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Chapter I: General Information and Academic Calendar
The College Presidents Welcome
Welcome to SUNY College at Brockport, and welcome to a most important project namely, your success. Student success is the number one priority at the College. Yet, for this project to be completed, both you and the College will have to form a partnership. Your responsibility will be to set high expectations for yourself and work conscien-tiously to fulfill those expectations. Our responsibility will be to provide all the necessary conditions for your success outstanding faculty and staff, excellent academic programs, many opportunities for student research, extensive facilities, and a rich variety of co-curricular programs. This Undergraduate Studies Catalog is a comprehen-sive guide to the many resources which the College has to offer. Please make good use of these resources.
What exactly do we mean by your success? First, we mean substantial learning and personal 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. Secondly, the knowledge, skills and dispositions that you acquire will serve you well in all that you do career, citizenship, and fulfilling life. They will also serve you for a lifetime. I encourage each and every student to take an active role in the life of the College to engage in your studies and out-of-class opportunities and to be respected members of our community, treating others with respect and dignity as well.
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 in this exciting exploration.
Warm regards,
John R. Halstead
President
Our College Heritage
The beginning of SUNY Brockport can be traced back to the 1820s, a time when the Village of Brockport blossomed with the construction of the 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, SUNY Brockport was only the third such school in the state's history. For the next 70 years or so, the school continued to serve 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, necessitating the construction of quonset huts to provide classroom space. With the creation of the State University of New York in 1948, we became the State Teachers College at Brockport. The first master's degree was awarded in 1950, beginning an era of steady growth in graduate education. Today SUNY Brockport's 27 graduate programs place the College among the largest graduate divisions within the SUNY comprehensive four-year colleges.
Increased College-wide enrollment and expansion of facilities continued into the 1970s. The 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 the SUNY Brockport MetroCenter in downtown Rochester and a variety of Western New York locations.
The Village of Brockport
Brockport, New York, is a charming town of 9,800 residents located on the historic Erie Canal, 16 miles west of Rochester and 45 miles east of Buffalo.
The campus is located at Brockport's edge; stores, shopping plazas, churches, cinemas and restaurants are within easy walking distance. Lake Ontario's beaches and camping facilities are a short 15-minute drive from campus.
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 a short flight from New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, and within easy driving distance of Toronto.
The College Campus
The campus is spacious and uncluttered, with 68 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 campus life. In warm weather, the mall itself becomes the hub of activities for students.
The buildings along the mall house classrooms, lecture halls, seminar rooms, faculty 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 historic Erie Canal. The site of cultural activities and the home of the Departments of Art, Theatre and Foreign Languages and Literatures, 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.
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, encompassing admission to graduate and professional schools, job placement, civic engagement in a culturally diverse society and in globally interdependent communities, and especially student learning; and
Is committed to advancing scholarship, creative endeavors, and service to the College community and the greater society by supporting the activities of an outstanding faculty and staff.
Graduate Education Mission
The mission of graduate education at SUNY College at Brockport is to support student success by providing a high quality education that:
- Leads to advanced knowledge and technical skills in the graduate field of study and prepares graduates for doctoral studies and/or professional practice;
- Stimulates and supports excellence in scholarly and creative pursuits among faculty and students;
- Fosters excellence in teaching, supervising, and mentoring; and
- Develops thoughtful and articulate individuals with the integrity and adaptability for dealing with a culturally diverse and changing world and for contributing substantially to their communities.
College Faculty
The faculty of SUNY Brockport is characterized by a dedication to excellence in teaching, research and service. Eighty-nine percent of SUNY Brockport's more than 261 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members hold terminal degrees or higher in their field, and more than 80 have received the prestigious Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching since its inception in 1973. Additionally, 25 professional staff and six librarians have received Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Professional Service or Librarianship since 1973. Twenty-two faculty have been awarded the title Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor or Distinguished Service Professor, SUNY's highest faculty ranks that place our best faculty among the top in New York and nationwide. Seven of SUNY Brockport's faculty members have been Fulbright Scholars in the past 10 years. Also in the past five years, our faculty and staff have received 393 grant awards from external funding sources totaling more than $25 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, and philosophy.
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.
Student Body
With 6,980 undergraduate and 1,615 graduate students, SUNY Brockport draws its 6,980 undergraduate students from every county in New York state, from 31 other states, and from a number of foreign countries. Adult students (25 and older) represent more than 34 percent of the student body. Since the College began sponsoring graduate education more than half a century ago, our graduate alumni now number more than 12,000.
Faculty-Student Rights, Responsibilities and Expectations
The College Senate of SUNY College at Brockport has adopted this statement to establish reasonable expectations for both students and faculty, and to promote academic excellence, fairness and equity throughout the College.
I. Mutual Obligations and Responsibilities
Education is a two-way process. There are mutual obligations, responsibilities, and expectations on the parts of both faculty and students.
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 of 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 these standards will be maintained on a consistent basis throughout the College.
Students have the right to expect faculty members to be available during their published, regularly scheduled office hours, to be concerned with their students' academic progress, and to be ready to help each student to the best of their abilities.
