UW Senate

President’s Report

September 19, 2011

Ontario Election – October 6, 2011

Liberal Party Platform

•30 per cent tuition grant• Students from families with less than $160,000 in income could see up to $1,600 in

reductions• Grant will cost $485M annually by 2015-16

•Funding for 60,000 new undergraduate student spaces over five years•$300M for three new satellite campuses proposed (WLU – Milton, Laurentian – Barrie, possible Brampton campus for a Toronto-area university)

PC Party Platform

•Create 60,000 post-secondary spaces•Redirect the $30 million Ontario Trillium Scholarships for foreign students to Ontario students

New Democratic Party Platform

•Promises tuition freeze for four years•Will remove interest from provincial portion of student loans

Source: Waterloo Region Record, September 8, 2011

International Rankings

QS Top University Rankings

•Waterloo is 160th, down from 145th in 2010

•Waterloo the 9th highest-ranked Canadian university, down from 7th in 2010

Faculty Ranking 2010 2011

Engineering & Technology

39 56

Natural Sciences 80 116

Life Sciences and Medicine

176 236

2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities

•Waterloo placed in the 151-200 ranking cluster•Same ranking we achieved in 2010, improving from 201-302 in 2009

•Top Canadian Universities:• Toronto (26)• UBC (37)• McGill (64)• McMaster (89)• Alberta, Montreal (102-150)• Calgary (151-200)

•Waterloo ranks in 52-75 range with McGill in Engineering Technology/Computer Sciences category

Seniors Centre of Excellence for Research, Training, and Innovation

•192-bed facility located on the North Campus•$20M in capital funding from Ontario government + $625,000 in annual operating/curriculum funding

Source: Communications and Public Affairs, August 29, 2011

Southern Ontario Water Consortium

•$52M investment in project from FedDev, Ontario’s Ministry of Research Innovation, IBM Canada and academic consortium partners•Development platform for new water technologies in the Grand River Watershed•Waterloo the lead university and project headquarters

5 Graduate Students Win Vanier Awards

•Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships worth up to $50,000/year for 3 years•4 students received NSERC Vanier Awards, 1 received a CIHR Vanier (UW’s first)

Update on leadership searches

First Year Intake; Satellite Campus Update

Purpose:

•Engage students, faculty, staff, alumni•Review Sixth Decade Plan•Build on EC’s 10 priority areas for 2011-2012

Approach:

•Two-stage consultations:•Stage One (September – November)

• Stakeholder meetings• Online survey• Email

•Stage Two (November to February)• Focus Groups

•Report by March 2012