- Student Handbook
- Code of Student Conduct (.pdf, 463kb)
- Annual Security Report (.pdf, 213kb)
The Division of Student Affairs is dedicated to stimulating growth and learning. It sees itself as partner with the faculty in educating students. To accomplish this task, the division provides programs and services that complement the academic mission of the University and enhance the quality of student life. It also supports a multicultural campus community in order to prepare students for life in a diverse and changing world.
Information about Student Affairs may be obtained by visiting or calling the office or visiting our website. Staff in the division are ready to assist you, and they look forward to playing an active role in your education at Binghamton University.
The University is committed to reducing harm associated with alcohol and other drug use and supporting students in their decisions not to engage in such high-risk activities. Through this goal, several initiatives, programs and services are in place to encourage a healthy and safe environment, both on campus and in the surrounding community. Read about Binghamton University’s philosophy regarding substance use.
Alcohol and other drug awareness programming is quite common on campus and is initiated from several offices, including the Department of Health, Physical Education, Health Education, Dean of Students, Residential Life, and New York State University Police. Staff and students come together to implement awareness campaigns aimed at “friends helping friends,” issues around drug use, high-risk drinking, drinking and alcohol poisoning. Other efforts include offering social and other activities as an alternative to drinking and programs aimed at empowering students to make decisions based on their own values, thereby avoiding risky or irresponsible behavior.
Supportive counseling, assessment and referral services are provided through the University Counseling Center. For additional information, or to get involved with programming and awareness on campus, contact University Health Service or the University Counseling Center.
The Department of Campus Recreational Services offers a multifaceted program designed to encourage positive lifestyle choices and promote lifelong learning through both wellness and physical activity for Binghamton University students, faculty and staff. All program offices are located in the University Union while the East Gym is closed for renovation. Depending on the time of year and weather, the department serves 1,500-2,000 people per day. With all of the different programs offered, there is something for everyone and every lifestyle.
Regardless of school/college, class year or major, the Career Development Center (CDC) assists both undergraduate and graduate students with:
Career Development Programs - Presentations on a full range of career issues to classes, academic departments, student groups, and through regularly scheduled programs.
Counseling - Individual time with a counselor to provide assistance on a range of career concerns.
Career Course – Bridging Academics to Careers (CDCI-200) - a distance-learning class offered in both winter and summer session I and is ideal for students who have yet to declare a major or have overall uncertainty about their career direction.
Career Development Center Internship (CDCI) Program - The largest credit-bearing internship program at Binghamton University partners with local, regional, national and international agencies to provide students with endless opportunities (ranging from Accounting to Zoology) in experiential education.
Johnson City Mentor Program - A partnership between Binghamton University and the Johnson City School District. The program's primary objective is to provide Johnson City School District students with role models and extra academic support. BU students encourage mentees to develop their organizational, planning and social skills while serving their community.
Liberal Arts to Careers Externship (LACE) – Offers select Harpur College sophomores the opportunity to learn about the world of work through job shadowing with an alumni host.
JFEW-SUNY International Relations and Global Affairs Program – This 2-year program provides funding and aims to prepare students for careers as practitioners in the field of international relations and global affairs and to create strong mentor and peer networks that will continue to support students' goals through their careers.
Sodexo Internship Fund – Provides the opportunity for talented undergraduate students to have financial support while completing unpaid summer internships.
Career Resources - Print and online resources to help research career and employment issues and trends, conduct job and internship searches, and investigate graduate/professional school options.
eRecruiting - Online system for the On-Campus Recruiting Program, Job & Internship Posting Service, and Resume Books. All matriculated Binghamton students have unrestricted access to this system.
On-Campus Recruiting – Binghamton offers an extensive On-Campus Recruiting program to all students at the university. To participate, students utilize eRecruiting to apply for and schedule interviews.
Special Events - Includes fall and spring Job & Internship Fair (JIF), Graduate School Fair, Law Day and consortium job fairs and events.
Alumni Association Professional Network — Online resource hosted through LinkedIn that allows students and alumni to learn about career fields, expand professional networks, and improve job search skills.
Quick Reference Guides – Instructional handouts prepared by CDC staff that provide advice, tips and information on a range of career topics available in paper and online.
Career Advancement Program - Loan fund to support students' professional goals. Students may borrow up to $300 interest-free for six months to support career-related activities.
