![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, February 11, 2002
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
Total applications across Ontario are up by 20.2 per cent (as of February 4), because each individual can apply to multiple universities. UW applications are up 18.2 per cent. And the number of people listing UW as their first choice is up by 7.6 per cent from last year.
The Ontario Universities' Application Centre says in a news release that the figures are based on applications received from high schoolers by the official deadline of November 30. "While a small number of late applications will continue to be received, as of February 1, 2002, there were 9,461 more individual applicants seeking admission this year as compared to the same time last year."
Figures for applicants who don't come from Ontario high schools will be along later in the winter.
Says OUAC director Gregory Marcotte in the release: "Particularly noteworthy is the number of applicants who have selected more than three different universities or programs. With an increase in multiple applications of 34.3%, for a total of 73,895 choices beyond three, it is clear that many applicants "may feel the need to increase their chances of being admitted this year."
"Further analysis of the applicant pool also found that the percentage of total applicants who are 18 years old has increased by 6.8%, with the actual number increasing from 5,073 last year to 10,558 this year. This could imply that some students accelerated their secondary school program to avoid the crunch of the double cohort in 2003."
Peter Burroughs, UW's director of admissions, comes to the same conclusion in a memo issued Friday with figures on applications to Waterloo. He notes that last year, Ontario-wide applications were up just 2.1 per cent -- a "more typical" figure than this year's boom.
"Of some concern," Burroughs writes, "is the modest increase of 7.6% in first choice applications compared to the system increase of 15.8%. The University's largest increase is in the number of applications above choice three. . . . It's interesting to note that both WLU and Guelph have also experienced a relatively small increase in first choice applications."
And Waterloo has fallen from third to fourth among Ontario universities in the number of people who chose it first. Toronto is still on top, and Western second, but York has now pulled ahead of Waterloo.
In the OUAC figures, UW has 6,158 first-choice applications, out of a province-wide total of 69,305. Altogether 19,968 people listed Waterloo as one of their choices.
Most of UW's faculties are showing an increase in applications from last year, Burroughs's memo says. The jump in arts is "very significant", he notes. Only mathematics is lagging a little, with a "negligible" increase in total applications and a "fairly significant" drop in first choices. Since the math faculty has had no trouble filling its first-year classes, mostly with Ontario Scholars, "the decrease in applications is likely the result of applicants' self-selecting," Burroughs writes.
The universities of Ontario and the provincial government have been working together for the past six years to plan for the double cohort. The universities participated in the validation of the OSS curriculum and are confident that students graduating from the new program are as well prepared as their OAC counterparts for university studies.
The universities and the government are committed to the principle that, regardless of their program of studies, or when they entered high school, students' chances of gaining admission to university will be the same.
The government remains committed to ensuring that there will be enough spaces for all willing and qualified applicants and in the May 2001 budget provided for an additional $217.8 million in operating funds by 2003-04 to finance approximately 31,500 new student places in Ontario's universities. In addition, the government and universities have committed over $1.1 billion in capital investment to increase the physical capacity to handle the increased number of students.
The government and the universities will continue to monitor the implementation of the new secondary school curriculum. It is important to note that grades are not always the sole determinant of admission to an institution or to a particular program, and universities will exercise judgment in the admission process to ensure that all students are treated fairly.
He told the board of governors last week that renovation plans to Eby Tower -- formerly the "west tower" of the complex -- have been revised a little. Work there is already scheduled for this summer, turning 120 apartments into suites with single rooms. A design change means that most of the suites can have three singles rather than two, says Walker, for an addition of 96 beds.
Meanwhile, smaller changes are being made to Beck Hall -- the "east tower" -- where renovations were carried out two years ago. The suites there will also be able to house three students, says Walker, through the simple step of turning the larger of the two bedrooms into a double room. Each of those bedrooms is larger than a double room in one of the Village residences, Walker says.
The result: another 96 beds, for a total of 192 new spaces.
The UW Place complex also has four low-rise buildings. Three of them continue as apartment units, and the fourth, Wellesley Court, has also been converted to suites of single rooms. Altogether, UW Place will have beds for 998 single students, in addition to the apartment space, this fall.
UW Place is now the university's main residence for upper-year students, who have been largely squeezed out of the Villages and the Columbia Lake Townhouses by the decision to guarantee on-campus residence space for every first-year student who wants it.
