Buffalo State will host the Lake Erie/Niagara Division C Science Olympiad Scrimmage on campus Saturday December 10. The Science Olympiad is a national event in which high school students compete as teams in science and engineering events. A team consists of 15 students that work in pairs to enter events in subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, computing, and aeronautics. This year there are 23 events, including Codebusters, Bridge Building, and Flight. Students learn the rules for each year’s events in early September and spend the fall preparing to compete in the Lake Erie/Niagara Division C Qualifier in February. Teams that do well in the qualifier move on to the state competition in March.

The scrimmage is a smaller, warm-up event that takes place in the Science and Mathematics Complex, Houston Gym, and Bulger Communication Center and acts as a trial run for students and event supervisors. Last year,  roughly 250 high school students from 17 schools were on campus for the scrimmage, and we are expecting more this year. The event starts at 7:00 a.m., with the first events at 8:00, and is done by 3:00 p.m. The actual Division C Regional Competition with the STEAM Fair will be held on Saturday, February 4.

Please join us for Part III of our Mental Health and Wellness Program Conversation today, December 15, at 3:00 p.m. in Weigel Wellness Center 203 or remotely via Microsoft Teams.

A group of Buffalo State community members has been meeting virtually this semester to discuss mental health and wellness programs, as well as what we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We have all felt the impact of the pandemic, especially our students. We hope to continue using these open conversations to let the campus know about preventive measures and programs, to hear from others, to collaborate, and to share opportunities, resources, and information. 

Here are a few resources you can share with students:

• NEW: BOW (Bengals on Wellness) Lounge Dates and Guests.
• Text with Weigel: Non-emergency non-clinical questions. Newsletter link is sent at the beginning of each month. Students can text questions for information and resources. Text "BOW" or "Bengal" to (716) 992-7077 to opt in.
• The Promotional monthly online newsletter.
• Online self-care kit and information, featuring tips, tricks, events, programs, resources, and more to help you with your self-care.

Please forward or share this opportunity with others, including students, who you think might be interested in participating and contributing to the conversation. Also, please consider allowing extra credit for this and future events.

Join the Teams meeting.
Meeting ID: 241 861 079 123
Passcode: v5Ppnx
Download Teams | Join on the web

Please email Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion for the Weigel Wellness Center, with questions.

Please join us for Part III of our Mental Health and Wellness Program Conversation on Thursday, December 15, at 3:00 p.m. in Weigel Wellness Center 203 or remotely via Microsoft Teams.

A group of Buffalo State community members has been meeting virtually this semester to discuss mental health and wellness programs, as well as what we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We have all felt the impact of the pandemic, especially our students. We hope to continue using these open conversations to let the campus know about preventive measures and programs, to hear from others, to collaborate, and to share opportunities, resources, and information. 

Here are a few resources you can share with students:

• NEW: BOW (Bengals on Wellness) Lounge Dates and Guests.
• Text with Weigel: Non-emergency non-clinical questions. Newsletter link is sent at the beginning of each month. Students can text questions for information and resources. Text "BOW" or "Bengal" to (716) 992-7077 to opt in.
• The Promotional monthly online newsletter.
• Online self-care kit and information, featuring tips, tricks, events, programs, resources, and more to help you with your self-care.

Please forward or share this opportunity with others, including students, who you think might be interested in participating and contributing to the conversation. Also, please consider allowing extra credit for this and future events.

Join the Teams meeting.
Meeting ID: 241 861 079 123
Passcode: v5Ppnx
Download Teams | Join on the web

Please email Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion for the Weigel Wellness Center, with questions.

Please join us for Part III of our Mental Health and Wellness Program Conversation on Thursday, December 15, at 3:00 p.m. in Weigel Wellness Center 203 or remotely via Microsoft Teams.

