All members of the campus community are invited to a discussion of Buffalo State's efforts to launch a student rowing club on Thursday, May 18, at 4:00 p.m. at Campus House. To date, over 25 students have shown an interest in participating in a rowing club. Please plan to attend this meeting. For more information, please contact Susan McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center, 878-4030.

In order to make our Learning Management System as efficient and effective as possible, Blackboard course sites will be archived and deleted on or after Wednesday, May 31, for courses taught between summer 2013 and spring 2015, along with any courses that were restored from ANGEL. While copies of these deleted courses will be backed up and maintained within RITE, faculty members are strongly encouraged to save any content they may have in these course sites for future use or reference. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the archive process, or if a restore of deleted courses is needed, please send e-mail inquiries and requests to Meghan Pereira, director of instructional design and training. To expedite responses, please be sure to indicate the semester, course number, and CRN in your request.

Please be sure to bookmark or print the Summer 2017 Deadline Calendar (PDF, 258 KB) for reference. The calendar lists the important deadlines for each Summer Session, including registration and last day to drop.

All members of the Teacher Education Unit (TEU) are invited to attend the Teacher Education Council (TEC) meeting on Friday, May 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Carmine A. Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418. Current issues of teacher education, TaskStream renewal, and Student Teacher Handbook development will be discussed.

The Great Lakes Center is pleased to release the Spring 2017 issue of our newsletter (PDF, 3.1 MB). This issue features the work of our graduate students, introduces our new research technician, and highlights the March for Science.

If you would like to be on the mailing list for future editions of the newsletter, please send an e-mail to greatlakes@buffalostate.edu with the subject "Newsletter mailing list add."

From the Associate Vice President for Assessment and Curriculum
Registration is open for the next rounds of the Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment of Learning Outcomes Certificate programs, cosponsored by the SUNY Council on Assessment and the SUNY Center for Professional Development.

The first courses, Introduction to Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment for Improvement of Teaching and Learning, begin Monday, May 22. The other two courses in each program take place in fall 2017. The courses are sequential, so the first course in each program should be taken before the other two courses.

More information, including program learning objectives, completion requirements, cost, and course descriptions, can be found on the program websites:

Institutional Effectiveness Certificate Program
Assessment of Learning Outcomes Certificate Program

If you have questions about either program, please contact Chris Price, academic programs manager in the SUNY Center for Professional Development.

Strengthen your online and hybrid skills to enhance course design and increase student engagement. This summer webinar series will provide you with techniques and resources to

• develop content to increase student engagement;
• incorporate Universal Design for Learning to address various student strengths and needs;
• implement best practices when designing course assessments and activities;
• ensure alignment between course outcomes, assessments, and activities.

Each of the following sessions will meet online at 2:00 p.m.

• Creating Interactive Content for Your Course – June 12
• Authentic Assessment – June 15
• Locating and Using Electronic Resources in Your Course – June 19
• Universal Design for Learning – June 22
• Open SUNY COTE Quality Rubric (OSCQR) - June 26

For more information about the Online Course Development Certificates, please visit the Instructional Design and Training website. Visit the Workshop Registration System site for details and to register.

The Online Course Development Certificate series prepares instructors to design, teach, and enhance online or hybrid courses using best practices of online teaching and learning.

This summer webinar series will provide you with techniques and resources to

• create opportunities for meaningful interaction with students;
• develop content to increase student engagement;
• develop an intuitive online course environment;
• ensure alignment between course outcomes, assessments, and activities.

Each session will meet online at 2:00 p.m. as follows:

• Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning – July 10
• Backward Design Step 1: Developing Course Objectives and Priorities – July 13
• Backward Design Step 2: Developing Course Assessments – July 17
• Backward Design Step 3: Developing the Learning Plan – July 20
• Designing and Organizing Your Course in Blackboard – July 24
• Interaction: Communication and Collaboration – July 27

For more information about the Online Course Development Certificate, please visit the Instructional Design and Training website. Visit the Workshop Registration site for details and to register.

The following courses in data science and data analytics are available to all graduate students for fall 2017 through the Data Analytics Interdisciplinary Unit. Courses are open to students in all programs.

• CIS 512 Introduction to Data Science and Analytics (CRN 3475)
  Wednesdays 6:00–8:40 p.m.*
• BUS 688 Business Applications of Big Data (CRN 4576)
  Online*
• MAT 616 Elements of Math for Data Analytics (CRN 4449)
  Tuesdays 5:30–8:10 p.m.*
• INDS 662 Data Visualization and Presentation Techniques
  Thursdays 6:00–8:20 p.m.**

*For information, contact Barbara Sherman, chair of Computer Information Systems, 878-4925.
**Synchronous distance. For details, contact the instructor, Reneta Barneva, professor and chair of Applied Professional Studies at SUNY Fredonia.

For further information, please download the flier (PDF, 218 KB).

The call for submissions for the 18th annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum is now open. This year's forum will be held on Thursday, November 2, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Houston Gym.

The goal of this forum is to develop, encourage, and support Buffalo State faculty and staff research and creativity, and to make collaborative research endeavors and grantsmanship more accessible. All faculty and staff members are invited to organize an exhibit to present current research, creative activity, or other scholarship. Individual, departmental, or group exhibits are welcome. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other Buffalo State faculty and staff members and to identify common scholarly and creative interests you may have.

To participate, please complete the online form on the Call for Submissions tab of the Fall Forum page. Titles and abstracts or descriptions are to be submitted electronically by Friday, September 29.

Please note: Display space is limited to one five-foot table or one or two easels per individual submission.