From the Interim President
I am pleased to announce that the following individuals will serve on the 2009–2010 Honorary Degree Committee:

Betty Cappella, Educational Foundations, chair; Jennifer Blanchard, President’s Office; Patrick Dexter, School of the Professions; Maryruth Glogowski, Information Services and Systems; Charles Kenyon, Student Affairs; Rachel Link, Institutional Advancement; Gary Pettibone, School of Natural and Social Sciences; Joseph Piccillo, School of Arts and Humanities; Jill Powell, Finance and Management; and Paul Theobald, the Graduate School.

The group is charged with identifying candidates for the State University of New York honorary doctorates, SUNY’s highest academic honor, and preparing nomination portfolios. Honorary degrees are awarded to recognize excellence that exemplifies the mission and purpose of the State University of New York in the following fields: public affairs, the sciences, humanities and the arts, scholarship and education, business and philanthropy, and social services.

Honorary degrees also can honor meritorious and outstanding service to the university, the state of New York, the United States, or humanity at large or people whose lives serve as examples of the university’s aspirations for its students.

Names of suggested nominees for SUNY honorary doctorates should be forwarded to Distinguished Service Professor Betty J. Cappella, c/o Maryruth Glogowski, E. H. Butler Library 134 or glogowmf@buffalostate.edu, by Friday, March 5, 2010.

From the Interim President
The next meeting of the Buffalo State College Council will be held at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, in Cleveland Hall 518.

Agenda
Call to Order
Action Items
-- Approval of Minutes: April 28, 2009
-- Approval of Annual Report
Council Chair’s Report
President’s Report
Committee Reports
Announcements
Adjournment

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee
The Senate Curriculum Committee announces a new electronic process for course submissions. All course proposals, new or revised, initiated after October 1, 2009, should be created and processed through the Buffalo State Collaboration Center, Sharepoint. Course proposals that are “in process” should continue to use the paper system as outlined in the CSCC Handbook. Those departments that use Macs may opt to continue the paper system as well.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, October 16, in Classroom Building C122. The agenda is available on the College Senate Web site.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
ING, a SUNY-approved investment provider, is offering financial-education workshops for UUP and Management/Confidential employees. Designed for employees in all stages of professional development—whether newly hired, at mid-career, or nearing retirement—the workshops will address concerns and offer valuable information.

All workshops will be held in E. H. Butler Library 210 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Workshop materials and lunch will be provided free to all participants. R.S.V.P. to Molly Pecoraro, 626-3928. Seating is limited to the first 30 respondents. Reserve your spot today.

The following fall workshops are available:

Where Do I Go from Here?
Thursday, October 15
Stay invested, stay focused, avoid stops and starts. Don’t lose sight of your long-term objectives, and most importantly, don’t make decisions based on emotions and fears.

What’s Your Game Plan?
Wednesday, October 28
How long can my money last? Should I rebalance my portfolio? Should I temporarily move to the sidelines? Should I jump back in when the market turns around? Join us for the “Play by Play!”

Retirement Readiness: Retirement Is a Beginning…Not a Destination
Thursday, November 12
Learn the importance of asset allocation and risk. Recognize the corrosive power of inflation. Navigate the roadblocks to retirement income success.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
In order to more accurately reflect its purpose and functions, the Purchasing Department has been renamed Procurement Services. The services provided by the department remain unchanged.

From the Interim Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Management

CORRECTION APPENDED

Recently enacted federal legislation has effected important changes in the deadlines for textbook orders. Please read the following information carefully.

On August 14, 2008, Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110–315) (HEOA) and reauthorized the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). SUNY System Administration assembled a group to review the extensive legislation to determine its impact on SUNY campuses and to provide advice on meeting the new requirements of the law. The legislation is far-reaching, affecting mostly the operations and reporting provisions of offices such as Financial Aid, Registrar, University Police, Institutional Research, and many others. Those offices are being informed about compliance procedures by System Administration and/or other centralized agencies.

One portion of the law, however, will affect Buffalo State more broadly: Section 133 of the HEOA requires institutions to disclose certain information relating to textbooks on all Internet course schedules.

Effective July 1, 2010, institutions that maintain Internet course schedules will have to post International Standards Book Numbers (ISBN) and retail price information for required and recommended textbooks and supplemental materials for each listed course. If the ISBN is not available, the campus must disclose the author, title, publisher, and copyright date of the textbook instead. If that is not practicable, the schedule must state “to be determined.” Printed course schedules must advise students that textbook information is available on the campus’s Internet course schedule along with its URL.

Additionally, campuses must provide their affiliated bookstore upon its request, and “as soon as practicable,” the institution’s course schedule for the subsequent “academic period,” the number of students in each course, the maximum student enrollment in each course, and the ISBN and retail price of all required or recommended textbooks and supplemental materials.

