Daily Bulletin

UW projects 'double cohort' growth

There will be some extra spaces available, but the planned expansion falls far short of doubling a usual UW first-year class.

When the bulge has passed, UW will have a permanent enrolment increase that reflects the commitment Waterloo made in return for "SuperBuild" building funds, says Bob Truman, the director of institutional analysis and planning.

The plan is for UW to admit about 630 extra students in 2003, for a total of 4,754, and 740 extra students in 2004, for a total of 4,861, then fall back to an annual level of 4,436 first-year students. That will be 255 more than the present yearly figure of 4,120. "That's the steady state to maintain our SuperBuild commitment," Truman said.

He stressed that the numbers are approximations, they're subject to change, and most of all they depend on a promise of "full average-cost incremental funding" from the government, a promise that hasn't been delivered yet. What they add up to is growth of about 15 per cent in UW's size over 1998-99 levels, the basis on which government is calculating enrolment changes.

He also said there have not been decisions about which UW programs will accommodate the extra students.

The number of high school graduates in Ontario is rising, and total demand for university places is expected to be up by 40 per cent within a decade. The "double cohort" is a one-time blip within that increase, the result of the change in high school curriculum. Students now in grade 10 will finish high school in 2003 if they stick to the new four-year schedule, at the same time as students now in grade 11 who follow the old five-year path.

Bob Rae, former New Democratic premier of Ontario, will speak on campus tonight, in a lecture sponsored by the "2020: Building the Future" lecture series that's also part of a student-organized conference on peace. His talk -- "Prospects for the Idea of Canada" -- will start at 7:00 in the Humanities Theatre. Admission is free. Photo from CBC This Morning.

Computing course schedule The Information Systems and Technology department (IST) is offering several computing courses in March to UW faculty, staff and students: Using PowerPoint for a Class Presentation JavaScript Tutorial Perl Tutorial The following courses are part of the Skills for the Academic e-Workplace program, and are offered to faculty, grad students, and staff with instructional responsibilities: Creating Your Thesis with Microsoft Word Overview of Visualization and Graphing Software Analysis of Variance in SAS and SPSS Scientific Programming with Matlab Overview of Simulation Software The library is also offering the course "Keeping Up With Your Research Literature -- Electronically" in March. More information and a registration form can be found on the web. New courses will be taught every month, and advertised at the same Web location.

Two flyers coming to staff

One is the "Get Up and Grow" announcement of what's offered in the next few weeks by the staff training and development program. The flyer will feature one new program, "The People Puzzle", Vincent says:

"Ever found yourself saying, 'I don't understand what makes people behave that way?' Participants will gain an understanding of the different types of people we deal with every day. Through exploration of the four personality quadrants you will meet the Sniper, the Complainer, the Know-It-All and many others. The workshop will focus on helping you solve the people puzzle through identifying, understanding and developing strategies to deal with difficult people."

Other programs being offered: True Colours, Minute Taking Made Easy, Leadership 2000, Advanced Customer Service and Maximum Achievement. Those interested can send their registration form to the HR department in the General Services Complex, or call Vincent at ext. 2078 for more information.

The other flyer announces a new offering of the Personal Retirement Education Program, described as "a unique process that will introduce you to the concept of retirement planning from two very different perspectives: lifestyle and financial. Learn why both components are necessary and how the pension plan fits into the planning process."

Vincent says UW will be offering an introductory session on Wednesday, March 21, with the workshop on Tuesday, April 10. Both sessions will be in the evening, and spouses are welcome.

Those interested in coming to the introductory session can send their registration form to HR, or call Vincent for more information.

Granting council team visits UW

The delegation represents the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, says Liz Vinnicombe of the research office. Their task: "a monitoring visit during which they will review transactions charged to grant accounts for a randomly selected group of grantees".

Says Vinnicombe: "As a supplement to the monitoring exercise, NSERC/SSHRC has offered to provide information to researchers regarding NSERC/SSHRC's expectations on financial accountability." An "Interactive Information Session" will be held tomorrow from 9 to 10 a.m. in Arts Lecture Hall room 113.

Topics to be covered, she said, include use of grant funds; roles and responsibilities of the three partners (grantee, university and granting councils); examples of "personal gain" and "perceived personal gain"; a short discussion of non-compliance issues. And "If you have questions regarding interpretation of the new Eligibility of Expenses document or other financial policies/guidelines, these may be asked during the question period that will follow."

"Eligibility of Expenses" is a new financial guideline, harmonized for use by researchers supported by NSERC, SSHRC, or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The document is available on-line. Vinnicombe said each of the three agencies is expected to provide an addendum to the document highlighting changes of interest to its particular grantees.

Department chairs or their delegates have been asked to attend tomorrow's meeting, Vinnicombe said, and other faculty members are also welcome.

And a little of this and that

I don't understand the byzantine structure of the Ontario Universities Athletics hockey league, as UW's Warriors move from one playoff level to the next, but I've got the essential thing clear: they face the Western Mustangs tonight in London. The showdown is billed as game #1 of the Far West Division Final Playoffs; game #2 will be played Friday night at 7:30 at the Icefield.

The city of Waterloo is moving ahead with a visioning exercise, even while talk continues elsewhere about whether Kitchener and Waterloo ought to be forming a more perfect union in a reform of municipal government. A "community vision" document, "Imagine! Waterloo", is in the draft stage now, and there will be two open workshops to talk about it -- one tonight from 7 to 9, and the second on March 8, same hours, at the Adult Recreation Centre, 185 King Street South. People interested in attending one of the workshops are invited to call 747-8752.

Tomorrow is looking like a busy day at Waterloo:

• Information session about graduate studies in engineering, 3 to 6 p.m., University Club.
• Physics lecture ("Stars, Stripes, and High Temperature Superconductors") by Robert Birgeneau, president of the University of Toronto, 3:30, Physics room 145.
• Philosophy colloquium by James Diamond, chair in Jewish Studies, "Scripture as Philosophical Discourse in Maimonides", 4 p.m., Humanities room 373.
• Opening reception for the gallery exhibition by Kelly Mark and Ben Walmsley, 5 to 7 p.m., East Campus Hall.
• First session in the Spirituality Network series of talks: Darrol Bryant, Renison College, "Glimpses of Indian Spirituality", 7 p.m., Math and Computer room 4021.

Then on Friday, there's the first in a series of Learning Technology Faculty Institute sessions. Roger Suffling of UW's school of planning will talk about his development of a CD-ROM of "The Life Table", described as "an accounting device for keeping track of a population of organisms . . . primarily a self-study tool". His presentation will start at 1 p.m. in Engineering II room 1307G (and people who want to be sure there's room for them should preregister at ext. 3851).

The big annual book sale organized by the Canadian Federation of University Women will be held April 6 and 7 this year, at First United Church as always. The word is out now: "To donate books, please call 740-5249."

"Girls just want to have fun with science!" says a blue flyer announcing the Saturday Girls Club, a program of Engineering Science Quest. Grade 7 and 8 girls are invited "to do cool hands-on science and technology activities in an all-girls surrounding". The program runs from 10 to 3 on three Saturdays; session 1 is already under way, and session 2 will operate March 17, March 27 and April 7. The cost: $75. Registration is on-line through ESQ.

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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