A group of Buffalo State community members has been meeting virtually this semester to discuss mental health and wellness programs, as well as what we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We have all felt the impact of the pandemic, especially our students. We hope to continue using these open conversations to let the campus know about preventive measures and programs, to hear from others, to collaborate, and to share opportunities, resources, and information. 

Here are a few resources you can share with students:

• NEW: BOW (Bengals on Wellness) Lounge Dates and Guests.
• Text with Weigel: Non-emergency non-clinical questions. Newsletter link is sent at the beginning of each month. Students can text questions for information and resources. Text "BOW" or "Bengal" to (716) 992-7077 to opt in.
• The Promotional monthly online newsletter.
• Online self-care kit and information, featuring tips, tricks, events, programs, resources, and more to help you with your self-care.

Please forward or share this opportunity with others, including students, who you think might be interested in participating and contributing to the conversation. Also, please consider allowing extra credit for this and future events.

Join the Teams meeting.
Meeting ID: 241 861 079 123
Passcode: v5Ppnx
Download Teams | Join on the web

Please email Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion for the Weigel Wellness Center, with questions.

Buffalo State undergraduates are cordially invited to participate in the ninth annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC), an all-day event with keynote luncheon and Graduate Fair to be held on the campus of SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, New York, on Friday, April 14, 2023. Student presenters and their faculty mentors will receive support for conference registration, transportation, and accommodation through Buffalo State's Undergraduate Travel Program. Student abstract proposals for oral presentations, research posters, art displays, and creative performances will be accepted via the online submission portal scheduled to open during December (TBA). Please contact SURC campus coordinator Carolyn Guzski in you are interested in participating.

YuJa has replaced Ensemble Video as Buffalo State's media server and video storage, creation, and sharing platform. Buffalo State has been informed by the SUNY Information Technology Exchange Center (ITEC) that we will be unable to preserve links to legacy Ensemble videos at ensemble.itec.suny.edu beyond December 31, 2022. All users must update all links to videos stored in YuJa Video for future courses and other sites.

While video links from Ensemble may work now, they will no longer work after December 31.

Please also note that captions and video quizzes that were in Ensemble did not migrate to YuJa during this transition, and action will need to be taken.

Action Items

• If you have not yet logged in to YuJa to create your account, please take a moment to do so now so that your Ensemble Videos can be moved to your YuJa account.
• Before January 1, 2023, faculty members and other former users of Ensemble Video must inspect the links in their courses and all other links to Ensemble videos and update them to reference their new location in YuJa. Instructions on how to do this for Brightspace appear in the Knowledge Base article "Remove and Replace Embedded Ensemble Videos with YuJa Videos in Brightspace Courses."
• If you have videos in YuJa that were previously captioned in Ensemble but have no captions now, please use the Request Captioning ticket to list the video titles you need captions returned to. Under the Additional Comments section, please note “Previously captioned in Ensemble.”
• For videos in YuJa that were not previously captioned, please follow the instructions at YuJa’s Requesting Auto-Captions page to have new AI-automated captions attached to your videos. No service ticket is necessary.
• Please refer to the Knowledge Base article "Recreating Ensemble Video Quizzes in YuJa Video" for guidance in that regard.

For training, please check the Workshop Registration System for available group sessions or book an individual appointment, selecting “YuJa Video Question” or "YuJa Video Training" from the available options.

Students, faculty, and staff members can also call YuJa Support toll-free at (888) 257-2278 or email support@yuja.com.

Pearl Harbor Day is observed annually in the United States on December 7 to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States entering World War II. Let us never forget the sacrifices made for our freedoms.

All faculty members are encouraged to begin training in Brightspace, the new SUNY-wide learning management system selected to replace Blackboard Learn.

In-Person Training Options
In-person training sessions will be offered by Instructional Design and Distance Learning (IDDL) and the Teaching and Learning Center. These sessions will be hosted on campus in a variety of labs across campus. Registration is through the Workshop Registration System.

