the NYSHIP coverage (e.g., switching to individual coverage) to situations in which a qualifying event takes place. Not enrolling in PTCP allows greater flexibility to make changes to NYSHIP coverage throughout the plan year.

Your paycheck shows whether or not you are enrolled in PTCP.

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular Before-Tax Health in the Before-Tax Deductions section. If you are not enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular After-Tax Health in the After-Tax Deductions section. Your health insurance premium is deducted from your wages after taxes are withheld.

November 1–30 is the only time you can change your Pre-Tax Contribution Program election.

For more information about PTCP and the allowable coverage changes while enrolled in PTCP, please refer to the PTCP fact sheet (PDF, 334 KB).

If you wish to change your PTCP selection for 2019, you must file a NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB)—completing sections 1–9 and 13—with the Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by Friday, November 30.

No action is required to keep your current PTCP status.

Blackboard Learn, Buffalo State’s learning management system, will be unavailable between midnight and 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 7, during a SUNY-level upgrade. Please take note and also inform your students.

Enhancements from the Update

• Faculty and students using New Box View will now have the ability to download annotated files. Students can download the annotated file after their submission has been graded. 
• Performance improvements will also be made to discussion, achievements, and self-peer assessments.

After the update, every user will experience a new prompt (pop-up box) for security management outlining Blackboard’s “Privacy, cookies and terms of use.” Once accepted, the prompt will no longer appear. Users may not proceed without clicking "Agree & Continue" (view pop-up box image). Users may need to clear their cache and restart their browsers. Anyone who experiences problems after the update window should open a ticket with Open SUNY Support Services Help Desk or call (844) 673-6786.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar "Tessellation of Shape-Persistent Donor-Acceptor Cyclophanes for the Creation of Two-Dimensional Porous Materials," presented by Fulbright alumnus M. Mustafa Cetin, '08, on Thursday, November 8, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 173. Dr. Cetin is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University.

Abstract
Porous two-dimensional (2-D) networks of polygons with uniform or heterogeneous morphologies have attracted much attention over the last three decades. The concept of tessellation, which refers to the closely fitted arrangement of shapes in a repeated pattern, has been employed in the construction of beautiful crystalline porous 2-D frameworks through the judicious choice of polygon-like macrocyclic building blocks whose edges and vertices fit snugly together to form an extended, stackable array. While the construction of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) requires the introduction of covalent bonds between organic subunits, the preparation of 2-D networks, in contrast, makes use of non-covalent bonding for assembly. The resulting structure is a tiled network consisting of shape-persistent polygons held together by dispersive forces. In the present work, a series of donor-acceptor (D–A)-based cyclophanes of different shapes, sizes, and symmetries has been prepared by introduction of both viologen (acceptor) and 2,6- or 2,7-naphthalene (donor) subunit functionalities into molecular rings resembling simple polygons. The resulting cyclophanes were either "box–like" or "truncated-hexagon-like" in shape. All cyclophanes based on the 2,6-naphthalene subunit are highly symmetrical and establish a favorable network of D–A interactions, resulting in a 2-D network that exhibits uniform pores. When the 2,7-naphthalene subunit is used, the resulting cyclophane has a "truncated-hexagon-like" structure that is chiral and exhibits dual pores in its 2-D network. The solid-phase packing of the cyclophanes can be tuned by co-crystallization with a strong donor such as tetrathiafulvalene (TTF). In the presence of TTF, one of two cyclophane structures can result: "box-like" or "hexagon-like." The "box-like" motif results in either a 1-D charge-transfer (CT) mixed stack characterized by interactions between viologen and TTF, or a host-guest complex. On the other hand, the "hexagon-like" motif generates a well-ordered and uniform tubular structure where CT interactions between viologen and TTF propagate in two dimensions. In the course of these investigations, we have uncovered design rules for the creation of “programmable” building blocks that result in well-defined crystal habits. Spectroscopic properties of these cyclophanes and their corresponding co-crystals have also been determined in both solution and the solid state.

Password guidelines have changed based on research conducted by Lorrie Faith Cranor and others. Strength in passwords comes from password length. A 20-character passphrase (e.g., glasses0nmyd3sk&wall) is much harder to crack than the traditional password (e.g., Fg84PqT9!). Make your password something you can remember (e.g., wearingPANTstow0rkoncars!), and look into password managers to help you "remember" your passwords.

Blackboard websites and other services such as Degree Works, Banner, and SUNYConnect will experience connectivity downtime from 10:00 p.m. Saturday, November 3, to 6:00 a.m. Sunday, November 4, during planned emergency maintenance by SUNY ITEC’s internet service provider.

Actual connectivity downtime during this time frame is expected to be about one hour; however, it is not possible to determine exactly when interruptions might occur for various services during the eight-hour window.

If you experience any technical difficulties after the scheduled maintenance period, please submit a help request ticket through the Open SUNY HelpDesk web page. Always check the Buffalo State Alerts page when you experience a down system.

Blackboard websites and other services such as Degree Works, Banner, and SUNYConnect will experience connectivity downtime from 10:00 p.m. Saturday, November 3, to 6:00 a.m. Sunday, November 4, during planned emergency maintenance by SUNY ITEC’s internet service provider.

Actual connectivity downtime during this time frame is expected to be about one hour; however, it is not possible to determine exactly when interruptions might occur for various services during the eight-hour window.

If you experience any technical difficulties after the scheduled maintenance period, please submit a help request ticket through the Open SUNY HelpDesk web page. Always check the Buffalo State Alerts page when you experience a down system.

Each November, enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) may elect to participate or decline participation in the Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP) for the upcoming plan year. During November, current PTCP enrollees may also make the following changes to their coverage, which affect the NYSHIP deduction for the upcoming plan year, without a qualifying event:

• Change pre-tax status for health insurance deductions
• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel health insurance

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your share of the health insurance premium is deducted from your wages before taxes are withheld, which may lower your taxes. Enrollment in PTCP also restricts changes that can be made to the NYSHIP coverage (e.g., switching to individual coverage) to situations in which a qualifying event takes place. Not enrolling in PTCP allows greater flexibility to make changes to NYSHIP coverage throughout the plan year.

Your paycheck shows whether or not you are enrolled in PTCP.

If you are enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular Before-Tax Health in the Before-Tax Deductions section. If you are not enrolled in PTCP, your paycheck stub shows Regular After-Tax Health in the After-Tax Deductions section. Your health insurance premium is deducted from your wages after taxes are withheld.

November 1–30 is the only time you can change your Pre-Tax Contribution Program election.

For more information about PTCP and the allowable coverage changes while enrolled in PTCP, please refer to the PTCP fact sheet (PDF, 334 KB).

If you wish to change your PTCP selection for 2019, you must file a NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB)—completing sections 1–9 and 13—with the Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by Friday, November 30.

No action is required to keep your current PTCP status.

Please note: This is not the Option Transfer Period for health insurance changes. Plan information and rates have not been made available at this time. Please watch for further announcements regarding option transfer.

Please join Weigel Health Promotions and the Counseling Center on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. in the Campbell Student Union lower lobby to learn healthy ways to predict and cope with stress and manage anxiety.

For more Weigel Wellness programs, please visit our website, check out our newsletter, follow us on social media, like us on Facebook, find us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, and follow us on Pinterest. You can also follow our Snapchat @bschealthpromo.