Who lives in residence?
What was the problem? We have received a comment regarding a few problems that were detected in the Rideau Residence: no hot water in the showers, stained mattresses and floors, dysfunctional vacuums and laundry units, dirty ovens, and homeless population around the building.
What have we done? We sent the comment to the Housing Service and they have provided feedback for every issue raised. Regarding the water in the showers as well as the stained mattresses and floors, they said that they could clean, replace and repair everything once the student completes a work order. For the dysfunctional vacuums and laundry units, they verified them and everything was functional. They sent a reminder to their sanitary group to clean up the ovens. As for the homeless population around the building, the team said that it is collaborating with the city counselor and building owner to ensure the care and comfort of all the students that live in the building.
Our thanks to for informing us on the matter.
Marks adjusted downwards?
What was the problem? A student reached out to us regarding a double downward regrading of her class’s marks after the original grades had already been posted on the Virtual Campus.
What have we done? The Vice-Dean Academics at the respective faculty communicated with the concerned professor, and as the situation was unfair for the students, the original marks were reinstated.
Our thanks to Christine Dallaire, Vice-Dean Academics at the Faculty of Health Sciences for addressing this problem promptly.
Two scholarships are worth less than one
What was the problem? Graduate students receiving an Admission Scholarship as well as an Excellence Scholarship are disadvantaged compared to students only receiving the Admission Scholarship because their Excellence Scholarship, which is of a lower value, replaces the Admission Scholarship. Therefore, obtaining both scholarships penalizes highly successful students.
What have we done? The Graduate Office started a reform to provide more support to its students. This includes changes to regulations that determine the allocation of scholarships to graduate students with higher academic averages to ensure they are not disadvantaged, as opposed to the current system in place. This long process, done in collaboration with other University services, has already begun.
Our thanks to the Assistant Vice-Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Ioan Nistor, and his team for their remarkable work to improve this situation.
Direct deposit please!
What was the problem? The student population found that check reimbursement had several drawbacks, such as check printing time and postal delays beyond control.
How did we fix it? The University's Financial Resources will now reimburse students by Interac transfer within 24 to 48 hours. Students will receive their repayment much more quickly. In addition, the number of cheques impression, postal delays and gas emissions due to delivery will be greatly reduced.
Our thanks to Kim Chartier, Service Excellence and Communications, Student Accounts from the Department of Financial Resources.
Official Office 365 offering
What was the problem? Due to a lack of communication and publicity, most student don't know that Office 365 is available when they enroll as a full-time students. They end up purchasing it full price.
What have we done? The University will enable Office 365 offering. They now have a project planned for 2019 where student will have access to the full suite of software from Microsoft at no cost. A revised website detailing the information will be in operation from 2019.
Our thanks to Alex Dipietro, IT Manager of Services and Infrastructure.
Combating homophobic content!
What was the problem? A homophobic message was written on the wall of the Morisset Hall for a long time. The message seemed to be faded, but was still visible.
How did we solve it? We contacted the Facilities and they made sure to remove the graffiti completely and as quickly as possible.
Our thanks to the Manager, Client Engagement, Marc St-Amour, and his team from the Facilities, for their prompt reaction to ensure that this message was removed quickly.
A Smoke-Free Campus
What was the problem? In the past months, we have constantly received comments of students who want the University to become a smoke-free campus.
What have we done? Since the University has decided not to become a smoke-free campus last year, we are currently working with both the Facilities and the Protection Services to better mark-off the smoke-free zones and ensure they are respected.
Our thanks to Marc St-Amour from Facilities and his team for their remarkable work to improve this situation.
What seminars?
What was the problem? We received a comment from a student indicating that the list of seminars at the School of Music is hard to find since they are not displayed online. Students have to come on campus and consult the posters in person to gain information about the seminars. Additionally, the advisors were not always informed on the matter.
What have we done? The School of Music Director indicated that the School of Music posts a list of seminars on their website, with their respective dates. This information was also communicated to the advisors so they are better equipped to answer questions on the matter in the future.
Our thanks to the School of Music Director, Lori Burns, and her team for addressing this problem promptly.
Brightspace in both official languages
What was the problem? A student has raised an issue with the time-out message on Brightspace not being bilingual. It only appears in French.
What have we done? We have communicated with the Teaching and Learning Support Service and they have confirmed that there is an issue with the Brightspace platform that causes the time-out message not to appear in English. Both the Teaching and Learning Support team and the Brightspace company are currently working on solving it.
Our thanks to Sebastien Leduc from the Teaching and Learning Support Service for informing us on the matter.
No to vandalism!
What was the problem? An external company was posting advertising posters around the campus in great abundance.
How did we solve it? We contacted the Facilities who, thanks to the pictures and details provided by the student, were able to remove all the posters and stickers quickly. Protection Services were also notified to document the vandalism.
We would like to thank Marc St-Amour, Manager of the Client Engagement, from the Facilities as well as the Protection Services for working together to solve this problem.