Letters from President Conway-Turner notifying UUP employees that they will receive a discretionary award were mailed on Monday, November 9. UUP employees who did not receive an award letter are reminded that they may appeal the decision by Tuesday, November 17, 2015, as follows:

Appeal Process
Any eligible faculty or professional staff member who is not notified by the president of an award by the designated date should assume that his or her name is not on the preliminary list. Employees not scheduled for an award, and employees dissatisfied with the amount of their awards, may file an appeal with the Appeals Board. Reminder: self-nominations are not required to be eligible to appeal.

The Appeals Board includes the president, provost, vice presidents, CIO, deans, and other administrative staff members selected by the president. The board will consider written appeals of no more than 600 words. The board meets in closed session, and testimony or personal appeals will be by invitation only.
 
Written appeals, addressed to the president, must be delivered to the President’s Office by 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, 2015. Copies (not originals) of the appeal must also be provided to the associate vice president for human resource management (secretary to the Appeals Board) and to the appropriate vice president, dean, director, and department chair.
 
Appeal candidates will be notified of the outcome of the appeal by November 24, 2015. Discretionary awards will be reflected in the paychecks dated December 16, 2015.

Faculty and staff members are invited to attend the following open forums to meet with candidates for the position of registrar. Application materials are available for review, upon request, in the Enrollment Management Office, Moot Hall 150. For more information, please call 878-3640.

Nigel Marriner
Monday, November 16
11:00–11:50 a.m.
Moot Hall 110

R. Ryan Kendrick
Tuesday, November 17
1:15–2:00 p.m.
Moot Hall 110

The State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees have announced that $35,889 has been allocated to Buffalo State for Individual Development Awards for July 2, 2015, through July 1, 2016. This program is intended to assist employees in the UUP bargaining unit in developing their full professional potential and in preparing for advancement by funding professional development activities. Information on eligibility requirements, types of projects or activities funded, types of support available, funding priorities, and the application procedures and application form are available on the Human Resource Management website. The maximum award is $1,000; employees may submit only one application each for this period. Applications must be received by Friday, January 8, 2016.

Individual Development Awards committee members are Deborah Jones, Lisa Marie Anselmi, and Steve Macho representing UUP and James Mayrose, Robert Baumet, and Susan Earshen representing management. If you have questions regarding the awards, please call Human Resource Management at 878-3042.

The Copy Center, Cleveland Hall 111, will be closed for the day on Thursday, December 10, for staff training. Please plan accordingly when submitting job orders. Call 878-4509 for more information.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate for the fall 2015 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Butler Library 210. The meeting agenda is posted on the Senate website.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate for the fall 2015 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Butler Library 210. The meeting agenda will be posted on the Senate website on November 5.

NYSHIP enrollees in the Pre-tax Contribution Program (PTCP) have until Monday, November 30, to make the following changes for 2016 without a qualifying event:

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

Note: Without a qualifying event, a waiting period still applies to enroll in health insurance for the first time or to add previously eligible dependents to an existing plan. For additional information, please review the Pre-tax Contribution Program Fact Sheet (PDF).

Employees who wish to make the above changes to their coverage are encouraged to complete and return the NYS Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF) to Cleveland Hall 410 as soon as possible.

Please note: This is not yet the time frame to change health insurance carriers. Eligible NYSHIP enrollees will have 30 days from the date the 2016 rates are published to

• change their NYSHIP health plan; employees may choose from the Empire Plan or one of the health maintenance organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY or Independent Health;
• change from a NYSHIP health plan to the Opt-Out Program;
• change from the Opt-Out Program to a NYSHIP health plan.

The Employee Benefits Office will announce the new health plan rates and deadline dates in the Daily Bulletin as soon as they are published. The New York State Employee Benefits division will also mail information about the 2016 rates and deadline dates to enrolled employees' home addresses. The 2016 "Choices" booklet, a comparison of the insurance plans, will be available on the Human Resource Management website by early December.

Representatives from the Empire Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, and Independent Health will be at the NYS Health Benefits Fair on Thursday, December 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 210 to answer questions about current health insurance plans and anticipated changes in coverage for 2016.

Please call the Employee Benefits Office at 878-4821 with questions.

Because of the high wind watch predicted by the National Weather Service for Thursday, October 29, please ensure that windows are closed when you leave for the day on Wednesday, and be mindful on Thursday when opening or closing outside entrance doors to be certain that they re-latch. For questions or other weather advisories, please call Customer Service at 878-6111.

The Payroll Office and Buffalo State College will be closed for the Veterans Day holiday, Wednesday November 11; therefore, student assistant and college work-study paychecks and direct deposit advice statements will be distributed on Thursday, November 12, beginning at 11:00 a.m. in the Payroll Office, Cleveland Hall 408.

The Pass/Fail Policy was changed effective fall 2014. The revised policy appears below. The deadline to apply for a Pass/Fail grade for fall 2015 is Friday, November 6, 2015.

Pass/Fail Option
The pass/fail option permits any matriculated student to take a course for credit without receiving a letter grade of A, B, C, D, E, or EV. Students may enroll in one course each semester or summer on a pass/fail basis. All sessions combined make up the summer semester. A pass (P) grade provides credit but no quality points and is not counted in total hours used to determine cumulative average. A fail (F) grade is treated as a failure although the hours are not used in computing the cumulative average.

Pass/fail credit may be applied toward a degree. Courses required for the student’s major and minor cannot be taken on a pass/fail basis. Courses taken as part of early childhood and childhood education program concentrations and distributions may not be taken pass/fail.

Any course, except English composition 100-level courses and those required for completion of a major or a minor, may be taken on a pass/fail basis. Students must declare their intention to do so by the end of the 10th week of classes in any semester or after two-thirds of a Summer Session or January Term. After receiving the approval signature of the their adviser, the student must file a declaration of intent with the Registrar’s Office, Moot Hall, by the published deadline. An instructor may choose to substitute a letter grade for the pass if written consent from the student is received and the form is submitted prior to the end of the semester. Once an application for pass/fail has been submitted, the pass/fail option for that semester has been exhausted. Subsequent filing of a substitution form to receive a letter grade does not allow submission of another pass/fail application for that semester.

Students may not use pass/fail to repeat a course for which a grade of C- or below was earned.

Note: Students are cautioned that the amount of pass/fail work permitted may jeopardize their chances for admission to graduate or professional school or for career placement.