Walker notes that a planned increase in first-year enrolment this fall will put a further squeeze on space for upper-year students. He's estimating a loss of 220 beds for upper-year undergraduates and 50 beds for graduate students. The squeeze will be "partly mitigated" by the UW Place expansion, but at least two-thirds of the residence-style space at UW Place will be occupied by first-year students, he estimates.
The LT3 learning centre will hold the next in its "learning café" sessions today, "for faculty across Canada to exchange ideas on learning and teaching with technology". Today's topic is two "learning modules" in the field of undergraduate finance: NPV Analysis and Portfolio Theory. The key presenter is Ken Vetzal of UW's school of accountancy, with colleague Ranjini Sivakumar; through Internet video, teachers at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta will join in the discussion. There may still be room for people to join in at the Waterloo end of the discussion, which starts at 11:15; check with Diane Salter (phone ext. 6832) for details.
Also from Diane Salter in LT3 comes a reminder that registration is open for the second offering of the "Redesign for Learning" faculty workshop series. "This series is designed for instructors interested in enhancing learning with online activities. No prior technology expertise is required. Upon completion faculty will have a customized template for using online tasks in their course. The focus is to help faculty determine how online tasks can be designed to suit their course objectives. . . . Two parallel morning sessions will be held on Monday and Thursday mornings for three consecutive weeks starting on March 4." More information is available on-line.
The Waterloo Public Interest Research Group promises a "Vegetarian Information Bonanaza" from 11:30 to 1:30 today in the multipurpose room of the Student Life Centre.
At 12:30, the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation, based at Queen's University, is holding a "stakeholder discussion group" at UW. Researchers and other people interested in the field are invited; the meeting starts at 12:30 (preceded by food at 12:00) in Davis Centre room 1302.
The Conja (Japanese) Club will offer "a country presentation of Japan" starting at 5:30 tonight in Math and Computer room 2017. "There will be non-alcoholic beverages and Japanese food after the presentation," an announcement promises.
A note arrives from the office of the ombudsperson in the Student Life Centre: Joanne Laws, who was filling in for a year in the ombudsrole, has finished her contract, and Marianne Miller is back as ombudsperson after the year's interruption. For ombudsbusiness, she can be found in SLC room 2128, phone ext. 2402.
It's a big day for Waterloo alumni in the Big Apple today. A reception hosted by UW president David Johnston will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Canadian consulate on the Avenue of the Americas (or "Sixth Avenue" to New Yorkers). Besides words from Johnston about UW's "developments, success stories and future directions", alumnus Dan Hopkins, president of Cyberplex, will speak about entrepreneurship in the high-tech economy.
Tomorrow, much the same event will be held in Boston: 6 to 8 p.m. at the Canadian consulate. The alumni affairs office says that event is "now fully subscribed".
Hot water heating will be shut down in a section of the Optometry building tomorrow morning, the plant operations department warns: the third floor of the "new addition", which is no longer so new. "Ventilation will remain on," says plant ops, "but will provide cool air." Yikes.
Coming tomorrow: "an intellectual discussion on university funding", involving student leaders and representatives of government and the universities. It's co-sponsored by UW's Federation of Students, their Wilfrid Laurier University counterparts and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, and will be held at the Paul Martin Centre at WLU, from 2 to 4 p.m. "The purpose of this discussion," writes Ryan Stammers of the Feds, "is to have an open dialogue among various stakeholders in the education system about funding issues and its effects on today's students. We hope to create an open and comfortable atmosphere that will be conducive to an effective and informative discussion."
Also coming tomorrow: potted crocuses for sale in South Campus Hall, just in time for Valentine's Day. The crocus sale is an annual fund-raiser for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
And the teaching resource office sponsors a workshop tomorrow, starting at 12 noon, on "Motivating Students -- Creating an Inspiring Environment".
The staff association will hold its next town hall meeting Wednesday at 12 noon in Arts Lecture Hall room 124.
Let me just add a couple of apologies related to Friday's Bulletin. It contained a "Today in UW History" item repeated from the day before, rather than anything related to February 8. And, more seriously, it said Boys & Boyz & Grrls & Girls Night was going to be taking place on Friday evening, whereas in fact it was Saturday evening, at the Graduate House. I hope nobody was greatly inconvenienced as a result.
CAR
TODAY IN UW HISTORYFebruary 11, 1982: The campus centre board is "suspended" amid personality clashes, politics and disruption; student and university leaders discuss how a new, more effective board might be organized. February 11, 1998: President James Downey announces he won't serve a second term. |