Weigel Health Promotion, in collaboration with Buffalo State University Police, has a few open spaces left for the American Heart Association CPR/AED basic life support course on Thursday, December 8, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Bacon Hall 115.

Participants will learn how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), use an automated external defibrillator (AED), and provide relief to choking victims. Skills are taught for use with adults, children, and infants. The class is completed in three to four hours.

According to the American Heart Association, 70 percent of Americans feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency either because they do not know how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or because their training has significantly lapsed. This alarming statistic could hit close to home, because home is exactly where 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur.

CPR, which is a form of first aid, is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including heart attack, cardiac arrest, or near drowning, in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. First aid is the help given to a sick or injured person until full medical treatment is available.

Why learn CPR? Emergencies such as cardiac arrests are more common than you think, and they can happen to anyone at any time. Many victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors.

Who can you help with CPR? The life you save with CPR is likely to be a loved one. Four out of five cardiac arrests happen at home. Statistically speaking, if called on to administer CPR in an emergency, the life you save is likely to be someone at home: a child, a spouse, a parent, or a friend.

Failure to act in a cardiac emergency can lead to unnecessary deaths. Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival. Less than 8 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive.

Associated fees for the course, payable by check or money order made out to Buffalo State College, are listed below. Please drop off your payment at the Weigel Wellness Center during business hours. No cash accepted. Payment must be received before the day of the training. 

$10 - Current students
$15 - Faculty, staff, or alumni
$50 - Community members

Please know that we can accommodate only a specific number of participants per training. It will be first come, first served for those who register online and have paid before December 7. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please register online.

Please contact Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion, with questions.

Buffalo State's United Students Government, Residence Hall Association, and Weigel Health Promotion invite you to attend 99 Red Balloons in observance of World AIDS Awareness Day on Thursday, December 1, in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event will begin at 7:00 p.m. The event features speaker Louise Nolley, campus and community organizations, safer sex kits, condom bingo, a pledge, raffles, contests, and more!

Please consider giving students extra credit for attending this event.

The Weigel Wellness Center will co-sponsor free HIV/STI testing for students during the day from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Wellness Center. Call (716) 878-6711 to make an appointment. (Walk-ins may be available but are not guaranteed.)

Please contact Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion, with questions.

Please join us for a presentation by Jackie Rousseau, the fourth finalist for the position of assistant vice president for student success and retention, today, December 2, from 11:00 a.m. to noon in Bulger Communication Center 423.

Ms. Rousseau’s presentation, “Jackie Rousseau’s Definition of Student Success,” will last roughly 30 minutes and be followed by a question-and-answer period. Attendees are encouraged to provide the search committee with feedback on Ms. Rousseau’s appropriateness for the position of AVP for student success and retention via this Qualtrics survey.

Brief biography of Jackie Rousseau (DOCX, 24 KB)

Weeks of Welcome at Buffalo State is a series of programs hosted by student organizations and the campus community to welcome our students during the first month of the semester. Student Leadership and Engagement is currently accepting submissions of programs taking place between January 30 and March 10, 2023, to be included in the Weeks of Welcome schedule of events. We also encourage the submission of events taking place after March 10, 2023, which will still be posted on Bengal Connect. 

Information on programs and events can be found by visiting the Weeks of Welcome Schedule through the Student Leadership and Engagement website.

Sponsor a Weeks of Welcome Event

Requirements to submit an event:

• The event takes place between January 30 and March 10, 2023.
• The event is sponsored by a Buffalo State campus department or registered student organization.
• The sponsoring campus department or student organization has a confirmed space reservation with Events Management or the Campbell Student Union.
• The event will be posted on Bengal Connect.

To submit an event, please complete a Weeks of Welcome Program Submission Form.

Please contact Student Leadership and Engagement with questions or to learn more.

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

This is your opportunity to see Brightspace courses and ask questions to 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—opens Thursday, December 1, and closes Friday, December 30, 2022. 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 will also be 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.

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 option 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.

Please join us for a presentation by Rochelle Woods, the third finalist for the position of assistant vice president for student success and retention, today, December 1, from 11:00 a.m. to noon in Bulger Communication Center 215.

Dr. Woods’s presentation, “Rochelle Woods’s Definition of Student Success,” will last roughly 30 minutes and be followed by a question-and-answer period. Attendees are encouraged to provide the search committee with feedback on Dr. Woods’s appropriateness for the position of AVP for student success and retention via this Qualtrics survey.

Brief biography of Rochelle Woods (DOCX, 25 KB)

Please join us for a presentation by R. Michelle Sawyers, the second finalist for the position of assistant vice president for student success and retention, today, November 29, from 11:00 a.m. to noon in Bulger Communication Center 215.

Ms. Sawyers’s presentation, “R. Michelle Sawyers’s Definition of Student Success,” will last roughly 30 minutes and be followed by a question-and-answer period. Attendees are encouraged to provide the search committee with feedback on Ms. Sawyers’s appropriateness for the position of AVP for student success and retention via this Qualtrics survey.

Brief biography of R. Michelle Sawyers (DOCX, 24 KB)

Please join us for a presentation by Sean Partridge, the first finalist for the position of assistant vice president for student success and retention, today, November 28, from 12:05 to 1:05 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 215.

Mr. Partridge's presentation, “Sean Partridge's Definition of Student Success,” will last roughly 30 minutes and be followed by a question-and-answer period. Attendees are encouraged to provide the search committee with feedback on Mr. Partridge’s appropriateness for the position of AVP for student success and retention via this Qualtrics survey.

Brief biography of Sean Partridge (DOCX, 13 KB)

Now that students have 1 terabyte (TB) of storage on OneDrive, the campus will move forward with retiring student network drives (Z: drives) after the fall 2022 semester. Please let students who still use their Z: drives know that they must move the contents of this drive over to OneDrive before the semester ends. A step-by-step guide to copying content from a network drive to OneDrive is available.

Students who do not move the contents of their Z: drives to OneDrive by the end of the semester will have the contents of their Z: drives automatically transferred to OneDrive when the semester ends (into a folder with the student’s username).

Questions or concerns can be directed to the Help Desk by opening a Technology Help ticket or by email.