As we prepare for upcoming J-Term and Spring 2021 registration, please be sure to download or bookmark the Banner legend (PDF, 196 KB). This quick reference guide explains the fields you see in Banner when viewing the master schedule and sections.

The table of contents covers the following:

• Instructional Methods
• Restrictions or Reservations
• Section Notes
• Days of Week
• Course Prefixes
• Building Designations
• Class Schedule Search Headings as They Appear in Banner Self-Service (SSB)
• Class Schedule Column Headings as They Appear on the Online Master Schedule on the Registrar’s Office Website
• Advising Codes

Please note the following two important building designations:

• ONLINE - This denotes that a course is being offered 100 percent online, either Online Asynchronous or Online Synchronous.
• REMOTE - This denotes that a course was originally scheduled to meet in a traditional or hybrid format (in-person/on-campus), but because of COVID-19 was changed to online delivery, either Online Asynchronous or Online Synchronous.

The right to vote is one of the critical cornerstones of our democracy, and the Buffalo State College community takes great pride in watching our students engage in this right—often for the first time. We strongly encourage students, faculty, and staff members to vote in all elections to have their voices heard.

As we are in the last week of election season, however, we would like to remind all employees that it is a violation of state and federal election laws to provide benefits to campus community members for voting. In particular, faculty members should not afford any course credit or extra credit to students who show proof that they voted (or concomitant penalties for not voting).

NYS Election Law states as follows:

§ 5–106. Qualifications of voters; reasons for exclusion

1. No person who shall receive, accept, or offer to receive, or pay, offer or promise to pay, contribute, offer or promise to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or any other valuable thing as a compensation or reward for the giving or withholding a vote at an election, or for registering or refraining from registering as a voter, or who shall make any promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such vote or registration, or who shall make or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of an election, shall vote at such election. In elections in which federal candidates are on the ballot, such as the current general election, it is also against federal law to offer any kind of benefit or reward for voting. See 18 U.S. Code § 597.

Please contact Human Resource Management with questions.

The State University of New York (SUNY) provides employees with the opportunity to save for their retirement through the SUNY Voluntary 403(b) Savings Plan. Participation in the plan is a great way to build your retirement savings through pre-tax or post-tax payroll deduction contributions.

Whether you want to enroll in the plan for the first time or you are already enrolled but wish to change the amount of your deferral, you can do so through the SUNY online enrollment and management system. For more information, please contact the  Employee Benefits Office 878-4821 or visit the SUNY Benefits website.

Eligibility
All employees of SUNY who receive compensation reportable on an IRS Form W-2 are eligible to participate in the plan. 

Please take a moment to review the plan materials before enrolling. Once you are enrolled, you can review and change the amount of your contributions as often as once per pay period, in accordance with your campus payroll deadlines for submitting changes, through the SUNY online enrollment and management system. The exact date your investment allocations will take effect may vary depending on your payroll system deadlines and the policies of the investment provider you chose for plan contributions.

In addition to the SUNY 403(b) plan, the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP) also provides a way for you to contribute to a retirement account on both a pre-tax (traditional) and post-tax (Roth) basis through payroll deduction. 

Through the pre-tax options (traditional), your contributions, plus earnings are not taxed until you withdraw the funds. Distributions are considered ordinary income for tax purposes.

Through the post-tax (Roth) option, your contributions are taxed at the time you make them. Earnings are income tax-free upon qualified distribution if you are 59˝ (for the 403(b) plan) or separated from service (for both 403(b) and 457 plans) and it has been at least five taxable years since the initial Roth deposit.

How Much Can I Contribute?
For 2021, you can contribute up to $19,500 per year. If you are age 50 or older anytime in 2021, you can contribute an additional $6,500, for a maximum of $26,000.

Each participant is limited to these maximum contribution amounts for all 403(b) and 457 plans, respectively. SUNY employees are able to maximize contributions to both the SUNY 403(b) plan and the NYS Deferred Compensation 457 plan concurrently; however, if you also participate in a 403(b) or 457 plan with another employer, you are responsible for tracking and reporting the amount of all of your contributions to the plans so that the total amount of all your annual contributions to all plans in which you participate do not exceed the limit. Please also note that the sum of all of your contributions, and those of your employers, to all 403(b) and 457 plans that you participate in are generally limited to the lesser of $58,000 or 100 percent of your compensation in 2021. 457 plans may also offer, for eligible participants, the Special Retirement Catch-up Provision for contributions within three years of your elected normal retirement age.

