The three students were all automatically nominated for external awards, CECS says. Allman's name was submitted for the Co-operative Education Internship Association Intern of the Year Award and Matthews was nominated to be Co-op Student of the Year Award. Stevens and Djeric's names were submitted for the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education Co-op Student of the Year Award, for which Stevens earned an honourable mention.

There's also a new award from CECS this year, as one student from each faculty (at least, "each faculty with suitable applicants") is being honoured based on their contributions to one or more of their work term employers over the past year. The 2003 winners:

Applications for the 2004 awards will be received until December 15.

Everybody's welcome to the launch of Campaign Waterloo, tomorrow from 11:30 to 1:00 in the Davis Centre great hall.

Smaller group seeking co-op jobs

By March 16 -- Tuesday of last week -- two-thirds of them were placed in jobs, CECS says. That's 2,280 students, leaving 1,145 still in search of employment. "Of these," says the CECS report, "515 (45%) were in Engineering and 373 (33%) were in Math."

Last year at the same time -- past the halfway point in the winter term -- there were 3,936 co-op students scheduled for a spring work term. In other words, there are 511 fewer students in the process this year. "A number of reasons explain this dramatic drop in numbers," says CECS. "Computer Engineering became a two-stream plan, which split the first-year class in half, accounting for approximately 100 fewer students in need of employment for each of the January and May work terms. Mathematics admitted fewer students to the 4-stream option in the fall of 2002 and a number of students switched to the regular plan due to the lack of 'math' jobs as a result of the economic climate. Kinesiology changed the sequencing of their students so that this year there are no first-year kin students in co-op process, compared to 64 last year. These students will not take their first work term until after their 2A academic term."

For the students still in search of jobs, employer interviews continue daily and will carry on until exams. "At that time," says CECS, "when students begin leaving campus to return home, CECS will implement its referral plan where the remaining unemployed students' skills and interests are matched with job openings. Resumés of qualified students are then sent to employers for screening and the successful candidates are contacted by the employers directly to make interview arrangements."

The next co-op employment progress report will be issued at the end of April. The spring work term starts at the beginning of May.

No flex benefits, report tells employees

"Benefits are a source of great interest and concern to all members of UW, particularly since they are so much a part of how we, as individuals, handle our finances and provide for ourselves and our families. Benefits are a major concern to the Committee and to UW's administration as well, since the premium costs of extended health, dental and basic life insurance benefits are born solely by the University. Increased cost to the current $9.5 million premiums means that more money must come from the University operating budget. In the past few years, these costs have been rising at a much faster rate than University income.

"Remember that the word 'insurance' in the context of extended health care is misleading. Every cost that a UW employee incurs against the Extended Health Care Plan is identified and, with an added administrative cost, charged back to the University. The more employees use the plan, the greater the costs to the University.

"Throughout 2003, the Committee searched for more efficient and innovative methods for delivery of services and medications with a view to containing costs without reducing benefits. . . .

"Flexible benefit plans involve choice for individual employees according to their personal circumstances. Employees are allocated a fixed amount of money from which they purchase benefits that are relevant to their family or life situations. There are many variations on the types of plans available. They range from those that provide for minimal benefits coverage and allow for employees to supplement that coverage from their flex funds, to those that provide no base coverage and allow employees to select which benefits are of particular interest to them. Generally, the amount of money allotted to purchase benefits is increased each year by the employer but this is not always the case.

"The main advantage of this type of plan is that it provides employees with choice and the ability to construct a benefit plan that is relevant to their life situation. A family with younger children may spend more on dental benefits while a single person may be more interested in massage therapy or other paramedical coverage. However, if increases in costs can't be funded (by either the employer or the employee) then the level of benefits will be reduced.

"A local insurance company has recently moved to a flexible benefit plan for their several thousand employees and they delivered a comprehensive presentation to the Committee on the pros and cons of this kind of benefit plan.

"While the Committee was interested in the concept of choice for employees, there was a consensus that a flexible plan would be perceived as having some 'winners' and some 'losers'. Committee members also felt that there might be a perception that rising costs would be transferred to the employees with no obligation from the employer to help meet those costs. Members agreed that this was not appropriate for UW at this time."

Among other issues mentioned in the annual report:

• "Managed formularies" (not practical, the committee decided) and a preference for generic drugs (now in operation).
• Proposed removal of semi-private hospital coverage (no, the committee decided) and limits on paramedical benefits such as massage (unchanged so far).
• Tax status of tuition benefits for employees' children, as discussed in a memo circulated in January.
• The health of the pension plan: returns were better in 2003 than in the previous two years, but it's still possible that UW will have to put extra money into the fund.

CAR