Monday, May 8, 2023

Spring updates from the Student Success Office

A message from the Student Success Office (SSO).

There's lots to look forward to from the Student Success Office this spring term. We hope you'll share these resources with the students you support.

Questions and support

• Drop by the Student Success Office to chat with us in person from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET
• Students can connect with us online through our Live Chat Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
• Request student or staff-facing brochures to learn about our programs, services and support

New Student Transition

• The Waterloo Ready and Grad Ready programs offer hybrid and in-person programming for incoming students

Academic development resources

• Get Set for Success workshops help students learn about the key components of their syllabi, the importance of goal setting and managing their time in university. Sessions are offered on:
  • May 11, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. https://portal.uwaterloo.ca/#/events/6035/registration
  • May 18, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. https://portal.uwaterloo.ca/#/events/6036/registration
  • May 25 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  https://portal.uwaterloo.ca/#/events/6037/registration
• Peer Success Coaches offer in-person or virtual one-on-one appointments for personalized support to address academic challenges and create a plan for success starting May 9. Our coaches are upper-year students with experience overcoming their own study roadblocks.
• Students can use the Learning Skills Self-Assessment to determine their existing strengths and gain insight into which areas they should focus on developing.
• Through Tutor Connect on Portal, students can sign-up to be a tutor or search for tutoring support in the Spring 2023 term.

Student community and leadership          

• Student Leadership Program offers workshops for students to explore and enhance their equity knowledge and leadership abilities.
• Foundational Training Program helps students develop core skills for working in peer-to-peer programs.
• The SSO offers a variety of employment and volunteer opportunities for students each term.

International student support

• Free appointments with Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants are available online and in-person from Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Book a same-day appointment on Portal.
• We offer immigration information sessions on a variety of topics, including co-op work permits and post-graduation work permits.
• The International Peer Community offers community-minded programming for students looking to build connections and connect with peers.
• International student guide is a one-stop online resource for international students looking for support during their transition to Canada.
• 1:1 support is available for international students facing extenuating circumstances. Students are provided with targeted resources and receive guidance in accessing additional support as appropriate. Contact ise@uwaterloo.ca to learn more.

Global learning

• Students that are interested in going abroad can connect with staff virtually or request an in-person appointment via email to studyabroad@uwaterloo.ca. We are working to support students that have applied for to go on exchange for 2023/2024.
• The Global Experience Certificate is an excellent way for students to highlight their achievements internationalizing their degree, including their experiences through work or study abroad, developing employability and transferable skills.

Support for staff and faculty

• NEW Learning Skills & Strategies Self-Assessment – Students can take 10 minutes to complete our new learning skills and strategies self-assessment (LSSSA) online to get insights into their academic strengths and areas for improvement. They will be emailed useful campus resources related to their responses in the LSSA categories.
• Advisor resources are available to support staff and faculty in advising roles. Check out the new Advising Library to explore resources on a broad range of topics and advising competencies.
• We offer Five Minute Academic Skills presentations for both virtual and in-person teaching.

If you have questions about any of the services/ programs listed above please contact success@uwaterloo.ca.

Campus Housing celebrates career of Jennifer Ferguson

Jennifer Ferguson (second from left) at the groundbreaking ceremony for Claudette Millar Hall in 2015.

Campus Housing has announced that Jennifer Ferguson, Assistant Director of Housing Occupancy and Marketing Services, will retire later this month.  

Jennifer began working at the University in 1982 in the Athletics department. She joined the residence team in 2002. Jennifer has been a senior manager in Campus Housing for more than a decade, influencing many aspects of the department’s work and service to students. Jen established the Campus Housing brand during a time of rapid growth in the local student housing market, played a leading role in transitioning enterprise systems twice, modernized the staffing structure of the Housing Occupancy and Marketing Services team, influenced the transformation of the UWP community through the introduction of The Grand Commons and Claudette Millar Hall (CMH), and provided vital leadership through agile principles.

Jen is known to be passionate and focused while keeping everyone on track. Her drive is always to put students first and keep customer service as a top priority. Jen’s love for her friends and family, golf leagues, trips to the family cottage, cross-country skiing adventures out west, and many other social and active outings have always been balanced with her career at UWaterloo and the department will miss her stories about these adventures.

Jen has been known for how she brings fun to work, leads with her heart when connecting with staff and students, and is genuine in her interactions. She has been a great coach to her team and always pushes them to develop both professionally and personally. Bringing staff together to celebrate successes is one of Jen’s strengths and many staff have fond memories of group fitness classes, staff socials, and friendly competitions. 

We hope you can join Jen, our team, and several campus partners to celebrate Jen’s contributions to the University and wish her well as she transitions into retirement. We are gathering on Wednesday, May 17, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. upstairs at Village 1 and Rooftop.

Office of Sustainability supports spring seedling swap

"It's officially growing season!" writes Andrea Bale of the Sustainability Office. "On May 16 and 17, the Sustainability Office will be hosting a seedling swap to engage the campus community on gardening, food security, and local food systems."

"People who have excess seedlings can swap for other seedlings, or simply donate them. Those who are interested in getting seedlings but do not have seedlings to trade can bring a non-perishable food item as payment. The donated food will be given to WUSA’s Food Support Service. Any leftover seedlings will be donated to a community organization."

Learn more and register on the Seedling Swap event page.

Remembering Barry Scott

Retiree Barry Scott passed away on May 3, 2023. He was 76 years old.

Barry started his career at the University of Waterloo in July 1971 as an associate director and retired as the Office of Research's Director, Research Contracts/Industrial Grants Research Finance in July 2012. He served on the University’s Board of Governors from 1994 to 2000 as a staff representative, and was also active in community service with the Waterloo Economic Development Committee and the Board Advisory of Legal Aid.

A visitation will be held today at 10:00 a.m. at the Erb & Good Funeral Home in Waterloo, with a memorial service to follow at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel.

He is survived by his spouse Lisa Collins.