Housing rate adjustment approved

At its February 5 meeting, the University of Waterloo's board of governors approved a comparatively modest across-the-board rate adjustment to student housing fees.

"The board of governors approved a 2.5% increase to monthly fees for campus residences, which comes into effect in the fall term," said Glen Weppler, director of housing & residences.

A comparatively modest increase, the rate adjustment clocks in at the low end of the 2% to 5% range for increases being implemented across several of the province's universities.

“When adjusting our residence fees from year to year we need to be mindful of the alternative housing options available to our students," Weppler said. "In Waterloo, this is especially important because there is more competition. In fact, there is as much purpose-built student housing off-campus in the City of Waterloo - about 9,000 beds - as in the rest of Canada combined.”

“In this type of setting, where students have considerable choice on where to live, it is important that housing & residences provide a clear advantage to living on campus. We believe our advantage is that we create a learning environment by providing value-adds like Dons, living-learning programs, and all-in costs, for a few examples. Contrast that with local landlords who are there primarily to provide accommodations."

Those interested in learning more can contact Glen Weppler at glen.weppler@uwaterloo.ca, or by phone at extension 32899.

 

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Loving to learn

Every year, Waterloo's Centre for Teaching Excellence administers its Loving to Learn contest - an annual event first held in 2006 that encourages learners far and wide to reflect on their learning experiences and share them in an innovative way with CTE.

CTE then evaluates the entries and celebrates the most impactful contributions online.

"We're often so busy learning that we forget to really acknowledge and celebrate the process and what it means to us," said Mark Morton, senior instructional developer with CTE. "It's important to reflect on the learning process, and especially the people and experiences that have made learning valuable and enjoyable to us. In large part, this contest is about using the University of Waterloo's leadership position when it comes to learning, and helping to build a strong culture of learning among youth."

This year, contestants were asked to identify one important lesson they've learned in the past few months, and write about it on a postcard. They also had to tell CTE who they would send the postcard to, and why.

CTE was flooded with thoughtful entries, including one from Grade 7-12 category winner Maddy Schneider from MacGregor Public School.

"Dear future self," Maddy's postcard began. "Not very long ago, three months past, I learned how to find my inner peace. A retired teacher of mine came back to our school so that she could work with us, leading us through calming exercises. (You know, Mrs. Delaine?) At first I was skeptical, but I looked up to her very much -- as you may remember -- and so I followed along"

She continued: "I just spent a whole hour learning to not only be at peace with myself but with the world around me... I know that lesson will always stay somewhere in my mind because I didn’t just learn a skill that day, I learned something much more important. I learned to look at the bigger picture, as well as find my inner peace. So future self I hope you take this to heart, because I had to have a miniature epiphany to realize it in the first place..."

Score one for enlightenment!

Congratulations to Maddy and all this year's winners, and to CTE for another successful "Loving to Learn" contest.

 

 

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Senate convenes and other notes

The University of Waterloo's senate assembled yesterday afternoon to review budget, enrolment and administration priorities for the winter and spring terms. Nominations are still open for a number of faculty and graduate student seats on the university's Senate. The full list of available positions is online, as is the nomination form. Nominations are due by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1.

Thalmic Labs (@thalmic), a great VeloCity success story, has scored some major support, and some great press from Wired.com and the Financial Post.

Need some help choosing your courses for next term? Check out this how-to page developed by the Registrar's Office.

The Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, The Women’s Centre, and One Waterloo are excited to present Healthy Sexuality Week from February 25 – March 1. During the five days, students will have an array of guest speakers, workshops, and other special events to attend. The purpose of the week is to inform students about sexuality, pleasure, and the resources available on campus. All of the events are free, and all students are welcome. The full schedule is available online.

Upper-year students have until Friday, March 1 to apply to live in St. Paul's new innovation hub, Green House, that addresses environment and development issues. For more information, check out the Greenhouse webpage.

University of Waterloo March Break Open House will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, march 12 and Wednesday, March 13. "This campus-wide event gives applicants, parents and school personnel the opportunity to participate in activities that will enable them to learn about Waterloo," said Kathryn Fedy, manager of Waterloo’s visitors centre. "We also hope that this day will increase the number of applicants who choose Waterloo after they gain a more detailed understanding of life here." Details available.

 

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