What Are My Savings Options?
There are several different plan options and investment providers to choose from through the SUNY 403(b) plan. NYSDCP also offers its own investment options. Authorized investment providers offer a wide choice of investment options, including stock, bond, and guaranteed funds. Each provider offers individual counseling and assistance on investment information and can review the pre- and post-tax contribution options to best meet your retirement planning needs.

The following authorized plans and investment providers are available to you within the SUNY 403(b) plan:

AIG Retirement
(800) 448-2542 or (888) 569-7055
https://suny.aigrs.com/home

Fidelity Investments (403(b)(7) Mutual Funds)
(844) 367-7869 (844-FOR-SUNY)
www.netbenefits.com/SUNY

NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457)
(800) 422-8463
www.nysdcp.com

Teachers Insurance Annuity Associate (TIAA)
(800) 662-7945
www.tiaa.org/suny   

Voya Financial
(800) 584-6001
https://suny.beready2retire.com/

What Do I Need to Do?
If you wish to enroll or change your enrollment in the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP), you must contact NYSDCP directly.

If you are enrolling in SUNY’s 403(b) plan for the first time, you can do so by using the SUNY online enrollment and management system. For assistance with the enrollment process, please contact the Employee Benefits Office for more information.

If you are currently enrolled and wish to contribute the same biweekly amount in 2021, no action on your part is necessary unless you are currently contributing additional moneys under the Age 50 rule outlined above. Please check your pay stub to be sure your current biweekly contribution for 403(b) deductions with any investment providers with whom you are investing, multiplied by the number of remaining pay periods in the year, does not exceed the allowable limit. Please be mindful that if you made a change mid-year, you must make sure that your current biweekly amount will result in the correct annual amount you want deferred for 2021.

To change the amount you are now contributing, please do so by using the SUNY online enrollment and management system. For assistance with this process, or if you have questions, please contact the Buffalo State Employee Benefits Office 878-4821 for more information.

This year, classes are scheduled on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11. Please be mindful of the importance of communicating our availability to the community. Department heads and supervisors should let their classified and professional employees know whether they will be required to work on this day.  

Department heads and supervisors are encouraged to make every effort to consider requests to have the holiday off from employees who are veterans.

The following state attendance rules apply to employees who are required to work:

Classified employees who work on November 11 will be compensated according to their holiday waiver status. Those who have not elected to waive additional money for holiday work will receive holiday pay per their bargaining unit agreements. Employees who have waived additional money for holiday work will receive compensatory time off instead of additional holiday pay. Classified employees who wish to inquire about their current holiday waiver status may contact the Payroll Office at 878-4124.

UUP-represented and M/C employees who are eligible to observe holidays and are required to work on November 11 will be granted a compensatory day off. The compensatory day off should be scheduled within one year of the holiday at a time agreeable to the employee and his or her supervisor.

Employees who are not required to work on November 11 do not need to charge leave accruals for that day.

As a reminder, we encourage you to post notices in advance on your office door and on your website, use the out-of-office automatic e-mail replies, and change voice mail recordings so that students and other employees are aware that the office  may not be available. These messages should include information on whom to contact in case an issue requires immediate attention.

It's getting cold outside, so spice up your life with a Chartwells weekend dinner special.

Order by 5:00 p.m. Monday, November 2, and pick up Friday, November 6, between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. at the Campbell Student Union Boost Station.

Meals will be packaged fully cooked. Simply reheat at your convenience over the weekend and enjoy.

To order, please contact Austin Craig, director of catering, 878-3572, catering@buffalostate.edu.

From the Chair of the Search Committee for the Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning
Please note: today's video presentation by Renford A. B. Brevett, Ph.D., our third finalist for the position of associate vice president for institutional effectiveness and planning at Buffalo State College, has been changed to 10:00 to 10:50 a.m. Dr. Brevett’s presentation, “Institutional Effectiveness and Planning in 2020,” will last 15 minutes, with time allotted for questions afterward. A link to an online survey will be provided for attendees at the session.

Download the curriculum vitae for Renford Brevett (PDF, 2.6 MB).

Join the Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 873 9945 2610
Passcode: 956528

Join by phone:
(646) 558-8656 (New York)

Please direct questions about the process to Kimberly Kline, chair of the search committee.

Yanick Jenkins, director of the Educational Opportunity Program, will present “When Access and Opportunity Meet” as the first speaker in our Elevating Student Success in Our Current Environment Conversation Series on Thursday, October 29, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. via Zoom videoconference. This series is co-sponsored by the Title III Task Force and the Professional Development Center. Please register online.

