The Middle States Commission on Higher Education has reaffirmed the accreditation of SUNY Buffalo State. At a session on June 27, 2013, the commission acted “to reaffirm accreditation and to commend the institution for the quality of the self-study report.”

Reaffirmation of Buffalo State’s accreditation is a milestone in the life of the institution. The decennial accreditation review confirmed that all 14 Middle States standards are satisfied. The evaluation team report highlights our institution’s strengths and endorses the suggestions and recommendations presented in our self-study.

I express my deepest gratitude to all who engaged in this critical reaccreditation endeavor. The ongoing dedication, diligence, commitment, and contributions of our campus community made this successful outcome possible. We have much to celebrate at Buffalo State as we pursue our mission of excellence in public higher education.

Best regards,

Dennis K. Ponton
Provost and Officer-in-Charge

From the Officer-in-Charge
At its December 10, 2010, meeting, the College Senate voted to recommend to the president that revisions to the DOPS policy on minors be implemented as presented in items D and I (boldface text) below:

A.  A minor may not be taken from the same discipline as a student’s major discipline.

B.  A 2.0 minimum cumulative grade point average is required for admission to a minor program.

C.  A minor shall consist of no fewer than 18 and no more than 21 credit hours of coursework.

D.  A minor may include no more than 9 total hours that overlap with the student’s major disciplinary requirements.

F.   A minor may include no more than two courses at a lower-division level.

G.  A maximum of three courses of transfer credit will be permitted.

G.  The minor program must include all course prerequisites.

H.  Exceptions to these requirements must be requested through the Curriculum Committee of the College Senate with appropriate justifications provided.

I.   Faculty, through their departments and programs, will define disciplinary individualities.

I accept the recommendation of the College Senate and hereby approve the updated policy to be in effect beginning with the spring 2011 semester. I charge the heads of all relevant areas with the responsibility of ensuring that the new policy is implemented as stated above, that it is included in all pertinent documents, and that it is communicated widely through the institution.

From the Chair of the College Senate
If you are interested in serving on one of the eight Senate standing committees for 2013–2014, the Committee Interest Form will be available in mid-July on the College Senate website. Please note: membership is at the discretion of the committee chair, and not all committees will have vacancies. Please direct inquiries to Vincent Masci in the College Senate Office.

From the Chair of the College Senate
If you are interested in serving on one of the eight Senate standing committees for 2013–2014, the Committee Interest Form will be available in mid-July on the College Senate website. Please note: membership is at the discretion of the committee chair, and not all committees will have vacancies. Please direct inquiries to Vincent Masci in the College Senate Office.

From the Chair of the College Senate
Senator William White has been elected to serve as vice chair of the College Senate for the 2013–2014 academic year. Congratulations to Senator White.

From the Officer in Charge
At its April 12, 2013, meeting, the College Senate approved and forwarded to the president a motion to amend the language in the Athletic Fee resolution:

WHEREAS, the Student Athletic Fee at Buffalo State is used to support athletic personnel at a disproportionately higher rate than at other SUNY comprehensive colleges; and

WHEREAS, salaries paid from IFR accounts are subject to both fringe benefit and contractual salary increases,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that in the best interest of students and the college, the administration develop a formal plan to raise the level of New York State support for the Athletics Department that is more in line with the other comprehensive colleges, and that the college begin the process by funding any positions required to maintain compliance with Title IX.

Amended language added after last period that was approved:

“This plan will be presented to the College Senate on or before the December 2013 College Senate meeting.” This will give the Athletics Department time to figure out whether it needs to request another fee increase next year or whether it will be handled another way.

At its May 10, 2013, meeting, the College Senate approved and forwarded to the president a motion to amend the language in the Health Fee resolution:

WHEREAS, the Student Health Fee at Buffalo State is mainly used to support full-time personnel in the Health and Counseling centers; and

WHEREAS, salaries paid from IFR accounts are subject to both fringe benefit and contractual salary increases;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that in the best interest of students and the college, the administration develop a formal plan to raise the level of New York State support for the Health and Counseling centers in order to reduce the ongoing need to raise the Health Fee in order to meet mandated salary and benefit increases.

This plan will be presented to the College Senate on or before the December 2013 College Senate meeting.