Educational experiences at Binghamton University do not stop at the classroom door. The purpose of the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) is to promote, support, and expand student and faculty involvement with the community. Engagement provides many benefits and can take a number of forms: 1) credit-bearing experiential education opportunities, such as internships and courses with community components (service-learning); 2) short and long-term voluntary service and participation in projects to benefit community organizations, such as fund-raising; and 3) community-based research initiatives. Community projects can be developed by University faculty or staff, offered by community organizations, or designed by students. Some of the larger community initiatives have included the United Way’s Day of Caring, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and walks for both the local food pantry and AIDS prevention.
Information about existing opportunities can be obtained by attending the annual Showcase of Community Opportunities, visiting the CCE website, or contacting CCE staff. As the BU Community Connection, CCE helps guide students to university offices and resources, as well as community agencies.
Nationally accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc., the Decker Student Health Services Center provides treatment of acute illness and injury, health education, women’s health services, travel medicine, vaccines , HIV testing, psychiatric consultation and laboratory service. All services are confidential. The staff consists of physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, health educators, and an HIV counselor. Walk-in hours are 8- 11 a.m. with scheduled appointments in the afternoons.
Health educators (7-2254) offer individual or group information sessions. Information about student health insurance is available at the office.
The Discovery Program seeks to help students academically and personally while preparing them for a transition into and throughout their college experience. The Discovery staff are dedicated to fostering the development of academic and personal engagement by encouraging students to connect with faculty as early and often as possible; providing opportunities for students to connect with other students with similar interests; helping students to balance competing demands; and translating to students the expectations, traditions and structures of the University. The Discovery Program takes a proactive approach to provide students with easier access to all the components of college life through its core services: Discovery Advisors (DAs), Discovery Centers, First Year Experience (FYE) classes, Early Warning System, Get In the Zone to Maximizing Your Health and Wellness Potential, and the Mentor Advising Connection (MAC) Program.
EOP is supported by New York State’s Office of Opportunity Programs. The program helps provide financially and academically eligible students the opportunity to pursue higher education. Students are offered assistance in the form of academic and personal counseling, tutoring, learning-skills services and financial aid. In addition, new freshmen are required to attend a summer pre-freshman residential program for several weeks prior to enrolling in the fall semester.
The Office of International Student and Scholar Services provides a wide range of programs and services designed to meet the needs of more than 2,100 international students and scholars on campus. Services include the processing of required federal immigration documents; assistance with immigration regulations governing enrollment, employment and travel; administering the mandatory health and accident insurance program; and publishing a weekly electronic newsletter, which provides important and timely information on a variety of topics. The office conducts an orientation program for all new international students, coordinates a variety of cross-cultural programs, and acts as liaison between students and other University offices, student groups, and U.S. and foreign government agencies. International students are encouraged to visit the office and take advantage of the services and programs provided.
New Student Programs, in collaboration with other departments throughout the University, assists new students and families with the transition to Binghamton University. New Student Programs has three specific programs to help new students with this transition: Orientation and Transition Programs, First Year Experience Classes, and the Emerging Leaders Program.
During Orientation and Transition Programs, students are introduced to a number of resources on campus to assist in their academic success. In addition, students are introduced to other new and continuing students and register for courses for the following semester. First Year Experience Classes include HDEV105: College Students in Transition and HARP101, both of which allow opportunities for students to explore campus resources, develop critical thinking and writing skills, and improve time management. Finally the Emerging Leaders Program is a certificate program for first or second semester students (freshmen or transfers) who are interested in learning about leadership and developing critical skills for success in college and life.
Binghamton University’s Residential Life program houses over 6,500 residents through a system of five residential colleges/communities and an apartment community. The goal is to provide attractive and comfortable housing and to support the academic mission of the University by providing students with a full range of living and learning experiences. In many ways, the residential colleges and communities offer a small-college atmosphere that minimizes the relative anonymity of a University of more than 14,000 students. Each of the residential colleges and communities brings to the campus its own unique programs and environment, appreciation of diversity and celebration of differences.
Residential Life staff members provide a variety of services for residents. In the five residential colleges/communities, as well as the apartment community, a faculty member holds the position of faculty master. Each residence hall is staffed by a professional full-time resident director, in addition to peer resident assistants who live on each floor to provide individual help to students. An assistant director of Residential Life, along with the faculty master, resident directors, resident assistants, faculty fellows and students, designs the living/learning program of the residential area.
The apartment community is staffed by an assistant director of Residential Life, a faculty master, a community director for each area and resident assistants in each apartment building.
