Friday, May 3, 2024

Sparking and sustaining engagement for student success

By Darren McAlmont. This is an excerpt of an article published on Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo recently wrapped the 15^th annual Teaching and Learning conference — one of the largest events dedicated to teaching and learning in higher education in Ontario.  

Held across two days with 16 online sessions, 50 presentations, six panels, five workshops and 17 posters, sessions covered topics on generative AI, engaging large classes, engaging first-year students, feedback, and integrating undergraduate and graduate students in course design. 

The conference serves as a remarkable reminder of Waterloo’s commitment to teaching excellence and demonstrates how deeply passionate our educators are about preparing students to be innovators and solve some of society’s toughest problems through engaged, experiential learning. 

“As one of our flagship events, we’re pleased to celebrate the conference’s 15^th anniversary. The longstanding and increasing interest in this event are heartening and reflect a commitment to outstanding teaching and learning at Waterloo,” said Dr. Donna Ellis, director of the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE).  

“We’re also seeing increased involvement from other institutions. This year, we had attendees coming from 18 different post-secondary institutions across Canada and even a few from international universities,” added Brianna Bennett, educational research associate in the CTE. 

In a post-COVID-19 world, many educators have reported that students are not as engaged as pre-pandemic cohorts, and as a community of curious problem solvers, the organizers of this year’s conference set out to determine how students and instructors perceive engagement.  

As a result, this year’s conference focused on engaging students in their own learning, piquing their curiosity and preparing them for societal complexities. 

Fostering engagement through feedback culture 

Dr. Jessie Moore, director of the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University, delivered the keynote address in an interactive talk focused on three key practices for fostering equitable engaged learning in the classroom: facilitating professional relationships, developing feedback cultures, and promoting integration and transfer of knowledge and skills.  

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News.

New benefit rates went into effect on May 1

"On May 1 of each year, the University of Waterloo’s extended health, dental, life insurance, and long-term disability (LTD) benefits are typically subject to a contract renewal," says a memo from Human Resources distributed to campus benefit-eligible employees on Wednesday. "Where applicable, new rates are applied, and employee deductions processed."

"The budget rates for extended health and dental benefits are established annually based on our expected claims for the upcoming year plus taxes and GreenShield's charges for administration," the HR memo continues.

The premium rates for Life and LTD are established each year based on Sun Life Financial’s requirements for providing this insurance in accordance with agreements in place.

• Based on poor claims experience over the last few years, we have developed a significant deficit within the University Life Insurance Plan (ULIP). As such, a 10 per cent increase to the Basic and Additional Basic Life insurance premium rates is anticipated annually commencing May 1, 2025; however, the increase for this year has been moderated at 5 per cent due to the competitive bidding process that was conducted in 2023 which reconfirmed Sun Life Financial as the insurer of this benefit.
• With the change from Canada Life to Sun Life Financial as the LTD insurer effective May 1, 2022, our initial premium rates were guaranteed for a 24-month period which expires April 30, 2024. The increase for this year was capped at 15 per cent through an agreement reached through the competitive bidding process in 2021 and the revised premium rates effective May 1, 2024, will be guaranteed for another 24 months, expiring April 30, 2026.

The table below reflects the rates effective May 1, 2024.

The year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) for 2024 is $68,500, according to Human Resources. The maximum insured salary effective May 1, 2024, is $192,454 (no change from the limit established effective May 1, 2023), and optional life insurance (spousal coverage and up to an additional 3 x earnings for employee coverage) rates remain unchanged for the upcoming year.

If you have questions, please visit the Human Resources website to understand more about your benefits arrangements. For questions regarding these rates, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca.

School counsellors visit for annual breakfast

By Jody Berringer, Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment.

This week, Waterloo hosted 65 high school guidance counsellors in Cambridge at our School of Architecture for an annual breakfast and information session.  

Hosted by Rhea Johnson, Director, Undergraduate Recruitment, the event focused on Waterloo updates and fostering connections with guidance professionals. Maya Przybylski, O’Donovan Director of the School of Architecture, delivered a powerful keynote address themed around design practice and the key elements required for design education. We were also fortunate to have Andre Jardin, Associate Registrar, Admissions, and Carlie Bolton, Academic Services Coordinator at the School of Architecture, as our featured speakers highlighting the ins and outs of the admissions process.  

The morning was rounded out with tips for counsellors to access resources, an opportunity to explore Architecture students’ portfolios, and a tour of the School of Architecture. 

Building community for University of Waterloo alumni in Ottawa

By Jennifer Ferguson.

University of Waterloo alumni in Canada’s capital have a new opportunity to network and build a sense of community off campus.

More than 200 alumni and friends attended the Ottawa alumni chapter launch on May 1 at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The event featured a lively panel discussion with local experts about the quest for happiness and building community in life and work.

The topic resonated with many in attendance who are excited for future opportunities to join the Ottawa alumni chapter in fostering a sense of community with other alumni and professionals in the region.

There are more than 9,000 UWaterloo alumni in and around Ottawa, making it the third-largest alumni population in Canada after Toronto (more than 50,000) and Waterloo Region (approximately 38,000).

Not only will the volunteer-led chapter engage with alumni in the area, the more than 1,000 students who are completing co-op work terms in the region will also be invited to programming.

There are more than a dozen UWaterloo alumni chapters around the world. Volunteer teams in each region aim to engage with their local community through building the University presence and enhancing partnerships with alumni and University supporters.

Check out the full story, including photos of the event.

Campus marks Red Dress Day and other notes

Members of the University community will gather at noon on the B.C. Matthews Green for a ceremony marking Red Dress Day, which takes place on Sunday. 

In attendance will be the Faculty of Health's Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Myeengun Henry and Jean Becker, Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Relations. The event takes place from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. on the B.C. Matthews Green. A beading workshop will take place afterwards for registered attendees.

Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People, is observed on May 5 each year.

As the trees bud and the flowers bloom, IST’s winter term wrap up is here. Check out the winter 2024 issue of the IST Newsletter to learn more about what IST's been up to, including cybersecurity training for all employees; rolling SentinelOne out across campus; technical details regarding the core network upgrade; new teaching and learning projects, software, and reminders for start of term.  

Food Services reports that Food Truck Wednesdays will be pulling into a parking lot near you from May 8 to July 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Arts Quad. There will be a rotating convoy of driven delectables including The Serial Griller and Passado Brasil, Cafe du Monde, BeaverTails, El Milagro and operators from Conestoga College. Keep an eye out in the Daily Bulletin for food truck dates starting next week.

Information Systems and Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian blog series entitled Jira Software: View and schedule project work in a calendar.