The University at Buffalo is required by federal and state law to collect this information.

No.  Completion of the survey is voluntary. 

You can access the survey from:

The MyUB page - link located under the My Opinion section

The Administrative Services Gateway - Link under the Tell UB About Yourself

The Employee Demographic Self-ID survey

If you have difficulties accessing the survey, please call the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) at (716) 645-2266.

UB collects the information for use in mandatory federal and state reporting.  We also use the information to determine on an aggregate basis information about UB’s diversity, and where we can augment efforts to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

The information you provide can be accessed only by individuals within Human Resources, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and a limited number of other offices where job duties require use of the information.  This information is not released except as necessary to fulfill legitimate University objectives.

The University at Buffalo recognizes that federal and state data reporting regarding biological sex does not accurately capture the gender identities of employees who are non-binary.  Biological sex is the sex that an individual is assigned at birth, while gender identity captures the employee's own sense of gender.  Gender identity may be consistent with assigned sex at birth, or it may be different.  In a binary reporting system for sex, employees who identify as a gender other than male and female are not represented accurately.  This allows UB to understand more accurately the gender identities of our employees.

Not necessarily. People who are transgender may identify as male, female, or non-binary.  For example, a transgender man (someone who was assigned female at birth but who identifies as male) would select a male gender identity category on the survey, and a transgender woman (someone who was assigned male at birth but identifies as female) would select a female gender identity category on the survey. A non-binary gender identity is a gender identity other than male or female, and may include people who identify as genderqueer, agender, bigender, and more. 

Currently, UB and SUNY personnel information systems do not yet have a gender identity indicator.  SUNY has advised campuses that because state and federal mandates still currently require both students and employees to be reported as either male (M) or female (F), SUNY will retain the historical data element of M/F in its data collections at this time and will add a new element to capture gender identity in its data systems.  UB will be able to transmit the information in the Employee Self-Identification survey to official personnel systems once this capability is enabled.

The federal government considers “Hispanic/Latino” to be a national origin category, and not a race category.  Under the new guidelines, an individual can be Hispanic/Latino AND white, for example, or Hispanic/Latino AND black/African American.  The federal government requires us first to ask whether employees are Hispanic/Latino, and then to ask employees to identify their race.

A "Hispanic or Latino" person is of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term "Spanish origin" can be used in addition to "Hispanic or Latino."

The current federal categories are:

White - having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa

Black or African American - having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa

Asian - having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam

American Indian or Alaska Native – having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands

You may select as many race categories as apply.

UB will continue to use the information you previously provided.

Federal law requires federal contractors to ensure that they are taking affirmative steps to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities.  The federal government also requires federal contractors to conduct periodic resurveys of employees to determine disability status, in order for employers to know how many employees with disabilities are in our workforce. 

You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.  This includes both disabilities that may be apparent to others (ex. a condition requiring the use of a wheelchair or other assistive device) and “hidden” disabilities (ex. major depression, diabetes, epilepsy). 

A condition would meet the definition of disability if, on either a regular or intermittent basis, it affects common activities of daily life, which could include (but are not limit to) caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.

You are not required to disclose information about your disability.  Please be assured, however, that if you do disclose this information in the self-identification survey, the information will be strictly confidential and will not be shared with your supervisor, manager or others within your department.  Additionally, no one at the University can treat you adversely or take any action against you for having a disability.  

Yes.  As long as your disability affects any major life activity, you still may report it.   This is the case even if you are not requesting reasonable accommodations. This information helps the university understand the overall composition of our workforce.

Federal contractors are required to take affirmative steps to recruit and hire protected veterans.  In 2014, the federal government instituted new requirements that include a periodic resurvey of employees’ veteran status.

The federal government defines “protected veterans” under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), which was originally passed in 1974.  It has since updated the definition of “protected veterans” to include the following categories:

• ARMED FORCES MEDAL VETERAN—Any veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
• DISABLED VETERAN—A veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
• ACTIVE DUTY WARTIME OR CAMPAIGN BADGE VETERAN—A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, under the laws administered by
• RECENTLY SEPERATED VETERANS:  Any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

For purposes of the survey, UB must comply with the definition of “protected veteran” provided by the federal government.

- Pre-Offer

Applicants are invited to self-identify during the application process.

- Post-Offer

After an offer of employment, but before beginning work, individuals will be invited to self identify.

- Current Employees

Employees are invited to self-identify using the on-line survey.  You can submit a survey at any time through the on-line survey link.

You can access the survey from:

The MyUB page - link located under the My Opinion section

The Administrative Services Gateway - Link under the Tell UB About Yourself

The Employee Demographic Self-ID survey

If you have difficulties accessing the survey, please call the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) at (716) 645-2266.

Please call the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at (716) 645-2266.