From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for the spring 2012 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, February 10, in E. H. Butler Library 210.

From the Interim Vice President for Finance and Management
In compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the rules promulgated therein by the Federal Trade Commission, Buffalo State College requires that all employees receive the following guidelines to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records and information:

Control access to rooms and file cabinets where paper records are kept:

• All doors to office areas must be locked during nonbusiness hours.
• Work areas where customer information is processed must be behind locked doors or otherwise secured during business hours.
• Guests should be escorted in areas where customer information is being processed.
• Guests should be restricted to areas that do not have customer information in plain view. Conversely, customer information should be kept out of areas accessible to students and the public.
• File cabinets used to store customer information must be secured in locked areas.
• Fireproof cabinets used to store promissory notes must be locked during nonbusiness hours.
• Records containing customer information are to be retained only as long as they are valid, useful, and required to be retained. When no longer needed, paper, microfilm, and microfiche records must be destroyed by shredding. Electronic records must be destroyed according to current guidelines. Retention guidelines are available at www.buffalostate.edu/recordspolicy.

Control access to information stored electronically:

• Workstations should be behind locked doors or otherwise secured.
• Employees should "minimize" any computer windows not in use to prevent inadvertent breaches.
• Employees are encouraged to password-protect their workstations when not in use.
• Employees should use strong passwords for all systems (at least eight characters, alphanumeric).
• Employees should change their passwords every 60 days or less.
• Employees must not post passwords on or near their computers.
• Access to student and employee records systems will be granted only to those employees whose job duties require them to access customer information.

Protect our customers' information:

• Employees should respond to requests for customer information in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA questions or potential violations should be referred to the Registrar's Office.
• Employees should refer to appropriate security policies as needed to ensure compliance.
• Employees must report any fraudulent attempt to obtain customer information to management, who should then report the attempt to the Vice President for Finance and Management's Office.

Source: Bulletin, Vol. 54, No. 12, November 6, 2008; policy updated January 2012.

From the Interim Vice President for Finance and Management
All student, faculty, and staff personal and academic information is private and confidential, and is protected by various state and federal laws. Buffalo State College employees must, by law, protect the privacy of this information.

Failure to protect personal and academic information may result in legal action against offending employees. Employees accused of failure to protect confidential information that results in harm to an individual may not be covered by the Public Officer's Law, and therefore not defended by New York State.

Examples of personal information that must be kept confidential include Social Security numbers, health information, and disability status. Faculty and staff must ensure that information contained on the Current Employee Change Form is kept confidential.

Examples of academic information that must be kept confidential include grades, class schedules, and student ID numbers. Faculty and staff members may not post test scores or grades using any portion of a student's name, Social Security number, or student ID number. Faculty and staff must refrain from providing a student's parents with information related to their student's academic performance or other personal information, unless given permission to do so by the student.

For more information, please refer to the following state and federal laws:

• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (confidentiality of financial information):
  www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/information.asp
   
• HIPAA (confidentiality of health information):
  http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/bulletin/archives/05_06/september29_05.html#hipaa
  and
  www.goer.state.ny.us/Training_Development/Course_Descriptions/Workplace_Policies/courses/hipaa.cfm
   
• FERPA (confidentiality of student/academic information):
  www.buffalostate.edu/academicaffairs/x571.xml
  and
  www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
   
• Restrictions on the use of student Social Security numbers:
  http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$EDN2-B$$@TXEDN02-B+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=BROWSER+&TOKEN=45839383+&TARGET=VIEW
  and
  www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/library/hunter.html
   
• NYS law on notification of information security breach:
  http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$GBS899-AA$$@TXGBS0899-AA+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=50212790+&TARGET=VIEW

Additional information about safeguarding sensitive information can be found on Buffalo State’s Internal Control website: www.buffalostate.edu/internalcontrol/x535.xml.

Questions regarding the privacy of employee change forms, employee contracts, official employee files, etc., should be addressed to Susan Earshen, associate vice president, Human Resource Management, ext. 3042.

Questions regarding the privacy of student information and FERPA should be addressed to Mark Bausili, registrar, ext. 4907.

Questions regarding health information and HIPAA should be addressed to Rock Doyle, assistant director of  medical systems, Weigel Health Center, ext. 6711.

Questions regarding legal liability and any legal action against the college or an employee should be addressed to James Thor, associate vice president and comptroller, ext. 4312.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for the spring 2012 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, February 10, in E. H. Butler Library 210.

Instructional grading sessions will be held in BL318 on December 8 (10-11:30) and December 9 (11-12:30). Drop-in assistance during the grading period will also be available in BL318 (don’t forget your grade rosters): 12/14 (12-4), 12/15 (9-12), 12/16 (9-4), 12/17 (9-4), 12/20 (9-4). Reservations are not necessary. If you have questions please contact SABRE Support at 878-3434 or sabresupport@buffalostate.edu.

A teleconference from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 2, in Bulger Communication Center 104 will present a blue print for improving the first-year experience of college students, summarizing the findings of a two-year project, Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year, sponsored through the Policy Center on the First Year of College. Several panelists from the Policy Center will review the first-year experiences and research findings of 24 campuses. The teleconference is open to the Buffalo State campus community.

Sunday, December 5, 2004 - Dingens Street Holiday Inn - Max's Classic American Grill - 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins - Private Big Screen TV - $30 per person - Food, drink, door prizes, and prize pools - Last year's prizes included: Skiing weekend stay in Utah and four overnight accommodations in Tampa, FL - Raise funds to defray the cost of traveling to the Grand Canyon Classic - Phoenix, AZ - By purchasing a ticket for the reception you will be included in all the door prize drawings even if you are unable to attend - Contact: Dick Bihr at ext. 6519 or email: BIHRRJ

Thank you to everyone who registered to participate at the 2005 Faculty/Staff Scholarship and Creativity Celebration. We had a tremendous response. Over 76 individual presentations were submitted involving over 100 faculty or staff. This represents a 31% increase in the number of presentations from the 2004 event. Please reserve the date, Tuesday, February 8, 2005 at 10:30 in Houston Gym and plan to attend this wonderful celebration of the accomplishments of our campus colleagues.

Barnes & Noble Buffalo State Bookstore will hold their Annual Holiday Sale Thursday, December 2nd. Discounts, refreshments, booksigning and more. 25% off trade books, emblematic clothing & gifts. Refreshments served from 10:00am - 2:00pm.
Book Signing, with Jonathan Womack, author of "A Cry for a Hero" from 12:00pm - 2:00pm. Hope you will join us.

Friday, December 3rd in Butler 210: “Thinking Locally, Acting Globally: Including the Niagara Movement in Civil Rights History.” This presentation will provide cultural and historical facts about the Niagara Movement of our own Western New York region. Facilitators: Dr. Felix Armfield, Associate Professor, History and Social Studies Education, Dr. Paul Theobald, Woods-Beal Endowed Chair in Urban and Rural Education