Work reports

Nanotechnology Engineering Work-Term Reports

Work-term reports are technical documents that are written by students and are expected to reflect work accomplished during the corresponding work terms. They serve to provide students with experience in technical writing, and to prepare them for the types of communication that they will encounter most often as professional engineers.

Detailed information on work term reports, including deadlines and feedback process, can be found on the appropriate Learn site (NE WKRPT 200, 300 or 400). For formatting and content requirements please refer to the Nanotechnology Work-Term Report Guidelines.

The information provided here is only for the Nanotechnology Engineering work term reports 200, 300 and 400. For details on the NE 250, NE 350 and NE 450 courses refer to the appropriate Learn site or contact the Work-Term Report Coordinator.

When clearing a failed report, the due date is the second Friday of the term that you have selected to clear the failure. Refer to section Failed Reports for more information. Inform the AAUC and Work-Term Report Coordinator prior to the beginning of term in order to be added to the appropriate Learn site. A hardcopy is to be submitted to the AAUC by 3:30pm on the due date and an electronic copy must be submitted on Learn. Feedback will be provided.

Submission

Number of reports and timelines

All Nanotechnology Engineering undergraduate students who have entered the program from September 2010 onwards must submit a total of three work-term reports in fulfilment of their degrees. The reports are due after each of their second, third and fourth co-op work term periods as shown in Table 1. (Students who have entered the program prior to September 2010 must submit a total of four work-term reports. The additional report is submitted after the first co-op period). Students who fail to submit their reports in the specified terms, will automatically receive grades of Unacceptable (38%).

Table 1: Sequence of study and work terms, and work-term report submissions

Year/Semester	Term
Year one, Fall	1A
Year one, Winter	1B
Year one, Spring	Co-op 1
Year two, Fall	2A
Year two, Winter	Co-op 2
Year two, Spring	2B (WKRPT 200)
Year three, Fall	Co-op 3
Year three, Winter	Co-op 4
Year three, Spring	3A (WKRPT 300)
Year four, Fall	3B
Year four, Winter	Co-op 5
Year four, Spring	Co-op 6
Year five, Fall	4A (WKRPT 400)
Year five, Winter	4B

Submission of reports

Every Nanotechnology Engineering student must submit both a hardcopy printed and bound version of each work-term report to the Administrative Assistant and Undergraduate Coordinator (AAUC) as well as an electronic copy submitted to the appropriate Learn site (NE WKRPT 200, 300 or 400) no later than 3:30pm on the day specified on the appropriate Learn site.

Late reports

Reports submitted after the deadline will receive grades of Unacceptable (38%), will be carried forward to the following term for evaluation, and are not eligible for awards (see Rule 17).

Failed Reports

As failed work-term reports (WKRPT #00) are failed courses, a student who fails the same report three times will be required to withdraw from the program under Rule 9. These courses have DRNA designations (see Rule 11) and are therefore not included in the term or cumulative average grade; however, they do contribute to the accumulated failed course count (see Rule 2 and Rule 6). For failed work-term reports, the original grade will appear in the grade field. The failed course will be corrected by re-taking and passing the course in a subsequent term. A Course Override Form must be submitted to the AAUC when submitting a report in a subsequent term to clear a failure.

Marking of reports

A new feedback process is being incorporated into the marking of work term reports starting Fall 2015.

New: Feedback

The amount of feedback provided will depend on the WKRPT term that the student is currently enrolled in. The appropriate Learn site (WKRPT 200, 300, or 400) will outline the feedback process. A copy of the original report and all marking form(s) must be submitted with the revised report.

Accepted for marking

A report that would have received an acceptable grade (depends on WKRPT term) after the initial assessment, will be moved directly to the formal marking stage of the process.

Improving reports

After the report receives an initial assessment, it must be corrected and a new printed and bound version of the report must be resubmitted at a time and date outlined on the appropriate Learn site. A copy of the original report and all marking form(s) must be submitted with the revised report. The revised report will be marked and a final grade given.

Resubmitting reports

Reports graded as Resubmit after the formal marking period, must be corrected and a new printed and bound version of the report must be resubmitted no later than 3:30pm on the last day of lectures. A copy of the original reports and all marking forms must be submitted with the revised report. The revised report will be marked and a final grade given. Reports that are late or that are not resubmitted in the specified term automatically receive a grade of Unacceptable (38%). Late resubmitted reports will be deemed to be new submissions and to have been submitted for consideration in the following term (see Rule 17).

Unacceptable reports

Reports graded as Unacceptable after the formal marking period, will receive a final grade of 38% for the specified term. A new or substantially revised report must be submitted in a subsequent term to clear the failed report.

Confidential reports

All students are expected to submit a work term report which describes a technical topic that reflects the work accomplished during their corresponding work terms. This report should not be a company document with some added sections to turn it into an acceptable work report. It should be a report, written specifically to satisfy the requirements of the work term report component of the B.A.Sc. degree. Whenever possible it should be cleansed of any confidential information.

We recommend that you discuss your work-term report with your employer about halfway into your work term. The majority of work reports written by students are non-confidential in nature and hence can be submitted directly to the NE program and graded by the work-term report markers. However, depending on the nature of the work that you are performing for your employer, there is always the possibility that your choice of topic for a work report may require the inclusion of information that is considered confidential by your employer. If you feel that the employer may be reluctant to have you submit your report, contact the Work-Term Report Coordinator to discuss your situation. It is recommended that reports should not be classified as confidential unless absolutely necessary.

