Getting rid of its automated phone menu system will allow staff in the registrar’s office to provide better services to clients, says acting registrar Charlene Yates.

“Our students are sophisticated—they use the myUWindsor system, the Web site, or the app for general information,” she says. “When they call the office, it’s because they require personalized assistance and need to talk to a live person.”

The automated menu asked clients to indicate the nature of their call, and sorted them based on those responses.

“Most of them were still talking to a human being in the end. It just took them more steps,” Yates says. “We are hoping that eliminating those steps will help them get their answers faster.”

She saw the need for change when she reviewed the phone system’s script.

“Looking over the script of our menus I realized how many hoops we were asking students to jump through,” she says. “I just didn’t feel it was the excellent service we aim for.”

Under the new process, each call is answered personally, although during heavy volume, some callers may wait on hold. Office staff have the ability to monitor the queue and jump in if waits get too long.

“In addition to our client services specialists, our admissions and records officers can take calls from the queue,” says Yates. “Our ultimate goal is to improve our service to students.”

Survey to measure student satisfaction

To monitor the impact of its efforts, the office will begin surveying students about their experiences with registrarial services.

“We will be sending a survey out to each student after a point of contact—a phone call, visit, or e-mail interaction,” says assistant registrar Beth Oakley. “The idea is just to ask how we’re doing.”

Respondents will be asked whether the staff was knowledgeable, friendly and ultimately able to resolve the issue. Oakley hopes to launch a similar survey of faculty and staff clients in the winter semester.

Yates promises to make the results of both surveys available to the campus community.

Preliminary data gathered from state-of-the-art acoustic technology in the deep waters off the shores of Baffin Island will provide extraordinary insight for developing new commercial Inuit fisheries and protecting fish stocks for future generations in northern Canada, according to a University of Windsor scientist.

Over the last year, researchers working in the lab of Aaron Fisk, a professor in the University’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, have been setting acoustic receivers on the floor of Cumberland Sound, a large, deep inlet on the southern part of Baffin Island. Those receivers collect data from corresponding acoustic tags implanted in such species as Greenland halibut, and help scientists understand their migratory patterns.

The data collected so far should provide the Government of Nunavut and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans with critical evidence about where and how to develop commercial fisheries in the region, Dr. Fisk said.

“The Inuit have special rights to their land and the animals that live there,” said Fisk, who heads up the Arctic portion of the Ocean Tracking Network, a $168 million initiative to study the migratory patterns of a wide variety of species from around the planet. “We really want to contribute to them developing a viable fishery, which I think is really critical for northern development.”

Between August 1 and September 24, Fisk’s team retrieved acoustic receivers in Cumberland Sound and estimate more than 90 individual fish, including Greenland shark and Arctic skate, were detected in the latest data capture.  Low commercial catches in the north of the inlet during the summer have raised questions about distribution and abundance of commercial fishing species, but the latest data reveal clear summer to winter migratory patterns of halibut.

“Cumberland Sound is very important because they’re developing an Inuit-based commercial fishery and there’s a lack of good biological data on these very important populations,” Fisk said. “The data we collected this summer is just so instrumental for protecting that fish stock and developing a good management plan.”

Fisk’s team is currently in the process of moving their research site north from Cumberland Sound to Scott Inlet, located just north of the tiny Inuit hamlet of Clyde River on Baffin Island’s northeast shore.

“We know there’s Greenland halibut in the area and that community is very keen on developing their own Inuit fishery,” said Fisk. “We’re going to go in there and get that data so they can develop that properly and protect their stock and protect their interests from outside fishing interests.”

This weekend Stephen Fields, a communications officer in the University of Windsor’s department of Public Affairs and Communications, will join Nigel Hussey, a post-doctoral fellow in Fisk’s lab aboard the MV Nuliajuk, a 64-foot research vessel for an eight-day research expedition. The two will be part of a crew setting out acoustic receivers, catching and tagging fish in Scott Inlet. Fields will blog about the journey and conduct regular satellite phone interviews from the ship with Tony Doucette, the host of CBC Windsor’s morning radio show The Early Shift.

Fisk, meanwhile, will appear today on Research Matters, a weekly talk show that focuses on the work of University of Windsor researchers and airs every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on CJAM 99.1 FM.