All residence halls and apartments are smoke-free. Students may also choose to live on “chemical-free” floors (in which residents agree not to use alcohol or other recreational/illegal drugs, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, tobacco products and other smoking materials, and improper use of inhaling substances).
Throughout the year, Residential Life staff plan many events and programs, ranging from floor mixers and sports tournaments to educational programs on current events and life skills to plays and musical performances.
Services for Students with Disabilities offers a wide range of assistance to Binghamton University students with physical, learning or other disabilities. Key services include supportive counseling, consultation, advocacy for reasonable accommodation, academic support services, authorized access to adapted computer labs and the loan of specialized equipment.
The University’s academic buildings are equipped with automatic doors and various accessible on-campus housing options are available through Residential Life. The Bartle Library and the University’s computing facilities offer access to technology adapted for use by students with various disabilities, and assistive listening devices for people with hearing impairments are available in a number of lecture halls and the Anderson Center for the Arts theaters. OCC Transport operates wheelchair-accessible transportation to and from campus, and disability parking is available at strategic locations throughout the campus.
For further information or assistance, visit the SSD website, call the office or write to Services for Students with Disabilities, Box 6000, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000.
Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives provides assessment support services for the departments within the Division of Student Affairs by designing and implementing assessment projects, creating surveys and analyzing results, overseeing of survey scheduling to reduce survey fatigue, identifying and prioritizing expected outcomes, creating data collection systems to determine instructional or service needs, and providing and publicizing training related to assessment. Over the course of their time at Binghamton University, students will periodically be sent a survey, or may be invited to participate on a panel or focus group. The confidential information that we gather is valuable in making effective changes and improving on the overall collegiate experience.
TRIO programs, including Upward Bound and Students Support Services, are funded through the U.S. Department of Education. The Student Support Services program is designed to improve the retention and graduation rates of low-income, first-generation or disabled college students. Students are offered assistance in the form of academic and personal counseling, tutoring, learning-skills services and financial aid. The Upward Bound program serves high schools students who met first-generation and low-income criteria and those who attend select schools in the Broome County area.
Upward Bound provides academic advising, tutoring and a six-week academic program on Binghamton University’s campus. The mission of Upward Bound is to prepare high school students for college enrollment and success.
The University Counseling Center (UCC) is dedicated to promoting psychological well-being that enriches personal and academic growth. The UCC provides individual and group psychotherapy, referral services, consultations and psycho-educational programs. Consultations are also provided to those concerned about a student’s well-being. The goal is to help students integrate their college experiences and to cope with the stresses inherent in a diverse institution of excellence. Services are free and confidential at Library North 1202 (off the main library lobby). Visit our website for more information about UCC services, programs and staff, as well as links to additional resources.
The staff provides an environment and services in the University Union to make it comfortable, accessible and reflective of student needs. The Union is also the home of many student organizations and professional offices. The Union offers such student-run services as a mini-grocery store, offering balloon and flower sales, a dry-cleaning service, Munchies, DVD rental service (Take One Video); and recreation facilities including billiards, bowling and a video-game center, as well as a computer lounge that has over 10 computers for students to use; all found in the basement of UU East. At the student managers’ desks (UU East, 7-2877 and UU West, 7-5877) in the Union lobbies (UUE Tillman and UUW 2nd floor lobby), you may find bus route information for both OCCT and Broome County Transit buses, check in for a room or an informational table, and check out the lost-and-found. There is also a photocopy center (SA Print Shop — SA Ink), campus radio station (WHRW) and campus television staion (BTV) located in the basement of UU West.
The Union offers many meeting facilities, from rooms with a seating capacity of a dozen students to the Nelson Mandela Room or Old Union Hall, which seats several hundred. At noon every day, tables are set up in the UU Tillman lobby and UU West Food Court lobby by recognized campus groups and organizations for fundraising and informational purposes. Arrangements for tabling are made with the University Union office in advance. To reserve space in the University Union, submit requests via the webviewer at r25union.binghamton.edu.
The Union is where Binghamton meets to eat. The Susquehanna Room, Food Court, Food Co-op and Munchies offer something for every taste.
A branch of M&T Bank (7-6400; fax: 7-4830) is also located in the University Union West 2nd floor lobby. Hours are 11a.m.-5p.m., Mon.-Fri.
The University Book Store is located on the first floor of UU West.
Students who are eligible for educational benefits from the Veterans Administration should contact the Veterans’ Services Office to complete and submit the appropriate forms relating to their benefits.