Students have the right to expect that faculty members will be prepared for class and present material reflecting the current state of their discipline(s). Students have the right to expect that faculty members will indicate assignments clearly, provide syllabi and/or other materials indicating their expectations at the beginning of the semester (in either printed or electronic form), and provide timely feedback to each student on his/her progress in course work.
Mutual attention to basic civility in all interactions between students and between students and faculty, both in the classroom and in out-of-class contacts, is expected.
II. 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 academic 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 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.
III. Academic Integrity
Mutual respect and trust between students and faculty are important for our educational system to work well. Faculty members have the right to expect that students will behave with integrity and be familiar with the rules and policies on academic honesty as published in Your Right to Know & Academic Policies Handbook. Students have a right to expect that all faculty members will enforce the College policy (and any related departmental policies) on dishonesty in a consistent manner.
IV. 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.
The Right of Students to the Freedom of Speech
"Certain rules and regulations of the State University of New York College at Brockport have been amended to clarify the right of all students at the College to the freedom of speech and expression. The following policies, rules, regulations, and statements have been amended as of May 4, 2005: SUNY Brockport Better Community Statement, Your Right To Know & Academic Policies Handbook, SUNY Brockport Undergraduate Studies Catalog, the SUNY Brockport Graduate Studies Catalog, the SUNY Brockport Student Services Guide, the SUNY Brockport Faculty/Staff Handbook, the SUNY Brockport Affirmative Action Policies and Laws, SUNY Brockport Policy Regarding Non-Discrimination and Harassment, and SUNY Brockport policies covering joint programs with the Nazareth College of Rochester. Accordingly, the printed versions of the foregoing policies, rules, regulations, and statements have been superceded by the amended versions. To view the amended versions of the foregoing policies, please visit the Publications page at the College's Web site at www.brockport.edu/publications."
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, departments, programs, and student services with respect to student learning outcomes are being met. In addition, SUNY System Administration requires specific assessments in General Education and in the majors for all colleges and universities in the SUNY System.
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 requires some tests of individual academic skills competency such as the Computer Undergraduate Skills Examination. These tests may be 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 Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, (585) 395-2504.
Centers and Institutes for Research, Learning and Service
Child and Adolescent Stress Management Institute
A variety of preventive programs are offered by the Institute on campus, and by arrangement, at off-campus locations, including work site settings. These programs help young people, and the adults who work with them, to control the stress in their lives. Programs range from one to 10 days and are presented to groups of 1015 children and 1550 adults. The workshop participants learn how to recognize stress; identify the sources of stress in their lives; develop a strategy to control stress; create an action plan to execute a stress control strategy; and master techniques for managing stress. Faculty of The Child and Adolescent Stress Management Institute also offer undergraduate and graduate courses for college credit in the Department of Health Science.
Institute for Leadership Development in Public Safety and Criminal Justice (ILD)
Leadership in public and private organizations has never been more important nor has the demand for quality leadership ever been higher. The Institute for Leadership Development (ILD) provides interactive training and workshops, conducts agency needs assessments, and sponsors other organizational and employee development programs including planning and evaluation services. ILD training introduces participants to a unique experience one that provides hands-on tools that can be applied immediately to personal and work needs. The Institute utilizes the US Army's "BE, KNOW, DO" model that emphasizes character, competence and action.
Using a combination of teaching forms presentation, demonstration, practice and evaluation participants are provided with both concepts and the opportunities to gain the experience they need. Participants learn how to apply leadership concepts to their own organization's standards and values, receiving follow-up support by the Institute, if so desired. For further information, contact Dr. Richard Lumb, director, Institute for Leadership Development, (585) 395-5631.
Monroe County Historian's Office
The Historian's Office of the County of Monroe is affiliated with the College. This association meets the needs of a wide range of constituents, including area teachers who need assistance with local history projects, the County's town and village historians, as well as the general public. The County Historian's Office also actively supports historical research by offering summer research seminars and historical presentations. For hours, please call (585) 428-8352.
Visual Studies Workshop (VSW)
As an affiliate of SUNY Brockport, the Visual Studies Workshop offers both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, as well as an MFA program in visual studies for Brockport art students.
The Workshop is located in the heart of Rochester's cultural district at 31 Prince Street. Facilities include black-and-white, color, and special-process darkrooms; pre-press design and proofing facilities; a computer lab; analogue and digital video production, computer imaging and computer audio systems; the VSW Research Center with extensive collections, library and Independent Press Archive; exhibition galleries and a bookstore. The Visual Studies Workshop serves visual artists and the general public with diversified programming in education, exhibitions, and publishing. VSW is an internationally recognized center for photography, visual books, video, and independent film. For additional information, contact the Visual Studies Workshop at (585) 442-8676; info@vsw.org; www.vsw.org.
Writers Forum and Videotape Library
The Writers Forum seeks to advance the appreciation and practice of the art of writing by bringing to the SUNY Brockport campus for public readings poets, dramatists, fiction writers, and writers of non-fiction prose (scholars, critics, biographers, and editors) who have established local, national, and international reputations, as well as promising new writers. The Videotape Library is a scholarly archive of some 300 "discussions of craft" with contemporary writers. It is a nationally known scholarly and educational resource.