Foreign Language: American Sign Language
The College Senate Curriculum Committee and the full College Senate have reviewed SUNY's policy on American Sign Language (ASL) as satisfaction of the foreign language requirement. SUNY guidelines are endorsed for use at Buffalo State. SUNY guidelines are:

ASL may be used to satisfy the foreign language requirement under two circumstances:

1. If the program leads to certification in elementary and secondary education.


2. If the program leads to careers where there is likely to be significant contact with the hearing impaired.

Departments seeking approval to use ASL under circumstance No. 2 should submit a memo with justification to their dean. If approved, appropriate notification will be provided to campus offices.

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Electronic Learning and Technology Assistance Available
E-learning is now located in Bulger Communication Center 103 with Instructional Resources. Instructional Resources helps faculty members use classroom technology; computer graphics; electronic learning; and audio, video, and television production services for teaching, research, and presentations. For more information, call Melaine Kenyon at ext. 3877.

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Campus Confidentiality Statement
All student, faculty, and staff personal and academic information is private and confidential, and is protected by various state and federal laws. Buffalo State College employees must, by law, protect the privacy of this information.

Failure to protect personal and academic information may result in legal action against offending employees. Employees accused of failure to protect confidential information that results in harm to an individual may not be covered by the Public Officer's Law, and therefore not defended by New York State.

Examples of personal information that must be kept confidential: Social Security number, health information, disability status, etc. Faculty and staff must ensure that information contained on the employee change form is kept confidential.

Examples of academic information that must be kept confidential: grades, class schedule, student ID number, etc. Faculty and staff members may not post test scores or grades using any portion of a student's name, Social Security number, or student ID number. Faculty and staff must refrain from providing students' parents with information related to their student's academic performance or other personal information, unless given permission to do so by the student.

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For more information:

State and Federal Laws:

• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (confidentiality of financial information): see
  www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/information.asp
• HIPAA (confidentiality of health information): see
  http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/bulletin/archives/05_06/september29_05.html#hipaa
  and
  www.goer.state.ny.us/train/onlinelearning/HIP/intro.html
• FERPA (confidentiality of student/academic information): see
  www.buffalostate.edu/academicaffairs/x571.xml
  and
  www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/library/hunter.html
• Restrictions on use of student Social Security numbers: see
  http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi; search for Education Law 2-b
• New NYS law on notification of information security breach: see http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi; search for Article 39-F of GBS (General Business Law)

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Questions regarding privacy of the employee change form, employee contracts, official employee files, etc.:
Susan Earshen, director, Human Resources, ext. 3042

Questions regarding privacy of student information and FERPA:
Mark Bausili, registrar, ext. 4907

Questions regarding health information and HIPAA:
Rock Doyle, assistant director, medical systems, ext. 6711

Questions regarding legal liability and any legal action against the college or an employee:
Gary Phillips, comptroller, ext. 4312

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Purchase Orders Required
Despite the caution to the campus community published in the November 10, 2005, Bulletin, many departments continue to violate New York State procurement rules and regulations by ordering and accepting delivery of goods or services prior to the generation of an approved state purchase order. The November 10 notice is repeated below. Continued violation of this policy may result in fiscal controls being placed on the offending department(s).

New York State procurement rules and regulations require that a state purchase order be prepared prior to the delivery of goods or services. A recent audit of the college by the New York State Comptroller's Office cited the college for not always adhering to these regulations by processing confirming orders, i.e., requests to pay for goods or services without a preexisting official purchase order. The Purchasing Office will not process for payment any invoice for goods or services without an official purchase order already on file. If goods or services are delivered before the purchase order is issued, the employee who placed the order with the vendor may be personally liable for the payment of the goods or services.

If you have any questions about ordering goods and services, call the Purchasing Office at ext. 4113.

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9th Annual Bengal 5K Run and Fun Walk
Exercise your school spirit, put on your running or walking shoes, and gear up for the Buffalo State College Alumni Association's ninth annual Bengal 5K Run and Fun Walk on Saturday, March 25, at 9:30 a.m. on the Buffalo State College campus. Proceeds from this event benefit the Alumni Association's Legacy Scholarship Fund, a scholarship awarded annually to a deserving student who is a child or grandchild of a Buffalo State graduate. Join faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the college to have a great time on the race course, enjoy the benefits of good fitness, and help raise scholarship dollars.

Advance registration will run through March 22 at a cost of $18 general; $16 Buffalo State faculty, staff, or alumnus; $10 student (any age). The fee increases after March 22. A special advance-registration discount for groups of seven or more students entered to represent a school team, club, or organization is being offered. We're also offering a special advance-registration discount for teams of seven or more Buffalo State faculty/staff members. New this year are Champion Chip Timing for our race results/timing and free pre- and post-race massages. Race T-shirts will be given to the first 400 participants.

Following the race, enjoy great food and beverages, fellowship, fun, and a chance to win fabulous door prizes at the popular Post-Race Bengal Brunch. Awards will go to the top male and female runners overall, the top three male and female runners in a variety of age groups, the top male and female Buffalo State faculty or staff runners, the top male and female alumnus runners, and the top male and female student runners. Special awards will be given to the student group with the largest number of race participants and the Buffalo State faculty/staff team with the fastest time (based on the top five finishers).

To register or for more information, contact Jen Small, alumni events coordinator, at ext. 6001 or smalljl@buffalostate.edu or visit www.buffalostatebengal5k.org.

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Curricular Proposal Deadline
Curricular proposals should reach the College Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211, by Friday, March 10, to allow sufficient time for spring semester processing. Proposals received after that date are not guaranteed action before the end of the semester.

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Curricular Items
The following have been received in the College Senate Office and forwarded to the Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval:

Intellectual Foundations Designations:

MATHEMATICS and QUANTITATIVE REASONING
MAT 103 Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics
MAT 122 Elementary Mathematics from an Advanced Standpoint II
MAT 126 Calculus
MAT 161 Calculus I
MAT 270 Discrete Mathematics I
MAT 311 Introductory Probability and Statistics

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The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and forwarded to the president for review and approval:

Intellectual Foundations Designations:

WORLD CIVILIZATIONS (OTHER)
HIS 338 Modern History of China
HIS 373 Vietnam and the Vietnam War

DIVERSITY
HIS/SST/SSE 363 American Identity in Transition: Diversity and Pluralism in the U.S.

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