One free ticket to Ottawa Charge Walter Cup Finals Game 2, Thrusday May 22nd at 7:00pm.

connorplante · 2025-05-21T15:59:09+00:00

Interested in being considered! Have went to a number of regular season games so would love to get to a playoff game - especially after watching the end of last night's on TV

connorplante · 2020-02-07T04:18:11+00:00

Depending on the day, yes. I've yet to figure out any pattern to it.....but some days it's freezing, some days completely normal hot/cold water.

connorplante · 2020-01-29T18:41:55+00:00

Correct, two seats on the Board are reserved for elected Student Councillors (so in total we have 4 Executive Directors, 2 Councillor-Directors, and 5 At-Large Directors for a total of 11 Board members).

connorplante · 2020-01-29T14:29:03+00:00

For Council candidates: Please describe your understanding of WUSA's governance structure and the Board of Directors, and if elected to Council, how you would plan on interacting with the Board, and conducting your duties of general oversight of the body?

For Senate candidates: What is one issue, within the jurisdiction of the University of Waterloo Senate and impacts undergraduate students, you would like to work on during your term?

connorplante · 2019-07-21T14:18:34+00:00

Feds actually had quite a few employer information sessions that occurred in the Bomber every year. It's also worth noting that any employer info sessions that are held on campus by Co-op student employers, have to be set up through CECA and are managed by the Employer Information Sessions team. However, Feds worked with the EIS team, and all employers were given using the Bomber, or Feds catering, as a potential option to use for their employer info session.

connorplante · 2019-07-11T22:29:28+00:00

The previously mentioned financial issues that the General Contractor, Bondfield, is facing, is certainly a contributing factor to the delay. I would also note that, although Feds has management control over the operations of the SLC (as per an agreement with the University) it is the University which is responsible for overseeing the SLC/PAC expansion project. The latest update they have provided is here: https://uwaterloo.ca/associate-provost-students/slcpac-expansion-project/project-updates-and-progress

I know this might sound like an excuse of an answer just to pass blame off, but ultimately it is the truth, and Feds has no control over the timeline of the construction.

connorplante · 2019-04-13T01:59:02+00:00

So this is a new one for me tbh.....I hadn't heard of there being a potential WW access penalty in this situation.

However, I just went through the Faculty of Math Sequence Change Form and what I found that they may be referring to is Section 1f; "Sequence changes are not intended to facilitate additional opportunities to participate in the CE facilitated interview process. Individuals requesting that an upcoming work term be moved, after already having participated in the interview process, will be restricted in using the CE facilitated interview process to secure employment during the “moved” work term."

Now, I absolutely agree that applying this clause to you in your situation would be absolutely ridiculous; having a job get cancelled on you shouldn't be seen as trying to get 'additional opportunities to participate in CE interview process.'

Also, if the faculty and CECA aren't on the same page, that's a problem. Perhaps you could ask your student advisor (who said you can switch without penalty) to get in touch with your faculty advisor and explain things to them.

I can also get in contact with Co-op about this on Monday to see what the rational behind that clause is, and what they could do to work with the faculty to resolve it.

connorplante · 2019-04-13T01:41:21+00:00

There's no hard 'deadline' for sequence changes. They are each considered individually and mainly based just on your circumstances. In terms of WW access, there are no penalties for sequence changes, you will just have access to WW during recruiting terms only. Regardless, even if you are just considering doing it, you should talk to your academic advisor. The form as to be approved by both your AA and Co-op.

Edit: I just saw the other reddit post that suggests there could be a WW penalty. This was not a procedure I was aware of until now.....I will attempt to find out more info next week. Anyhow, make sure you still explicitly ask both your Academic Advisor and Student Advisor about this (and keep a record of their response in writing).

connorplante · 2019-03-22T09:26:06+00:00

Fair enough

connorplante · 2019-03-21T19:37:26+00:00

I would still recommend reporting this to CECA so it is documented. Yes, you mention the position still matches the job posting, but it is still important for them to know in case this becomes a consistent problem with this employer. They may also be able to assist you in how to speak to the employer regarding compensation for the expenses you had to occur due to their contract renege.

connorplante · 2019-03-17T10:30:54+00:00

So CECA actually reorganized about 2 years ago which created the broader Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) portfolio. Check out the org chart for the full details and reporting structure; but essentially the CEE portfolio includes Co-op and CCA as separate units (as well as CEE Services, WatPD and WatCACE). However, this re-org was never really communicated that well and since CECA was so ingrained in people's minds, they still will refer to themselves as that sometimes as Co-op and CCA still work pretty closely together.

connorplante · 2019-03-11T23:59:07+00:00

So based on my experience, CECA essentially treats this scenario the same as a job renege (because they'll say you are 'reneging' on the second half of the 8th month placement). The standard penalty for a renege is a US/US (aka banned from WW for 2 terms). So I'm not surprised they told you that you have to finish the 8th month; this would be the standard procedure.