The Brightspace Fundamentals Workshop Series is designed for instructors new to Brightspace and is suitable for instructors teaching in any modality: face-to-face, hybrid, or online. Workshops in the series are Navigation and Interface; Communication Tools; Authoring and Publishing Content; Gradable Activities: Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes; and Gradebook.

Course Design in Brightspace
The move to Brightspace gives us the opportunity to shift how we think about course design and to create a more interactive and consistent design of learning experiences within a course. This workshop will discuss key design principles and highlight how we can use features within Brightspace to create a cohesive experience for our learners.

Managing Your Move to Brightspace: “Build from Scratch” or “Copy and Clean” Strategies
These workshops offer strategies for either building a course in Brightspace or migrating course materials from Blackboard into Brightspace.

Online Training Options
Online synchronous workshops will be provided by the SUNY Center for Professional Development. Registration is open.

Online asynchronous modules are available within the Buffalo State Brightspace environment. Log in to mylearning.buffalostate.edu using the "Network Login" button, where you can enter your Buffalo State username and password. If you are experiencing log-in issues, please submit a ticket via the IT portal.

Please contact Jamie Tabone, instructional designer, with questions. Please see the IDDL website for more information.

Desire2Learn (D2L) Brightspace was selected to replace Blackboard as the learning management system (LMS) for the SUNY Digital Learning Environment (DLE). All courses will use Brightspace starting with J-Term 2023.

This is your opportunity to see Brightspace courses and ask questions of a panel of Buffalo State pilot faculty members who can share their experience with you. Currently, Buffalo State has 25 pilot faculty members teaching over 90 sections to over 900 Buffalo State students for the fall 22 semester. 

Two sessions are planned:

• Tuesday, December 13, 12:30–1:30 p.m., Butler Library 314
• Friday, December 16, 10:00–11:00 a.m., via Microsoft Teams

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Please contact Jamie Tabone, instructional designer, with questions. Please see the IDDL website for more information.

The annual Option Transfer Period—the time to choose the health insurance option you want for 2023—opened Thursday, December 1, and closes Friday, December 30. The New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) offers employees the choice of the Empire Plan or a NYSHIP-approved health maintenance organization (HMO) serving the area where they live or work.

If you are considering changing your health insurance option for 2023 or wish to review your current option, the "Choices" booklet (PDF, 1.5 MB) explains the available NYSHIP options. You can find the "Choices" booklet and other option transfer publications on the NYSHIP Online website. Select your group and plan when prompted, then select Health Benefits and Option Transfer, and choose Rates and Health Plan Choices for the most up-to-date option transfer information.

A limited number of "Choices" booklets are also available in the Benefits Office; please call (716) 878-4821 if you wish to receive a paper copy. Rate information will be sent directly to enrollees' homes. Information is also available on the Buffalo State Benefits website.

Copies of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage for individual health plans can be obtained by calling (877) 769-7447 or by visiting the Employee Benefits Division Website to print or view a copy yourself.

If you have coverage under another employer-sponsored health insurance program, you may be eligible to opt out of NYSHIP coverage in exchange for an incentive payment. If you are interested in participating in the Opt-Out Program for 2023, please contact the Employee Benefits Office. It is no longer necessary to re-enroll in the Opt-Out Program each year. No action is required for current Opt-Out enrollees who are still eligible and wish to remain in the program for 2023.

Except under limited circumstances, you cannot change options outside the annual Option Transfer Period, which ends on December 30, 2022.

Other changes permitted during the Option Transfer Period without a qualifying event:

• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel your coverage
• Change your tax-election option (pre-tax to after-tax or after-tax to pre-tax)

To change your health insurance during the Option Transfer Period, please return the completed and signed Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB) to the Employee Benefits Office (Cleveland Hall 403) by 5:00 p.m. Friday, December 30. You may also change your option online using MyNYSHIP.  All changes will be effective Thursday, January 5, 2023.

No action is required if you wish to keep your current health insurance option.

If you have questions, please contact the Benefits Office, (716) 878-4821.