![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, October 18, 2004
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[A line of brilliant red trees]](/images/2004/1018aerial.gif)
The campus
stretches out to the north and west in this view, taken from a helicopter
at an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 metres). Landmarks include parking lots
A and C in the foreground (empty because the photo was taken on
Thanksgiving Day), the Dana Porter Library at centre, and (upper right)
the new Sybase building on the north campus. Autumn gives dramatic
colour to the line of trees along the railroad track at the east side of
campus. Photo by Chris Hughes, UW Graphics.
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![[Sedra]](/images/2004/1018sedra.gif)
The task force, chaired by engineering dean Adel Sedra (left),
doesn't explicitly call for more money to be spent on student aid, but
it does call for "a proactive process to automatically offer all
qualified undergraduate students the financial support it is prepared
to provide", making it more likely that students will get the money
that's available and that they're qualified for.
In 2001-02 the student awards office made an effort to find upper-year students who had received the maximum in government loans and might still need more money, and offer bursaries to them, the report points out. As a result, almost $3 million in "unspent balance" in the bursary fund was given out -- but the unspent balance is growing again, as the amount of tuition fee money UW is required to set aside for student aid continues to increase.
Altogether, the task force report shows, UW gave out about $12.5 million in aid to undergraduates in 2003-04, including $5.2 million in bursaries (based on need), $6.3 million in scholarships (based on merit), and $900,000 in "awards" (a combination of need and merit). In addition, UW students received $27 million in funding, mostly loans, through the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
![[Grinning at foot of rock steps]](/images/2004/1018mexico.gif)
Mexico
in February: Participants in a 2003 trip organized by
Renison College visit the indigenous village of Tepoztlán and its
surrounding mountains.
A
similar travel seminar is planned for February
reading week of this year, says Gerry Mueller of the Anglican Campus
Ministry at Renison. An information meeting will be held Thursday at
5:30 p.m. at Renison, room 106.
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Sedra and his colleagues (another dean, two student leaders, and an outside member of the board of governors) are advising that UW reaffirm its 200 "statement of purpose" on financial aid, which says that Waterloo "intends to ensure that all qualified students admitted to full-time undergraduate programs have adequate financial assistance to complete their studies".
But it suggests making the statement more specific: "to guarantee to meet the provincial unmet need, as calculated by OSAP, of all qualified University of Waterloo undergraduate students", and "in practice" more than that, including "actual tuition fees not recognized in the OSAP calculation".
UW should look for new sources of scholarship funds, says the report, and build a more effective "stewardship" program for informing donors and making them feel appreciated. It also stresses that having financial aid isn't enough unless students, potential students, and parents know what's available.
A key recommendation says that UW "should work toward implementing an entrance scholarship grid, to the extent resources allow". A "grid" is a specific guarantee of how much scholarship money will be offered to a student entering a particular program, based on high school grades. An appendix shows that, for example, McMaster will guarantee a $2,000 scholarship to a student entering with an average of 90, or $1,000 to a student with a mark of 85. A "Mac model" at UW would cost $4.9 million a year, says the report, compared to the $1.1 million that Waterloo currently spends on first-year scholarships.
Another recommendation in the Sedra report says UW should "guarantee a first placement to qualified undergraduate co-op students", using funds from the work placement program that already provides part-time jobs on campus. "Students with financial need who do not successfully find employment during their first work term may struggle financially," says the report, which recommends "extensive planning" and a close look at the costs and risks of making such a guarantee.
The financial aid report is just one item on the agenda for tonight's senate meeting, which starts at 4:30 in Needles Hall room 3001. Other items include UW's submission to the Bob Rae study of post-secondary education in Ontario; an "update on research intensity" from the vice-president (university research); and academic program reviews reporting on history, Spanish, and classical studies.
![[Holding '1957' signs at poolside]](/images/2004/1018poss.gif)
The answer: "It was all about opportunity," says Jeff Poss, a contract research associate and PhD student. Some background: "An engineering co-op job with the Canadian Standards Association led to an opportunity working with computers and kids with disabilities. Then another opportunity presented itself, Jeff began his career in rehabilitation services, and completed an MBA in health services management. Fifteen years later, Jeff connected with John Hirdes (a professor in Health Studies and Gerontology) at Freeport Hospital and the next thing he knew, he was back at UW."