The college plans to comply with this legislation by including links to the textbook information for summer 2010 and fall 2010—the schedules that will be produced in spring 2010—in both the online course listings and within Internet course schedules in Banner. Consequently, textbook information must be provided to the Buffalo State bookstore earlier than usual, so that students can view the information along with their course listings.

For this reason, starting next semester, the faculty textbook requisition deadlines have been moved up by two weeks for summer and five weeks for fall. Those deadlines for summer and fall will now systematically occur on the last Friday in February (beginning February 26, 2010). The spring textbook requisition deadline has been moved up to a mid-September Friday (beginning September 17, 2010). Specific dates for future semesters are reflected in the college’s academic calendar.

Additional information and guidelines will be shared with faculty through chairs’ and deans’ offices. For more information about the HEOA, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site. Questions about this legislation may be directed to the Finance and Management Office.

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Correction: October 8, 2009
The original version of this article contained an editing error in the textbook order dates. The preceding text has been amended to include the correct dates—February 26, 2010, for summer and fall 2010, and September 17, 2010, for spring 2011. We regret the error.

From the Interim President
I have approved the following curricular item, which has been recommended by the appropriate dean, the College Senate, and the provost:

Course Revision and Intellectual Foundations Designation:

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
BIO 104 Environmental Biology

From the Interim President
At its September 11, 2009, meeting, the College Senate voted to forward to the interim president for approval and action a recommendation to further modify the policy on “Course Load” in the 2007–2009 Undergraduate Catalog. A policy modification was approved by the president on December 11, 2008, to read as follows:

Course Load
The average course load for undergraduates is 15–16 credit hours a semester. Should a matriculated student desire to register for more than 19 hours, the approval of the appropriate academic adviser must be secured. Students in majors should consult with their faculty adviser, and undeclared students not affiliated with EOP, STAR, SSSP, or AIM should consult with the coordinator of the Academic Advisement Office, Twin Rise 100. The student’s academic adviser will review requests for overload. Students on academic probation (below a 2.0 cumulative grade point average) can enroll in a maximum of 15 credit hours. All students should consult with their academic adviser for proper guidance.

The College Senate now recommends that the policy be further modified to read:

Course Load
The average course load for undergraduates is 15–16 credit hours a semester. Should a matriculated student desire to register for more than 19 hours, the approval of the appropriate academic adviser must be secured. Students in majors should consult with their faculty adviser, and undeclared students not affiliated with EOP, STAR, SSSP, or AIM should consult with the coordinator of the Academic Advisement Office, Twin Rise 100. The student’s academic adviser will review requests for overload. Students on academic probation (below a 2.0 cumulative grade point average) can enroll in a maximum of 15 credit hours. All students should consult with their academic adviser for proper guidance.Students seeking an override of the 15-credit-hour limit must make the request of and receive approval from their dean’s office.

I hereby accept the recommendation of the College Senate and approve the recommendation to further modify the policy on course load outlined in the undergraduate catalog and modified in December 2008. I charge the interim provost with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the new policy, effective with course registration for the spring 2010 semester.

From the Interim President

To All Faculty and Staff:
As an agency of New York State, Buffalo State is required to fulfill the mandates of the New York State Governmental Accountability, Audit, and Internal Control Act of 1999. This legislation requires all state agencies to establish a system of internal controls designed to minimize the possibility of loss of assets, operational failure, or violation of law.

Internal control, or an internal control system, integrates activities, plans, attitudes, policies, and the efforts of those within the organization working together, to provide reasonable assurance that the organization will achieve its mission, goals, and objectives. Essentially, the Internal Control Program at Buffalo State is a program of review designed to ensure that our internal control system is adequate and functioning effectively.

The objectives of Buffalo State’s Internal Control Program are:

• Successful achievement of the college’s mission.
• Accurate recording, preservation, and reporting of institutional data.
• Efficient and effective use of program resources.
• Appropriate safeguarding and authorized use of assets.
• College compliance with laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidelines.

The college’s Internal Control Program can function only with the cooperation and involvement of all employees. Competence and professional integrity are essential components of a sound internal control program. I consider an effective internal control system to be a high priority and ask that you cooperate fully in this endeavor. Working together, I know that we can continue to foster an environment conducive to accomplishing the college’s mission, goals, and objectives.

Buffalo State’s Internal Control Program is guided by an Internal Control Steering Committee whose membersbring executive and organizational expertise to the program. If you are contacted by the committee, please keep in the mind the significance of this program. We appreciate your support.

If you have questions regarding the Internal Control Program, please contact Rebecca Schenk, director of budget and internal controls, at (716) 878-4312.