From the Vice President for Student Affairs
Effective Thursday, February 28, the phone number to reach the Vice President for Student Affairs Office will be 878-4704. The fax number is 878-5009. Please update your records. Thank you.
From the Associate Vice President for Assessment and Curriculum
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation team will conduct its on-site evaluation at Buffalo State from March 17 to 20. An open meeting for faculty and staff members to convene with the MSCHE team will be held on Monday, March 18, from 11:10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.
Headed by Kathleen Waldron, president of William Paterson University, the team will meet with a variety of campus constituents, including members of the College Council and President’s Cabinet, academic administrators, faculty and staff members, and student leaders.
Buffalo State recently submitted its Middle States self-study evaluation, the first step in the college’s bid for decennial reaccreditation from the MSCHE. A copy of the final report, in both HTML and PDF formats, is available at https://middlestates.buffalostate.edu. Questions regarding the self-study or the on-site evaluation should be directed to Roz Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, ext. 5915.
From the Associate Vice President for Assessment and Curriculum
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation team will conduct its on-site evaluation at Buffalo State from March 17 to 20. An open meeting for faculty and staff members to convene with the MSCHE team will be held on Monday, March 18, from 11:10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.
Headed by Kathleen Waldron, president of William Paterson University, the team will meet with a variety of campus constituents, including members of the College Council and President’s Cabinet, academic administrators, faculty and staff members, and student leaders.
Buffalo State recently submitted its Middle States self-study evaluation, the first step in the college’s bid for decennial reaccreditation from the MSCHE. A copy of the final report, in both HTML and PDF formats, is available at https://middlestates.buffalostate.edu. Questions regarding the self-study or the on-site evaluation should be directed to Roz Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, ext. 5915.
From the Associate Vice President for Assessment and Curriculum
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation team will conduct its on-site evaluation at Buffalo State from March 17 to 20. An open meeting for faculty and staff members to convene with the MSCHE team will be held on Monday, March 18, from 11:10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.
Headed by Kathleen Waldron, president of William Paterson University, the team will meet with a variety of campus constituents, including members of the College Council and President’s Cabinet, academic administrators, faculty and staff members, and student leaders.
Buffalo State recently submitted its Middle States self-study evaluation, the first step in the college’s bid for decennial reaccreditation from the MSCHE. A copy of the final report, in both HTML and PDF formats, is available at https://middlestates.buffalostate.edu. Questions regarding the self-study or the on-site evaluation should be directed to Roz Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, ext. 5915.
From the Associate Vice President for Assessment and Curriculum
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation team will conduct its on-site evaluation at Buffalo State from March 17 to 20. An open meeting for faculty and staff members to convene with the MSCHE team will be held on Monday, March 18, from 11:10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.
Headed by Kathleen Waldron, president of William Paterson University, the team will meet with a variety of campus constituents, including members of the College Council and President’s Cabinet, academic administrators, faculty and staff members, and student leaders.
Buffalo State recently submitted its Middle States self-study evaluation, the first step in the college’s bid for decennial reaccreditation from the MSCHE. A copy of the final report, in both HTML and PDF formats, is available at https://middlestates.buffalostate.edu. Questions regarding the self-study or the on-site evaluation should be directed to Roz Lindner, associate vice president for assessment and curriculum, ext. 5915.
From the Chief Diversity Officer
The Dr. Muriel A. Howard Presidential Award for the Promotion of Equity and Campus Diversity recognizes faculty and staff members who promote respect for diversity and individual differences through classroom discussions, curricular experiences, out-of-classroom activities, projects, conversations, or special mentorships that go beyond what is usually expected as a part of their regular job expectations or teaching assignments. We welcome nominations from students, faculty, and staff so that we might acknowledge members of our community who live the values of respect for diversity and advocacy for social justice at a luncheon on Tuesday, April 2. The award criteria and nomination form can be found on the Equity and Campus Diversity website. The extended application deadline is close of business Tuesday, March 5.
From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 8, in E. H. Butler Library 210.
From the Special Adviser to the Provost for Academic Research Initiatives
In October 2012, Timothy Killeen, Ph.D., president of the Research Foundation (RF) and SUNY vice chancellor for research, unveiled Operation Excelsior in response to recent RF audits. Included in Operation Excelsior are a number of new policies that will take effect March 15. One of these policies affects the payment of extra service directly from federally funded projects. The full text of the policy may be found on the Research Foundation for SUNY website.
In general, full-time RF or SUNY exempt employees may be entitled to receive extra service compensation if all of the following conditions have been met:
There are additional requirements for extra service on federally funded activities. For faculty working on projects sponsored by federal funds, OMB Circular A-21 restricts compensation above the base salary; however, “in unusual cases where consultation is across departmental lines or involves a separate or remote operation, and the work performed by the consultant is in addition to his regular departmental load, any charges for such work representing extra compensation above the base salary are allowable provided that such consulting arrangements are specifically provided for in the agreement or approved in writing by the sponsoring agency.” This may be accomplished by itemizing extra service in the budget, in the proposal, or in the agreement, or by other means that shows sponsor approval, if known.
