Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Q and A with the experts: making smart financial decisions during the pandemic

The University of Waterloo has a number of experts available for comment on various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When stress and emotions run high, financial decision making can be difficult.
 
We asked Tracy Hilpert, director of the School of Accounting and Finance’s Financial Literacy in the Classroom initiative, what you should be considering when managing your finances during the pandemic.

What should you do if you have a payment due soon and you’re not sure if you’ll be able to pay it? 

Be proactive and communicate! Your credit rating is impacted by your debt and bill payment history.  Missing or reducing a payment may be necessary under the circumstances right now so you are better off being proactive and calling the service provider/lender in advance to see what options are available rather than doing nothing, letting the payment slip, and potentially hurting your credit rating for future borrowing needs.  

For loan or lease payments, payment deferral may be an option.  Many banks are offering mortgage deferral or skipped payment options.  However, it’s important to understand that this is not payment forgiveness.  You will have to make these payments at some point in the future so be sure that you understand when the missed payments will be due so that you can plan accordingly.  In addition, find out what the cost of the deferral will be.  Interest on your loan or lease will continue, so deferral will increase the amount of interest you will pay over the life of the loan or lease.  

For bills like rent, utilities and other necessities, your landlord or service provider may offer temporary relief that could help you manage your expenses until your income returns to its previous level.  

Should you borrow money to help cover expenses while your income is low?

Borrowing money comes at a cost (i.e. interest) so before you do, take a look at your spending and decide what you can forgo temporarily to reduce the amount of income you need in the short term.  

If you must borrow money, explore your options.  Some money costs more to borrow.  Avoid payday loans and high-interest credit cards and look to lower-cost debt options, where possible.  

What if you haven’t yet filed your taxes?  With everything else going on, it may have slipped your mind.

Don’t worry. The tax deadline for filing an individual tax return was extended from April 30^th to June 1^st (June 15^th if self-employed).   

Although the CRA has indicated that no late-filing penalties will be assessed if payments are made by September 1^st, you are encouraged to file by the June deadline so that your entitlement calculations for future government benefits can reflect your latest income level.

Tracy Hilpert is a lecturer, managerial accounting in the School of Accounting and Finance.

Athletics and Recreation names Warriors basketball head coaches

The full announcements are published on the Athletics and Recreation website.

The Department of Athletics and Recreation is thrilled to announce two new head coaches. Jessica Roque was hired as the full-time head coach of the Warriors women's basketball program, and Troy Stevenson (Oakville/St. Ignatius of Loyola) has been named the full-time head coach of men's basketball.

Roque makes the move from the Ryerson Rams where she has spent the past four seasons as the full-time Assistant Coach. 

With the Rams, Roque was the lead in preparing in-game tactics, practice facilitation, game film breakdown, recruiting, and more that has prepared her for a U SPORTS head coaching role. Roque also led the Rams in an interim head coaching role in the summer of 2018 during an international competition in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

"I am both excited and grateful for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Waterloo Warriors," commented Roque. "I'm looking forward to working with the bright young women on the team and engaging with the KW community."

Stevenson was the interim head coach last season after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach. Stevenson becomes the eighth head coach in the 62-year history of the program.

He graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2015 with a Chemical Engineering degree and was a member of the Warriors for three seasons (2010-13).

"I am extremely happy to continue to represent this outstanding institution in a full-time role," said Stevenson. "I look forward to growing with the outstanding alumni, community, and student body here at Waterloo. I would like to thank Roly Webster and Brian Bourque for the opportunity, and I cannot wait to be back on campus and in the gym with our student-athletes."

Read more about Roque and Stevenson on the Athletics website.

School of Pharmacy takes interviews online for first time in program's history

This is an excerpt from an article on the School of Pharmacy website.

“Tell us something you are passionate about.”

Since 2008, candidates to the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy have responded to this prompt.

It’s the first instruction given in the admissions interview for the competitive Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, and candidates have always responded creatively. Some showcase musical talent while others share personal stories or accomplishments in sports, dance and more.

It’s one of many questions that had to be translated to a digital format when the coronavirus struck and the School switched from in-person interviews at the pharmacy building in Kitchener to online interviews.

In February and March, many professional schools across the country made the call to remove the interview portion from their admissions process. Interviews for Waterloo’s PharmD program take place in May, and when it became clear that in-person interviews were not a safe option, Kaitlin Bynkoski, Director of Admissions and Undergraduate Affairs, and Becky Ewan, Undergraduate Administrative Coordinator, knew they had to make a decision.

“We did not for a moment consider removing interviews from our admissions process,” Ewan says. “Instead, through collaboration with our admissions committee members, we started to assess our process and determine what steps were necessary to be able to run our interviews virtually.”

Waterloo Pharmacy has always had in-person interviews as part of the admissions process.

“Interviews allow us to get to know our unique and diverse pool of candidates,” Bynkoski says. “We tell our candidates that they are more than just their grades. That philosophy is communicated from their first interaction with us, at the interview panel, where we ask them a series of questions intended to demonstrate if they are well-rounded individuals with an intrinsic motivation and passion for pharmacy.”

Read more.

Wednesday's notes

Senate meets on Monday, June 15 at 3:30 p.m. The agenda is posted on the Secretariat website. As always, guest observers are welcome. If you would like to attend the meeting as a guest observer, please contact Emily Schroeder to request to join the meeting. All requests must be received by Friday, June 12 at 3:00 p.m.

The Centre for Career Action encourages students looking for further education support to complete the request for support form. This new approach addresses student needs and provides relevant, streamlined support for students seeking help with planning for and applying to graduate/professional programs. The further education advising team continues to provide support to students by:

• Talking through concerns about further education pathways
• Helping with decision-making around further education plans
• Discussing how to become a competitive applicant for specific programs (for example: grades or admission tests)
• Working with individuals on application documents, such as personal statements or CVs
• Supporting interview preparation for professional programs

Learn more in this explainer video or contact Katie Schafer with questions.

Upcoming Centre for Career Action events include:

• Résumé Tips: Thinking Like an Employer, Tuesday, June 16, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
• In case you missed it: Skill Up for Spring term webinars and resources are now available online
• Online résumé, cover letter and interview support, career consults and work search drop-ins run 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students can book virtual drop-ins on WaterlooWorks. 

See CCA’s offering of virtual programming online. Students can register on WaterlooWorks.