Daily Bulletin

Reflections of Waterloo: the mirrored wall of the Davis Centre behind a carpet of lilies. Photo by Barbara Hallett.

Retroactive pay comes this week Friday will be payday for faculty and most staff members, and there will be a little extra something in those bank deposits, says Sandra Hurlburt, assistant director of the human resources department: "Faculty and staff will see their new salaries in the July 2000 pay (which will be deposited in bank accounts on July 28). Due to special effort on the part of Human Resources and the IST department, retroactive pay amounts and benefits deductions for both faculty and staff for May and June are also included in July pay. Retroactive pay amounts will show on pay stubs as a 'Base Salary Adjustment', and retroactive benefits deductions will show in the Deductions section as 'Arrears'."

Non-credit course teaches branding

It's also the subject of a new UW continuing education course offered this fall, "Branding Techniques for Small and Medium Size Businesses." According to the course description, branding is "usually cited as the reason for the success of companies like Procter and Gamble, Starbucks or Saturn. It is also a form of marketing that can improve the marketing messages of your business and make your marketing dollars go farther."

Providing an introduction to the fundamentals of branding, including "tools that can ensure consistent images and messages", is Paul Kalbfleisch, a veteran in the field of marketing and communications, and corporate brand manager at Clarica, where he played a key role in the company's branding, name change and national advertising campaign.

The course is just one of 14 new continuing education offerings being added to the slate of popular listings for the fall 2000 program. Also new are Understanding Satellite Communications Systems, Leading High Performance Teams, Introduction to Frontpage 200, Feminist Science Fiction, and Building Your Own Philosophy.

"Are you interested in strengthening your professional skills? Do you need to increase your confidence with the latest piece of software? Or do you simply wish to expand your intellectual horizons?" asks continuing education manager Maureen Jones in the introduction to the fall calendar.

As always, the non-courses and training programs begin throughout September, October, November and December, both on campus, on site for companies with specific training needs, and online. In addition to professional development, business communication and languages, computing skills and personal development courses, distance ed offers classes "Just for Kids" on creating Web pages, creating storybooks, storytelling, and Internet and Web page basics.

The new secondary school curriculum
-- from a Council of Ontario Universities newsletter

Grade 9 and Grade 10 courses are divided into three categories: academic, applied, and open. Although courses in the academic stream are regarded as suited to the needs of students who plan to enrol in a college or university after graduation, the program is designed to allow students to transfer from one stream to the other with reasonable ease. Open courses are described as intended "to enrich [students'] education generally."

Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses are also divided into three categories: workplace, college preparation, and university preparation. Grade 11 and Grade 12 workplace preparation (W) courses are designed to provide broad knowledge and to develop skills needed in a work environment; college preparation (C) courses are directed to entry into college diploma programs; and university preparation (U) courses represent an academic level of study for those intending to enter university.

In Grades 11 and 12, a limited number of open (O) courses and university/college (U/C) courses are also available. Open (O) courses refer to subjects, notably in the Arts, where distinctions are inappropriate, and university/college (U/C) courses refer to subjects designed to prepare students for certain advanced college programs, especially in technological fields, and some university programs.

Requirements for admission to postsecondary institutions and to specific programs will be established by universities and colleges once the courses have been released and can be evaluated.

The secondary school program of studies was subjected to extensive revision in order to bring the curriculum up to date. The concern was not simply with the need to incorporate new knowledge and advances in technology, but equally with the obligation to reflect new methodologies and investigative approaches. University professors were involved in the development of the new curriculum with the mission of helping to ensure that courses were current, responsive to the key elements of the discipline, and appropriately demanding.

Guidelines for university admission
-- more from the Council of Ontario Universities

The guidelines may be subject to change as the program and curriculum are finalized and implemented. OUCA will continue to monitor the development of the new curriculum and will issue further advice as necessary.

1. The completion of the OSS Diploma, or equivalent, will be required for admission to an Ontario university. This will include the satisfactory completion of the Literacy Test.

2. A minimum overall average of 60% in six Grade 12 'U' or 'U/C' courses will be necessary for consideration for admission to an Ontario university. Most universities and/or programs will have higher admission averages.

3. Where there are prerequisite courses for admission to specific programs, it is probable that such courses will be required at the 'U' level, where offered. Information regarding current OAC prerequisites to specific programs may be used as a general guideline for selecting courses in the new program for preparation for university.

4. Universities may consider both Grade 11 and Grade 12 'U' and 'U/C' courses for admission and/or prerequisite purposes.

5. Some programs at some universities could require as many as six Grade 12 'U' prerequisite courses for admission.

6. During the transition from the current to the new OSS program and curriculum, universities will consider applicants and their academic programs from either system, equally. Students who present OAC course results in combination with 'U' and/or 'U/C' courses will be considered equally provided that they meet all the course prerequisites and diploma requirements specified by the universities to which they have applied.

7. The universities encourage students to maintain breadth in their secondary school course choices, and to keep their options open.

The last three days of the term

Students who will be here in the fall term should note that fees are due Tuesday, August 29. A memo from the finance office: "Fee statements for all continuing and new graduate students were mailed the week of July 17 to the mailing address on record. Fee statements for undergraduate students will be mailed the week of July 31. Undergraduate schedules will be mailed under separate cover by the Registrar's Office. Payments and payment documents must be received by August 29 or late fees will apply. Cheques may be postdated to September 5, 2000 for the fall term."

Opening today and based in the Ron Eydt Village conference centre is the year's second session of Year 2000 Adventure Camp, a four-week program that's bringing some 50 senior high school students from Hong Kong to Canada. The students will spend two weeks in an English as a Second Language program at Renison College and then a week in Engineering Science Quest before touring parts of Ontario and Québec.

Elsewhere in Ron Eydt Village -- at least I hope it's elsewhere -- the water will be turned off in the north and west quads all this week, as plant operations does its annual plumbing inspection and valve and pipe replacement.

The development office sends word that the winner of the July 19 draw in the Dollars for Scholars raffle is Caroline Chaudhuri, a Thunder Bay resident and parent of a UW student. Names of previous winners in this year's raffle are listed on the Dollars for Scholars web site.

And here's a note from the monthly newsletter of UW's graphics department: "We are saying goodbye to a long-time friend, office 'mom', and dedicated employee, Marion Murie, after 27 years in UW Graphics. Marion officially retires at the end of this month and we invite you to join us on July 31, 2000 at the University Club for an Open House Reception in Marion's honour. We know lots of you will be sad to see her go, as Marion is the 'friendly face' that greets all of you when you come into Main Graphics. Marion will be sad to leave you too . . . I caught her just the other day wearing a teary smile as she leafed through thank you letters, cards and personal notes that she has received over the years from her friends and customers across the campus (believe me, it was a big pile)."

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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