Consultation as used here refers to the individual’s activities outside of and in addition to his or her full-time obligation. Indications that the work is across departmental lines may include research in a different discipline than a faculty member’s course load, or work performed in a different department (SUNY employees) or specialized unit within a large primary employing department (both RF and SUNY employees).
For non-exempt department secretaries who are requested to take on additional duties for PIs that fall outside their normal duties and workday (verified through the campus HR department), additional compensation including overtime may be allowed. The employee and supervisor should track the hours spent performing RF project work. The employee is paid at his or her usual rate of compensation, including overtime if applicable, from state funds, which are then reimbursed from RF if the work is budgeted in the grant.
For exempt employees working on federally funded projects, the determination of whether extra service compensation is allowable must be made on a case-by-case basis. For questions, please consult with Mark Severson, special adviser to the provost for academic research initiatives, or with Robert Baumet, RF deputy operations manager.
Sincerely,
Mark W. Severson, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences
From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 8, in E. H. Butler Library 210. I would like to extend many thanks to those voting members who were able to attend the February 8 Senate meeting amidst the inclement weather. This allowed the Senate to reach a quorum and conduct business.
From the Special Adviser to the Provost for Academic Research Initiatives
This edition of the Research Foundation communication series focuses on expertise available at the Research Foundation (RF) that supports pre-award and proposal development activity. Proposal development is not always linear. Sometimes you have a great idea to develop that prompts you to look for funding. Other times available funding presents opportunities to be developed. The RF staff enjoys a wealth of skill sets that provide flexibility to pursue proposal development in either track.
Pre-award and Contract Services: Carol Darstein, Peggy Bristol, and Laura Leone
The Pre-award and Contract Services office is instrumental in multiple aspects of pre-award activities. In broad terms, that includes linking campus individuals with potential funding opportunities (including enrollment in e-mail alert services [SMARTS]), interpreting requests for proposals, and overseeing all proposal submissions, as well as negotiating award and contract approvals. More specifically, the pre-award office provides proposal preparation support as the liaison for activities among groups of faculty and outside agencies and community representatives, and assists with budget preparation and proper completion of governmental forms. Periodically, presentations are offered to faculty, staff, and students on a variety of grant-writing topics, including new faculty orientation, hands-on training in electronic submission systems, and “Introduction to Grant Writing.”
Pre-award and Contract Services is responsible for the submission of formal applications to sponsors on behalf of Buffalo State applicants, providing expertise and guidance in electronic proposal submission. The office provides application review and endorsement before submission to a sponsor, ensuring that the proposed project activities are consistent and compliant with RF and sponsor policies.
When a sponsor is considering funding a proposal, Pre-award and Contract Services negotiates the award budget and terms, including preparation of contractual documents, acceptance of award conditions, and securing proper signatory approvals.
Project Development and Economic Advancement: Rick Johnson
Winning external funding in the twenty-first-century economy requires a focused, collaborative effort. These days, a great idea for a grant generally doesn’t succeed solely on the idea’s merit. A winning proposal is engaging, compelling, organized, and informative. In the competitive economic climate in which we now work, nothing should be left to chance, and every innovative developmental option should be explored before a proposal is submitted to a funding organization.
The Research Foundation’s Project Development and Economic Advancement (PDEA) was established to work with Buffalo State faculty and staff to help ensure that their great ideas are carefully cultivated into engaging and successful proposals. Working with colleagues as early as possible in the developmental stages, PDEA provides an opportunity for prospective PIs (principal investigators) and others to explore innovative options and create compelling narratives that can separate a winning proposal from an also-ran.
PDEA provides early-stage consultation, creative problem solving, grant writing, content editing, and related developmental supports that will help Buffalo State partners achieve the research and funding outcomes their great ideas deserve. The office also works internally and externally to build constructive economic advancement opportunities and partnerships that promote the interests and growth of the entire Buffalo State community.
Research and Evaluation: Bridget Zimmerman
Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies, and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. Equally important are questions such as how the program could be improved, whether the program is worthwhile, whether there are better alternatives, if there are unintended outcomes, and whether the program goals are appropriate and useful. Evaluators help to answer these questions, but the best way to answer the questions is for the evaluation to be a joint effort between the evaluator, the principal investigator (PI), and the project team.
It is important to incorporate an evaluation protocol in the early stages of project development. The RF area of Research and Evaluation assists faculty with proposal preparation (pre-grant) and the following evaluation services during the post-award project life cycle: needs assessments, formative and summative program evaluation, development of outcomes and indicators, development and deployment of assessment tools, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and reports and presentations.
A typical evaluation protocol is tailored to a project's needs, but generally the process is as follows: (1) work with the PI to fully understand the program or project to be evaluated, (2) design and plan the evaluation, (3) develop the instruments for gathering the data, (4) collect the data, (5) analyze and interpret the data, (6) write the evaluation report, and (7) disseminate the results. This process is repeated as frequently as needed by the reporting requirements of the project.
The units described above complement each other, providing collaborative efforts with campus individuals in the pre-award and proposal-development processes.
Coming in the series: Grants Administration, Accounts Payable, Purchasing and Travel, and more.
Sincerely,
Mark W. Severson, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences