General Information

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General Information

Chapter I

The College President's Welcome

President Yu

Welcome to SUNY College at Brockport, and welcome to an important projectnamely, your success. For this project to be completed, you and we, the College, will have to form a partnership. Your responsibility will be to set high expectations for yourself and work conscientiously to fulfill those expectations. Our responsibility will be to provide all the needed enabling conditions for your successoutstanding faculty and staff, excellent programs, many opportunities for student research, extensive facilities, and a rich variety of co-curricular programs. This Undergraduate Catalog is a comprehensive guide to the many resources which the College has to offer.

What exactly do we mean by your success? In the first instance, we mean substantial learning and growth on your part. We hope that, as a result of your experience at the College, you will develop, among other things, the capacity to think critically and creatively, an understanding and appreciation of science, and the disposition to see yourself as a human being who is bound to other human beings by ties of recognition and concern. The knowledge, skills and dispositions that you acquire will serve you well in all that you docareer, citizenship, and fulfilling life. They will also serve you for a lifetime.

In addition to being an important reference, this catalog is a good place for you to begin your exploration of SUNY College at Brockport. You have my best wishes.

Sincerely,

Paul Yu

Our College Heritage

The beginning of SUNY Brockport can be traced back to the 1820s, a time when the Village of Brockport blossomed thanks to the then recently constructed Erie Canal. The first educational institution on the site opened its doors in 1835. The Brockport Collegiate Institute welcomed its first class in December 1841 and received its charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York several months later. The institute trained teachers for elementary classrooms. The yearly cost of enrollment was approximately $80, covering, according to the catalog, "tuition, board, wood, lights, and washing." After weathering heavy debt and a mortgage, a near-devastating fire in 1854, and the effects of the Civil War, the school became a Normal School in 1867.

The first of four new sites in the state for schools devoted to the education of teachers, Brockport was only the third such school in the state's history. The school continued for the next 70 years or so with a steady population of students. World War II reduced Brockport's student population to approximately 300, the majority of whom were women. By the end of the war in 1945, GIs swelled the enrollment numbers and strained the physical facilities: Quonset huts were built to provide classroom space! With the creation of the State University of New York in 1948, we became the State Teachers College at Brockport and began to offer graduate studies in education.

Increased enrollment and expansion of facilities continued into the 1970sthe net result is a stable student population of approximately 9,000 served by the large, modern campus in Brockport with off-campus classes taught at a variety of Western New York locations.

The College Mission

The State University of New York College at Brockport is committed to providing a liberal arts and professional educationat both the undergraduate and graduate levelfor those who have the necessary ability and motivation to benefit from high quality public higher education

Has the success of its students as its highest priority, emphasizing student learning, and encompassing admission to graduate and professional schools, employment, and civic engagement in a culturally diverse society and in globally interdependent communities; and is committed to advancing teaching, scholarship, creative endeavors, and service to the College community and the greater society by supporting the activities of an outstanding faculty and staff.

The College Faculty

The faculty of SUNY Brockport is characterized by a dedication to excellence in teaching, research and service. Almost 90 percent of SUNY Brockport's more than 282 full-time faculty members hold doctoral degrees or higher in their field, and more than 68 have received the prestigious Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching since its inception in 1973. Additionally, 21 professional staff and six librarians have received Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Professional Service in Librarianship since 1973. Twenty-one faculty and emeriti have been awarded the title Distinguished Professor, SUNY's highest faculty rank and a statewide recognition which places our best faculty among the top in New York and nationwide. Five of SUNY Brockport's faculty members have been Fulbright Scholars in the past five years. Also in the past five years, our faculty and staff have received 361 grants totaling $17.9 million. In addition, Brockport's faculty and staff are widely published scholars in disciplines ranging from poetry and literature to history, sociology, the environment, zoology, criminal justice, philosophy, and many others.

Part-time faculty, drawn primarily from Rochester-area practitioners in business, industry, and the professions, assist in keeping SUNY Brockport students aware of current practices in rapidly changing fields. Academic advisement is provided for students by faculty within their major fields.

Finally, our faculty and staff are dedicated to building a better world community. They serve on the boards of national and international scholarly organizationsand as volunteers in their local and professional communities.

The Student Body

SUNY Brockport draws undergraduate students from every county in New York state, from 32 other states, and from a number of foreign countries. Approximately 70 percent of our undergraduates come from the cities, suburbs and villages of Western New York; one in 22 comes from the metropolitan New York City area and adjoining Long Island. More than 1,800 graduate students seeking advanced degrees, pursuing teacher certification, or otherwise upgrading their professional skills, add a further dimension to campus life. Adult students (25 and older) represent nearly 35 percent of the student body.

The regular admit first-year students entering SUNY Brockport in the fall of 2000 earned a mean average of 87 in their high school academic subjects. The entering class in fall 2000 earned mean scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test comfortably above the national average (Verbal SATs of 519 versus 505 nationally; Math SATs of 527 versus 514 nationally); and an ACT composite score of 22 (versus 21 nationally).

Students transferring from other colleges and universities continue to present strong credentials, with a mean grade point average of 3.0 (C=2.00, B=3.00). SUNY Brockport admitted 907 full- and part-time transfer students in the fall of 2000.

Faculty-Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Expectations

The Faculty Senate of SUNY College at Brockport has adopted this statement to promote academic excellence, to establish reasonable expectations for both students and faculty, and to ensure fairness and equity throughout the College.

