Ready up and relax for finals during our free virtual Bengal Study Nights on Wednesday, December 9, and Thursday, December 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

We'll have final exam reviews, tutoring, yoga, mindful meditation, relaxation activities, games and "Feasting with Furry Friends" (show off your pet, snack, chat, laugh).

Free and open to all students, staff, faculty, and even parents!

For more information, please download the Bengal Study Night flier (PDF, 789 KB) or, if you prefer, the text only Bengal Study Night flier (found on the tutoring website), or visit the Bengal Study Nights web page. The web page is updated continually, so stop back often!

Please contact Lauren Copeland, coordinator of tutoring services, with questions.

When issuing a student a non-passing grade, including an E, F, U, I, or N grade, please also report the student's last date of attendance when entering the grade online. This assists the Financial Aid Office in determining whether a student unofficially withdrew and whether the student is able to retain the aid that he or she received.

The last date of attendance is the last date the student participated in class, took an exam, handed in homework, or actively engaged in an online course. If assigning an I or N grade, the last date of attendance is the last date you met with the student to discuss progress in the course. If you have no record of a student's attending, do not enter a date. Instead, use the grade EV, which indicates that the student never attended the course.

Questions regarding this policy or procedure should be referred to the Financial Aid Office, 878-4902. The grading guide (PDF, 162 KB) may also assist you.

The Teacher Education Council (TEC) will meet Friday, December 11, from noon to 1:30 p.m. (please note the earlier start time) via Zoom. TEC representatives will receive a meeting invitation and link via e-mail. All TEC representatives and Teacher Education Unit members are encouraged to attend. Non-members who would like to attend may contact their TEC representative for log-in information.

The Governor’s Office of Employee Relations has announced that it has reached an agreement with all unions on an extension of the upcoming annual leave expiration date of December 31, 2020. You may recall that GOER negotiated agreements allowing extended carryover of unused annual leave through the end of this calendar year.

The new agreements apply to employees who were (or are currently) engaged in COVID-19 response efforts or are unable to use annual leave because of ongoing response efforts and replace any contractually agreed upon expiration date from April 1, 2020, through December 30, 2021. 

This extension applies to management/confidential (M/C) employees who would otherwise forfeit unused annual leave on January 1, 2021. Further, this extension applies to Research Foundation employees who would otherwise forfeit unused annual leave and allows for vacation carryover of over 40 days until December 30, 2021.

All such unused annual leave can now be carried through December 31, 2021.

The SUNY Time and Attendance System (TAS) will be updated to reflect this new extension. Please contact the Human Resource Management Office with questions.

The Governor’s Office of Employee Relations has announced that it has reached an agreement with all unions on an extension of the upcoming annual leave expiration date of December 31, 2020. You may recall that GOER negotiated agreements allowing extended carryover of unused annual leave through the end of this calendar year.

The new agreements apply to employees who were (or are currently) engaged in COVID-19 response efforts or are unable to use annual leave because of ongoing response efforts and replace any contractually agreed upon expiration date from April 1, 2020, through December 30, 2021. 

This extension applies to management/confidential (M/C) employees who would otherwise forfeit unused annual leave on January 1, 2021. Further, this extension applies to Research Foundation employees who would otherwise forfeit unused annual leave and allows for vacation carryover of over 40 days until December 30, 2021.

All such unused annual leave can now be carried through December 31, 2021.

The SUNY Time and Attendance System (TAS) will be updated to reflect this new extension. Please contact the Human Resource Management Office with questions.

Online presentation submission is now open for the 29th annual SUNY Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT), which will be held virtually May 24–28, 2021. CIT is sponsored by SUNY FACT² (Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology) and hosted by the SUNY Center for Professional Development.

CIT is SUNY's largest and most prominent event on instructional technology, providing a forum for faculty, instructional support professionals, and policymakers to present, discuss, and explore innovative avenues for integrating technology into the teaching and learning environment.

Proposals are due by Thursday, December 31.

This year's theme, "Working Together to Prepare All Students for a Lifetime of Learning," is supported by the following tracks:

• Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion
• Emerging Technologies and Digital Strategies
• Measuring Effectiveness
• Open Education
• Pedagogically Speaking

Abstract submissions are being accepted at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels and in the following formats: presentation, panel, birds of a feather, ignite, workshop, and poster.

To submit your abstract or to learn more about our keynote and closing speakers, please visit the SUNY CIT website.

This year's SEFA (United Way) campaign has been extended until Friday, December 18. As the world continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, the need in our community has never been more urgent. Faculty and staff members can contribute to the campaign via the easy-to-use electronic pledge system and clicking on the “Forgot User ID or Password” at the bottom of the page before following the prompts. A paper pledge form is also available by contacting campaign chair Tom Koller or campaign coordinator Maria Garrity. Please mail completed forms to Tom Koller at Houston Gym 239. For more information, call him at 878-6514.

The Graduate Advisory Council is accepting nominations for Outstanding Master’s Theses and Outstanding Master’s Projects. The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding student research and applied work at the graduate level. Up to three thesis awards and three project awards will be made. Applications will be accepted for students who graduated in J-Term 2020, May 2020, August 2020, or December 2020.

Nominations may be made by thesis or project advisers or by students themselves. Additional reviews are required from the department chair and one external evaluator. Guidelines and forms are available on the Graduate School website.

The deadline for submission of nominations, evaluation forms, and copies of theses and projects to the Graduate School, is Wednesday, February 24, 2021. All documents and questions can be sent directly to Marnie Letzelter, executive assistant to the dean of the Graduate School.

The Graduate School is pleased to announce its spring 2021 New Graduate Student Virtual Orientation schedule.

The asynchronous New Graduate Student Virtual Orientation will run from January 8 to February 8, 2021. The link for the orientation will be e-mailed to all newly accepted graduate students via Slate. The New Graduate Student Virtual Panel Discussion will be held via Zoom on Monday, January 25, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Please note: The planning and scheduling of program-specific virtual orientation sessions is at the discretion of program faculty.

It is highly recommended that virtual orientation sessions be held to provide new graduate students with guidance and program expectations. For fall 2020, the Graduate School provided programs and departments with lists of their newly accepted students for use in their respective communications to them. The program communications included the link to their virtual orientation session. We are happy to provide programs with lists of newly accepted students for their spring 2021 virtual orientations and related communications to students.

Departments may choose to host their sessions through Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or another platform. Academic departments and program coordinators of graduate programs are asked to provide the date, time, and contact person for their spring 2021 orientation programming to Ken Robinson, marketing and recruitment manager for the Graduate School, 878-5601, and we will add that important scheduling information to our orientation website. Please provide the information as soon as possible, preferably by the end of fall 2020 semester. Our objective is to post the dates, times, and contact persons for program orientations as soon as possible, to allow potential new students who may visit the website to save the date and time. Please contact Ken Robinson with any questions or concerns. Thank you.

The Daily Bulletin will take a holiday break from Thursday, December 24, 2020, to Friday, January 1, 2021. The deadline for submissions for the January 4 issue is 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 23. During the break, users may submit items for Tuesday, January 5, and beyond. Happy holidays from Marketing and Communications!