Daily Bulletin

Tuesday, December 16, 1997

University of Waterloo • Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Yesterday's Bulletin | Previous days | UWevents | UWinfo home page

Province deregulates some fees

The Ontario government announced yesterday that tuition fees in "graduate and professional" university programs can now be set as high as individual universities choose to set them. "Professional" programs apparently include not just law and medicine but also engineering, optometry and architecture.

Students in other university and college programs will face tuition fee increases as high as 10 per cent in 1998-99 and another 10 per cent in 1999-2000, said finance minister Ernie Eves in an "economic statement" in the Legislature yesterday afternoon. He said universities will be allowed a 5 per cent increase each year "to improve the quality of student programs" and another 5 per cent "if boards of governors decide to invest in additional educational program improvements".

Universities that raise their fees -- which everyone is expected to do -- will have to comply with government plans "to help address shortages in scientific and technical programs".

Government grants to universities will be frozen at their current levels in the coming year, and could even go down if student loan costs rise more than expected. Says the Globe and Mail this morning:

In its announcement, the government gave the appearance of putting more money into postsecondary education by combining, for the first time, the grants it transfers to institutions and funding of the Ontario Student Assistance Program. The government estimates that its entire commitment to the sector will rise by $30-million in 1998-99 . . . but that is growth driven by rising demand for student loans, in turn pushed up by higher tuition costs.

A statement from the Council of Ontario Universities calls the plan "in effect, a funding reduction" because costs continue to go up and because operating grants could suffer if OSAP does, in fact, cost more than now forecast. "The Government of Ontario undermines its jobs and youth strategy by continuing to fund our universities at the lowest level of any province in the country," said COU's chair, Rob Prichard of the University of Toronto.

Excerpts from Eves's statement in the Legislature:

The post-secondary education system must manage its resources carefully to ensure that Ontario maintains its outstanding system of post-secondary education and research. This government is committing to a two-year budget for post-secondary education, including student assistance, starting at $2.79 billion for 1998-99, up $30 million from this fiscal year, and growing to $2.84 billion in 1999-2000, up $80 million from this year.
No university or college will be required to raise tuition in either 1998-99 or 1999-2000. Boards of governors at universities and colleges may, where they deem it necessary to improve the quality of student programs, increase average tuition fees by up to 5% in 1998-99 and a further 5% in 1999-2000. If boards of governors decide to invest in additional educational program improvements, they may choose to approve an additional increase of up to 5% in each of these two years.
Individual institutions will also have discretion to set tuition fees for graduate and professional programs at universities, for post-diploma programs at colleges and for other college programs where job opportunities for graduates are virtually guaranteed and income after graduation is substantial.
The government is well aware of the rising debt loads facing students and the different earning capacity of students graduating from different programs. Colleges and universities that choose to increase their fees will be required to set aside a portion of their operational grants equal to 30% of any new revenues from tuition increases for the purpose of providing assistance to students in need. . . .
This action further builds on the success of the Ontario student opportunities trust fund program, which will assist approximately 180,000 qualified students over the next decade by creating permanent trust funds with assets of approximately $600 to date.
Finally, within this new tuition policy framework, the government will require institutions to increase fees to help address shortages in scientific and technical programs where demand from prospective students and employers greatly exceeds the places available. The Honourable Dave Johnson, Minister of Education and Training, will provide details on these measures.

Rules approved for orientation

Orientation takes place each fall to help new students "establish themselves and become familiar with the campus", not to be a week of sexual chants and heavy alcohol use, says a report from the "provost's advisory committee on orientation". The committee started work early this fall, and its report has now been approved by the top administration. It's available on the Web now.

The report begins with some general statements:

The role of Orientation Leader should be a privilege for those students who are willing to participate in learning sessions on key issues and behave as appropriate role models for first year students. Even if this may mean fewer leaders overall (and most members believe this will not be so), the leaders who will provide the guidance to First Year Students will be demonstrating qualities and behaviour that will bring pride to the University of Waterloo. . . .
Orientation at the University of Waterloo is the joint responsibility of the Federation of Students, the Faculties, Colleges and the Administration. Together, these groups are responsible for programming, delivering and monitoring a variety of welcoming activities for first year students prior to the beginning of the Fall term. . . .

It lists half a dozen "primary considerations" for orientation:

safety in all programming and event management;
open and constant communication among the groups so that the collaborative approach to programming can be maintained and supported by each group;
consistency in approach to all issues related to programming, frosh activities, alcohol consumption, off-campus activities, and unacceptable behaviour;
cooperation among Faculties, the Administration and Federation, Residences, Frosh Leaders and Federated and Affiliated Colleges;
student leaders who are well trained and fully aware of the impact
they have on Frosh as role models;
an enjoyable experience for first year students.

