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Vol. LI, No. 38
June 15, 2006

In this issue:

From the President
Response to College Senate Recommendations
Curricular Actions
From the Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Banner Implementation
Computer Training, SkillSoft E-Learning, Web Templates, and Web Site Support
From the Chair of the College Senate
Curricular Items


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From the President

Response to College Senate Recommendations
At its May 5, 2006, meeting, the College Senate voted to approve and forward to the president the following bylaws revisions for approval:

    Recommended Bylaws Changes

    Motion 1:

    "Given that the Academic Services and International Education Committees have not met in the last couple of years, and based upon responses from the recent College Senate survey and recommendations by the Senate chairs, BSAC recommends elimination of the Academic Services and International Education Committees.

    Rationale: Stated in the motion.

    This has the following implications for the Senate Bylaws: Article III, Section A. References to the two committees would be eliminated (items III-A-I and III-A-j). Article III, Section F. Change reference from "10 areas" to "eight areas."

    Note: If this motion is approved, necessary changes will also be made as necessary in the Senate Handbook Section and the Standing Rules.

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    Motion 2:

    "Article III, Section C, (e), be amended to revise 'each of the approved faculties' to include a listing of the schools separately."

    Rationale: To bring the College Senate Bylaws in conformity to the reorganization of the college.

    This would revise Article III, Section C, (e) to read as follows:

    "Six members elected from each of the approved faculties (School of Arts and Humanities, School of Education, School of Natural and Social Sciences, School of the Professions) and other faculties recommended by the Senate and approved by the president."

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    Motion 3:

    Recommend that the college support staff have representation on the College Senate, in the form of a single seat.

    Rationale: To expand the College Senate to include a group that is currently not represented.

    • Add to Article II, Section B, new subsection (f), so that the section now reads as follows: "One member of the college support staff elected as determined by the support staff."
    • Modify Article II, Section D, wording change from "or professional staff" to "professional or support staff."
    • Add to Article III, Section C, new subsection between (e) and (f), "One support staff member." Modify all other numbering with Section C.

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    Motion 4:

    Recommend that any disenfranchisements of faculty members, professional staff, and support staff shall be fixed by the relevant units. All faculty members and staff members should be eligible to run and vote in two elections—the general "At-Large" Senate elections and one unit affiliation election (e.g., faculty schools, Professional Staff Caucus, library, and support staff), and that this affiliation remain the responsibility of the relevant units.

    Rationale: To address the situations of those individuals whose current roles on campus either have separated them from their original departments or whose new positions have them in roles that are unaffiliated with one of the units identified in the motion. This motion is based on forums, surveys, and other input reviewed by the Bylaws Committee members over the past 18 months.

    Modify Article II, Section C, with this addition (provided in bold): The College Senate, as defined below (Article III, Part C), will maintain a list of eligible voters and notify in writing those persons declared to be voters under Article II, Sections A and B above. An appeal of a Senate decision may be heard only by the voting faculty. Any disenfranchisements of faculty members, professional staff, and support staff are the responsibility of the relevant units. All faculty members and staff members should be eligible to run and vote in two elections—the general "At-Large" Senate elections and one unit affiliation election (e.g., faculty schools, Professional Staff Caucus, library, and support staff).

    Note: If this motion is approved, implementation guidelines will be developed if needed.

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    Motion 5:

    Recommend that the Senate structure only include the following groups: faculty (consisting of the four schools and the library), professional staff members, support staff members, students, and administrators (nonvoting).

    Rationale: To clarify the College Senate membership.

    Modify Article III, Section C

    Current: Introductory sentence, "The College Senate shall be composed of:" to now read:

    Recommended change: "The College Senate shall only include the following groups: Faculty (consisting of the four schools and the library), professional staff members, support staff members, students, and administrators (nonvoting), with specific members as follows:

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    Motion 6:

    Recommend that the "faculty be the majority membership of the College Senate" serve as a governing principle for bylaws changes.

    Rationale: In reviewing the composition of other governance units in the SUNY system, faculty members are in the majority. This is based on the majority of the work that is the focus of the College Senate - curricular review, academic plan, etc.

    Note: Further bylaws revisions will be required if this motion and Motion 3 are approved. Implementation recommendations will be developed during 2006–2007.

    Modify Article III, Section C, to add an introductory sentence:

    Recommended change: Faculty members shall be the majority membership of the College Senate.

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    Motion 7:

    Recommend clarification of "student" with regard to service on the Professional Welfare Committee to indicate that individuals who are* faculty or staff members can serve on Professional Welfare, even if they are taking one or two courses.

