The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
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Submission guidelines
Performance appraisal season is upon us
Human Resources is reminding campus that it's that time of year again - the time for staff performance appraisals.
"Please ensure that you review, document, and discuss your performance for 2017 with your manager," says the memo from Human Resources, circulated last Friday. "Your performance appraisal should include a meaningful discussion that highlights your accomplishments and goals."
Staff and their managers should be meeting in January and February to discuss performance and review the performance appraisal, and the final date for performance appraisal forms to be submitted to Human Resources is March 16.
Performance appraisal information and forms are available on the Human Resources website. Human Resources also suggests that staff members might find the following pages helpful.
- Preparing for the appraisal meeting
- Painless performance appraisals
- Guidelines for completing the form
Policy 5 is available for review on the Secretariat’s website. This site contains all relevant policy information about the administration of the salary program, as well as salary scales. Human Resources notes that the salary scales for May 1, 2018 have not yet been negotiated.
For managers, Human Resources suggests reviewing Policy 18 for information on managing staff and conducting performance appraisals. Additionally, all managers must receive performance management training before they write their first performance evaluations. OHD405 Performance Conversations
Anyone with questions about the appraisals process can speak with their managers directly or contact their Human Resources partner.
GM allocates $200K in scholarship fund to Waterloo
Pearl Sullivan, dean of Waterloo Engineering, speaks at the announcement event as Steve Carlisle of GM Canada looks on.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Engineering news site.
Waterloo Engineering is the first beneficiary of a $1.8-million fund launched by GM Canada to encourage students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and inspire the next generation of innovators.
Announced at the official opening of the car company’s new Canadian Technical Centre for software development in Markham, the GM Canada STEM Fund will provide $200,000 for scholarships for engineering master’s students at Waterloo.
“The University of Waterloo is proud to have GM Canada as a committed industry and research partner supporting Canada’s top engineering talent at Waterloo from scholarships to co-op job placements,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur.
The GM fund will build on the success of past programs to introduce elementary and high school students, particularly girls, to STEM subjects through hands-on programs across the country.
It will also help young researchers study at the post-secondary level through a series of new scholarships at leading universities. The GM Canada Innovators Award at Waterloo is the first of those scholarships.
Citing the strong, diverse, ongoing relationship Waterloo Engineering already has with GM, dean of engineering Pearl Sullivan said the “generous donation will ensure we continue to cultivate an ecosystem of higher learners who will advance impactful solutions for real-world challenges.”
The new centre in Markham will have a staff of more than 700 and leverage partnerships with universities and local companies. It will focus on software development and innovation in next-generation active safety, in-car infotainment systems, and software and controls related to self-driving vehicles.
“General Motors is redefining mobility and focused on realizing our vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” said Steve Carlisle, president and managing director of GM Canada. “We believe that to realize this vision, we will need to support far greater participation in STEM.”
LITE grants awarded to innovative teaching projects
The Office of the Associate Vice President, Academic, and the Centre for Teaching Excellence have announced the recipients of this year’s Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) full grants. The winning projects are:
- Open online interactive workbook for intermediate students of French as a second language. Cynthia Tremblay, Loula Abd-elzarak, Nicolas Hebbinckuys, Mikalai Kliashchuk, Rocky Penate, and Kanstantsin Tsedryk (Department of French Studies).
- Optimizing student engagement: Developing a suite of tools to monitor engagement during university lectures. Daniel Smilek and Jeff Wammes (Department of Psychology).
- Objective structured clinical examination as a summative clinical competency examination for the doctor of optometry program. Patricia Hrynchak, Stan Woo, Jenna Bright, and Andre Stanberry (School of Optometry and Vision Science).
Since 2012, 14 LITE Full Grants of up to $30,000 have been awarded to instructors and staff investigating innovative approaches to enhancing teaching and fostering deep student learning at Waterloo.
To learn more about the recipients and the upcoming LITE seed grant deadline, visit the Centre for Teaching Excellence website. The deadline for seed grant applications is Friday, February 2.