Well here goes my last Exec report. My term as VP-Education ends August 31st, and Derek Thompson will be taking the reins after then! Congratulations Derek, and best of luck with your next 16 months as VP-Education (don’t worry, I’ll help you get started)! As my term is wrapping up, there isn’t too much to report on since all the committees have adjourned for the summer.
Course critiques are just about wrapped up now, and we’re having our reading party tomorrow. The reading party is where volunteers sift through all of the submitted critiques and ensure that any inappropriate or spoiled (written in pen) ones are removed. Come to CPH 3607 after 4:30 pm on July 21st to help out!
Debt load surveys finished up on July 6th, and the results are published on page eight. We had an amazing 45% response rate, and this survey included increased limits on debt load. A few highlights: Average work term salary is $678/wk, 9% of students expect have more than $40k in debt by time they graduate, and 25% of students already have over $20k of debt.
There should be a draft of a letter to the Dean regarding differential course fees that has been sent through our mailing list for feedback. As I said in earlier issues, the Dean expressed interest in bringing this letter to university administration and discussing the issue of engineering students paying more for the same courses as students from other faculties (when taking a course part-time). By the time you are reading this, the letter will hopefully be on its way to the Dean, or soon to be.
I wanted to include a little bit of general opinion on the Engineering Society in light of all the recent debate. My opinion is that the Society exists to serve and represent its members. We currently do this in three ways: events, services, and representation. It is my opinion that EngSoc spends too much of its time hyping up its events, and not enough time hyping up its services and representation. I always hear people say that they don’t use any of EngSoc’s services, or attend any events. I normally respond to this by asking them if they use the CnD (everyone does, it’s so cheap), and if they are aware of how we represent them (they usually aren’t). Check out this page for more info about how we represent students: engsoc.uwaterloo.ca/representation. While I recognize that running events is important for EngSoc because they give attendees a social outlet and directors leadership experience, I think that more effort should be put into improving our other two facets. This is because it is our services and representation that affect more students. A few things that come to mind that present opportunity for EngSoc to do this are the new Capital Improvements Fund, and the new Exec structure. With a certain portion of our income being allocated to making lasting impacts for engineering students, we should begin serving a wider range of people. The new Exec structure should help move the busy-work down the hierarchy and leave the executives more time to pursue initiatives. It is these initiatives that move the Society forward. I guess you can summarize my opinion by saying that EngSoc should be doing more than it currently is to serve its wider membership, but positive changes are underway that will help take us there.
Well that’s pretty much it for my time as VP-Education. Other than a few small things here and there, my job is largely done. Thank you everyone for giving me this opportunity to serve you. I learned a ton and certainly grew as a person. I feel that my communication skills are much better now because of it, and I am certainly more confident in giving presentations.
Anyways, thanks for reading, I now pass you off to Derek Thompson who will be informing you of such matters in the future.
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