Hello everyone! For those who don’t know me, my name is Jeff and I’m the VP Education for EngSoc. Since we have lots of new faces on campus, I thought this would be a good issue to give a quick overview of what the role entails, especially with an election this term!
VP Education’s main job is advocating for students. From work term reports to PD, courses to co-op, I represent you on all things academic in nature. This means I sit on a lot of committees with both CECA and the Faculty. This also means that student involvement is key for determining what is advocated for each term.
For example, at our most recent EngSoc meeting I was mandated to talk to the Faculty about professors reusing old material for midterms and finals. This was great to see, because it provides direction for the role by telling me what students find important. As a result, I’ll be emailing Gordon Stubley, the Associate Dean of Teaching, to discuss EngSoc’s stance on the issue and what can be done to rectify it.
On the topic of mandates, I hope that classes continue to bring forward such motions. The Executive are there to work for the students, and we love when classes bring forward their issues so we can work together to fix them.
In addition to advocacy, the VP Education has a few directorships directly under them, such as Career Fair and Course Critiques. The position of VP Education allows you to interact both with directors and a commissioner directly, which is an interesting mix. Speaking of Career Fair, it will be happening on the 29th in E5, so be sure to come out!
Under my portfolio, we also have the Student Services Commissioner. They’re responsible for events ranging from interview skills and resume critiques (more professional services) to learning workshops such as the hardware workshop we ran last Friday. They’re chosen at the end of each term by the Executive, so if you’re interested in applying be sure to listen for more info around the end of term.
While brief, I hope this starts to give you an idea of what the role entails, and what I can help you with. If you see something you want changed and think I can assist in any way, don’t hesitate to contact me at vpeducation.a@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca, or just stop by the EngSoc office!
Also, if you’re interested in running for the position of VP Education, nomination forms will be available soon! For more info on that, keep an eye on our Facebook page, as we’ll announce everything there. Until next time, cheers.
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