And it lists some "unacceptable practices":

hazing;
initiation rites or other coercive or demeaning behaviour or activities which utilize peer pressure to persuade students to act against their own self interest;
behaviour which contravenes the provisions of the Human Rights Code including chants/cheers of a sexual, racist, religious or homophobic nature;
behaviour which promotes through chants, role modeling or event planning the excessive use of alcohol and/or the abuse of drugs;
activities which are solely focused on and/or encourage the over consumption of alcohol, including drinking games, all-you-can-drink events, subsidization of alcohol costs for Orientation events;
behaviour which fosters disrespect for individuals or groups on any grounds.
unsafe practices which could result in physical harm or putting people at risk.

There's a new structure for who's in charge of orientation, involving a student Federation Orientation Committee -- "responsible for scheduling, program content, determination of Frosh kit fees, sponsorship, and all other issues involving the delivery of the Orientation program". It's chaired by the promotions/orientation coordinator, who is a Federation of Students staff member. This committee reports to an Orientation Advisory Committee which includes several senior UW officials as well as the president of the Federation and the promotions/orientation coordinator.

Other points in the report:

Activities will be scheduled so as to enhance the participation of all parties and to discourage counter or competitive events which would force the Frosh to choose between an event in their Faculty, Residence, or Federated or Affiliated College
An academic day will be scheduled on Tuesday in the Orientation schedule, during which the department staff and faculty will introduce their Faculty to the Frosh. . . .
Frosh leaders will be "dry" for the duration of Orientation whenever they are in the presence of first year students and are acting in their capacity as Frosh Leader. When leader shirts are worn, leaders will not drink alcohol. . . .
A maximum price for Frosh kits will be established annually by FOC in consultation with the Federation of Students, Deans/Head and the Associate Provost, Human Resources and Student Services. Frosh kits should be affordable and good value for the money and should not include the costs of alcohol for any events.

The committee that wrote the report was chaired by Catharine Scott, associate provost (human resources and student services). She says there will be a meeting this afternoon -- 1:30 p.m., Needles Hall room 3004 -- to which "anyone in the faculties who is responsible for orientation matters" is invited.

Incidentally, about those frosh

The orientation report ostentatiously uses the word "frosh" to mean newly arrived first-year students. That's a bit of a departure, says Kelly Foley, the "first-year experience" staff member in UW's student services office, who was a member of the advisory committee on orientation. "People will say it has a negative connotation," she admits, "but it's become so widely used -- everybody calls first-year students 'frosh'."

Foley says the word is typically Canadian, and reports that when she used it at a recent international conference, American delegates didn't know what she was talking about. The Oxford English Dictionary does have American citations for it, dating back to 1915 at the University of Oklahoma; interestingly, it also has two quotations from the UW Gazette showing that the word was being used here in 1985.

Foley says about 50 per cent of arriving first-year students -- make that "frosh" -- have reached the legal drinking age of 19. "Most of those people," she adds, "will turn 19 within a month or two," since they started kindergarten 14 years earlier with birthdays between Labour Day and the end of the calendar year.

Cabinet minister will speak

Canada's minister of intergovernmental affairs, Stéphane Dion, will speak on Canadian unity tomorrow morning at 9:45 in Arts Lecture Hall room 116. The one-hour lecture is open to the public.

Since his appointment to the federal cabinet, Dion has been travelling across Canada explaining the federal government's national unity strategy, which includes a message of reconciliation. In his vision, Dion supports the "harmonious cohabitation of cultures and a better understanding of differences." He is being seen as the leading proponent of a united Canada.

Before entering politics, Dion was a professor of political science at the University of Montréal, where he specialized in the area of public administration and organizational analysis. Now as president of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and minister of intergovernmental affairs, Dion is responsible for the management of federal-provincial relations.

Three other notes, briefly

The first draw in the Dollars for Scholars raffle was held yesterday. The grand prize of $2,500 goes to a twosome in the department of human resources: Rosanne Atwater-Hallett and Tricia Loveday.

Health services will be closed from 11:30 to 2:00 today -- no explanation is provided, but my own office was closed for roughly the same hours yesterday for a Christmas lunch, so I have my suspicions. Anyway, during the closing hours, the doctor on call can be reached at 888-4096 for medical emergencies.

The local Volunteer Action Centre is looking for help of several kinds: someone to help an elderly person with grocery shopping; drivers to transport frail elderly clients to medical appointments or day programs; people "to spend time with an isolated senior or a younger person with a disability". More information, and more volunteer opportunities: 742-8610.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY December 16, 1955: Local business leaders meet and agree to serve as charter members of a board of governors for a faculty of science connected to Waterloo College.

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
Comments to the editor | About the Bulletin | Yesterday's Bulletin
Copyright © 1997 University of Waterloo