Thursday, January 17, 2019

Quest website navigation to get a new look

A message from the Quest Program Team.

During the February 2019 Reading Week, Quest will be updated to provide clients with a new navigation experience. The update will offer three new landing pages: one for students; one for instructors and advisors; and one for staff. The landing page(s) a user will see will depend on how their access is structured in Quest. For example, a student will see only one landing page, while a staff person who is also a student will see two. Users with access to multiple landing pages can quickly flip between them using a drop down at the top of the page.

The tile-based navigation structure offers students, faculty, and staff a modernized, user-friendly experience. And while the initial style of the page and how you navigate the tiles will be different, the actual site content and how you use those pages will remain the same.

These usability improvements are the result of a user engagement survey that was conducted in fall 2018 and offer clients:

• An improved work flow
• Enhanced navigation options
• Reduced clicking
• A modern look and feel
• Easier access to help resources
• An experience that aligns with that of Quest Mobile

This update also brings new background technology that will allow for greater adaptability and support during future deployments.

Be sure to visit the Student Information Systems Program (SISP) website for updates on this work, https://uwaterloo.ca/student-information-systems-program.

Please note: the homepage image above is a prototype.

Nominating committee recommends the next AHS dean

by Anne Galang.

The nominating committee tasked with selecting the next dean of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) has announced a recommended candidate. The committee unanimously recommends Professor Lili Liu for a five-year term as dean beginning July 1, 2019.

Professor Liu completed her professional education at McGill University before working as an occupational therapist. She then returned to McGill to complete her graduate education. She joined the University of Alberta in 1992, where she is currently serving the last year of her second five-year term as chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.

The AHS community will be given the opportunity to review Professor Liu’s curriculum vitae and cover letter, and to meet her on Friday, January 18. Regular AHS faculty and staff will then vote on her acceptability as the next dean of Applied Health Sciences.

More information about Professor Liu, the search process, and opportunities to meet with her are available on the committee website.

Consent Week coming to campus

A message from the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion.

The Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion is hosting its first Consent Week from January 21 to 25.

Consent Week is an opportunity for the University community to engage in conversations, activities and events all about consent and healthy relationships. The goals of the event are to normalize dialogue about consent, increase understanding of consent, allow participants to explore how to engage in healthy, positive relationships with one another, and highlight the services on and off campus available for support. 

We encourage all students, staff and faculty to check out the variety of activities happening during Consent Week.

The Consent Clothesline takes place on Monday, January 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the AHS Expansion Foyer. Hosted by Sexual Violence Response Coordinator, Amanda Cook, the Consent Clothesline expresses through arts and crafts what consent means, and provides messages of support to survivors. Free snacks will be provided.

On Tuesday, January 22 from noon to 1:00 p.m., the Wen-Do Women’s Self-Defence Lunch Hour workshop will prepare participants to defend themselves both mentally and physically. The workshop focuses on women’s safety and empowerment and gives women the confidence to deal with the range of types of aggression they are most likely to encounter in real life. This one-hour workshop will be a taster session of the full 2-hour workshop that is offered in the evening. We will do an overview of women's self-defence through a feminist, anti-oppression analysis.

Later that evening, the Wen-Do Women’s Self-Defence 2 Hour Workshop will be offered from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. In this 2-hour workshop, we'll cover the fundamentals of women's self-defence through a feminist, anti-oppression analysis, the importance of using our voice, body weapons, kicks, blocks, a range of releases, and we will break down stereotypes about violence against women.

Both Wen-Do workshops are open to women-identified and non-binary students, staff, and faculty of all abilities. The location of the workshops will be provided only to registered participants. Wen-Do is a registered charity and the oldest self-defence organization in Canada taught by women, for women.

Drop by the Healthy Relationships Fair on Thursday, January 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the SLC Great Hall. Chat with Amanda Cook - Sexual Violence Response Coordinator, SHORE, SASC and ACCKWA. Treats and crafts will be provided!

Upstander Training takes place on Thursday, January 24 from 2:45 to 4:00 p.m. in HH 1102. This training aims to develop a culture of looking out for one another on campus. The purpose of this program is two-fold: to teach Upstander skills applicable to any situation wherein someone might be at risk of harm, and to engage participants in discussions about consent, sexual assault and rape culture.

Topics that will be discussed include the Bystander Effect; gender and gender stereotypes; sexual violence, consent, and rape culture; power, privilege, identity and intersectionality; motivating upstander action; and responding to a disclosure.

Thursday's notes

Feds Welcome Week continues with Clubs and Societies Day, which runs from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, and Friday in the Student Life Centre Great Hall. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about Waterloo's clubs and student societies through workshops, events and spend time with like-minded students.

Later tonight is Sex Toy Bingo in St. Paul's University College's Alumni Hall at 7:00 p.m.

With forecasts calling for snow and a polar vortex with extreme cold temperatures this week, a planned HVAC shutdown in the PAS building scheduled for Saturday, January 19 has been cancelled. Stay warm, folks!

The Gustav Bakos Observatory is organizing a viewing party event for the upcoming total lunar eclipse on Sunday, January 20, weather permitting. The event is scheduled to take place at 10:30 p.m. on the rooftop of PHY, with access across from PHY 313.