![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, September 12, 2003
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
His article focuses on five of the approximately 350 people who have graduated from UW's independent studies (formerly "integrated studies") program since it was created in 1969. Says Hendley: "Some courses offer clearer career paths than others. Most students who take engineering, for example, end up working as engineers. Likewise, students who study computers generally gravitate towards high-tech jobs. No such clear path exists for the handful of self-directed scholars who choose independent studies, however."
The article recalls that IS was launched at "a time when universities across the country were experimenting with programs that reached beyond disciplinary boundaries. Controversial from the start because it gave students the freedom to study how and what they liked, including unconventional subjects like guitar-building and witchcraft, the program made the front pages of Toronto and Montreal newspapers. Renamed independent studies in 1986, IS remains one of the most unusual university programs in Canada."
IS students essentially create their own curriculum, says philosophy professor Richard Holmes, who serves as director of the IS program. This curriculum can consist of "a combination of regular on-campus courses, distance education courses, and/or independent studies units that students devise by themselves with the guidance of Independent Studies advisors," he explains.
The magazine article continues: "At the end of two years, IS students submit a proposal for a thesis. Thesis topics have included Amish folk medicine, computer cryptography, complementary care in childbirth, and feminist spirituality.
"At any given time, 40 to 50 students are enrolled in independent studies. About a dozen IS students graduate each year. Graduates of the three-year degree program can be found in an astonishingly wide array of vocations. The IS website lists grads who work at everything from midwifery and movement therapy to business planning and sales.
"Subjects interviewed for this article included a lawyer, a professor, a business man, a massage therapist turned life coach, and a self-described 'change agent'. Despite their diverse backgrounds, these graduates have one thing in common: they're living self-directed lives."
![[Orange collage]](/images/2003/0912newcollage.gif)
It's a new face
for UW, as the collage on the university's
home page was changed earlier
this week. The new artwork, put together by Matt Regehr of UW Graphics,
replaces the longstanding design (below) on which the most
conspicuous features were the faces of three students
now long gone from Waterloo. The hint of a football player at the centre
of the new collage suggests that it's meant for autumn, with a new
design expected in the winter term.
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Students were asked about everything on which they had spent money for the current academic year -- tuition, fees, books, and supplies, as well as myriad non-educational expenses, such as computers, insurance, rent, meals, utilities, clothing, transportation and so on.
The survey also showed that almost 1,622,000 young people, or an estimated 62% of all those aged 18 to 24, had taken some form of postsecondary program after leaving high school. Of these young people, 44%, or about 712,000, had applied for a government student loan at some point. Some 564,000, or four out of five of those who applied, actually received one.
The survey was conducted in February and March 2002. More than 5,000 young people aged 18 to 24 in the 10 provinces participated in the survey. It included only young people who were not in high school at the time. They were asked a series of questions about their educational background and whether they had participated in education leading to a diploma, certificate or degree above the high school level, that is, postsecondary studies.
The vast majority (86%) of the young people who entered postsecondary programs did so before they turned 20. Almost two-thirds (64%) began their postsecondary studies within 12 months of finishing high school, and over one-half started within three months.
About 255,000 young Canadians began their first experience with postsecondary education in September 2000. By March 2002, three-quarters (77%) of them were still in school, and 16% had quit. The remainder, about 7%, had graduated from short-term programs and were no longer in school.
Compared with college and CEGEP, a university education cost the most, especially for tuition and fees. University students spent a median of $5,000 on such educational expenses, compared with $3,100 for college students and only $750 for CEGEP students.
Median spending on non-educational items for full-time university or college students living at home was about half that of their counterparts living away from home. University students who lived at home spent a median of about $4,500 on non-educational expenses, compared with $8,160 for those who lived away from home.
The source of student funds most often reported was employment earnings. This was followed by money that did not have to be repaid, such as funds from parents, a spouse or other family member. Just over three-quarters (77%) of full-time students used savings from jobs they had before starting the academic year. Some 64% used earnings gained while they went to school.
Government student loans supplied funding to about 26% of full-time students during the current school year. About 16% borrowed from parents, a spouse or other family member, while 14% borrowed privately from a bank or used a bank line of credit.
Students who used government loans received a median of $5,000, as did those who negotiated a private bank loan or line of credit. The median amount borrowed from parents, spouses or other family members was $2,000.
