Tomorrow is the final day to make changes for the 2018 Pre-Tax Contribution Program (PTCP). Each November, enrollees in the NYS Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) may elect to participate or decline participation in the PTCP for the upcoming plan year. During November, current PTCP enrollees may also make the following changes to their coverage without a qualifying event. These changes affect NYSHIP deductions for the upcoming plan year. November 1–30 is the only time you can change your Pre-Tax Contribution Program election.

• 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 pay stub shows whether or not you are enrolled in PTCP. If you are enrolled in PTCP, your pay stub shows "Regular Before-Tax Health" in the "Before-Tax Deductions" section. If you are not enrolled in PTCP, your pay 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.

For more information about PTCP and the allowable coverage changes while enrolled in PTCP, please refer to the PTCP Change Chart and Fact Sheet (PFD, 129 KB).

If you wish to change your PTCP selection for 2018, you must file a completed NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PFD, 150 KB) with the Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by Thursday, November 30. Please be sure to complete sections 1–9 and 13.

No action is required to keep your current PTCP status.

Alumni and friends of Buffalo State are invited to join faculty, staff, and students for the ninth annual Veterans Day Silent March on Thursday, November 9, at noon. The Silent March honors those members of the Buffalo State community who have served in any branch of the United States military or allied forces.

Marchers include past and present service members, their spouses and dependents, and first responders. Please assemble at 11:45 a.m. at Chase Hall. The march proceeds from Chase Hall to the Student Union Plaza in front of the Campbell Student Union at noon. The memorial ceremony will begin in the Plaza at 12:10 p.m. The 2017 Military Service Scholarship recipient will be presented during the ceremony. A brief reception will be held after the ceremony in Caudell Hall.

This annual event is presented by the Alumni Association and Continuing Professional Studies, which houses the Veteran and Military Services Office.

All members of the Teacher Education Unit (TEU) are invited to attend the Teacher Education Council (TEC) meeting on Friday, November 10, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Carmine A. Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418. Current issues in teacher education and assessment will be discussed.

Academic Affairs reminds faculty members in the arts and the humanities that proposals for the E. O. Smith Arts and Humanities Faculty Development Fund are due by 11:59 p.m. Friday, November 10. These competitive, peer-reviewed projects funded at $2,000–$7,000 support opportunities for the professional development of full-time Buffalo State faculty members in the arts and the humanities. Eligible candidates must be members of departments included in the arts (art, fine art, design, art conservation, theater, music, dance) or the humanities (history, art history, museum studies, philosophy, religious studies, literature, English, modern and classical languages) and that teach disciplinary-specific courses in the arts and humanities.

Candidates are required to submit their proposals to the selection committee detailing how they would use the funding and include a curriculum vitae and detailed project budget. Funds may be used only for expenses directly related to professional development in the applicant's discipline, including research, supplies used in research or publication of research, travel, or other similar professional activities. Funds may not be directed toward internal administrative or social functions or for personal use. Projects consistent with the mission and goals of the Monroe Fordham Regional History Center will be given preference. Previously funded candidates may reapply (for a new phase of the funded project, or a new project), but previously unfunded candidates will be given preference.

Information about the fund and application process is posted on Blackboard. Completed applications must be submitted online by the deadline. The announcement of funded proposals will be made in December, and expenses according to the approved budget must be incurred during the calendar year from January 1 to December 31, 2018. Recipients will be required to complete or make significant progress on their projects during that time.

The fund's benefactor, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and historian Edward Owen Smith Jr. (E. O. Smith), was a member of the faculty of the Buffalo State History Department since 1963, serving as the chair of the History and Social Studies Education Department for many years and as the first director of the Monroe Fordham Regional History Center. He also founded the college’s museum studies certificate program.

During his 50-year tenure, he was known for his concern for students, his chairmanship of numerous college committees, and his efforts to improve the economic and cultural life of Buffalo’s West Side. He also held a deep interest in art and the visual image as a document, and had been honored by the Burchfield Penney Art Center for his participation in and leadership of many collaborative center projects. Dr. Smith was named a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in 1999 and had previously received the President’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. Dr. Smith passed away in March 2014, and his gift endowing this fund leaves a lasting legacy at Buffalo State.

The Buffalo Chapter of the National Stuttering Association (NSA) will host its first support group meeting on Tuesday, November 7, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in Classroom Building B106. If you stutter, you're not alone. The support group, which welcomes individuals from the campus community and the Buffalo area, serves to change the lives of adults who stutter or clutter, as well as the lives of their family and friends. For more information, please call the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at (716) 878-3530.

Do you know what the Employee Assistance Program is? Do you know what it can do for you? Come to the EAP open house today, November 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Bulger Communication Center third-floor lobby and find out. EAP provides support to all New York State employees, retirees, and family members, including referral services, as well as wellness and support services. Stop by and meet the EAP committee members and coordinators and see the EAP Office. We will share information and answer questions about what the committee does and what services the coordinators provide. We hope to see you there.

While Open Educational Resources (OER) are becoming more common in higher education, myths and misconceptions about this field remain. Do you think that “open” simply means “free”? That all OER are digital? That open textbooks lack the ancillary materials you’re used to with traditionally published textbook? Learn the truth about these myths in SPARC’s new OER Mythbusting document.

Want to learn more about SUNY funding for OER and about how you can use OER in your own courses? Register for Buffalo State’s free SUNY OER Services Workshop on Tuesday, November 14.

Any student, faculty, or staff member interested in the importance of traveling or studying overseas is welcome to attend the lecture "How My Study-Abroad Experience in Angers, France, Impacted My Career and Worldview" by Maryalice Demler, anchor and reporter at WGRZ-TV Channel 2, on Tuesday, November 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Butler Library 210.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Jean F. Gounard, director of special international programs, 878-6917.

Feeling stuck is expected in college! The most successful students seek assistance. Buffalo State tutoring services are continuing to grow and change. Please visit the Academic Commons website for the latest updates. This website will give you all the information you need to access your tutoring options. Here is a breakdown of the tutoring centers and subjects tutored:

Mathematics Tutoring Center (All Levels)
Buckham Hall A-203

Writing Center
Butler Library

Science Tutoring Center
Biology and Chemistry
Science and Mathematics Complex 265

Modern and Classical Languages Tutoring Center
Spanish, Italian, French, Arabic and Chinese
Buckham Hall B-234

Tutoring and Learning Center (TLC) Main Office
South Wing 320
Accounting (BUS 212, 312, and 313); American Sign Language; Art History; Arts; Computer Information Systems (CIS 101 and 151); Corporate Finance; Engineering Technology (ENT 300, 301, 302); Geography; History; Humanities; Physics (PHY 100, 107, and 111); Presentations; Social Sciences; Speech-Language Pathology; Study Skills; Statistics for Social Sciences

STAR-NY Online Tutoring
Writing, Math, Accounting, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Information Systems, Economics, Physics

EOP Academic Center for Excellence (ACE)
South Wing 730
ACE is the first stop for EOP students seeking tutoring. Non-EOP students whose tutoring needs cannot be met by the tutoring options above should seek referrals from Lauren Copeland (South Wing 330) or Darlene Sadkowski (South Wing 100) to use EOP tutoring or mentoring services.

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Since fall 2016, all reports to the College Senate have been posted on the College Senate website. The most recent reports are from the October 13, 2017, Senate meeting.

Podcasts are now the official audio record of each College Senate meeting. If you missed a Senate meeting and want to catch up, podcasts are posted to the Senate's podcast web page. Senate meeting summaries are also posted to the website after they are presented to the Senate.