Students’ Council Input Sessions Presentation Date: January 12, 2014 Presenter: President Collins

BRAINSTORMED IDEAS These lists show all the ideas that the groups came up with during their sessions. Councilors were asked, “what do you think students want?” and asked to brainstorm ideas in relation to the PSE environment and the UW social environment.

What do you think students want? Thursday Session Beer tents Update ancillary fee policy Financial aid for student involvement Student space Mental health service access Centralized source of info (ex: Quest + Learn) Better grading policies Better exam scheduling and relief Athletics Geese Drugs/alcohol awareness Improve sick note policy Get rid of SSO/improve academic councillors Academic Rights awareness Equity on campus Sustainable university fees Sustainability office Free food ELPE Fall Reading Week/Break Closure Policy Transparency O-Week School Spirit Friday Session Lower food costs Fewer geese More cross-campus collaboration Better safety policies around construction zones Ensuring that course content and syllabi are relevant to specified degree outcomes Revamped campus calendar recognizing diverse religious observances More fairs (i.e. entertainment, job, coop) Improved accessibility standards for both online learning a physical access Studen empowerment Identity of UW Identity of Feds brand Better food options Evaluation of courses Unity of faculties Smaller class sizes Skilled profs Education affordibility Student study/social space Better job opportunities Coop centric-learning enviroment

PRIORITIZED IDEAS The next step in the process was to narrow down the brainstormed ideas. Councilors were asked, “out of all the brainstormed ideas, which do you think students find the most important?”

Prioritized Ideas (Thursday Session) Fall Reading Break/Week O-Week – Improving relevance of O-Week Athletics – Next athletics director and vision for the area Academic Rights awareness – Ensuring ALL students know their rights ELPE – Next steps after it ends Exam relief – Ensuring that students have the appropriate amount of time and health to be successful Grading – Ensuring fair grading policies School space – Social and study space Student spirit – Improving how much students like coming to Waterloo Sustainability office – Promoting an environmentally and socially responsible campus culture

Prioritized Ideas (Friday Session) Student Space – Revamping existing space – Increasing undergrad study/residential/social space on campus Unity of the faculties – More students working together on projects – More diverse student experiences in programs – More program-to-program collaboration Evaluation of courses – Finding value in content of a course – Encouraging the university to look into more diverse teaching methods Better Food Options – More diet sensitive options (i.e. vegan, halal, gluten-free, etc) – Affordability (especially in residences) Identity of the Feds Brand – Stronger brand to create stronger advocacy potential – If students are paying for us, they have the right to be aware Identity of UW – Promoting non-academic student opportunities – Continuing to ensure the value of a UW degree Student Empowerment – Experiential and real world learning opportunities to allow students to find their passion Accessibility in General – Affording equitable learning opportunities Safety Policies – Booboos are bad.

TOP IDEAS The final step in the process was to ask Councilors to pick the top ideas that they thought students would want Students’ Council to Investigate.

Top Ideas Top Ideas for Students’ Council School spirit Sustainability office Student Space Better Food Options Identity of the Feds Brand Top Ideas for EAC Exam relief Grading

Next Steps Consult with Societies and Services this week to see if they agree with our top 5 ideas Draft an action plan for the top 5 ideas – The plan will include terms of references for ad-hoc committees of Council – These committees will be tasked with creating a comprehensive, student-consulted policy for the item by the April 6 th Council Meeting Reconvene Students’ Council within the next two weeks to approve and implement the action plan

QUESTIONS WELCOMED!