About 83% of individuals aged 18 to 24 whose estimated family earnings exceeded $80,000 had taken at least some postsecondary education as of March 2002. As the estimated family earnings decreased, so too did the proportion of youth who had taken postsecondary education. Two-thirds (67%) of youth with family earnings between $55,000 and $80,000 had taken some postsecondary education. This dropped to just over one-half (55%) when family earnings were estimated to be less than $55,000.
Opening today is an art exhibition in the chapel lounge at Renison College -- "Celebrations of Togetherness: Elisabeth Feryn, Photography, and L'Arche Stratford, Diverse Media". People from the L'Arche community in Stratford worked with professional photographer Elisabeth Feryn to produce images that (organizers say) "tell of work and play, of both individuality of spirit and commonality of humanity". The exhibition will run through October 24, and there's an opening reception tonight from 7 to 9 p.m.
The board of governors pension and benefits committee is meeting this morning (8:30 to noon, Needles Hall room 3004). . . . A "digital camera update" is the topic for the weekly professional development seminar this morning for computing support staff. . . . The LT3 learning technology centre is holding training sessions this morning for teaching assistants who might want to use the UWone "online environment" software. . . .
Students with Chinese background will likely be celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival today, among them are members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, who will party in the Student Life Centre starting at 6:00. Zhenli Wei of the CSSA explains:
The festival originated in the imperial moon-worshipping ceremonies held when the moon was at its fullest on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Later on moon-worshipping was adopted by nobles and high officials. When the practice became prevalent among ordinary people, it became a true national festivity. Celebrations are held at night, with moon cakes playing a predominant role. These are small round tarts baked with different fruit fillings -- date, pear, apple and pomegranate among others. People used to lay out a feast with good wine. When the moon was rising in a clear sky, they would place the moon cakes and fresh fruit on a table as an offering. Even today a family will sit around the table, enjoying the beautiful moon and eating moon cakes and fruit. Those who are away from home try to return for a family reunion, giving the occasion its other name -- Family Reunion Festival.Tonight's party will feature moon cakes, obviously, as well as games and dancing.
Something new starts tonight at Federation Hall: "Flashback Fridays". Says Dave McDougall of the Federation of Students: "It's a retro night, and is open to students who are 19 and over. No cover, doors open at 10. The same night, Danny Michel, a local singer-songwriter, is playing at the Bomber. Tickets are $7 for Feds (all undergrad UW students) and $8 for others."
And a correction . . .The interview with engineering dean Adel Sedra in this week's Gazette was written by Pat Bow of communications and public affairs -- not, as I said in yesterday's Daily Bulletin, by Gazette editor Barbara Elve. "I only took the picture," Elve notes. |
CKMS, UW's student radio station, will hold an open house tomorrow at its studios, which are in the Bauer Warehouse on the east side of UW's north campus. Heather Majaury of CKMS is promising "food, friends, information, meet our DJ's, studio tours, record your own station ID," plus entertainment in the form of "live-to-air concerts from our Palindrome Recording Studio", featuring Ubiquitous, the Whytehouse, and the Will Grande Quintet.
Engineering alumni from 1963 (that would be UW's second-ever graduating class), 1968 and 1973 will gather for a reunion tomorrow and Sunday. Events of the weekend include a "get reacquainted lunch"; a tour of the campus, which has changed just a little in three or four decades; a reception in the Tatham Centre, hosted by UW president David Johnston; and dinner at Kitchener's Four Points Sheraton Hotel.
People from Kitchener-Waterloo's East Indian community will hold their annual fund-raising "walkathon" on Sunday morning, leaving from the Student Life Centre. This year's event is being held in support of the Regional Cardiac Centre at St. Mary's Hospital.
Co-op students who had work terms from May to August should take note: in most programs, work reports are due at 4 p.m. Monday. "Some faculties differ," the co-op department advises. "Check with your undergrad office."
Sports this weekend: Both soccer teams are home for action this weekend, hosting Windsor on Saturday and Western on Sunday. Games are at Columbia Field, with the women's team playing at 1 p.m. and the men at 3 p.m. The men's rugby Warriors are also at home tomorrow, hosting Toronto at 1 p.m. Otherwise, the Warriors are on the road this weekend. They'll play baseball at McMaster and football at Ottawa on Saturday. The field hockey team is in a tournament at Carleton, with games against Queen's tomorrow, York and McGill on Sunday. And UW's cross-country runners will compete in the Guelph Open tomorrow.
CAR
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