    Rationale: Only one committee (Professional Welfare) specifically excludes students, due to the nature of discussions which "concern faculty welfare." The motion seeks to clarify who is eligible to serve on the committee. Faculty and staff members taking classes would not, for the purpose of committee membership, be considered students.

    Modify Article III, Section F, subsection (e)

    Current: Professional Welfare will have no student members.

    Recommended change: Professional Welfare will have no student members (Note that even if a faculty or staff member is taking one or more courses, he or she is still eligible to serve on Professional Welfare).

    * Note that the words "full time" were removed from this motion, in accord with the removal of the phrase from the wording of Article III, Section F, subsection (e) (below) "no members who are not full-time faculty or staff members" at the March 31, 2006, Senate meeting.

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    Motion 8:

    Recommend that the University Senators must have full-time faculty status.

    Rationale: Representatives of Buffalo State College at the SUNY University Faculty Senate have traditionally been faculty members. This motion endorses this precedent and clarifies the number of faculty members who are part of the College Senate.

    Modify Article III, Section C, subsection (f)

    Current: Two State University senators elected by the college; and

    Recommended change: Two State University senators, who must be full-time faculty members, elected by the college.

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I hereby approve the recommended revisions to the College Senate Bylaws as outlined above.


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Curricular Actions
I have approved the following curricular items, which have been recommended by the appropriate dean, the College Senate, and the provost and vice president for academic affairs:

New Program:
M.S. in Environmental and Watershed Sciences

Program Revisions:
B.A. Art History (0130)
B.A. Chemistry (0726)

New Courses:
BIO/CHE 631 Environmental Toxicology
BIO 635 Great Lakes Ecology
COM 392 Public Relations in Sport
FAR 370 Methods in Art History
FAR 380 Art of Africa
SCI 125 Introduction to College Science and Mathematics
THA 329 Acting IV: Solo Show

Course Revisions:
MUS 161 Classical Piano I
MUS 162 Classical Piano II
MUS 261 Classical Piano III
MUS 262 Classical Piano IV
THA 200 Voice I
THA 222 Movement I
THA 300 Voice and Movement II
UNC 100 Mastering the Academic Environment

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New Course and Intellectual Foundations Designation:

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
CIS 105 Information Technology and Society

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Course Revisions and Intellectual Foundations Designations:

ARTS
DAN 200 Beginning Modern Technique I
DAN 220 Beginning Ballet
DAN 224 Dance Appreciation
FAR 100 Introduction to Fine Arts
FAR 250 Art History I
THA 106 Introduction to Theater

HUMANITIES
COM 100 Media Literacy
ENG 211 Survey of British Literature II: Special Topics
REL 206 Introduction to the New Testament

NATURAL SCIENCE
PHY 107 General Physics I
PHY 111 University Physics I

SOCIAL SCIENCE
GEG 102 Human Geography

WESTERN CIVILIZATION
REL 105 Introduction to Christian Thought

WORLD CIVILIZATIONS (OTHER)
ANT 377 Ancient Civilizations

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Intellectual Foundations Designations:

DIVERSITY
HIS 302 Women in American History
HIS 322 African-American History
PSY 387 Psychology of Gender Differences
SWK 319 Dynamics of Poverty

MATHEMATICS AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING
MAT 103 Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics
MAT 122 Elementary Mathematics from an Advanced Standpoint II
MAT 161 Calculus I

NATURAL SCIENCE
BIO 100 Principles of Biology
BIO 101 Human Biology
BIO 104 Environmental Biology
BIO 211 Introduction to Cell Biology and Genetics
BIO 212 Introduction to Organismal Biology and Diversity
BIO 213 Introduction to Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
CHE 100 Chemistry and Society
CHE 101 General Chemistry I
CHE 111 Fundamentals of Chemistry I
PSY 101 Introductory Psychology

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
HIS 332 Technology and U.S. History

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From the Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Banner Implementation
Buffalo State College has made the decision to begin a new project to implement the Banner student information system.

The decision to implement Banner was based on analysis of information received from SunGard (the Banner vendor), the SICAS Center, other SUNY schools, and ITEC. By implementing Banner, Buffalo State hopes to leverage all SUNY- and NYS-specific customizations provided by the SICAS Center and other SUNY schools. We are able to entertain an immediate start on the implementation project by taking advantage of the hosting services provided by ITEC.

We are actively engaged in the process of planning for the Banner implementation project, including forming the implementation teams and governing bodies, developing preliminary schedules, and developing project management plans. While the start of the project is on a fast-track schedule, the implementation schedule will be similar to a typical Banner project.

The initial focus of the Banner implementation will be the student module (including Admissions, Records/Enrollment, and Student Accounts) and the financial aid module. However, the college has also made plans to acquire and implement the data warehouse and portal products from SunGard. Planning for the implementation of these products will begin after the Banner project is under way.

