Open enrollment for the 2017 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) ends Monday, November 7. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAcount).

The HCSAccount allows employees to set aside from $100 to $2,550 annually in pretax salary to pay for health-care expenses not reimbursed by health insurance.

The DCAAccount allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 annually in pretax salary for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses.

2017 Plan Year Employer Contribution Rates:
If your salary is ... the employer contribution is ...
Under $30,000 ................................................$800
$30,001 - $40,000 ...........................................$700
$40,001 - $50,000 ...........................................$600
$50,001 - $60,000 ...........................................$500
$60,001 - $70,000 ...........................................$400
Over $70,000 ..................................................$300
GSEU Employees only (regardless of salary) .... $600

Employees enrolling in the DCAAccount will not see their employer contribution displayed when enrolling. The employer contribution will be applied to employees’ elections and will be reported on their confirmation letter following open enrollment. When enrolling, employees should enter the full amount they wish to have in their DCAAccount. The full amount includes any employee contribution and any employer contribution for which they may be eligible. 

Employees who do not work 26 pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester in order to have coverage for all of 2017.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2017.

Paperless enrollment is quick, easy, and secure. For program details or to enroll in the FSA, visit www.flexspend.ny.gov or call the FSA hotline at (800) 358-7202.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

Open enrollment for the 2017 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) ends Monday, November 7. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAcount).

The HCSAccount allows employees to set aside from $100 to $2,550 annually in pretax salary to pay for health-care expenses not reimbursed by health insurance.

The DCAAccount allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 annually in pretax salary for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses.

2017 Plan Year Employer Contribution Rates:
If your salary is ... the employer contribution is ...
Under $30,000 ................................................$800
$30,001 - $40,000 ...........................................$700
$40,001 - $50,000 ...........................................$600
$50,001 - $60,000 ...........................................$500
$60,001 - $70,000 ...........................................$400
Over $70,000 ..................................................$300
GSEU Employees only (regardless of salary) .... $600

Employees enrolling in the DCAAccount will not see their employer contribution displayed when enrolling. The employer contribution will be applied to employees’ elections and will be reported on their confirmation letter following open enrollment. When enrolling, employees should enter the full amount they wish to have in their DCAAccount. The full amount includes any employee contribution and any employer contribution for which they may be eligible. 

Employees who do not work 26 pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester in order to have coverage for all of 2017.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2017.

Paperless enrollment is quick, easy, and secure. For program details or to enroll in the FSA, visit www.flexspend.ny.gov or call the FSA hotline at (800) 358-7202.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

Open enrollment for the 2017 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) ends Monday, November 7. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAcount).

The HCSAccount allows employees to set aside from $100 to $2,550 annually in pretax salary to pay for health-care expenses not reimbursed by health insurance.

The DCAAccount allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 annually in pretax salary for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses.

2017 Plan Year Employer Contribution Rates:
If your salary is ... the employer contribution is ...
Under $30,000 ................................................$800
$30,001 - $40,000 ...........................................$700
$40,001 - $50,000 ...........................................$600
$50,001 - $60,000 ...........................................$500
$60,001 - $70,000 ...........................................$400
Over $70,000 ..................................................$300
GSEU Employees only (regardless of salary) .... $600

Employees enrolling in the DCAAccount will not see their employer contribution displayed when enrolling. The employer contribution will be applied to employees’ elections and will be reported on their confirmation letter following open enrollment. When enrolling, employees should enter the full amount they wish to have in their DCAAccount. The full amount includes any employee contribution and any employer contribution for which they may be eligible. 

Employees who do not work 26 pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester in order to have coverage for all of 2017.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2017.

Paperless enrollment is quick, easy, and secure. For program details or to enroll in the FSA, visit www.flexspend.ny.gov or call the FSA hotline at (800) 358-7202.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

The midterm grading window in Banner will close at 9:00 p.m. Friday October 28. In addition to estimating a midterm grade, faculty members can mark how regularly a student has attended a course by entering 0 (never attended), 1 (sporadic, unsatisfactory attendance), or 2 (consistent, satisfactory attendance) in the “Hours Attended” field. Those faculty members who have Early Intervention Program students in their courses have been mailed a hard copy list of students requiring midterm feedback by their programs, but midterm grade submissions for all registered students are useful as these grades are helpful for campuswide academic intervention and retention efforts.

