Co-op programs receive national nod

by Caitlin Feehan. Part of a week-long focus on National Co-operative Education Week.

All of the University of Waterloo’s more than 120 co-op programs have just received formal accreditation from co-op education’s national governing organization, the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE).

“This is wonderful news,” says Peggy Jarvie, executive director of Co-operative Education & Career Services (CECA). “Waterloo founded co-operative education in Canada, so we regard accreditation highly as it reaffirms our leadership in work integrated learning. We are delighted to help set national quality standards for co-op education in Canada.”  

Jeremy Steffler, a CECA faculty relations manager and one of the 12 CECA staff who worked for over a year on the accreditation submission says that “preparations for this round of accreditation were particularly intense because, for the first time ever, the University of Waterloo set out to align the accreditation cycle for all of its Co-operative Education programs. We are thrilled with the accrediting committee’s decision and the finding that many of the processes that we take as “standard practice” for Co-operative Education at Waterloo are seen as innovative by other Canadian institutions.”

A peer review team, consisting of CAFCE members from Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and University of Laval, evaluated our co-op programs and processes, then gave its recommendation to the CAFCE accreditation council for final approval.

What the review team concluded about Waterloo Co-op

• University of Waterloo is firmly committed to the Co-operative Education Program and that it is a priority supported by all levels of the institution
• University of Waterloo Co-operative Education has achieved many significant milestones and is a world leader in the practice of Co-operative Education
• Co-operative Education is a defining characteristic of the University of Waterloo and is one of the foundational strengths enabling the best educational experience for its students
• Adherence to the high quality standards as set by CAFCE is evident throughout.

Unique and significant features of Waterloo Co-op

Noted by the review team were many highlights and best practices, unique and/or significant, which add value to the University of Waterloo Co-operative Education Programs. These include:

• Outstanding statistics and employment results
• Unique categories in student performance evaluations
• Institutional staff positions for student recruitment within UWaterloo
• Associate dean roles responsible for co-operative education programming
• Required detailed feasibility studies for new co-op programs
• Extensive support for international students
• An electronic system, E-check In triage, that monitor student progress
• Staff guidelines for dealing with difficult student and employer situations, and monitoring student progress
• An excellent example of addressing unpaid work terms with the focus to eliminate unpaid work

Accreditation standards were developed by CAFCE to establish co-op as an educational strategy and to provide leadership in ensuring quality co-op programming. Co-op programs must provide documentation demonstrating structural criteria, co-op in the institutional context, institutional commitment criteria, quality program delivery criteria, and monitoring and evaluation criteria. Programs maintain their accreditation status for a period of six years.

 

Back to top

From FUAC to AFIW, the partnership continues

Waterloo's federated university and affiliated university colleges have a new name, but their game remains the same.

Formerly known as the Federated University and Affiliated Colleges (FUAC), the four institutions—Conrad Grebel University College, Renison University College, St. Jerome's University, and St. Paul's University College—are now referring to themselves as the Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo (AFIW), and they'd like you to do the same.

The institutions spent the Fall 2013 term working through a collective statement of purpose and contribution to the university community, and as part of the dialogue, the committee took aim at the longstanding FUAC acronym, which was viewed as problematic for a number of reasons, including the fact that it didn't clearly link the four institutions to the University of Waterloo.

The statement from the four affiliated and federated institutions is as follows:

"The Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo (AFIW) provide a student-centered, multi-disciplinary environment grounded in a liberal arts tradition of educating the whole person, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We are concerned for the common good and are committed to a critical and compassionate exploration of the human condition in relation to social issues in local, national, and global contexts.

All five institutions (Waterloo, St. Jerome’s, Conrad Grebel, Renison and St. Paul’s) share a commitment to open academic inquiry, impactful research, inspired teaching, and engaged service. Our shared pedagogical philosophy promotes academic excellence that extends learning beyond the classroom, connecting theory to practice. This long-standing innovative partnership provides students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to be part of the large, research intensive, internationally recognized, University of Waterloo, while having access to the smaller, vibrant, community-based campuses of St. Jerome’s, Conrad Grebel, Renison, and St. Paul’s.

The Federated University (St. Jerome’s) and the Affiliated University Colleges (Conrad Grebel, Renison, and St. Paul’s) each have their own governing bodies. We each provide library facilities and offer IT services in cooperation with the University of Waterloo.

Our close-knit community allows for supportive personal attention in our residence and student life programs. We encourage sports, cultural, and social events as well as contribute to the scholarly life of the University community by offering a variety of thought-provoking lecture series, and concerts.

Our academic partnership with the University of Waterloo allows students and academics to come together to share diverse ideas. Students who study through our institutions receive a University of Waterloo degree, as well as become an integral part of community life at one of our campuses.

The Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo (AFIW) each have distinctive programs: Renison specializes in Social Development Studies and East Asian Studies; St. Paul’s emphasizes International Development and Aboriginal education; Conrad Grebel is home to Music and Peace and Conflict Studies; St. Jerome’s is well known for Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies, and Beyond Borders. Our faculty members are also active as graduate supervisors contributing to our distinctive graduate programs as well as those offered by the University of Waterloo."

The change in nomenclature is effective immediately.

 

Back to top

Alumnus takes research to UK's Parliament

Peter Forbes's interest in statistics has taken him from his hometown of Orillia, Ontario to the halls of Parliament in London, UK.

Yesterday, the 25 year-old attended Parliament to present his research in forensic statistics to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges as part of SET for Britain. The event took place in the terrace marquee at the Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster.