As details of the Banner project schedule are developed, they will be made available to the campus community.


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Computer Training, SkillSoft E-Learning, Web Templates, and Web Site Support
Computing and Technology Services and the Technology and Application Support Collaboration (TASC) offer monthly computer training classes. Unless otherwise stated, classes are held in CyberQuad, E. H. Butler Library 318. Please bring an IBM-formatted 3.5" disk or USB flash drive (to save your work), a pen, and paper. For a complete list of courses and registration information, visit http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration. Contact Paul Reynolds at ext. 3361 or reynolap@buffalostate.edu with questions.

Student Workshops
Most computer training classes are now open to students. In addition, TASC offers student-only workshops on certain Tuesdays during Bengal Pause, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Announcements for these classes are made through student e-mail and/or flyers distributed on campus.

To register, students should contact Paul Reynolds at reynolap@buffalostate.edu or ext. 3361 with the following information: name, e-mail address, telephone number, and name(s) and date(s) of desired workshops.

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Class Registration
Internet Explorer 5.0 (or higher) is necessary for online registration. Enter the following information in the required fields:

PC Users
User Name: bsclogon\your user name (e.g., bsclogon\publicjq)
Password: your password

Mac Users
User ID: your user name (e.g., publicjq)
Password: your password
Domain: bsclogon

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June 2006 Workshops

Intermediate Access Thursday, June 15 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Accessing Your Office Computer Remotely Friday, June 16 10:00–11:00 a.m.
Accessing Your Office Computer Remotely Tuesday, June 20 10:00–11:00 a.m.
Using the Web Template System* Friday, June 23** 9:30–11:00 a.m.**

*Campus Web developer training course
** Date and time to be rescheduled

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SkillSoft E-Learning
Faculty, staff, and students also may participate in SkillSoft, an online learning program of more than 800 courses and a variety of certificate programs that allow participants to demonstrate mastery of a set of skills. More information about the SkillSoft E-Learning Program is available from the Human Resource Management Web site, www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr. Employees also may register for courses on the site.

This month's SkillSoft courses may be taken in CyberQuad's Faculty/Staff Workroom, E. H. Butler Library 310, by appointment only; call Paul Reynolds at ext. 3361 for an appointment. Please check in at E. H. Butler Library 315 (CyberQuad) before starting. SkillSoft courses also are accessible from your home.

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Web Templates and Web Site Support
Web template training, service, and support is available for academic departments and administrative offices. TASC and the College Relations Office offer training especially for campus Web developers. Courses include Using the Web Template System, Introduction to HTML, Customizing Your Web Site for Search Engines, and Understanding Site Traffic Logs. Employees may review course descriptions and register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration.

The College Relations Office offers full-service Web development support for academic departments and administrative offices. Please contact Melissa Meehan at ext. 3903 or meehanme@buffalostate.edu for more information.

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From the Chair of the College Senate

Curricular Items
The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and were forwarded to the president on May 26, 2006, for review and approval:

New Program:
M.S. in Environmental and Watershed Sciences

Program Revision:
B.A. Chemistry (0726)

New Courses:
COM 392 Public Relations in Sport
FRE 304 Introduction to Reading Literature
SCI 125 Introduction to College Science and Mathematics
THA 329 Acting IV: Solo Show

Course Revisions:
FRE 306 Literature and Culture of France from Prehistory to the Renaissance
FRE 307 Literature and Culture of France from Renaissance to Revolution
FRE 308 Literature and Culture of France in the Nineteenth Century
MUS 161 Classical Piano I
MUS 162 Classical Piano II
MUS 261 Classical Piano III
MUS 262 Classical Piano IV
THA 200 Voice I
THA 222 Movement I
THA 300 Voice and Movement II
UNC 100 Mastering the Academic Environment

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Course Revisions and Intellectual Foundations Designations:

ARTS
DAN 200 Beginning Modern Technique I
DAN 220 Beginning Ballet
DAN 224 Dance Appreciation
THA 106 Introduction to Theater

HUMANITIES
COM 100 Media Literacy
ENG 211 Survey of British Literature 2: Special Topics

WORLD CIVILIZATIONS V3
ANT 377 Ancient Civilizations

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Intellectual Foundations Designations:

DIVERSITY
HIS 302 Women in American History
HIS 322 African American History
PSY 387 Psychology of Gender Differences
SWK 319 Dynamics of Poverty

NATURAL SCIENCE
PSY 101 Introductory Psychology

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
HIS 332 Technology and U.S. History

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About the Bulletin
Past Issues
Search the Bulletin
Bulletin home