FedS services review proposes changes

Federation of Students services are valuable to Waterloo’s students, but sometimes not well enough known. That was the clearest message in a review presented last week by FedS council. The “Review of the Federation of Students Services 2009-2010; A comprehensive review of the FedS services and a glimpse into the services of the University of Waterloo,” is the work of Sarah Cook (left), former FedS vice-president internal and current vice-president administration and finance, and research assistant Morar Ogsten.

FedS undertook the review last term to investigate what students know about eight core FedS services, what they think could be improved, and what the unmet needs are. The report includes recommendations for action, often calling for better communication and higher visibility.

Nikki Best (right), current vice-president internal, said the review will be used to help FedS “to critically evaluate our services and make improvements for the future. Over the next few weeks, work with each individual service will commence to address the recommendations and comments from the review. The goal is to implement new changes by the fall 2010 term, which will then be reviewed in the winter 2011 term to see if goals are being met.”

Eight services were reviewed
The eight FedS services under review were GLOW, the Student Refugee Program, the Food Bank, the Women’s Centre, the International Student Connection, the Campus Response Team, Off-Campus Dons, and the UW Sustainability Project (UWSP). All undergrads were invited to complete the survey, and 2,559 students, or 10.6 per cent of all full-time undergrads in the winter 2010 term, did complete it. All faculties are fairly represented in the sampling.

Some comments from the review:

• “The most consistent trend across all the services is a lack of awareness. No more than 60 per cent of respondents recognized any one service.”
• “Overall, there was a clear message that students believe the services of the Federation of Students to be valuable. There was also a clear message that ... the services need to be advertised more and have greater visibility to all areas on campus, as well as to the satellite campuses.”
• “The most recognized services were GLOW, Off-Campus Dons, the Food Bank, and Campus Response Team.”
• On UWSP: “It is also evident that sustainability issues are important to students, as more than half felt UW needed a full-time staff member focusing on these issues.”

Ten university services were also reviewed
The survey also gathered comments on 10 university-maintained services: the Student Art Gallery, the Writing Clinic, Health Services, the Student Security Shuttle, the Turnkey Desk, Athletics and Recreation services, Career Services and Co-op, Counselling Services, the Office for Persons with Disabilities, and the Student Life Office, as well as the general areas of “student life supports” and “academic supports.”

Of those services, students gave the highest approval rating to the Turnkey Desk (75 per cent) and Health services (69 per cent) in terms of how well they met students’ needs. Some services received comparatively low approval ratings, possibly because many students were unaware of their existence (Student Art Gallery), or were unsure what they did (Student Life Office).

Some other comments:

• “There was general displeasure with the lack of convenient services from both FedS and UW at the satellite campuses.”
• “Some students also suggested a campus wide volunteer bank, a one-stop-shop for volunteer opportunities on campus.”
• “Students also felt that the financial support process was difficult to navigate.”

The document is posted at http://pulse.feds.ca/.

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Student company works to aid Mel's Diner

A new company formed by a group of Waterloo students and grads has launched a campaign to help finance the restoration of Mel’s Diner, which was destroyed by fire on April 22 along with much of Campus Court Plaza next to the university.

(The photo above was taken by Ilya Panchenko on the day of the fire and is used in accordance with his Creative Commons license.)

The company is GroupVestor Inc., created as part of the Velocity BootCamp program by Moe Adham, a new mechatronics engineering grad, Ahmed Shuaib, who recently completed a degree in economics, and a roster of computer science students. They work from within the Accelerator Centre in the Waterloo R+T Park.

“We are looking to change the way small businesses grow,” Adham says. “As opposed to raising debt from a bank, GroupVestor is looking to assist entrepreneurs in raising investment from their direct community.”

There are plans to rebuild the plaza, with Mel’s to occupy the same spot it has held for over 15 years. Mel’s will, in fact, expand, with the hope of re-opening at the end of April 2011.

“As opposed to immediately turning to a bank to finance the project,” Adham says, “GroupVestor presented Jerry [Smith, Mel’s owner] with an innovative new way to fund the business. Through an online campaign, GroupVestor is assisting Mel's Diner to re-open by reaching out directly to the community and customers” to raise $10,000. CTV news has covered the story.

It’s not your usual fundraiser, Adham points out. “First off, the funding is all or nothing. Mel's has 30 days to raise $10,000; if less than this amount is raised, all the money is refunded to the community.

"Second, these are not donations. Contributors are given real value in return for their funds,” such as gift cards, a catered lunch, and floor tiles engraved with corporate logos. The idea is to bring in funds now to finance the restoration, with rewards flowing to contributors when the diner is back in business. So far, the campaign has raised more than $2,000 in pledges. The details are here.

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Travel policy and guidelines revised

University of Waterloo Secretariat

The university's Policy 31 (Travel) was recently revised, and the changes were approved by the president on June 30. The revised policy is posted on the Secretariat's website; so are the new "Guidelines for Travel Expenses." Here is the text of the memo from the Secretariat:

Policy 31 was revised to provide the principles and framework for University of Waterloo travel and travel-related expenses.  The Guidelines for Travel Expenses provide additional information regarding travel procedures, expenses, rates, etc. The significant changes include:

• Separating policy from operational guidelines. The guidelines address operational issues which may change as university business practices evolve and reimbursement rates require adjustment.
• Formalizing accountability and responsibility of both the claimant and approver.
• Establishing minimum amounts for paying travel advances and travel claims/settlements.
• Establishing timelines for submitting and processing travel claims.
• Eliminating the variable per kilometre reimbursement rate for all travelers and the corresponding supplement for those who drive more than 11,500 km per year on university business.
• Changing the per diem currency and rate.  All per diem rates are stated in Canadian currency and the rates are as follows: $50 CAD in Canada, $60 CAD outside Canada and in North America, and $75 CAD outside North America.

Please direct questions about the revised policy or the new guidelines to Ann Williams-Gorrie, Finance.

CPA staff

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