Forbes, who graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2010 with a double major in mathematical physics and statistics and a minor in computer science, is currently a D.Phil candidate at the University of Oxford.

His research allows the strength of evidence in a crime-scene fingerprint to be numerically assessed, which allows both police and lawyers to better understand the value of blurry fingerprint evidence. His poster will be judged against dozens of other mathematicians’ research posters in the only national competition of its kind.

Forbes is pictured at right with British MP Stephen Metcalfe.

Peter was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament. His research has been entered into the Mathematics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, or about $5,580 CAD, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to help raise the profile of statistics amongst policymakers," said Forbes. "I think my research demonstrates that there are tons of exciting opportunities in statistics, despite the rather outdated dry stereotype”.

SET for Britain is a poster competition in the House of Commons involving approximately 210 early stage or early career researchers and judged by professional and academic experts.  All presenters are entered into either the engineering, the biological and biomedical sciences, the physical sciences (chemistry), the physical sciences (physics) session, or the mathematics session, depending on the researcher’s specialization. The event is run by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in collaboration with the Council for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Biology and the Society of Chemical Industry.

 

Back to top

Glaucoma Week highlights sight's “sneak thief”

by Katherine Tuerke.

As many as 50 per cent of people who have glaucoma don’t know they have it.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide but early detection can prevent blindness in up to 90 per cent of cases.

Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science urged Canadians to get their eyes tested as part of the recent World Glaucoma Week, which was held from March 9 to 15.

“Most forms of glaucoma are painless and patients typically don’t experience any symptoms until vision loss has already occurred,” said Dr. Thomas Freddo, Professor and Former Director of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science. “By then it is too late.”

Referred to as the “sneak thief of sight”, glaucoma steals your vision from the sides toward the center.  Vision loss results from damage to the optic nerve as a result of pressure inside the eye becoming greater than the nerve can withstand. Because there are no symptoms, glaucoma can easily go undetected.

Notice that in the eye with glaucoma (above, far right), a lot of tissue in the center of the nerve has been lost; with that loss there is proportional loss of vision.

Although the vision loss already caused by glaucoma is irreversible, the good news is the progression of blindness can be significantly slowed down if caught and treated early.

The most common form of treatment is a simple prescription of daily eye drops, usually taken before bedtime.

Some of the risk factors for glaucoma include: being over 40, family history, diabetes, African descent, high nearsightedness and high pressure of the eye.

The only way to find out if you have glaucoma is with a complete eye examination. 

“Just because you are not having any vision problems does not mean you have healthy eyes,” said Freddo.

Photos courtesy of Michelle Steenakkers-Woolley, O.D., University of Waterloo, School of Optometry & Vision Science.

 

Back to top

Mental health, retirees and other notes

This Thursday, March 20, six-time Olympian Clara Hughes will be at Marshall Hall at Bingemans in Kitchener for a free event entitled "Journey of Hope." The event is being organized by Grand River Hospital and other community mental health partners and promises to be full of family-friendly activities, refreshments, and more. The event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Human Resources has announced a number of retirements.

The following professors retired as of February 1 and March 1, 2014:

• Nancy Theberge, professor of kinesiology, who joined the university as a lecturer in September 1976, was named assistant professor in June 1977, received tenure in July 1984, and was named associate professor in July 1985. (February 1, 2014);
• Janice Husted, professor in the Department of Public Health and Health Systems, who started at the university as assistant professor in September 1990, and was named associate professor and received tenure in July 1996. (February 1, 2014); and
• Stephen Smith of Recreation and Leisure Studies, who started at the university as an assistant professor in July 1976, was named associate professor in July 1980, received tenure in July 1981 and was named full professor in July 1987. Smith was associate chair of the department from January to April 1982 and chair from January 1983 to June 1990. (March 1, 2014)

The following staff members have retired as of February 1 and March 1, 2014:

• Elizabeth Diebolt, who started at the university in March 2006, retires as Office Assistant in the Dean of Science Office (February 1, 2014);
• Avril McVicar, who started in February 1980, retired as Examinations and Materials Supervisor in the Centre for Extended Learning (February 1, 2014);
• Patty Koebel, who started in February 1993, retired as Manager, Maintenance and Capital Improvements in Housing and Residences (February 1, 2014);
• Douglas Morton, who started at the university in August 1974, retired as Liaison Librarian in the Library (February 1, 2014);
• Doreen Knol, who began working at the university in September 2001, retired as Student Advisor in Co-operative Education and Career Action (CECA) (March 1, 2014); and
• Kenneth Lavigne, who started at the university in August 1976, retired as Registrar in the Registrar's Office (March 1, 2014).
  

Here's today's Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" provided by Health Services dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth:  Cooking ground meat until it is no longer pink will ensure that it is safe to eat.

Fact:  The grinding and mixing process means that ground meat is more likely than regular meat to be contaminated with bacteria that can make us severely ill, such as E. coli 0157:H7 or Salmonella. All ground meats, including beef, chicken, turkey, pork or lamb, should be thoroughly cooked to minimize the risk of getting sick. Colour is not a reliable way to test if ground meat is done; use a thermometer to make sure that ground beef, pork or lamb reaches an internal temperature of 71°C/160°F. Ground poultry should be cooked to 74°C/165°F. A digital instant-read thermometer is a handy tool for doing this quickly. Refrigerate ground meat at 4°C/40°F or below and use within 2 days, or freeze.  More food safety tips can be found at The Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education’s Be Food Safe website.   

Back to top