This is my first IW report as VP Education, so I would like to say thanks for giving me this opportunity! I’m about 5 months into the position, and I’ve loved it so far. I do my best to gather feedback on issues where I foresee controversy, so listen for that on the mailing list and at EngSoc Meetings. Be sure to read my other article entitled “What’s Been Happening with WatPD Engineering?” to hear more about WatPD Eng.
CEC (Cooperative Education Council)
The role of this committee is to discuss cooperative education related issues and initiatives. Recently, it was expanded to include a student representative from each faculty. CECS has been working hard to create an improved version of Jobmine, codenamed Waterloo Works. It is in a pilot testing phase until the Winter Term, when a larger test user group will be used. It is currently set for launch for the Spring 2011 term. This is very good news!
At the EngSoc Meeting last Wednesday, I reported on a CECS initiative to eliminate minimize unpaid coop jobs. I wanted to clarify a few things in order to make sure everyone understands the situation.
On campus there are a significant number of unpaid positions, largely in Engineering. CECS plans to minimize/eliminate unpaid positions as soon as feasible, to comply with coop accreditation requirements and a marketing “promise” of paid employment. This is primarily for off-campus jobs right now, though on-campus jobs may be a consideration at some point in the future. For off-campus jobs, CECS reviews unpaid positions on a case by case basis and requests input regarding possible exceptions or special circumstances. Students raised several concerns regarding economic conditions, charitable organizations, and other considerations. Following this discussion CECS agreed to take our feedback and create a set of guidelines on exceptions and special circumstances to present to the CEC for consideration.
I hope this clarified the situation and rationale behind the initiative. I will update you guys after the next meeting; hopefully our concerns about the value of experience will be reflected in these guidelines!
Goals
- Increase transparency of departments to students
I plan to talk to department to see what they can do to help students better understand the department specific policies that they are subject to. I believe this is important because nothing currently exists that informs students of department policies relevant to them other than infrequent verbal communication, at least none that are widely available.
- Put a student submission to vision 2015 into motion
Since Vision 2015 is focused on undergraduate students, I would like to work on drafting a student submission to the Dean’s Office to tell them which issues are a priority for students. This submission would ensure that the Dean’s Office better understand what students want, and what needs improvement.
- Report on each committee, even if nothing controversial is happening
This is my plan to increase transparency of the representation EngSoc provides. In the past, committees have only been mentioned when something important was happening. I would instead like to report what each committee is doing so that you know I haven’t dropped the ball and stopped attending or something like that.
- Take a proactive approach to improving academic services
I would like to proactively seek out exams and outstanding work reports. I believe that doing this will help make our exam and work term report banks more comprehensive and useful.
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