What does student success mean at Buffalo State College? What are the individual ways that we cultivate student success at the college, and how can we as individuals apply these practices to our own work to support the students we serve? Join us as we learn from our colleagues their definition of student success and the specific practices we as staff or faculty members can apply to better support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of our students. Each conversation will involve a 10- to 15-minute presentation from a staff or faculty member focused on his or her definition of student success and effective practices that others can apply to their work with students. These conversations will then be followed by a 45- to 50-minute facilitated conversation by a member of the Title III Task Force about how we can apply these practices to our individual work with students. We will also discuss similar practices colleagues found to be effective and build off of the ideas presented to elevate these practices across campus.

About Yanick Jenkins
Born in Au Cap, Haiti, and raised in Spring Valley, New York, Yanick Heriveaux Jenkins has had the honor of serving as the director of the Buffalo State College Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) for 19 years, and as senior adviser for Precollegiate Programs since 2019. As such, she has created an energetic atmosphere for the growth and development of academic scholars and future community leaders.

With a B.S. in social work and a master's in counselor education specializing in counseling minority groups, she worked for eight years as the creator and director of the Office for Multicultural Affairs at D’Youville College. She is also a former EOP adviser at SUNY Brockport and a former HEOP adviser at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has dedicated her life to fostering and supporting the empowerment, leadership, and self-enhancement qualities of all she comes in contact with, paying special attention to those who are marginalized within society.

Ms. Jenkins is the Western New York regional coordinator for the Educational Opportunity Program Directors Group, a 20-year consultant and program facilitator with the National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York, a 2001 graduate of Leadership Buffalo, and an active member of the women’s empowerment group Women in the Spotlight Going Global. She partners with EMBRACE WNY, an organization working toward equality for all Western New York residents, especially in the LGBT community; the Young Miss Buffalo Empowerment Training and Pageant; and the Haiti Outreach Program Pwoje Espwa. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. 

The Buffalo State College community is saddened by the death of Angeline Angolwisye, office assistant 1 (keyboarding) in the Registrar’s Office (retired), who died October 24, 2020. Mrs. Angolwisye joined the college’s administrative staff in 1988 and retired in 2019. She is survived by her husband, Babatunde; one son; four daughters; and six grandchildren. A private celebration of life service will be held Monday, November 2, in Buffalo.

The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan will host a free educational webinar, “Countdown to Retirement: Enrollment,” via Microsoft Teams on the following dates:

• Thursday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 11, at 10:00 a.m

The NYSDCP is a supplemental retirement plan, also known as a 457(b) plan. It is designed to help state and local public employees achieve their retirement savings goals and help bridge any potential financial gap in retirement. SUNY employees may contribute to a 457(b) in place of or in addition to a 403(b) plan.

This free educational webinar will explain the benefits of enrolling and participating in the NYS Deferred Compensation 457(b) retirement plan and how it can help you save for and live in retirement. The presentation will discuss longevity, income sources, asset consolidation, and withdrawals or required minimum distributions. It will also cover the basics of investing, investment options, contributions, and an overview of the easy and secure online enrollment process. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet, smartphone, or telephone.

Join the November 5 meeting on your computer or mobile device.
Video Conference ID: 116 175 045 7

Dial in using your phone (audio only).
United States: (917) 983-6123
Phone Conference ID: 290 933 179

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Join the November 11 meeting on your computer or mobile device.
Video Conference ID: 112-759-023-7

Dial in using your phone (audio only).
United States: (917) 983-6123
Phone Conference ID: 441 019 368

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To schedule an individual appointment, please call Buffalo State's campus representative, Mark Wallace, at (716) 903-7253.

Voya Financial has established an in-depth learning curriculum for participants. Its weekly Zoom workshops address the concerns of every individual—whether newly hired, mid-career, or nearing retirement. Workshops provide the financial education that everyone has been looking for but could never find. You do not have to be a Voya customer to participate.

The following workshops take place on Fridays at noon:

What Does the Future Hold for You? Tax Deferred Plans: 403(b)
November 6
Will you have enough to fund your retirement? What is your “Number”? Will Social Security and your pension be enough, or should you consider starting a Voluntary 403(b) to fill the gap? “To Roth or not to Roth? That is the question.”

How Will You Respond to This Bear Market?
November 13
How are you managing Bear Market anxiety? Are you wondering if you can still retire at 55 or 65, or is it 70? Should you hang in there? Should you sell everything and move to cash or temporarily move to the sidelines and then jump back in when the market turns around? How long is it going to potentially take you to recover your losses? Find out the answers to these questions and much more.

Stay the Course
November 20
What does history teach us about the market? Take an in-depth look at what happens when the market dips and hear some tips for staying the course and staying focused so you can reach your long-term financial goals.

Please e-mail Molly Pecoraro to register. Make sure to specify the workshop(s) you are registering for. A Zoom link will be provided upon registration.