The West African Drumming Ensemble (WADE) is a Buffalo State College group that learns and performs traditional rhythms of West Africa—from Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and more—on authentic djembe and dundun drums. This fun and challenging group is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Rehearsals are Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. Please email Tiffany Nicely, lecturer in the Music Department, for more information.

The Weigel Health Center, in partnership with Wegmans Pharmacy, will host a COVID-19 booster clinic for Buffalo State College faculty, staff, and students on Tuesday, February 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall.

Appointments are recommended. Please reserve your appointment time online.

Please bring your insurance card to the clinic. The COVID-19 vaccine is covered by insurance with no copay and is available at no cost to the uninsured. You must be 17 years of age or older. Please note: Anyone under age 18 must bring with them a signed and completed consent form from their parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must also be available by phone for verbal consent confirmation the day of the clinic.

All participants must wear a face mask.

Wegmans will bring the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines on site for this clinic. If you are receiving a second vaccination dose or a booster shot, you must bring your vaccination card with you.

Governor Hochul on January 25 directed all SUNY schools to cease their practice of withholding the transcripts of students with outstanding financial obligations. As a result, the Registrar's Office, in consultation with other offices across campus, has removed the “transcript” element from most holds being used on campus. 

It is important to note that other elements of the holds, such as restriction to registration, will not be affected.

The press release can be found on the governor’s website.

Please tell students about the free tutoring services available to them. Start dates for specific areas and contact information are listed below:

Tutoring help for Writing, Math, and "Other Subject Tutoring" Centers - Monday, February 7

Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) for EOP: Today, January 31
Call (716) 878-6024 or click the Chat button on the ACE website.  

STAR-NY online tutoring (also free) - writing, math, chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, economics, computer science, and accounting: Today, January 31: Sunday–Thursday, 7:00 p.m.–midnight

Visit the Math Center for all undergraduate math courses. Contact: Erica Demler

Visit the Writing Center for support with any writing assignment, at any stage of the writing process. Contact: Maggie Herb

Visit the Other Tutoring website to meet with a tutor for anything that's not math or writing. Contact: Lauren Copeland

Sign up for an appointment: Bengal Success Portal.

Full details: Tutoring website. General questions: email Lauren Copeland

As part of the Classroom Building renovation project, several classrooms in the A Wing of Buckham Hall have been reopened for use. During winter break, Classroom Support staff worked hard to perform a technology refresh on these classrooms. This includes new high-definition projection and a complete reinstall of the digital presentation technology in each of the 12 generally scheduled classrooms, as well as several department spaces. The teaching equipment in Buckham's generally scheduled classrooms is now consistent with typical digital classroom installs in other buildings.

If you are scheduled to teach in a refreshed room in Buckham Hall (or any other generally scheduled classroom), we encourage you to visit the room before your first class. The documentation for these spaces has been updated across Classroom Support's Knowledge Base articles. A full listing of spaces, including AV system operation instructions and pictures of each room, is available on the Information Technology website.

Tip: Type your classroom name into the IT portal search bar to quickly find the article for your generally scheduled classroom.

Please contact Classroom Support with any questions or concerns by filing a ticket or calling (716) 878-6670.

In partnership with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the Civic and Community Engagement Office will offer free self-assisted tax return preparation sessions. This Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) tax services opportunity will allow you to complete and file your New York state and federal taxes. Department of Taxation and Finance staff members will provide an overview of the computer software, and you'll have 90 minutes to two hours to complete your filing with small group support from their volunteers.

Sessions are open to any member of the campus or Buffalo community. Please share this information with students, alumni, and community partners.

Register on the CCE website for your 90-minute to two-hour session at either 8:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. on February 11, 18, or 25; March 4, 11, 18, or 25; or April 1, 8, or 15.

Registration is required.

Again this year, all sessions with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance staff and volunteers will be via video conference.

You can join sessions virtually from your home, office, or dorm room February 11–April 15 if you have access to the Internet, a computer or tablet, and a webcam with a speaker and microphone to meet with the volunteers.

If you do not have access to those pieces of technology, please register for an on-campus session between March 4 and April 15 to access a reserved computer lab space. Please refrain from registering for an on-campus session if you have access to the appropriate technology. We are reserving this space for members of our Buffalo and campus communities who are most vulnerable.

Capacity is limited, and advance registration is required. A confirmation email and an email with details to join the video conference session from home or using the computer lab will be sent to you a day or two before your registered session.

For details on what to bring to your session and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit the CCE website.

Other locations for other areas of the state and WNY community are listed on our website as well.

Further questions can be directed to Civic and Community Engagement, (716) 878-3919.

