Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Embracing wellness throughout the term

A message from Campus Wellness.

With the start of a new term, it's important to remind students about the importance of prioritizing their mental health and well-being. As we all are keenly aware, the health and well-being of our students is more important than ever as the demands of academics, extracurriculars, social life, and personal expectations accumulate. 

Campus Wellness provides a range of programs and services available this term to support a student's mental and emotional well-being. We hope you’ll share these resources with the students you support where possible. 

Students can call Campus Wellness (519-888-4096) during daytime hours (8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.) to book an appointment for the services listed below. 

Counselling appointments provide programming and services to help students lead a healthy and balanced life, at no charge, in a private and confidential setting.  

• Same-day appointments are available on Wednesdays for students who may not want or require ongoing counselling. 
• Individual appointments are available to students looking for short-term counselling to address the current mental health concerns that are impacting their ability to attend to their academics.  
• Crisis appointments are available to students in distress every weekday. Students will be scheduled for either an Immediate (within 24 hours) or Urgent appointment (within 3-5 days). 

Primary medical care appointments provide comprehensive health support to registered University of Waterloo students. Students can now book a same-day medical appointments by calling or walking in to make an appointment (based on availability of same-day service). 

• The Student medical clinic offers healthcare visits with both male and female Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to current undergraduate and graduate students.  
• The Family health clinic offers healthcare visits to dependants of registered international students, visiting scholars, visiting researchers, visiting faculty and post-doctorates 
• With the global rise in measles cases, it’s a great time to ensure immunizations are current against vaccine-preventable disease. Students can book an appointment to review their vaccination status and be updated as required.  

Wellness programs allow students to engage in wellness conversations in a variety of ways and focus on providing students the strategies to take care of their overall well-being.  

• These programs are a great way for students to incorporate activities into their schedule, view all the wellness programs dates and times for the Spring Term 

Mental health training opportunities support faculty and staff to develop and practice mental health literacy skills. These programs encourage discussion and reflection on mental health through an equity-focused lens. They work to enhance an individual's understanding of barriers to mental health and competency in responding to a person in distress, and accessing resources and supports. 

• May 29 - Recognizing and Responding to a Person in Distress. This is a 2.5-hour standalone offering is focused on building the skills and confidence to support others who may be in distress. 

If you notice a student struggling with their mental health or in distress, you can provide useful information to assist the student in getting help. 

• Learn to identify and support a student in distress 
• On campus contact, students can call Campus Wellness between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 519-888-4096 
• After hours and emergency contacts provide resources to assist the students in getting help 

Or call Campus Wellness directly with a student in the room and support them in making an appointment with us.  

Announcing the Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP)

A message from Human Resources.

As part of a multi-modal approach to managing the operating budget deficit situation, Human Resources (HR) has been engaged with units on workforce planning across the institution, which includes implementation of the limited hiring program. Throughout this process, HR has been working with departments to streamline and optimize how we work together to improve efficiency and realize cost savings.   

To that end, a Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP) has been developed as an option for eligible employees. HR will be contacting eligible employees directly about VRP and will support teams affected by the program to create a people plan that accommodates workplan requirements.   

Eligible employees meet the following criteria: 

• minimum of age 65 by December 31, 2024  

• full-time or part-time active regular Faculty, Staff or Union employee  

• have a minimum of 10 years continuous pensionable service with the University as of the requested commencement date of the VRP 

However, the following are exceptions to eligibility: 

• definite term appointments 

• temporary contracts 

• employees currently on long-term disability 

• a confirmed and acknowledged retirement date 

• employees already enrolled in the Reduced Workload to Retirement and Vacation Exchange Programs 

The closing date for applications to the program is July 2, 2024. Information sessions are being planned for eligible employees on May 29, 2024, and June 11, 2024 but if you have questions in the meantime, please contact your HR Partner. 

Invest in staff development with a SEE Canada work-travel experience

A message from Human Resources.

The University of Waterloo is excited to announce the launch of the 2024/25 Staff Enhancement Experience (SEE) Canada Grant this spring. The grant, aimed at supporting the professional development of our regular full-time staff members, offers a unique opportunity by supporting national travel for staff to engage in idea exchange and learning experiences with counterparts from various Canadian universities, colleges, research institutions, or industry partners.

The main objective of the SEE Canada Grant is to enable staff to broaden their knowledge base and return with fresh insights to apply to their roles at Waterloo and share with their teams. The SEE Canada Selection Committee will evaluate proposals from staff members interested in travelling to one or more Canadian organizations for a period of one to two weeks. Each year, up to five proposals will be selected for funding.

The 2024 Waterloo Staff Conference featured a special session on this development opportunity, “Expand your professional horizons with funded travel experiences through the Staff Enhancement Experience (SEE) Canada Grant,” which highlighted the achievements of a several successful Grant recipients and their learning experiences at other institutions across Canada.  If you missed this presentation, you can now access the recorded session to learn more about this grant (your WatIAM credentials are required).

Apply now for this amazing career opportunity! Detailed application information and forms are available on the SEE Canada Grant webpage. Proposals must be submitted by May 31.

For any inquiries regarding the grant, please contact us at seecanada@uwaterloo.ca.

Students can make the Co-op Connection

A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education.

Created by co-op students and for co-op students, Co-op Connection is a digital space for co-op students to stay connected. It launched in 2023 on Discord, a communication platform that allows users to connect through text, voice and video chat.

The Co-op Connection Discord server includes regional channels that span across the globe. In the online community, students can get recruiting term advice, connect with other students working in the same geographic area and secure housing for their work term.

The complexity of finding short-term housing can be challenging for students with co-op jobs in a new location. Most commonly, students on the Co-op Connection Discord server connect with other students to find potential roommates or share housing resources for temporary accommodation. Co-operative Education is creating a new co-op housing webpage with aggregated short-term housing solutions to help support co-op students.

To date, Co-op Connection has more than 2,000 active users and is growing. In spring 2024, Co-op Connection ambassadors will provide opportunities for students to connect at events in Waterloo, Toronto and online.

Please encourage co-op students to connect with their co-op advisors to learn more.

Wednesday's notes

Feel like putting down roots on campus? Then join the Sustainability Office for Spring tree planting to support biodiversity on campus today and tomorrow. "Students and employees are invited to help with prepping the site and planting a variety of trees and shrubs, while learning more about the importance of supporting biodiversity and nature on campus and in our community," says a note from the Sustainability Office. "Gloves, tools and light refreshments will be provided - no experience necessary." The event takes place today and tomorrow from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. on the main campus.

Food Truck Wednesday makes its return to campus today from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Arts Quad. Serving up food today will be The Serial Griller and Passado Brasil.

The Sexual Violence Awareness Month Speaker Series, which will be taking place on Thursdays throughout the month of May, kicks off tomorrow on MS Teams. "Join the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre (SADVTC) hosted by the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office UWaterloo (SVPRO) to learn from Christine Taylor MSW, RSW, Program Manager and how the SADVTC offers support to UWaterloo students," says a note from SVPRO. You can register on Portal. The event will take place virtually from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Employers hosting Employer Information Sessions this week and next week include DRW, Protiviti, Christie, OTPP, Marvell, Capital One, theScore, Bloomberg, Genesys, Persona, and Definity. Make sure to register through WaterlooWorks and check the calendar for any updates.