Do you need a space to move your content from Blackboard and clean up and reformat your course in Brightspace? You can request a development shell for course design and development. Development shells can also be requested for faculty to work in the course design review (OSCQR) process.

This Knowledge Base article, Brightspace: Development Shell, explains the steps to take.

Have other questions or need assistance?

• The Buffalo State IT Knowledge Base has many articles to assist with Brightspace. Use the search bar at the top to find information on other topics.
• Please direct any questions about Brightspace functionality to SUNY Online.
• If you need on-campus assistance from Instructional Design and Distance Learning, please submit a ticket through the IT portal.
• Check for upcoming Brightspace workshops on campus in the Workshop Registration System.

Would you like to have SUNY move your courses from Blackboard to Brightspace? Faculty members can request migration of one section of each course they have taught using Blackboard Learn. For example, if you teach the same course in different semesters, please select one section to be migrated. You must complete one form for each course migration request.

Please use the Course Migration into Brightspace Request Form to have SUNY migrate your course.

Faculty members will have access to Blackboard through Monday, April 10.

Have other questions or need assistance?

• The Buffalo State IT Knowledge Base has many articles to assist with Brightspace. Use the search bar at the top to find information on other topics.
• Please direct any questions about Brightspace functionality to SUNY Online.
• If you need on-campus assistance from Instructional Design and Distance Learning, please submit a ticket through the IT portal.
• Check for upcoming Brightspace workshops on campus in the Workshop Registration System.

Faculty members are encouraged to tell their students about the following upcoming civic engagement series events that are funded by the Grant Allocation Committee:

• Making DIY Laundry Soap for None Like You/We Care Senior Citizens
  Thursday, March 9  |  12:15–1:30 p.m.  |  Caudell Hall 209
  Students will learn about the organization and participate in a service project.
• Making Hygiene Packs for Journey’s End Refugees
  Tuesday, April 11  |  12:15–1:30 p.m.  |  Caudell Hall 209
  Students will learn how they can get involved in Journey’s End Refugee Services and learn about the other initiatives that the organization offers.

We invite you to consider allowing extra credit or supplemental service-learning credit if your students attend the session(s). Attendance will be taken as well as a post-reflection survey.

Please email Ava LaBella in the Civic and Community Engagement Office if you are extending this option to your students or if you have any questions.

The Social Work Department will host a free training on providing perinatal mood and anxiety disorder support groups (postpartum depression and other mental health) on Friday, March 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217. The training will be provided by the executive director of the Postpartum Resource Center of New York and is funded by the Buffalo State Faculty-Student Association. Light refreshments will be provided.

Participants who complete the training will receive a certificate. Parking enforcement near Bulger will be suspended for attendees from off campus.

Please feel free to share this information with your colleagues who might be interested in attending. We have room for only 100 people, and 55 have registered to date, so please register as soon as possible! Please note: the registration web page is not optimized for handheld devices and may render strangely on cell phones or other mobile devices. Please pardon the appearance.

Please contact Kimberley Zittel-Barr, associate professor of social work, with questions.

Please join us for the Cultural Café, a monthly event that brings together members of the Buffalo State community over conversation, culture, coffee, and cookies, today, February 17, at 3:00 p.m. on the first floor of Butler Library. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and find common ground with other internationally minded members of the community in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. The focus this month is how cultures celebrate expressions of love for friends and family. Come and test your knowledge with our love-filled trivia game. This event is sponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Butler Library, and the Maurene Callahan Bouras Center for Global Engagement.

Please join us for the Cultural Café, a monthly event that brings together members of the Buffalo State community over conversation, culture, coffee, and cookies, tomorrow, February 17, at 3:00 p.m. on the first floor of Butler Library. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and find common ground with other internationally minded members of the community in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. The focus this month is how cultures celebrate expressions of love for friends and family. Come and test your knowledge with our love-filled trivia game. This event is sponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Butler Library, and the Maurene Callahan Bouras Center for Global Engagement.

From the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning
Beginning Wednesday, March 1, first-year and senior students (only) will receive electronic invitations to complete the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Student participation in NSSE is critically important to assist Buffalo State in learning more about student participation in programs and activities designed to foster their learning and development, particularly in career and workforce preparation and mental health and well-being, which are linked to retention and graduation rates.

The NSSE measures student engagement in two ways: (1) the amount of time and effort students dedicate to their studies and other educational activities; and (2) how the university uses its resources, curricula, and other learning opportunities to encourage student participation.

In appreciation for participating, the President's Office will provide $2 to the university’s Milligan's Food Pantry for every completed survey. In addition, all students who complete the survey by Friday, April 14, will receive a Buffalo State T-shirt (valued at $10), which can be picked up in Cleveland Hall 519 Monday–Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Please ask your first-year and senior students to watch their email for the NSSE and encourage them to complete the survey promptly. Thank you.

The Buffalo State student chapter of the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society (IEOM) will meet Thursday, February 23, during Bengal Pause (12:45–1:30 p.m.) in Butler Library 8. All majors are all welcome. Research projects, future presentations, site visits, and future speakers will be discussed. RSVP through Bengal Connect. There is no cost to students to participate. The meeting with also be held online.

Please contact Nick White, chapter president, or Dr. O'Neill, faculty adviser, with questions.

WBNY-FM 91.3, Buffalo State’s FCC-licensed student-run radio station, will hold a general interest meeting on Thursday, February 16, from 5:45 to 7:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 428. Learn about our awesome music, sports, and talk shows and how you can get involved! Participation in the radio station is a great way to bolster your résumé, learn about the radio industry, and create your own radio shows and podcasts about topics you are passionate about. Faculty members, please announce this in your classes. Thank you.

Student Leadership and Engagement is now hiring Bengal Experience and Transition (BEAT) Team members for summer 2023 new student Orientation. BEAT Team members are responsible for ensuring a smooth transition to Buffalo State University for our incoming first-year and transfer students along with their family members and support networks. Please review the job description and share with any students you think would excel in this role.

Please contact Thomas Trzepkowski, assistant director of student leadership and engagement, with questions. Applications will close Friday, March 3.