There are two options associated with submitting a confidential work report. The first is a confidential work report graded by the Work-Term Report Coordinator and the second is a confidential report graded by the employer.

Confidential report graded by the Work Term Report Coordinator

The Work-Term Report Coordinator is authorized to sign a confidentiality agreement and evaluate a confidential report personally if the employer so chooses. Once marked, the reports are returned to the student and no copies of the reports are created or kept by the NE program. FORM 1 is a confidentiality agreement that is signed by the Work Term Report Coordinator who grades the report. Attach FORM 1 to the front of the work report and submit the report directly to the AAUC. FORM 1 will be signed and returned to the Employer once the work report has been marked.

Confidential reports cannot be considered for awards.

Employer-Marked Reports

The Nanotechnology Engineering program may allow work term reports to be marked by someone outside the Nanotechnology Engineering program who has been approved by the Nanotechnology Engineering Work-Term Report Coordinator. The process starts by the student contacting the AAUC and supplying the following information: company name and address, marker name and position, marker email and phone number, and marker PEO registration number, also, your student name, ID#, USERID, current academic term and title of report.

The work-term report mark will be included with the other work-term report grades when grades are submitted at the end of the term.

Employer-marked reports cannot be considered for awards or receive grades of Outstanding.

Self-Study Reports

If your work-term experience is not a good basis for a work-term report or your employer is reluctant to allow you to submit a report on your work, you may choose to submit a self-study report on a topic, of your choice, that is related to a specific nanotechnology engineering problem. You must contact the Work-Term Report Coordinator for approval before choosing to do a self-study. A self-study report has all the same requirements as a regular work-term report, including the Contributions section as outlined in the Nanotechnology Work-Term Report Guidelines.

Grading of reports

Tracking Marking

Marking of work-term reports can be tracked by logging in to the Work Reports Online application by following the instructions below.

Go to Work Reports Online (https://ecewo2.uwaterloo.ca/).
Select NanoEng Work Reports Online.
Enter your Waterloo User ID and password. If it is the first time that you are logging in, the password is your student ID Number. It is highly recommended that you change the default password after logging in for the first time.
Select Your Info to view the status of the submitted report(s). Once a report has been marked, the marker's name and the various milestone dates will appear.

The Work Reports Online application also sends e-mail notifications when specific database transactions happen.

Students will be notified, by the AUCC via e-mail, when their reports have been marked and are ready for pick-up. Check your specific Learn site (NE WKRPT 200, 300, 400) for submission deadlines and completion of marking dates.

Please note that since servers go down and e-mail gets dropped, e-mail notification is the secondary mechanism of notification. It is the students’ responsibility to remain informed by logging in to the Work Reports Online application regularly.

Report Pick-up

All marked reports must be collected in person. After you receive e-mail notification from the Work Reports Online application that your report has been marked, you will receive an additional e-mail from the AAUC notifying you when your report is ready for pick-up. Following this notification, all marked reports must be promptly picked up in person from the AAUC.

Grades

Work reports must receive a grade of at least 65% (Satisfactory) to pass the WKRPT courses.

If a report has received a grade of Resubmit after the formal marking process and you are unsure about the changes required in order to receive a passing grade, please carefully review the Nanotechnology Engineering Work-Term Report Guidelines and then contact the report Marker. In order to receive a passing grade after a Resubmit you must be sure to make all suggested changes made by the report Marker, failure to do so will result in an automatic grade of unacceptable.

A completed Marking Form plus a Checklist indicating the marking details will be provided with each marked report. Please refer to the Nanotechnology Engineering Work-Term Report Guidelines for the work-term report evaluation criteria and marking scheme.

Awards

Exceptionally well-written, non-confidential reports may be read by several professors in being considered for awards. The author of the best work-term report(s) for each class on campus is presented with an award during that term. These awards are sponsored by the Sandford Fleming Foundation and various companies.

Appealing a Grade

The first step in appealing a grade is to contact the report Marker to discuss the grade. If this does not result in a satisfactory explanation or response, supply the Work-Term Report Coordinator with a written statement outlining the issues along with the report and the marking forms. The Coordinator will review the report and come to a conclusion whether the mark should go up, down, or stay the same. If this does not produce a satisfactory explanation or response, then after grades have officially been released (normally near the end of the first month of the following Calendar Term), a formal grade appeal may be submitted as per Policy 70 Student Grievance Policy. Note however, that this policy has a clear time line.

Format and content requirements

All Nanotechnology Engineering work-term reports must adhere to the format and content requirements found in the document Nanotechnology Engineering Work-Term Report Guidelines which can be found on the appropriate Learn site.

Contact information

Administrative Assistant and Undergraduate Coordinator(AAUC)

Wendy Gauthier

Work-Term Report Coordinator

Jenn Coggan

Work-Term Report Markers

Work-term reports are marked by the Work-Term Report Coordinator and the NE laboratory instructors. The Marker’s name and contact information can be obtained by logging in to the Work Reports Online application. After the report has been marked, the Marker’s name will appear beside the report. Selecting See Marking Form will display the Marker’s contact information and university userid (markers email is: userid@uwaterloo.ca).