Daily Bulletin

High-tech expansion looks likely

Oktoberfest celebrations are well underway -- there was much partying on the weekend, it didn't sprinkle on yesterday's parade after all, and community and cultural events run all this week, including the Women of the Year awards on Thursday evening.

Such a decision hasn't been announced either from Queen's Park or from UW, but provost Jim Kalbfleisch did say at the late-September meeting of the university senate that Waterloo and the government had been talking and he was hopeful of an announcement very soon.

The plan to double enrolment in computer science and electrical and computer engineering was announced by the province in May and dubbed ATOP, "Access to Opportunities". Industry leaders expressed delight at the news that more computer experts would be produced in Ontario to fill jobs that they said are going begging.

But UW officials were sceptical, and finally said there was no way Waterloo could afford to take part. There were various problems, but the biggest one was UW's sheer size. Waterloo has some 2,400 undergraduates in CS and E&CE; doubling that figure would mean a huge program of adding faculty, classrooms, teaching assistants, equipment and co-op jobs, and would distort the balance of disciplines in this university, they said. There were also questions about whether the funding Queen's Park was offering was really enough to pay the additional costs.

"The absence of Waterloo, the biggest name in high-tech education in Ontario, was an embarrassment for the government when it unveiled details of the program," education reporter Jennifer Lewington wrote in Saturday's Globe. She adds: "Privately, some Ontario universities complained that the government's initiative was conceived as a political response to industry, without regard for the educational soundness of the policy."

Her report, and Saturday's story by Luisa D'Amato in the Record, offered varying information from unidentified sources about what the government is now going to approve. The Record says enrolment will rise by 36 per cent, with the first-year class going from 500 to 600 in CS and from 255 to 355 in E&CE. The Globe speaks of a 68 per cent increase. (In fact, both figures could be right, depending on what year's enrolment is used as the baseline.)

The Globe also says the government is now prepared to help fund an increase in enrolment at the graduate level as well as for undergraduates, something UW had said was essential.

Provost expects no budget cut

"Our income projections have improved, and the estimated operating deficit is now $367,000, or 0.2% of total income," his written report says. When the budget was approved last spring, it included a deficit of $859,000 -- though Kalbfleisch said at the time that he was sure it would shrink.

"There are still areas of uncertainty," he goes on. "Estimated tuition income is based on actual enrolment for Spring 1998, preliminary data for Fall 1998, and projections for Winter 1999. It is still possible that the Pay Equity grant may be reduced by one-third, and the estimate of Research Overhead is still preliminary. Nevertheless, it appears that we are on track for a balanced budget and that no budget cut or levy will be required this year.

"Projected enrolments are up slightly over June 1998 estimates. Relative to 1997-98, it appears that full-time undergraduate enrolment will be down about 0.5%, and full-time graduate enrolment will be up about 2.6%. Part-time enrolments are down about 8%."

The board executive committee will hold its meeting today at 2:30 in Needles Hall room 3004. Its purpose: vetting the agenda for the October 27 meeting of the full board.

United Way gets an early start

Co-chair Sharon Lamont, of the Davis Centre library staff, said some department representatives handed out pledge packets early for various reasons, and staff and faculty members in those departments have begun to send in their United Way gifts. So Waterloo is on its way to the $135,000 goal for this year's givings. (Last year's campaign brought in a disappointing $111,000.)

"There is a danger with annual appeals that they will become too familiar and breed indifference, if not contempt," writes UW president James Downey in this year's letter supporting the United Way campaign. "I would hope that the United Way appeal will not become 'the same old thing.' It is certainly not the same old thing for those this year who are new to hardship or suffering or desperation, and it shouldn't be to us. The agencies encompassed by the United Way are the transformers of abstract values into acts of kindness and, sometimes, redemption."

A "dress-down day" this Friday will mark the official launch of the campaign, which is to run through October 30. Says Lamont: "Dress Down stickers are available from departmental representatives or from the UW United Way office at ext. 3840 for a $2 contribution."

Also happening (and not happening)

Student on TV Eric Paryas, a second-year electrical engineering student, writes from Toronto that he can be spotted on television today as part of a panel on the program "CBC Midday". Also on the panel: Ron Zambonini, chief executive of Cognos Inc., whose firm made quite an impression with a recent pizza-and-beer recruiting event in the Davis Centre. Says Paryas: "The segment is on students in technical fields and technical recruiting. I appeared on CBC MetroMorning (radio) here in Toronto last Friday -- a colleague of mine at the company I'm currently working for knew the producer. The associate producer of this show passed my name on to Midday, who were looking for a student to interview with Ron."

Career development seminars are also continuing. Today at 10:30: "Interview Skills -- Selling Your Skills". Today at 2:30: "Successfully Negotiating Job Offers". Wednesday at 12:30: "Resume Writing". Wednesday at 1:30: "Letter Writing". Wednesday at 3:30: "Create Your Own Future -- The Enterprising Edge". All the seminars are given in Needles Hall room 1020.

This week is supposed to be a "Week of Action" on student funding issues, sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Students. UW's Federation of Students isn't taking part -- "I feel that many of the more radical actions of the CFS do harm to the student movement as a whole," vice-president (education) Robin Stewart told Imprint last week. But the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group and something called Student Unite Power Action are organizing events including a "left-right debate on public education" at 12:30 today in the Student Life Centre, a "round-table on campus democracy" at 6:00 tomorrow, and a rally at noon on Friday.

The student awards office will be closed all day tomorrow, and also next Wednesday, October 21.

The joint health and safety committee will meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Needles Hall room 3001. The smoking lunchroom in the General Services Complex makes its usual appearance on the agenda, along with lighting at the campus entrances, reports on recent injuries and fire calls, and other matters.

A few things out of the ordinary are happening at the bookstore, says Beth Alemany, marketing coordinator for the retail services department. Today through Thursday, "old computer books" are on sale: "stop by and check out the savings!" Today through Friday, "Campus Disks will be set up in the concourse at South Campus Hall, outside the bookstore. CD's bought, sold and traded!" And on a less urgent note, Springer-Verlag "yellow" and "green" math books are on sale at discount prices from now through the end of December.

The football Warriors got past the McMaster Marauders 55-42 on Saturday afternoon at University Stadium. In a tournament at Nepean, the field hockey Warriors beat Guelph 2-1. And on the morning after a holiday weekend, those are the only sports scores that I have so far.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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