Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, June 4, 1997

Watch for a budget cut

The budget as it stands shows a surplus of $1,954,000, but that won't last, said provost Jim Kalbfleisch, because it has to cover any salary increases for the year -- starting with the recently announced staff increase, calculated to cost $1.15 million. "It is most unlikely that the total of all salary increase costs will be less than $1.95 million. We will have to have a small budget cut."

He said he didn't want to make the cut definite right now -- he'll wait until salary increases are settled and there's more up-to-date information about enrolment, which affects the university's income from tuition fees. The budget is based on an estimate of enrolment falling by 2 per cent, in spite of "slightly" higher targets this year for full-time admissions. The number of graduate students, part-time students and foreign students has been continuing to drop.

Government grants to Ontario universities are the same this year as in 1996. "Flat isn't great," said Kalbfleisch, "but it sure looks better than last year," when there was a major cut. Universities have taken a big hit in the past five years, with tuition fees going up sharply but not enough to make up for decreases in grants:

The president of UW, James Downey, made some comments about the financial situation in general, telling the board that Ontario now spends $5,511 per university student, compared to $7,362 per student in the other nine provinces of Canada.

"Waterloo is struggling to maintain both its fiscal balance and its academic standards," he said, adding that UW and other universities in Ontario don't have the resources to compete with universities in the United States and Britain. "We're losing ground. We're losing professors, we're losing graduate students. . . . It comes at a time when most American states are increasing their appropriations for higher education."

Showing off the solar car

The solar race car team will show off the "completely redesigned vehicle" that has "already begun to turn heads in the North American solar-racing community," says Andrea Pagee, public relations manager for the student team. The car placed third in the Eastern Division, just behind defending champion Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at the recent qualifier in Michigan. That gives it a place in Sunrayce '97, a race that begins June 19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ends in Denver nine days later. UW expects to be "a very strong competitor", Pagee says.

At today's unveiling, "Everyone is welcome to come out and celebrate our accomplishments to date. We have a beautiful car and are excited about the chance to present it to our sponsors whose support has enabled us to build Waterloo's best solar car ever."

Looking ahead to the winter

From program and course selections submitted at Pre-registration, a Student Registration Form/Fee Statement showing your schedule of classes, their times and rooms, will be produced and mailed to you. This will enable you to complete registration by mail and go directly to classes when you arrive on campus.

Select your courses using the Course Offerings List. . . . A link from the Course Offerings List to the Winter 1998 Calendar will allow you to view full descriptions of the courses. Please note that some courses listed in the Calendar may not be offered.

Once you have selected your courses, enter all the requested information on the Pre-registration Form. Be sure to list courses in order of preference. Also, for each course selected, please enter the "Course Index Number" in the appropriate place on your Pre-registration Form. This number appears on the Course Offerings List with each course entry. You should be using the most recent copy of your computer-produced timetable (Student Registration Form) for Pre-registration. You are asked to present this with your New Course Requests to the appropriate Departmental Advisor.

A list of advisors is linked. . . .

If you don't have your most recent timetable, you should check for it at the Registrar's Office in Needles Hall (Engineering and Optometry students should check with your departmental office).

Students should read the faculty and program regulations carefully to be sure that degree requirements are understood and met in the manner required by your program.

Recognizing UW's CS programs

"Graduates from the computer science programs at Waterloo have repeatedly demonstrated that our programs prepare them well for ongoing education and for professional careers," says Frank Tompa, chair of the CS department. "We are proud that our programs have now also been accredited by CSAC."

One benefit of accreditation for UW graduates is that they are eligible to be certified by CIPS as information processing professionals after two years (rather than four years) of professional level experience. As well, accreditation means that UW programs meet published, generally accepted criteria for sound education in the discipline.

Tompa praised CIPS for establishing and funding the accreditation council, while giving it the independence needed to set and maintain high standards. "As computer applications become even more widespread, there is increasing need to educate and train highly qualified computer scientists. Recognition of graduates from an accredited program gives one measure of assurance."

UW is the fifth university in Ontario to receive accreditation by CSAC since it was formed in 1982. To date, 13 schools across Canada have received accreditation.

Eight years after Tiananmen

A workshop for teaching assistants, titled "Designing a Course", is to be offered at noontime on Friday, June 13. "Many TAs receive little or no training in how to link principles of planning and teaching," say the facilitators, Gary Griffin and Linda Schmoll of the teaching resource office (TRACE). "In this workshop, you will participate in a variety of activities to help you consider the various components of course design and how you can apply them when planning a course in your discipline." Participants are asked to preregister "because there are some questions we would like them to consider beforehand", says Amy Aldous of TRACE. Anyone interested can reach her at ext. 3132 or trace@watserv1.

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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