Office credits campus for its Success

by Jodi Szimanski, Student Success Office

Thanks to the collective efforts from the entire university, the Student Success Office (SSO) opened its doors on September 6, 2011. Departments such as Plant Operations, Central Stores, IST, Procurement Services and Office of Persons with Disabilities, made sure the office was ready. Other departments made tremendous sacrifices by being moved or uprooted to make way for the SSO, including the Institute for Quantum Computing, Catering Services and the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.

One year after opening, the commitment to student success from across the university continues to gain momentum. The SSO, in partnership with groups from across campus, works to enhance students’ overall experience, support their academic and career objectives, and encourage innovation. Our partnerships with groups as diverse as the faculties, the Federation of Students, Housing & Residences, Centre for Career Action, Health Services and Counselling Services continue to evolve.

The SSO consists of four main units staffed by approximately 50 people who have worked together with our partners across campus in the last year to launch several new services and initiatives, including:

Student Experience

• Introduced 883 students and 515 parents to life at the University of Waterloo this summer through Student Life 101.
• Prepared 1,000 upper-year students to become Orientation Leaders through the new First-Year Training Institute.
• Launched FYE: Waterloo during Orientation Week to introduce first-year students to the key areas of transition including: academic success, financial management, health and mental wellness, and social and community involvement.
• Launched Your First 6 Weeks – a calendar focused on over 60 opportunities for first-year students to get involved, get connected and get informed, as well as a return visit from speaker Andy Thibodeau.
• Introduced a peer mentorship training and resources to faculty- and department-specific student programs that include developing effective mentoring relationships and communication strategies.
• Started planning a Student Leadership Conference for January 2013 for students looking to enhance their leadership opportunities
• Ramped up support and programming for international students with the recent hiring of three new staff.

Learning Services

• Introduced a new success coaching service with two Success Coaches in January to deliver one-on-one sessions, workshops and drop-in study sessions. The need grew quickly and since May we’ve added two more full-time and two part-time Success Coaches.
• Launched a credit course “University 101” in partnership with the faculties. The course is designed for first-year students experiencing academic difficulty.
• Offered attendees of Student Life 101 the opportunity to write the English Language Proficiency exam early
• Reduced the wait list for appointments and offered online registration for Writing Centre workshops

Student Innovation

• Launched VeloCity Garage, a 6,500 square feet of start-up incubator space for Waterloo students and recent alumni in the Communitech Hub in downtown Kitchener
• Introducing VeloCity Campus so that students across campus who have any type of startup idea can access resources to help them start their business.

Outreach & Engagement

• Consulting with students and other departments across campus to better understand how best to communicate with students and reduce their information clutter from the university
• Launching a social media presence for student life at Waterloo later this month (stay tuned for more details!)

Senior leadership made student success a priority in the 2011/12 strategic plan, and it takes every one of us across campus to make student success a priority. From Human Resources to the Registrar’s Office, from Counselling Services to Creative Services, from the Feds to the faculties, we’re working together to better serve our students. Over the coming months, we’ll share the initiatives of our partners and other groups across campus.

Photograph by Jonathan Bielaski, Light Imaging.

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Opening our doors for Doors Open Waterloo

Three University of Waterloo buildings are on the map for this year's Doors Open Waterloo Region, a free heritage and architecture open house event set to take place on Saturday, September 15.

Free to the public, Doors Open is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with walking tours, music, drama presentations, children's activities and other special events. Most of the 37 participating sites included in this year's edition of the tour will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This year, the School of Architecture, Environment 3, and the School of Pharmacy will be opening their doors as part of the event. The tour guide outlines the distinctive buildings as follows:

University of Waterloo School of Architecture

Address: 7 Melville St. S., Cambridge

"The 1919-38 Riverside Silk Mill was the last industrial plant built in Galt on the Grand River. Its industrial feeling, open spaces flooded with natural light and spectacular town and river views were enhanced in its 2004 renovation. At 2:00 p.m., School of Architecture Director Rick Haldenby will present a lecture on the ongoing and dramatic transformation of industrial buildings for new purposes in Waterloo Region."

Environment 3, University of Waterloo

Address: 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo

"One of Canada’s greenest public buildings, its solar panels could power seven Canadian homes and its two-storey bio-wall is a living air filter. To minimize its footprint, the upper floors were hoisted to “float” above an existing building, Environment 2. At 2:00 p.m., Professor Paul Parker will be speaking on "Green Buildings to Inspire the Next Generation: Inside EV3.""

University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy

Address: 10-A Victoria St. S., Kitchener

"Distinctive for its colourful curtain wall featuring images of medicinal plants, the School of Pharmacy represents a unique investment in downtown renewal. This award-winning 2009 building optimizes natural light and uses organic materials such as wood and stone to create a welcoming environment for students, staff and the community."

Director Haldenby's and Professor Parker's talks are but two of five special 10th anniversary "Talks and Walks" that include a "Corner of Time" presentation by historian Rych Mills in the Rum Runner Pub at the Walper Hotel at 1:00 p.m., a presentation by Brock University's Jonathan Seiling about war resisters and nonviolence in the War of 1812 at the Erb Street Mennonite Church in Waterloo at 1:30 p.m., and "100 Years at King and Union," an event at Sun Life Financial chronicling the century of history at the corporation's landmark headquarters building, at 4:00 p.m.

The full map and guide for this year's Doors Open is available online.

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Thursday's alarums and excursions

Feds Welcome Week 2012 continues today with free bubble tea and other beverages courtesy of Campus Bubble in the Student Life Centre courtyard from noon until 2:00 p.m., and a performance by mentallist duo The Evasons at the Humanities Theatre at 8:30 p.m.

The next local ACM-style programming contest will be held on Sunday, September 16 in MC 3003. All members of the university community are invited to test their programming skills in Scheme, C, C++, Java, and Pascal. The results of this local contest, as well as a second event in October, will help determine the members of the university's official teams for the international ACM competition.

Three teams of three will be sent to the East Central North America Regional in Windsor on November 3. "If we do well there, as we have every year since 1993, one team will advance to the World Finals in St. Petersburg, Russian in June/July 2013," writes associate professor Ondrej Lhoták. Full details and registration information is available online. The contest runs from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and will be followed by pizza.

The Pension Team in Human Resources will be offering quarterly "Lunch and Learn" information sessions on various topics relating to pensions starting on Wednesday, September 26. This first session will focus on the benefits to participating in the university's pension plan. The event will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in DC 1302. Information about future sessions can be found on the HR website.

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