Dean of engineering Sujeet Chaudhuri indicates the direction tuition fees aren't going. His companion is alumnus Rod Coutts, as in "J. R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall".

Engineering dean talks about fees

Can you give some examples of where money received through increased tuition has gone? Money has gone into creating permanent lecturer positions, where the majority of their task is dedicated to teaching the junior level. Money has gone into equipment. Money has gone into increasing the scholarships for engineering students. I keep the scholarships at par with the tuition fees so that the one-term tuition fee is covered by the scholarship. Money has gone into creating distance education programs for management sciences so that you can go and take those courses. And money has gone into helping student projects -- for example, fourth year design projects.

And there'll be more and more pressure to take some of the money and put it into salaries of faculty members because of the market pressure. By any measure, the University of Waterloo's salaries are very, very low. We're having a heck of a time recruiting and retaining some of the bright faculty members. Students will tell you how some of their best professors are leaving; we can't keep on doing this.

In what manner have student opinions played a part in the decisions to raise tuition? Just when the tuition fees started increasing, I initiated the term-by-term debt load surveys. That's a very important piece of information for me. If you look at the debt load surveys, you will realize that our students are earning enough, on average, during the work term to cover their study term and the work term living expenses.

There's a big question right now about the value of the education you get here: is it an investment worth going into debt? Co-op, and the quality of co-op that our students have, by and large, has created a situation where the debt load of Waterloo engineering grads is minimal compared to the rest of the country's debt load. So we have to ask that question: Is this an investment in your future? How much initial investment do you want to make?

If the tuition fees are increasing I must make sure that admission to Waterloo Engineering remains means-blind. We have to make sure that there are bursaries, there is assistance, there is financial support for those who are qualified to go into Waterloo Engineering but clearly are prevented because of the means.

If financial aid wasn't covering the increased debt of students, it would mean you would only get the richer students coming in, not the academically qualified ones, so if this did happen how would it affect the engineering profession? Well, academic qualification is non-negotiable. We are not going to take people who have the means but are not qualified. What could happen is we would have those students who are qualified and also have means. At issue is what about people who are qualified and do not have means? That is a societal issue. We can only play our part in it, but the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) is doing studies and I've got some data from them. They seem to indicate there is a broadening of the income group who are coming to the Universities, not a narrowing to a higher and higher echelon. But the bottom line is, we must make sure that qualified people who do not have means have a way of meeting the financial requirements.

As everybody knows there is a much bigger issue on that in society in Canada: the burden of the cost is going more and more to the persons or the groups who are benefiting from it. We see it in our health care system, so the post-secondary education system is under a lot of stress. We have to make a decision whether we are going to give in and let the quality slide, or find a way of maintaining and sustaining the quality.

A question everyone wants to know is, what are the planned increases for the next three years? We are at a position where we have a deficit in financing. We had a 3.5% clawback in our budget last year and that's mounting and it's not a one-time thing any more -- it's going to be permanent. So if this is going to happen, we have various ways of solving it: downsize, increase class sizes, cut down fourth year electives, shut down labs, save money, because at the end of the year we have to have a balanced budget. That's government legislation. This is not a problem created by us -- we are coping with the problem. And tuition at this point in 2001 at Waterloo is minimal compared to the cost of education in the USA and other parts of the world.

So my final answer to that question is, you are going to be looking at a multi-year tuition increase, coming our way. It could be somewhere between 10 and 15 per cent for the next three years, each year.

Off the top of my mind, looking at all the scenarios here, I would say that if, on average, a Waterloo engineering grad has a $10,000 debt load when he or she graduates, it's a good investment. Of course, in return we have to make sure that the quality and the value of the engineering education at Waterloo everyone expects is maintained and increased. If I have to do that, if I have to keep that promise, we need those kinds of increases in our resources. And just to let you know, this is not going to be unique to Waterloo. This is probably going to be a province-wide trend.

Waterloo students have been extremely mature and responsible about the increases in tuition. I would like to tell all of them that I appreciate their understanding why we must increase the fees in order to maintain a high quality education that will serve them in the future.

