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Monday, November 6, 2000
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Provost nominating committeeNominations of staff and faculty members on the Vice-President, Academic and Provost Nominating Committee closed at 3 p.m. on Friday, the university secretariat reports, and four members have been acclaimed to the committee:
Applied Health Sciences: Nancy Theberge, Kinesiology.
There will be elections for the Arts, Science and regular staff (2) seats. The candidates:
Arts: James Brox, Economics; Jane Buyers, Fine Arts.
Ballots will be mailed the week of November 6, and voting will close at 12 noon on Wednesday, November 22. |
"These reporting requirements," provost Jim Kalbfleisch told the board of governors, "presuppose that Ontario universities are well funded, so that any increased tuition revenue can be directed incrementally to program quality improvement. In fact, without the tuition increase, unplanned enrolment increases, and a temporary 75% reduction in pension contributions, there would have been large budget cuts in 2000-01, leading to a very serious reduction in the quality of our programs and services."
The report notes that most UW fees went up by 2 per cent this year. Fees for engineering and computer science were increased by 7 per cent, and fees for optometry and the Master of Accountancy program were increased by 10 per cent. "The estimated revenue increase due to tuition rate increases, net of the required 30% set-aside for student assistance, is about $1.9 million."
Says the report:
Tuition fees now represents about 37% of the University's operating income, with most of the balance coming from provincial operating grants. While tuition rates have steadily increased, between 1993 and 1996 operating grants have been reduced by 25% to the lowest level in Canada. Since 1996, the basic operating grant has not kept pace with inflation, but costs for salaries, benefits, utilities, books and equipment continue to increase.The result of provincial grant reductions is that Ontario universities have much less operating revenue per student than in other Canadian and American jursidictions where we compete for faculty and students. Tuition fees have been the only significant source of income available to meet unavoidable cost increases and preserve quality. Without the tuition increase, unplanned enrolment increases and a temporary 75% reduction in pension contributions, there would have been large budget cuts in 2000-01, leading to fewer faculty and staff positions, fewer courses, larger section sizes, reduced services, and less money for equipment and library acquisitions.
The tuition fee increases have enabled UW to avoid these damaging cuts and to continue investing in high-quality programs and services by hiring replacement professors and support staff, refurbishing laboratories and classrooms, installing new computer systems to enhance services, and increasing bursary and scholarship support. Without the tuition fee increases, there would have been very serious reductions in the quality of our programs and services.
There have also been many changes in support staff positions. This reorganization has been accomplished mainly through promotions and transfers within the University, but with some new hires. Owing to the large grant reduction and resulting early retirement program in 1996, the number of faculty and staff available to deliver our programs and services is still much lower than in 1995-96.
The University's most important resource is its people, and it is essential to recognize and retain the dedicated faculty and staff who deliver our academic programs and support services. Workloads have increased, but salary scales have changed very little in the past six years. In some areas our salaries are not competitive with those offered in the private sector and other university jurisdictions. Government programs such as ATOP have exacerbated the problem. This situation is serious and threatening to our ability to retain and recruit high-quality faculty and staff.
Classrooms and student laboratories are being expanded and re-equipped as part of the ATOP expansion. Renovations in MC have led to expanded computing laboratories and a new lecture theatre. A new state-of-the-art classroom is being constructed as an addition to CPH. Lecture theatres are being renovated (e.g., Physics, Arts Lecture building), and equipment is being installed or upgraded in 14 classrooms. Additional bookable equipment has been purchased in the Audio Visual Centre.
The operating budget will provide $5.76 million for the acquisition of library periodicals and books in 2000-01, up from $5.5 million last year. Despite the increase, library acquisitions are under severe pressure because of double-digit price increases and the weakness of the Canadian dollar.
Differential tuition fee increases are helping to decrease class sizes and enhance course offerings in the Masters of Accountancy program. A new graduate course in Enterprise Resource Planning is being introduced. In Optometry, tuition fees are helping to meet the escalating costs of maintaining a contemporary curriculum in light of the expanding scope of practice for Optometrists. This also necessitates arranging specialty off-site clinical experience for students. Lower revenues from the Optometry Clinic have declined, placing additional pressures on the Optometry budget.
In Computer Science, additional faculty appointments are being funded by differential tuition fees. These will help with class sizes and allow for a wider selection of courses in 3rd and 4th year. In addition, a staff appointment will help support CS student laboratories, and a position in the Instructional Support Group will serve the new Software Engineering Program.
Engineering is appointing several new lecturers to provide dedicated teaching at the junior undergraduate level. More teaching assistants and sessional appointments are helping to reduce class sizes in tutorials and lecture sections. Together with WEEF and alumni donations, tuition revenues are being used to modernize laboratory equipment. Support is being provided for fourth year design and senior workshop projects. Section sizes have been reduced in MSci 211, and a new web-based distance version has been produced.
The expansion of Co-operative Education and Career services continues to ensure that high-quality jobs will be available for increasing co-op enrolments. Plans for the new co-op building are now being developed.
The Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology (LT3) has moved into its new space in the Dana Porter Library, and is helping faculty and students to make effective use of technology both on campus and in distance education courses.
ES is replacing computers, field equipment and studio furniture, and is setting up an Architecture slide and product library. In addition to ATOP expansion in Math and Engineering, new faculty positions have been created in Fine Arts (Computer Imaging and Animation), Philosophy (Cognitive Science), Health Studies and Gerontology (Health Informatics), and Chemistry. A new staff position in the area of Geographic Information Systems was established in Environmental Studies.
These initiatives and numerous others across campus depend on adequate operating budget support, and many of them could not have proceeded without the tuition fee increases.
Payments may be made by mail in the postage-paid envelope or at any of the four Express Payment Boxes in Needles Hall (at the cashiers' office, registrar's office and graduate studies office, and at the main entrance facing the ring road).
Payments and payment documents must be received by December 13 or late fees will apply, the finance office says. Cheques may be postdated to January 3, 2001.
Tuition fee payment information and tuition and incidental fee schedules are available on the web.
Separately, winter class schedules are being mailed this week to students who are now off campus but are expected back in the winter term. Current on-campus students who will be in class again in the winter can pick up their schedules starting Wednesday -- watch the Bulletin for hours and locations.
On the other side of campus, the plant operations department is beginning window repairs at the Davis Centre today. "Large equipment is required," says Peter Fulcher of plant ops, noting that all the work will be done from the outside of the building, but passers-by are asked to use caution.
The executive committee of the UW senate will meet at 3:30 in Needles Hall room 3004, to go over agenda items that are on their way to the full senate November 20. Among them: the annual report of the University Committee on Student Appeals, which notes an increase in cheating and plagiarism cases in the past year, "particularly among third-year students".
"Civil disobedience -- is it more effective (or desirable) to avoid violence?" is the topic of a "grok-duel" or co-operative debate, organized by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group, to be held at 7:30 tonight in Davis Centre room 1304. (The idea behind grok-duels, it seems, is not to convince the other side of your point, but to understand the other side's issues.)
Looking ahead to tomorrow:
The deadline is approaching for nominations for this year's "volunteerism" awards, sponsored by the President's Circle. (The awards are given annually to recognize students involved in volunteer work on or off campus.) But the deadline isn't approaching quite as fast as was previously thought -- it's been extended from this Friday to November 17, the university secretariat says.
Finally, free flu shots for students, staff and faculty members will be available on campus starting November 21, the health services department says. Tomorrow's Bulletin will have fuller information about flu shot clinics.
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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