  1. Mutual Obligations and Responsibilities
    Education is a two-way process. Students have the right to expect faculty members to be available during their published, regularly scheduled office hours, to be concerned with each student's academic problems, and to be ready to help students to the best of their ability. Students have the right to expect faculty members to be prepared for class and to present material reflecting the current state of their discipline(s). Students have the right to expect faculty members to indicate assignments clearly, to provide printed syllabi or other materials indicating their expectations at the beginning of the semester, and to offer timely feedback to each student on his/her progress.
    Faculty members have the right to expect students to attend class regularly and to be prepared to engage in whatever discussion or discourse is appropriate to the assignment. Faculty members have the right to expect each hour of classroom time to be matched by at least two hours of study outside class by each student including activities such as reading, research, writing, and/or other forms of creative activity. Both students and faculty have the right to expect that the foregoing standards will be maintained on a consistent basis throughout the College.
  2. Support for Quality
    Students are admitted to SUNY Brockport with a variety of backgrounds and achievement levels. Therefore, students have the right to expect a broad range of programs at Brockport, each offering a balanced blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. The College and its faculty are committed to providing the instructional techniques and academic support services needed to enable all students to maximize their academic potential without compromising appropriate standards. Academically outstanding students have the right to expect standards and programs that will encourage them to meet their full potential. To assist in meeting this end, the faculty has established an Honors Program as well as Honors Scholarships that are awarded on the basis of merit alone. The faculty has the right and the responsibility to establish an admissions policy that encourages a continued and growing presence of academically outstanding students.
  3. Academic Integrity
    Education cannot exist in the absence of trust. Faculty members have the right to expect that students will be familiar with and abide by the Academic Honesty Code as published in the Your Right to Know & Academic Policies and Procedures Handbook. Students have the right to expect that the provisions of this Code will be enforced uniformly by all faculty members.
  4. Education: More than the Classroom
    SUNY Brockport recognizes that student rights extend beyond the classroom. Students have the right to an atmosphere conducive to learning, including a clean, quiet place to conduct their studies. Students have the right to expect a variety of co-curricular or extracurricular events to supplement and enrich their academic and social lives with faculty participation and support for these activities. Students have the right to expect appropriate academic, personal, career, graduate school, and transfer advisement and/or counseling.
    Faculty rights also extend beyond the classroom. The faculty has the right to expect that students have interests in the world around them, that students are informed about current events, and that students take seriously their responsibilities as citizens.
    This statement is not intended to bind faculty members to any single set of standards or mode of teaching or to express the entire range of faculty and student rights, responsibilities, and expectations. The statement has been designed only to make clear a common attitude and a common assumption about the nature of education at SUNY Brockport and to clarify and strengthen the relationships that must exist between faculty and students if the educational process is to take place in an effective manner.

Student Participation in Assessment Activities

SUNY Brockport is engaged in several types of activity referred to as "the assessment of student learning outcomes" or simply, "assessment." The broad purpose of the College's assessment project is to demonstrate that the goals of the College Mission, of departments, programs, and student services with respect to student learning outcomes are being met.

Students enrolled at SUNY Brockport may be asked to participate in assessment by taking special tests, by allowing the College access to scores on nationally standardized examinations, by completing questionnaires and surveys, and by serving as members of focus groups or other discussion groups designed to obtain information.

Some assessment work requires statistical sampling of the student population so it is important that students be willing to help with assessment when asked. The cost to the student is a small amount of time but the benefits are improved instruction and services.

Students should be aware that programmatic assessment information is used in the improvement of college instruction at the curricular or programmatic level and may not reflect personally on individual students.

In addition to assessment instruments used solely for programmatic assessment, the College is developing some tests of academic skills competency such as the Computer Skills Examination, the Writing Competency Examination and the Mathematic Competency Examination. These tests are used both as assessment devices for the College and to evaluate the skill level of individual students. Students will always be informed in advance of the purpose of any assessments in which they are asked to participate.

Any questions on assessment can be directed to the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education, (585) 395-2504.

The Village of Brockport

Brockport, a village of approximately 9,800 residents, is 16 miles west of Rochester and 60 miles east of Buffalo. The village lies along the banks of the New York State Barge Canal, and is a 15-minute drive from Lake Ontario.

The campus is located at the village's edge; stores, shopping plazas, churches, cinemas and restaurants are within easy walking distance.

Nearby Rochester has been judged one of the best cities in the United States for quality of life. Its myriad attractions include a nationally known philharmonic orchestra, outstanding museums, an ultramodern planetarium, and professional baseball and hockey teams. Both Rochester and Buffalo are within an easy hour's flight from New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.

The College Campus

The campus is spacious and uncluttered, with 66 buildings and structures, and athletic playing fields occupying about one-quarter of the 435-acre campus. The remaining area is gently rolling open or wooded land. The College mall, which stretches from traditional Hartwell Hall to contemporary high-rise residence halls, is bordered by trees, lawns and striking contemporary architecture. Near the midpoint of the mall is Seymour College Union, the center of student activities. In warm weather, the mall itself becomes the hub of activities for students as they socialize and recreate.

The buildings along the mall house classrooms, lecture halls, seminar rooms, faculty members' offices, science laboratories, dining halls, a bookstore, the health center, counselors' offices and residence halls, all conveniently located.

North of the mall is the Donald M. Tower Fine Arts Center, set against the bank of the New York State Barge Canal. The site of cultural activities and the home of the art, theatre and foreign language departments, it houses a 400-seat theater, two art galleries, studios, rehearsal halls, practice rooms, listening laboratories and classrooms fully equipped for sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry making, painting, scene designing and stagecraft.

South of the mall are the Gordon F. Allen Administration Building, Drake Memorial Library and a large physical education complex known as the Ernest H. Tuttle Building. Two monumental sculptures by Soviet artist Zurab Tsereteli are situated in this area, one of which is dedicated to the International Special Olympic Games, held at SUNY Brockport in 1979.

Last Updated 7/21/22