Students will be able to view their grades in Degree Works after the midterm grading window closes, and advisers can obtain copies of the midterm grading reports for their academic intervention use through their deans’ offices.

Please contact Heather Maldonado, assistant dean in University College, 878-5222, with questions or concerns. Thank you for your commitment to our students’ success.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next College Senate meeting for the fall 2016 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 4, in Butler Library 210. The meeting is one week early because of the Veterans Day holiday (November 11). The agenda will be posted on the College Senate website on October 28.

The College Senate meeting is an open forum, and all are welcome. Visitors and guests must sit in the designated areas, as senators have priority seating.

An honorarium is a payment to an individual, other than an employee, who has rendered a service to the state. In the past, honorarium payment requests have been made using a standard voucher submitted to the Accounts Payable and Travel Services Office for processing. Now, however, the payment authorization document for an honorarium has been changed from a standard voucher to a pink requisition. The reasoning is that any individual doing business with the State of New York is considered a vendor and is therefore required to submit an invoice for services. A pink requisition is the payment authorization document required for vendor invoices.

More information regarding honorariums can be found on the Accounts Payable website. Please call 878-4117 with questions.

The Buffalo State community is saddened by the death of Glenn F. Hurst, associate professor emeritus of elementary education and reading, who died on October 18. He is survived by his wife, Beverly, and two children. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. today, October 24, at Christ United Methodist Church, 350 Saratoga Road, Buffalo, NY 14226. Additional information is available online.

Management/Confidential (M/C) employees or employees represented by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Public Employees Federation (PEF), United University Professions (UUP), Council 82, District Council 37 (DC-37), Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU), or New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association Inc. (NYSCOPBA) are now eligible for the employer contribution to the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAccount) for the 2017 plan year. To take advantage of the employer contribution for the 2017 plan year, employees must enroll in the DCAAccount before the close of open enrollment, which ends at midnight on Monday, November 7.

Employees enrolling in the DCAAccount will not see their employer contribution displayed when enrolling. The employer contribution will be applied to employees’ elections and will be reported on their confirmation letter following open enrollment.

When enrolling, employees should enter the full amount they wish to have in their DCAAccount. The full amount includes any employee contribution and any employer contribution for which they may be eligible.

To enroll in the DCAAccount, submit your application for enrollment online at www.flexspend.ny.gov. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may apply by telephone at (800) 358-7202, option 1. If you are enrolled for the 2016 plan year, you must re-enroll to continue your benefits in 2017.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced. Please be sure to enroll by November 7.

2017 Plan Year Employer Contribution Rates:
If your salary is ... the employer contribution is ...
Under $30,000 ................................................$800
$30,001–$40,000 .............................................$700
$40,001–$50,000 .............................................$600
$50,001–$60,000 .............................................$500
$60,001–$70,000 .............................................$400
Over $70,000 ..................................................$300
GSEU Employees only (regardless of salary) ......$600

Open enrollment for the 2017 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) ends Monday, November 7. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAcount).

The HCSAccount allows employees to set aside from $100 to $2,550 annually in pretax salary to pay for health-care expenses not reimbursed by health insurance.

The DCAAccount allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 annually in pretax salary for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses.

2017 Plan Year Employer Contribution Rates:
If your salary is ... the employer contribution is ...
Under $30,000 ................................................$800
$30,001 - $40,000 ...........................................$700
$40,001 - $50,000 ...........................................$600
$50,001 - $60,000 ...........................................$500
$60,001 - $70,000 ...........................................$400
Over $70,000 ..................................................$300
GSEU Employees only (regardless of salary) .... $600

Employees enrolling in the DCAAccount will not see their employer contribution displayed when enrolling. The employer contribution will be applied to employees’ elections and will be reported on their confirmation letter following open enrollment. When enrolling, employees should enter the full amount they wish to have in their DCAAccount. The full amount includes any employee contribution and any employer contribution for which they may be eligible. 

Employees who do not work 26 pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester in order to have coverage for all of 2017.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2017.

Paperless enrollment is quick, easy, and secure. For program details or to enroll in the FSA, visit www.flexspend.ny.gov or call the FSA hotline at (800) 358-7202.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

From the Chair of the College Senate
All meetings of the College Senate are now being recorded and posted to the College Senate website via podcast. Senate meeting minutes and summaries will continue to be distributed to the Senate with the monthly Senate packet and posted to the College Senate website.