So he's asked about other connections with UW (besides his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering). "My wife," he writes, "is Professor Carolyn MacGregor, Systems Design Engineering, and also the newly appointed director of the professional development engineering (PDEng) program." (That's Poss and MacGregor in the photo above.)
He goes on: "The irony here is that I'm an engineer yet I work in health services research. Carolyn did her undergraduate degree in psychology at UW and her graduate degrees are in engineering."
What motivated you personally to give to Waterloo? "It seems like the right thing to do -- supporting the public institutions that we value and that have personally enriched us."
To what project, have you designated your gift? "I have not designated my gift, but have left it to the judgment of others to use it for UW's greatest need."
What do you like to do in your spare time? "My daughters are involved in synchronized swimming, and I'm currently the highest level judge with a Y chromosome with Synchro Canada (the national synchronized swimming governing body)."
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Stress management session sponsored by Employee
Assistance Program, 12 noon (and second part October 25), register
with Johan Reis, health services.
Accessibility Day at Renison College, showing off projects and raising funds with a bake sale, Tuesday 11:30 to 1:15. Part-time studies information night for prospective students, Tuesday 7 p.m., continuing education office, 335 Gage Avenue, Kitchener. Town hall meeting for faculty and staff with UW's president and provost, Wednesday 4 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Pascal Lectures on Christianity and the University, this year by Dennis Danielson, University of British Columbia, Wednesday and Thursday 8 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Seminar, "Milton and Copernicus", Wednesday 3:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 208. President's Committee Breakfast with Bernard Duncker, biology professor, speaking on "From Budding Yeast to Improved Biomarkers for Early Cancer Detection", Thursday 7:30 a.m., South Campus Hall. Tickets $15 (bring a guest at no charge) from the development office, 888-4973. Eighty-Ninth Convocation Saturday, Physical Activities Complex, 10 a.m. for arts and AHS, 2 p.m. for other faculties. |
A "major donation" to the engineering faculty is to be announced this morning with celebrations at 11:00 in the mechatronics lab (Engineering III room 3164). A media advisory says the donation is coming from "a business leader and UW alumnus". It adds: "The Campaign Waterloo contribution will create a graduate scholarship fund and develop a mechatronics laboratory that will be named in honour of the donor's father."
An agency called the Responsible
Gambling Council will have booths on campus this week for its "Know the
![[Know the Score]](/images/2004/1018thescore.gif)
Score" campaign aimed at students. "Young adults, between 18 and 24, are
almost twice as likely as other age groups to develop gambling
problems," a media release says. "Know the Score is a fun and engaging
program designed to prevent gambling-related problems among
post-secondary students. Know the Score dispels some common myths
regarding randomness, shares sign of problem gambling, tells students
where they can get help locally and provides ways to keep gambling
safer." Look for the booths in the Student Life Centre all week (today
from 11 to 2 and from 5 to 7) and in the Village cafeterias a couple of
times during meal hours.
The Federation of Students is continuing its free movie series -- which started a couple of weeks ago with "Super Size Me" -- by showing the controversial "Fahrenheit 9-11" tonight. The film is a somewhat partisan documentary about the George W. Bush administration and the US-Iraq war, and tonight will be introduced by UW history professor Andrew Hunt. He'll provide, I'm told, "a brief contextual overview of what has happened leading up to and beyond the film". The showing starts at 8:00 (doors open at 7:30) in the Humanities Theatre, and admission is free for students.
Guy Poirier of UW's French studies department has been named associate editor of the international journal Renaissance and Reformation. . . . The UW Shop in South Campus Hall is running a contest, today through Saturday, that will see somebody win an Apple iPod Mini. . . . Paintin' Place day care centre, on the ground floor of the UW Place residence complex, has some spaces available (full or part-time) for children aged two-and-a-half to five. . . . "Accounting Fundamentals for Non-Financial Managers" is a two-day course being offered by UW's continuing education office, today and October 25. . . .
CAR