Buffalo State free tutoring begins Tuesday, September 8. Most tutoring will be conducted remotely this fall. Tutoring updates will be reflected on the Tutoring website and on the Bengal Success Portal by the end of this week.

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

EOP students should check the ACE tutoring web page for details.

Please e-mail Lauren Copeland, coordinator of tutoring services, with questions.

The Health Ambassador Program supports the policies and practices put in place to ensure the health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff as we return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health ambassadors will be stationed at four locations across campus Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

1. Tech Building lobby (at the base of the stairs)
2. Upton Hall lobby (by main art gallery and elevators)
3. Science and Mathematics Complex atrium
4. Campbell Student Union

Example services:

• Answering questions about COVID-19 health and safety procedures
• Checking temperatures and providing personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Directing people to online resources
• Answering questions about daily symptom tracking 

This is a volunteer position; please sign up for hours throughout the fall 2020 semester. The schedule will be updated biweekly. New volunteer trainings will be held weekly on Mondays at 1:30 p.m via Zoom videoconference.

Please fill out this form if you would like to volunteer as a health ambassador.

The Health Ambassador Program is organized through the Prevention and Health Promotion Office in the Weigel Wellness Center.

Please e-mail Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion, with questions.

The SUNY Council on Assessment, in partnership with the SUNY Center for Professional Development, will sponsor "Conversations with Colleagues: Maintaining a Culture of Assessment in Difficult Times," an Enhancing Excellence in Assessment event, on Friday, September 25, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. via Zoom videoconference. Details of the event and registration information are available on the SUNY CPD website.

As part of the Title III initiatives, all first-year students will receive an e-mail during the second week of classes asking them to complete the Noel Levitz College Student Inventory (CSI). Students will have until Sunday, September 13, to complete the survey. If you are interacting with first-year students, please strongly encourage them to complete the survey before the deadline.

After completing the survey, students will receive an e-mail with access to and feedback on their results. Students' individual survey results will be transferred to the Bengal Success Portal. Students who are experiencing numerous challenges will be automatically flagged to trigger an immediate response from the support staff.

Based on the CSI results and the fall progress reports during the fourth week of classes, completion coaches, professional advisers, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) counselors, and Say Yes counselors will meet with individual students to discuss their results and connect them to needed support services.

For instance, we will be able to distinguish students who are considering transferring out, need career planning support, need counseling services, are facing financial difficulties, or would benefit from tutoring. In addition, aggregate data will be used by various departments to better understand incoming students’ strengths and challenges.  

Thank you to Carlos Jones, interim dean of the School of Arts and Humanities; Natalie Szymanski, director of the College Writing Program and assistant professor of English; all CWP 101 and CWP 102 faculty members; Yanick Jenkins, director of the Educational Opportunity Program; Amy McMillan, director of the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program; Stanley Simmons, Say Yes coordinator; Sara Reese, associate director of advising; Shawnte Wilson, associate director student leadership and engagement; Tricia Herritt, director of international students and scholars; Jeffrey Ventura, associate director of athletics; and their staff for motivating students to complete this survey during the second week of classes. Lastly, thank you for helping communicate this message to all our first-year students!

The more students who complete the survey, the more accurate the services they will receive.

To learn more about the Noel Levitz CSI or other Title III activities, please visit the Title III website or e-mail Agnes Zak-Moskal, Title III activity director.

As the fall semester begins, Buffalo State College is prepared to follow COVID-19 safety protocols while also complying with New York State Fire Code requirements.

Buffalo State will conduct fire drills during the week of September 7 to prepare the campus community for fire alarm evacuations. During this time, Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) staff members and Buffalo Fire Department personnel will verify that fire alarm systems in campus buildings are functioning properly.

In advance of the fire drills, please prepare by taking these steps:

1. If your department has designated an evacuation point outside your building, you may wish to identify additional points that can be used to ensure social distancing.
2. Familiarize yourself with alternative exits from your building. These alternative exits may be used if your normal exit pathway is heavily in use during a fire drill (or is unavailable during a real emergency). 

When the fire alarm sounds, please follow these procedures to ensure safe evacuation during COVID-19:

1. Evacuate immediately. Wear your mask and take your building entry keys or electronic access cards with you.
2. Maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet from other building occupants while evacuating. Do not rush or crowd together as you exit the building.
3. Once outside, remain at least 6 feet from other building occupants.
4. Remain outside until a staff member from EH&S or Facilities signals that it is clear to reenter the building. Maintain a safe social distance during reentry and do not rush.

Please know that EH&S staff members will make every effort to conduct these drills as safely and efficiently as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please join us for the next installation of the DSA Fall 2020 Seminar Series, "Data Literacy," presented by Valerie Logan, CEO and founder of the Data Lodge Inc., on Wednesday, October 21, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Talking Points

• Do you “speak data”?
• What is data literacy?
• Why does data literacy matter—in work and in life?
• Why a degree in math, computer science, data science, or analytics doesn’t necessarily mean you’re “data literate”—and what you can do about it!

Please join the meeting through Blackboard Collaborate.

Please join us for the next installation of the DSA Fall 2020 Seminar Series, "Growth Hacking," presented by Nick Berry, a retired data scientist from Facebook, on Wednesday, September 16, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Mr. Berry will give an introduction to growth hacking, or using nontraditional techniques to promote products.

Talking Points

• What is growth hacking?
• How do you grow traffic for an online service on a shoestring budget?
• Guerrilla techniques used to gain visibility and methods that encourage organic social sharing.
• What encourages people to share some content online but not others?

Please join the meeting through Blackboard Collaborate.

Please join us for the first installation of the DSA Fall 2020 Seminar Series, "How to Build and Balance Your Data Science Team," presented by Joe Trapp, CEO and founder of Third Estate, on Wednesday, September 2, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

 Talking Points

• From Flower Power to Today: Setting the Stage
• Standard Team Roles
• Monitoring Efficiency and Showcasing Value
• Adjusting Size
• Interpersonal Relationships

Please join the meeting through Blackboard Collaborate.

Many students are eager for part-time employment and especially interested in on-campus positions. If you have a student assistant job available in your office (not including Federal Work-Study), the Career Development Center encourages you to use BengalLink (formerly ORCA) to post and promote your opening. To do so, you must register to use BengalLink as an employer.

• Visit the Employer/Organization Registration web page.
• After the CDC approves your registration, you will receive an e-mail that enables you to set a password and post your opening.
• Log in to BengalLink, find the “Quick Links” menu on the right, and click on “Post an Opportunity" to begin posting your student assistant jobs.

Please note: BengalLink also advertises Federal Work-Study positions, which are published by the Financial Aid Office on behalf of the offices that have FWS opportunities. Please encourage students looking for Federal Work-Study to use BengalLink.

If you do not have time to create a BengalLink account to post your positions, please e-mail details of the opening to askcdc@buffalostate.edu and we will post it for you!

The Classroom Support office will be available online and by phone and for tech support of presentation systems in classrooms during the fall semester; however the office in Bulger Communication Center will not be open for walk-in visits. 

We will continue to be available by ticket request and by phone at 878-6670. Field visits may still occur when necessary after contacting us by phone or through the ticketing system.

Information and instructions are available online for all generally scheduled smart classrooms. 

Appointments for training on classroom equipment and other issues can be made through Libcal.

If you need an in-person meeting, adherence to physical distance guidelines and face coverings are required.