The Buffalo State College Alumni Association and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company will offer a defensive driving course for Buffalo State faculty, staff, alumni, and students on Saturday, February 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 113.

Save money on your auto insurance by taking this class offered through Liberty Mutual. Friends and relatives are also welcome if accompanied by a faculty or staff member, alumnus, or student. The discount is 10 percent off liability insurance in New York state, regardless of one’s auto insurance provider; this course will also remove points from your driver’s license. The cost of the class is $25 per person. Masks are required to attend this course.

Attendees should park in Lot R-2 or along Rockwell Road and enter Ketchum Hall through the door on the west side of the building (across from Moot Hall). Parking is free and open to the public on Saturdays.

To enroll, please call Damien Lawrence, Buffalo State’s local representative, at (716) 984-9111. The registration deadline for this class is Wednesday, February 23.

In partnership with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the Civic and Community Engagement Office will offer free self-assisted tax return preparation sessions. This Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) tax services opportunity will allow you to complete and file your New York state and federal taxes. Department of Taxation and Finance staff members will provide an overview of the computer software, and you'll have 90 minutes to two hours to complete your filing with small group support from their volunteers.  

Sessions are open to any member of the campus or Buffalo community. Please share this information with students, alumni, and community partners.

Register on the CCE website for your 90-minute to two-hour session at 8:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. on February 11, 18, or 25; March 4, 11, 18, or 25; or April 1, 8, or 15

Registration is required.

Again this year, all sessions with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance staff and volunteers will be via video conference.

You can join sessions virtually from your home, office, or dorm room February 11–April 15 if you have access to the Internet, a computer or tablet, and a webcam with a speaker and microphone to meet with the volunteers.

If you do not have access to those pieces of technology, please register for an on-campus session between March 4 and April 15 to access a reserved computer lab space. Please refrain from registering for an on-campus session if you have access to the appropriate technology. We are reserving this space for members of our Buffalo and campus communities who are most vulnerable.

Capacity is limited, and advance registration is required. A confirmation email and an email with details to join the video conference session from home or using the computer lab will be sent to you a day or two before your registered session.

For details on what to bring to your session and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit the CCE website.

Other locations for other areas of the state and WNY community are listed on our website as well.

Further questions can be directed to Civic and Community Engagement, (716) 878-3919.

Learn how to strengthen your online and hybrid skills to enhance your course design and increase student engagement with the Online Course Development Series February 21–April 1. This series prepares instructors to design, develop, and enhance online or hybrid courses using best practices of online teaching and learning.

The basic Online Course Development Series will guide participants through a systematic approach to the design and development of online synchronous, online asynchronous, and hybrid courses. Participants will be equipped to make design decisions that support interaction, student engagement, authentic learning and assessment, and meaningful integration of technology. This series will benefit instructors seeking to design or refresh an online or hybrid course.

Series Information
The basic Online Course Development series will run February 21–April 1 in a facilitated online asynchronous format. All activities will occur through Blackboard Learn.

Within each module of the series, participants will put design principles into practice by developing different aspects of their course, receiving feedback from peers and instructional designers. By the end of the series, participants will have developed one complete week of an online or hybrid course and will use standards from the OSCQR rubric to conduct a self-review of the week developed.

Participants can expect to spend about three to five hours per module, including completing structured activities and individual work on course development (approximately 18–30 hours over six modules).

Registration
Please register for this series in the Workshop Registration System. 

For more information and future offerings of this series, please visit the Instructional Design and Distance Learning website. Please contact Jamie Tabone, instructional designer, with questions.

The deadline to submit applications for the SUNY B-140W Tuition Assistance Program for the spring 2022 semester is Monday, February 28.

Staff members may apply for tuition assistance after six months of service; faculty members may apply after one semester of service. The following employees are eligible:

• Full-time Buffalo State College faculty members and professional or classified employees.
• Part-time or temporary Buffalo State faculty members and professional or classified employees who are employed at least half time (faculty must teach at least two courses in the semester).
• Full-time Research Foundation employees, provided they work on the Buffalo State campus.

Program funds may be used for courses at SUNY campuses only. Eligible employees may apply for up to 50 percent waiver of SUNY tuition for up to two courses a semester, to a maximum of 15 credit hours an academic year depending on available funding. Tuition assistance is limited to regular in-state undergraduate or graduate tuition rates. The level of support may be adjusted when necessary if funding is not adequate to cover applications received.

Employees who decide to drop a class or find it has been covered by another source after submitting an application are asked to please notify Human Resource Management immediately to update their applications.

Please contact Human Resource Management, (716) 878-3042, for applications or program guidelines.