The first WaterlooWorks pilot (this past spring) was very successful, and architecture students have commented that the system is a huge improvement from JobMine. We found a lot of new ways to engage with students – we launched our Facebook group, hosted webinars, and had demos in new locations on campus. We learned a lot about student’s priorities and their thoughts about the system, which has really helped us to shape the tool. We’re going to continue using these tools (and some new ones, like videos and interactive sessions) as we move through the project.
Although we’ve had a positive experience with the pilot, CECA has determined that delivering all of the components according to the original rollout plan is not possible. We’ve decided to adjust the implementation approach to a phased rollout over multiple terms, thus reducing the risk of implementing such a large amount of functionality to a large group of students and employers at once.
Our new rollout plan, in brief, is:
- Architecture students have been using WaterlooWorks and will continue to, with increasing functionality each term.
- Non co-op recruiting (that is, part-time, summer, graduating, and alumni jobs) will be posted on WaterlooWorks in January and students looking for those jobs will be using the new system. Co-op recruiting will still be done on JobMine.
- All students and employers will be using WaterlooWorks in spring 2015; nobody will be using JobMine.
The new implementation plan helps us to ensure that, when we do go live to all students in spring 2015, the system is functioning at its best. We’re confident that we’ve selected the right product and the right vendor – and that WaterlooWorks will be an amazing tool for Waterloo students.
More information about the project can be found at www.uwaterloo.ca/ceca-systems, or by joining our student panel Facebook group (by searching “WaterlooWorks student panel” on Facebook).
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