Give blood before getting flu shot

• "Every minute," says Canadian Blood Services, "someone in Canada needs blood. Please give." The clinic will be in operation in the SLC from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday. A sign-up sheet is available at the turnkey desk, to reduce the stand-in-line tradition of blood donor clinics. "Please," a flyer suggests, "read the donor eligibility requirements before making an appointment."
• Flu shots, funded by the Ontario government and provided by UW's health services and Waterloo Region's community health department, are available to "all health adults on campus, students and employees" from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, tomorrow and Thursday. Another flu shot clinic will be held from 10:00 to 3:00 next Monday and Tuesday. "Health people should get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families from influenza . . . and to avoid spreading the virus to others," public health experts say.

Den Ouden added that the instructions given to every blood donor tell him or her to call Canadian Blood Services if cold or flu symptoms start within the next week. That way, the blood can be tested, and removed from the blood supply if it turns out that viruses were already present.

Wallin reads twice from new book

First, she will give a reading from her new book, Speaking of Success, at the UW bookstore in South Campus Hall, starting at 12:15. She'll also be available to sign copies of the book, subtitled "Collected Wisdom, Insights and Reflections", and published this fall by Key Porter Books. The book is available at the UW store, where Wallin will meet visitors for about an hour.

Later on, the University Club will present a special evening with Wallin. The dinner and book reading begins at 6:15 p.m. and the cost is $30 a person. For tickets, call the club at ext. 3801.

"In her book," says a news release about today's events, "Wallin shares the collected wisdom of many of the celebrated and successful people she has interviewed over the years. Inspired by the many people she has interviewed, Wallin has written a book on living life successfully -- and with purpose -- that combines her own insights with those of an eclectic array of people.

"Among them: Jann Arden on the importance of family; Elvis Stojko on mental focus; Al Purdy on the importance of 'staying stupid'; Gloria Steinem on being too nice; Itzhak Perlman on how he dealt with polio contacted at the age of four; Sarah Ferguson on taking responsibility for your actions; and Umberto Eco on our need for moments of solitude."

Wallin's career in radio, print and television has spanned more than 25 years and several continents. She currently runs her own Toronto-based production company, which creates television programs, online content and special events. She is the author of a memoir, Since You Asked.

Computing courses offered The Information Systems and Technology department (IST) is offering computing courses in November to UW faculty, staff and students. The following courses are being offered: Learning More Unix Introduction to Excel Perl Tutorial Linux Overview The following courses are part of the Skills for the Academic e-Workplace, and are offered to faculty, grad students, and staff with instructional responsibilities: Statistical Analysis with SPSS Theses with Microsoft Word Theses with Scientific WorkPlace Theses with LaTeX Bibliographic Databases with Reference Manager Lectures with PowerPoint Poster Creation (with PowerPoint) and Presentation Keeping Up With Your Research Literature -- Electronically Click here to get more information about the courses and to access the course registration form.

Board of governors meets, and more

Special events in support of the United Way campaign continue. And yesterday's bake sale in the registrar's office did its part for the cause, in spite of my odd mistake: I called it a book sale, not a bake sale. I'd like to buy a vowel, please, and today I can also buy more yummies, as environmental studies holds a silent auction and bake sale, starting at 10:30 in the Environmental Studies I foyer. As of last night, total money raised for the United Way -- through gifts, pledges and these special events -- was $137,893, which is getting close to the $150,000 goal.

Happening tomorrow on campus:

• The Orchid Ensemble plays the (free) 12:30 concert in the Conrad Grebel chapel -- "traditional Chinese music, classical and folk styles".
• The InfraNet Project presents Jan Steiner of Park City Solutions, speaking on "An Informationally (and Maybe Functionally) Impaired Health System", 4 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1302.

Thursday night brings the launch of this year's series from the Fine Arts Film Society, which will concentrate on Korean films. The first film is "The Foul King", made last year; the showing will be at 7:00 Thursday night in East Campus Hall room 1220.

CAR