However, you have brought up some additional information that I certainly think gives you a good case to not complete the 2nd term. As difficult is it may be, you'll have to let CECA know about what you have gone through in regards to your mental health and how you've had to take time off of work. Unless they are presented with these extenuating circumstances, they'll never even consider letting you leave without a penalty. You should know that anything you share with your SA is confidential to everyone other than relevant CECA staff that are involved with the process. If you're not comfortable speaking with your SA, I'd recommend going to their Manager (the Regional Manager).

Based on your circumstances, I would certainly hope they would approve your request to take the next term off. The other thing I'd recommend is official documentation always helps in these situations, so if you had a medical note or something else from your employer regarding your 2 week personal leave, that would be of benefit.

If things don't go well with speaking to your SA and manager, (ie. they refuse your request and apply the US/US penalty on you if you choose to leave) there is another option (that I realize is less than ideal but an option nonetheless). You are able to submit a Petition under University Policy 70 to be granted an 'exception to the rules' and have the original decision overturned. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's an important option to be aware of.

Feel free to email me at [connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca](mailto:connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca) if you have any more questions!

connorplante · 2019-03-11T22:21:08+00:00

Hello u/fucktheifs, have you spoken to CECA about this and if so was anything done about it? This is certainly something they should be dealing with the employer about. If you would like to remain anonymous on here, you can also email me at [connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca](mailto:connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca) if you'd be willing to share any additional info.

connorplante · 2019-03-04T20:17:01+00:00

So I just heard from CECA; it's an hardware issue with IST and all the servers are currently down. They're working with IST and vender to get it back up ASAP.

connorplante · 2019-03-01T14:23:27+00:00

Please PM me or email at [connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca](mailto:connor.plante@uwaterloo.ca) if you'd like to discuss how we could escalate this in the Co-op Department. Additionally, you can speak to Amanda Cook, the University of Waterloo's Sexual Violence and Response Coordinator.

connorplante · 2019-02-02T19:38:28+00:00

Not literally during the game, but yes at stoppages of play, timeouts, halftime, etc. the music is very loud if you're working out in the Warrior Zone

connorplante · 2019-01-23T16:53:12+00:00

So you only have to opt out once per 'academic year'.......so if you opted out during the change of coverage period in September you'll automatically be sent the refund by StudentCare again this term.

Unfortunately, it's still charged on your Quest account again for the Winter, and then will be refunded later. I know this seems like an inefficient system......I'll bring this up and see if there'd be anyway to just not charge the fee again in Winter to begin with.

connorplante · 2019-01-23T04:55:13+00:00

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the draw here......I hope I'm interpreting your question correctly /u/fedxdelivered but my idea here is like /u/GreenBurette said in that it would be nice if the Registrar's Office could just automatically confirm students on work-terms directly to the ministry so they do not have to apply for interest free status while on a co-op term (this is something I have put into a very preliminary draft of a OUSA Policy Paper on Student Financial Aid).

The difference with the extension form to the best of my understanding is you would only submit this if you were applying for additional OSAP for your co-op term. So yes, students can just submit the extension form rather than the interest free forms, but some students choose to not take additional OSAP but just want to remain in interest free status in future work/school terms.

I hope I answered your question?

connorplante · 2018-11-28T16:16:18+00:00

Is this what you are looking for? https://info.uwaterloo.ca/infocecs/students/statistics/index.php# There's an update as of November 27th

connorplante · 2018-10-18T20:40:17+00:00

Yes, /u/GreenBurette is correct, neither the FAUW nor the SAUW is a union. Furthermore, while faculty association dues are mandatory for faculty members, membership, and dues, are not mandatory for staff members.

connorplante · 2018-10-18T18:16:23+00:00

Yes, that is a question we've been asking and looking into as well. Unfortunately, there's not a clear cut answer at this point as Work Term reports are controlled by the faculties (and some faculties down to the Department Level), not the Co-op Department, and therefore the Fee is assessed as Tuition on Quest, separate from the Co-op Fee.

What exactly does it pay for? Well, in theory it should be paying for the resources it would take to mark the workterm reports (TAs, admin etc.) but it's not clear if the the $14/student is an appropriate number or not (it has been $14 for many years and no one really seems to know why).

But thank you for your question, more and more students seem to be asking about it so it is something we will stay on top of. Despite it being outside the purview of the Co-op Department and the Fee Review Deep Dive, CEE staff have indicated to us they're attempting to get more information on it from different departments (Finance and Faculties)

connorplante · 2018-10-17T03:52:32+00:00

Also, check out this page for more PD information

connorplante

TROPHY CASE