I accept the recommendations of the College Senate. I charge the vice presidents for finance and management and student affairs with incorporating these recommendations into the all-funds budgeting research currently under way and further charge them with working in close consultation with the entities mandated by SUNY for fiscal oversight of the Health and Athletics fees, the Student Health Advisory Committee, the health services staff, and the Intercollegiate Athletics Board. I also charge these vice presidents with the responsibility of keeping both the Student Welfare and the Budget and Staff Allocation committees of the College Senate informed of the progress on these recommendations.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Buffalo State submitted its 2012–2013 Internal Control Summary and Certification to SUNY on April 5, 2013. This is a critical submission for the campus as it summarizes a year’s worth of internal control program activities, reviews, and audits.

At this time, staff in SUNY System Administration have completed review of all campus submissions and submitted SUNY’s agency-wide response to New York State. Buffalo State’s submission and responses were found to adequately address the six requirements set forth in Budget Policy and Reporting Manual B-350, and full compliance has been recorded for the campus for the year ending March 31, 2013.

Acceptance of Buffalo State’s certification by SUNY recognizes our comprehensive efforts to promote organizational efficiency and economy and encourage adherence to applicable laws, regulations, and managerial policies and practices.

As a member of the Buffalo State community, you should be aware that internal controls are everyone’s responsibility. A copy of the campus submission is available on the Buffalo State Internal Control Program website. I encourage your review of Buffalo State’s certification submission and welcome any questions you may have.

We look forward to your continuing support for internal controls and value your efforts toward this end.

From the Chair of the College Senate Curriculum Committee
During the 2012–2013 academic year, the College Senate Curriculum Committee halted all submissions of courses seeking IF designation. With the revision of the Buffalo State Student Learning Outcomes for the new Intellectual Foundations program (IF 2014) complete, we are ready to accept these submissions again, and in fact will make IF course submissions a priority in fall 2013. While we will continue to consider non-IF-designation courses and programs as time allows, we will give first consideration to IF 2014 courses and to courses and programs needed for accreditation. Please consider waiting to revise other courses in your department until spring 2014 or later. To facilitate the provost’s request for a fall 2014 implementation of the new IF program, associate deans should submit courses seeking IF 2014 designation to the Senate Office as early as possible in the fall semester. This will allow ample time for any necessary revisions and for the approval process. The CSCC roster will be approved at the first College Senate meeting of the 2013–2014 academic year, on September 13, and we will begin considering courses immediately after our roster is approved. Please direct any questions to Karen Sands-O’Connor, chair of the CSCC.

From the Chair of the Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee

College Senate Chair:
David Carson

College Senate Vice Chair (an electronic election will be held for the following nominees from May 28 to 31; further information will be forthcoming):
Barbara Sherman
Bill White

College Senate Standing Committee Chairs:
Academic Plan Committee: Jason Grinnell
Budget and Staff Allocation Committee: Ted Schmidt
Bylaws and Elections Committee: Bill White
Curriculum Committee: Karen Sands O’Connor
Faculty and Staff Welfare Committee: Kevin Williams
Instruction and Research Committee: Andrew Nicholls
Standards for Students Committee: Heather Maldonado
Student Welfare Committee: Jill D’Angelo, Vice Chair (The student chair of the Student Welfare Committee will be elected at the first meeting of the College Senate on September 13, 2013.)

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
To comply with the New York State Commission on Public Integrity regulations (Title 19 NYCRR Part 930 of the Public Officers Law), the college is required to annually report honoraria received by full-time faculty members and professional and management/confidential employees; therefore, if you received an honorarium during the period April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013, and did not request prior approval from your vice president or respective member of the President’s Cabinet, you are required to report the source, date, and amount of the honorarium received to your vice president or respective member of the President’s Cabinet by Friday, May 31.

An honorarium is defined as "a payment, fee, or other compensation given to an individual for services rendered not related to the individual’s official state duties." It also includes payment for travel expenses when the expenses incurred are unrelated to the employee’s duties.

Examples of honoraria include compensation for delivering a speech, writing an article, or attending a meeting. Honoraria do not include salary, wages, or fees earned from outside employment. Faculty members are not required to declare honoraria received within their academic disciplines.

Although reporting honoraria is required, obtaining prior approval of requests to receive honoraria is optional rather than mandatory; however, the college encourages employees to seek prior approval from the president’s designee (your vice president or respective member of the President’s Cabinet) before engaging in an activity that leads to the receipt of an honorarium. 

Information regarding the reporting of honoraria can be found at www.jcope.ny.gov/about/ethc/Part930.html. Questions should be directed to Susan Earshen, associate vice president for human resource management, at ext. 3042.

Updated May 2013