The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
Faculty, staff can now use the student portal
A message from the student portal team.
Over the last couple of years, you’ve likely heard lots about the student portal - a mobile-friendly communications and student success tool that delivers just-in-time information to current undergraduate and graduate students. Last fall, all students were given access the portal. With student use at 41% last term, the portal will continue to evolve to meet student needs and be integrated more broadly into campus life.
How can I access the portal?
Now, anyone with a WatIAM username – this means all faculty and staff – can access the student portal, by logging in with your WatIAM username and password. There is a brief video and a site tour to help you get oriented to the portal, as well as a list of current portal features and helpful tips.
Why should I use the portal?
As a staff or faculty member, the portal includes many features you may benefit from using, such as:
- real-time GRT schedule
- checking your WatCard balance
- accessing campus news and events
- staying informed of Warrior varsity schedules and scores
- reviewing important academic dates
- checking food outlet hours, locations, and specials
- using the Crowd Reporter feature that tells you how busy a line up is. (Yes, that includes all the Tim Horton’s line ups around campus.)
You can use the portal on any device and pin it to your phone’s home screen so it functions like an app. You can also enable a fake student data set in your portal so you can see what students see, to get a more robust view of the student experience on the portal.
As you explore the portal and start to use it on a regular basis, please think about how features on the portal could be used to improve student success, and encourage the students you connect with to use it. Students continue to provide important feedback and this year we’ll be working to address two of their most cited wishes: creating a portal mobile app and exploring better campus system integration, where possible.
How can I get my content into the portal?
This is also a great opportunity to think about the online content you have for students and how it could be included in the portal. For example, events and news posted on your WCMS sites, as well as your social media content, can easily be pulled into the student portal. Volunteer and part-time jobs posted on your WCMS sites using the opportunities content type can also be pulled into the new Opportunities feature.
Of particular interest to faculty members, students can pull quiz and assignment due dates added to their Learn course calendars directly into their portal calendar.
Any questions about the portal can be submitted inside the portal using the feedback button or by email.
Graduate students invited to have their say
A message from Institutional Analysis & Planning (IAP).
Graduate students, keep the conversation going! Starting today, all graduate students will be receiving an e-mail asking to participate in the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) to tell Waterloo about their university experience. The purpose of this survey is to improve teaching, learning, graduate student services, programs, student support and overall campus life for current and future graduate students.
Graduate students will be asked to provide feedback about their graduate and professional school experience here at the University of Waterloo on topics such as: satisfaction of graduate student financial support, skills and professional development, graduate program choices, Graduate Student Association (GSA) services, and your overall experience at Waterloo in general.
Previous survey results have been used to make improvements to graduate student services such as:
- Developing additional Tri-Agency funding workshops to address the grant application process
- Developing career preparation workshops offered by the Centre for Career Action (CCA)
- Setting aside funds to improve office space and access to space
Students that submit their survey responses will receive $5 added to their WATCARDs and will be automatically entered in a draw to win a $500 student award.
The survey will be available from February 3 to April 4. Following the survey, summary results will be available on the Institutional Analysis & Planning website.
Help make a difference! Check your @uwaterloo e-mail accounts for your survey invitation. We hope that you will participate as your responses are important!
For more information about the survey, visit the 2016 CGPSS webpage.
Enterprise co-op: an outlet for passionate entrepreneurs
by Phoenix McDonald.
Many students head into university with the goal of one day being a CEO or owning their own business. Enterprise Co-op, or E Co-op for short, allows students to become their own boss and build the foundations of a company instead of working for another business. Muni Abdurrahman, a fourth year Psychology and Business student, immediately knew that E Co-op was the opportunity he had been looking for. Muni had thought of innovative business ideas in the past, but lacked the time to implement them prior to E Co-op.
Muni spent his Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 work terms executing two different ventures. The first was A&M Reputations, an online marketing company that delivered flexible online marketing services to small and medium sized businesses. Muni’s second venture was a personal SEO tool called BrandBound, which enabled businesses to better control the search engine results that appear when their name is searched. Time to pursue his enterprises from the ground up was just one benefit of E Co-op; it also provided Muni with professional mentorship, comprehensive workshops, and Ignition Week.
“Ignition Week is the second week of the Enterprise Co-op term,” says Muni. “It is a week jam-packed with workshops, tours, and a pitch competition. The information gained from this week was invaluable and a big boost to start of the term right.”
While Muni is passionate about E Co-op and has found success during these terms, he acknowledges the challenges of starting a new business. “It’s not for everyone” he cautions. Launching a venture takes immense dedication and funding is only acquired through hard work; however, there are opportunities for E Co-op students to receive funding while executing their business ideas, such as pitch competitions.
Pitch competitions were extremely beneficial to Muni during both E Co-op terms. He won competitions each term, earning funding for his ventures and developing his presentation skills in the process. By the term’s end, Muni said that his business acumen, negotiation, and sales skills improved and continue to benefit him both professionally and academically.
“The Enterprise Co-op terms were the best experiences of my University career by far,” said Muni. “I have learned in those co-op terms what my peers around me do not have the opportunity to learn easily. I was able to pursue my passion and get credit for it at the same time. I got to live a few months the way I envision living the rest of my life: as an entrepreneur.”
Have a business idea? Want to learn more? Check out our E Co-op site and the Conrad Business Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre.
Research Talks event explores online censorship
Internet censorship and surveillance, and the effect these can have on our lives, are being exposed and discussed more openly than ever before.
Join University Research Chair Ian Goldberg, of the Cryptography, Security, and Privacy (CrySP) research group, at noon on February 18 for the next session of Research Talks. Goldberg's talk is entitled "Battling Internet censorship and surveillance."
Ian will share his vision for how to combat Internet censorship and surveillance with privacy-enhancing technologies.
The series, hosted by the Office of Research, celebrates research and provides an opportunity for staff, faculty, and students to learn more about some of the life-changing research underway at Waterloo.
Please register as seating is limited and registration will close when room capacity is reached. Feel free to bring your lunch – light refreshments will be provided.
Treat-A-Gram deadline and other notes
"Thanks to all the faculty, staff and retirees who celebrated National Cake Pop Day by ordering Treat-a-Grams for their colleagues!" says a message from the Keystone Campaign. "So far we’ve sold 2,200 cake pops, Rice Krispies squares and postcards to benefit Women in STEM Scholarships at Waterloo."
"As a change leader in gender equity and as a leading STEM-focused university, Waterloo is committed to boosting female enrolment in under-represented STEM disciplines. Keystone is proud to support this worthy initiative, while at the same time celebrating our wonderful campus community!"
If you haven’t hustled over to the Treat-a-Gram page yet, you still have until the end of the day on Thursday, February 4, to get in on the fun. Deliveries take place on Thursday, February 11.
“The Federation of Students is hosting an election debate today that will feature the 2015-16 Executive asking the candidates questions about their platforms, experience, and more," writes Jacqueline Martinz. "All undergraduates are invited to attend and get informed before casting their ballots. Voting period is from February 9-11. Undergraduates will be able to make their choice on vote.feds.ca. More information about the candidates is available online.”
The Staff Relations Committee wants all staff to know that it has opened up the first portion of its meetings to members of the University community and regularly has agenda items of interest to staff members in all units of the university. At the meeting this Friday February 5 starting at 12:30 p.m., there will be discussion on the employment equity survey.
Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include PwC, Hosted ~FTP~ Inc, Citadel, Nymi Inc, Capco, Joist, Scotiabank, Two Sigma, and Ernst and Young.