More than 50 alumni joined faculty and students of the School of Accounting and Finance on August 25 for an evening of socializing and networking — on the roof. The gathering was held on the Beam and Laiken Terrace, otherwise known as the "green roof" of Hagey Hall's accounting wing. The terrace was named to honour two long-time faculty members in accounting, Bob Beam and Stan Laiken.

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New timetable system is on the way

A project to create a new timetable system — more efficient and more likely to get teachers and students into the right classrooms — is being designed, says a memo sent to staff and faculty this week by the registrar.

"The University of Waterloo Scheduling, Timetabling and Examination Project (UWSTEP) is underway," writes registrar Ken Lavigne. He continues: "For many years prior to 2001, timetabling and classroom allocation was a home grown, student demand-driven system that included optimization tools that helped us satisfy student, instructor and institutional needs. 

"Our current methodology is best described as a non-optimized, labour intensive approach involving the copying forward of the previous term’s timetable and building the new timetable by filling classrooms. Student demand data collected through pre-enrollment are available to assist in this process but student participation can be uneven across disciplines. Similarly, exam timetabling is also very labour intensive and involves manual room assignment. These methodologies will not meet the future needs of our university as we cannot ask ‘what-if’ scenarios, optimize student timetables and exam schedules, nor can we maximise the effective and efficient use of our space resources.

"Over two years ago, we sought the good advice of timetabling representatives across campus on how we could improve our methodology and build better timetables. There was a strong consensus to build student schedules based on demand data with an ability to exchange departmental information through online self-service pages. Collectively, the information can then support the modelling of room and student scheduling scenarios which ultimately lead to optimised student and instructor schedules and the best use of campus-wide classroom space.  Additionally, an examination scheduling and management process is needed that integrates well into Quest, allows staff to efficiently model examination scenarios, manages space effectively, spreads core courses automatically, enhances academic integrity and respects policies and practices that shape exam management at uWaterloo."

And now the news: "The Provost has approved the purchase of a Canadian-made suite of software and a multi-phased installation that will include departmental scheduling workshops this coming November/ December and the initial use of some of the software components beginning on June 1, 2012 for the production of the Winter 2013 schedule of classes. Following this implementation, examination scheduling and space and room booking management-software installation will begin with a target date sometime in 2013."

Lavigne says he "will update the campus community regularly regarding the progress of this project. In the meantime, I encourage you to share your thoughts, questions and observations." Associate registrar Mark Walker added yesterday that a message about the project will likely go out to students before long, just to make sure they're aware that something is being done.

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Tipi, Hong Kong, fish, and other notes

There's much happening on campus today, as you'd expect during the first week of the fall term, including an open house for the athletics department. "There will be information available regarding Campus Recreation, Varsity Athletics, jobs and our department sponsors," the athletics web site says. "Lots of free giveaways and prizes to be won. Campus Recreation registration takes place the first two week's of classes. Intramural registration runs from Sept. 12-16 and Instructional registration (fitness & wellness, dance, aquatics, etc.) takes place from Sept. 19-23." Today's open house runs from 9:30 to 2:00 in, of course, the Physical Activities Complex.

Also today: "welcome week" activities sponsored by both the Graduate Student Association and, for undergraduates, the Federation of Students. In addition, here's an invitation from Luane Lentz, the Aboriginal Student Services coordinator: "Aboriginal Services will be hosting a Soup and Frybread Open house from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come to the Aboriginal Services and Resource Centre, room 228 located in the new wing of St. Paul's University College, to enjoy some free food, learn about what Aboriginal Services has to offer and meet new people. At 4:00 we will also be hosting a Tipi Raising Ceremony on St. Paul's Green. Everyone is welcome to come out to attend this event and learn the significance of the Tipi in Aboriginal Culture."

Also from St. Paul's United College, this note from staff member Kelly Deeks: "St. Paul’s is excited to announce the opening of our new coffee shop ‘Watson’s Mug’ located in the lobby outside the lecture hall on the first floor. Watson’s Mug exclusively serves fair trade coffees from Guelph based Planet Bean Coffee. Also available are fair trade teas, organic hot chocolate, fresh baked pastries, cookies, organic granola snacks and a variety of cold drinks such as Jones Soda and Arthur's Smoothies. Hours of operation are Monday-Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Thursday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Come by and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea along with a freshly baked pastry treat."

Near the bottom of this week's Positions Available list, at the right-hand side of this Daily Bulletin, is a most unusual job: manager of the university's not-yet-extant Hong Kong office. Whoever gets the job will report to Linda Kieswetter, Waterloo's associate vice-president (principal gifts and campaigns), who says she's had budget approval for a three-year trial period. The office is to open in November and be "responsible for developing meaningful, long-term relationships with the University's alumni in Hong Kong and China", including "significant philanthropic relationships". Waterloo has more than 1,600 alumni in Hong Kong and China, and another 2,600 students from those areas are currently on campus. Expectations for the manager's job: "Capable of representing the University at the highest levels professionally and socially, the incumbent will lead and manage the Office, working collaboratively with colleagues across the University. The ability to communicate in Cantonese and/or Mandarin is desirable."

This year’s first-year class is going to be a bit smaller than last year’s, according to the latest estimates from the institutional analysis and planning office — but it’s still going to be above the 2011 target figure. Official counting is done on November 1 each year, and the target for that date, “as used in the preparation of the 2011-12 budget”, was 6,148 full-time students, says Mary Soulis of IAP. (That includes a number of students who aren’t brand-new in September but are still classified as being in first year.) The current estimate for November, based on how many students registered this term, is 6,308, she says. “Comparing this to the official target puts us at 3% over our total November 1 target. We are expecting to be 151 below last fall’s November 1 count of registered students of 6,459. All Faculties, except Environment, are above their targets. The Faculties vary from 95% of target (Environment) to 114% (Science). Canadian fee paying students are at 103% and international fee paying students are at 101% of target. We are expecting to be about 153 students over target for domestic students and 7 over for international high-fee paying, for a total of 160 students over target on November 1. Based on the accuracy of estimates in previous years we should expect to be between 100 and 200 over target.”

Published this week is the first issue of a newsletter from the department of biology, obviously enough titled The Biologist and produced by the “biology outreach team” of Owen Ward, Sue Whyte and Josh Neufeld. It includes a note from department chair David Rose, a profile of co-op student Shaelyn Culleton, a note on biological approaches to stress, and hellos from the Biology Undergraduate Society and the Biology Graduate Student Association. (The BGSA sends word that “we will be selling ice cream floats under the link on September 15,” which is tomorrow.) There’s also a quick introduction to new staff member Jennifer Collins, as well as faculty member Moira Glerum, “joining us from the Department of Cell Biology, University of Alberta.”

“Congrats to Carol Peterson!” the biology newsletter also says. (Peterson, left, retired from the department in 2007 and is now a distinguished professor emeritus.) “Peterson is the 2011 Winner of the Lawson Medal, the most prestigious award of the Canadian Botanical Association, for her authorship of the book Teaching Plant Anatomy Through Creative Laboratory Exercises, that has become the best-seller of NRC Press. Carol was also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from Plant Canada, for being instrumental in setting up the Federation of Canadian Plant Science Societies, serving as its first President, and continuing as its Treasurer.”

One more biological note, again from the newsletter: “Laura Sauder and coworkers in the Neufeld lab have published an analysis of aquarium filters from the tri-city area. Not only were the results unexpected (that Archaea were dominant ammonia oxidizers) but the study has been a successful outreach opportunity by involving the Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society in sample collection.” The paper appeared in the online scientific journal PLoS One.

CAR

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