Daily Bulletin

University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Monday, December 16, 1996

Ontario's panel will report

News is expected today from the "Advisory Panel on Future Directions for Post-Secondary Education", set up in July by the Ontario government. The panel is chaired by David Smith, former principal of Queen's University, who is not the jolly fellow with the white beard who's pictured above.

It held hearings in the fall and collected briefs from universities, colleges and other organizations, getting their comments and ideas about the future of the post-secondary "system". The government asked the panel to provide advice on "three key issues":

the most appropriate sharing of costs among students, the private sector and government
ways to promote and support cooperation between colleges and universities, and between them and the secondary school system
ways to meet expected levels of demand for postsecondary education, with reference to existing public institutions and existing or proposed private institutions.

The government's interest was illuminated by a discussion paper issued at the time the five-person panel was appointed.

A news conference is to be held at 1:00 this afternoon to make the panel's report public, says the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, which usually has its ear to the ground on these things.

Library shows off annex

"Regular operation" of the new library annex has begun, says UW chief librarian Murray Shepherd, and there's a preview for library staff today to show it off. An open house for others is expected in the new year.

The annex is a building at 115 Malcolm Road in Guelph, owned jointly by UW, the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University. The building has a small office area and 36,400 square feet of warehouse space for bookshelves, where "low use" library material will be stored. Says Shepherd: "All of the material that was in storage at Victoria Road in Guelph, Phillip Street in Waterloo and in various places in the Laurier library has now been moved to the Tri-University Group Library Annex."

A library newsletter explains: "The Annex has a security system, heating, and air conditioning. This provides the environment needed to preserve the collection and a safe working environment for staff and patrons. The Annex will provide 24-hour recall service to each University. Future plans for convenient, extended use of the collection include private and group study rooms, available by appointment during normal hours of operation. To provide a secure environment for the collection, stacks will be closed to the public. Plans call for staff who will provide on-site recall services."

Today's preview for staff, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., promises "sumptuous refreshments (probably Timbits)", and buses from UW will run several times during the day.

Registration for the winter

"Avoid waiting in line in January," says the winter term registration newsletter, which also warns undergraduate students: "Line-ups will occur. Minimum waiting time -- one hour." What should you do about it? Pay your fees now, with a cheque post-dated to January 1. Students who are expected to be here in the winter should have received fee statements. What to do then:

If your payment is received by December 20, a fee receipt and validation stickers will be mailed to you. Thereafter, this material can be picked up at the Registration Centre, Blue North, PAC from January 6 to January 8. . . .
If you are currently on campus, don't wait until January to register. Forward your payment (either post-dated cheque or money order -- do not include cash) in the enclosed envelope to the Cashier's Office, first floor, Needles Hall. Drop boxes are available in the Cashier's Office, first floor, Needles Hall and at the turnkey desk in the Student Life Center. You may also forward your registration through University inter-office mail.
If you are using the second portion of your Ontario Student Loan to help pay your Winter Tuition, loans will be released beginning the week of December 9, 1996, from the Student Awards office, second floor, Needles Hall.

If you do put off registration until January, in spite of the prospect of lineups, you'll want to know the preferred registration days over at Blue North: January 6 for arts, environmental studies, science and independent studies; January 7 for applied health sciences, engineering and mathematics; January 8 for those who don't make it on Monday or Tuesday.

The news on Beethoven's birthday

Telephones: As announced the other day by information systems and technology, today's the last day requests can be submitted for changes to UW telephones. After today, the phone system is frozen until after the new switch is installed in late January.

Grades: Fall 1996 grade reports -- the results of the exams that are being written right now -- will be available for pickup in mid-January, the registrar's office says. Target date is January 15 for all faculties except mathematics and science; students in those fields have to wait until January 22.

Learning: A seminar on "cooperative learning", sponsored by the teaching resource office, is set for 12 noon today in Psychology room 3026. The speaker is Kathleen Bloom, who "will explain the principles and goals of active learning curricula, organizational factors, and evaluation" as she has used them in psychology courses. Interested faculty and graduate students are invited.

Ethics: Susan Sykes of the research office, one of the staff representatives on UW's ethics committee, has been appointed acting chair of the committee. That term starts immediately and runs through September 1, 1997, the provost's office has announced.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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