Read Fields’ blog here.

The university is a safe and friendly neighbourhood, says Askin Avenue resident Lena Angelidis—and she is glad to see continued cooperation to make it stay that way.

She was among dozens of neighbours to join community leaders, students, faculty and staff at an open house Wednesday, learning about ambitious plans to remake the University of Windsor campus.

“The plans are very exciting,” Angelidis said. As a native of the city, she added she is particularly glad to see the downtown campus. “My husband and I have owned businesses in the core. Downtown has always been a big part of our lives.”

Neighbour Mike Cardinal called the plans “a breath of fresh air.”

“The designs are people-friendly and well-conceived,” he said. “It puts the university at its proper footprint within the city.”

Victoria Townsend, a doctoral student of engineering, said she was interested to see what her colleagues in the profession have been up to.

“I think it’s neat that they had people from the university but also from the broader community,” she said. “Making those connections is important for both the campus and the city.”

Alaa Bondok, a third-year biology student, called the proposals very creative.

“I think it is pretty amazing what they’re doing,” she said. “They’re really taking initiative to improve some of these facilities.”

In addition to a formal presentation by UWindsor president Alan Wildeman, experts were on hand to discuss with guests the University’s two-phase plan.

The first runs to 2015 and includes:

• Projects already completed, like the International Student centre and renovations to Dillon Hall;
• projects nearing completion, like the Centre for Engineering Innovation and streetscaping along Wyandotte Street;
• those underway, like the construction of the integrated parking structure and Innovation Centre; and
• those in the planning stages, like the construction of a Welcome Centre and the conversion of a block of Sunset Avenue to a pedestrian esplanade.

The second phase, beginning in 2015, will feature consolidation of student service areas, improvements to athletics facilities, and enhancements of Essex Hall, the Ron Ianni Law Building, and the Leddy Library.

Find more information, including maps of the proposed changes, on the Web site of the Campus Transformation Plan.

In case the big white tents going up aren’t enough of a reminder, today is the day.

The entire campus community is invited to celebrate the start of the academic year with a free barbecue today from noon to 1:30 p.m. (or while supplies last) in the quad between Dillon and Chrysler halls—rain or shine.

Enjoy live music with your free sausages, chips and drinks—even a vegetarian option, served up by campus celebrities. The event is hosted by Special Events, Office of the President; the Alumni Association; and the University of Windsor Students' Alliance, with thanks to sponsors Food & Catering Services.

Canada is a long way from home for many international students, but UWindsor faculty and staff can make them feel more at home through the Host for the Holidays program.

A project of the International Students Centre, it matches international students with local families willing to open their homes for a Thanksgiving meal.

“Students from abroad have come to this country because they are interested in its culture and customs,” says international student advisor Enrique Chacon. “Our holiday celebrations are a great opportunity for them to extend their learning and experience Canadian traditions first-hand.”

He says past participants have found the extra guests enrich their Thanksgivings.

“Sharing our cultures can help remind us what is special about them,” says Chacon. “And meeting these young people from other places can remind us of what we have to be grateful for on Thanksgiving.”

The program, now in its fourth year, is accepting applications from prospective hosts and guests through September 30. Organizers will match hosts with guests based on a number of factors—dietary preferences, tolerance for pets, timing of the meal, and even convenience of transportation.

Thanksgiving weekend runs October 5 to 8. Find more information, including online applications, on the program Web site, uwindsor.ca/isc/host.

A student, a staff member and graduates of the School of Visual Arts are among more than 1700 artists vying for a total of $560,000 in prizes in the world’s largest public vote art competition.

ArtPrize opened yesterday with more than 1500 entries in 161 venues across Grand Rapids, Michigan. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourites; round one will continue through September 29, when 10 finalists will advance to a five-day second round.

Among the entrants with a UWindsor connection are:

• Dan Bernyk, a BFA grad now working as a sculpture technician in the LeBel Building, whose piece Castcade consists of 48 stacked layers of two-inch rings of cast aluminum;
• Natalie Nadeau, a current BFA student whose Enclosure is a full-size replica of a couch fabricated in steel; and
• alumnae Collette Broeders and Samantha Therrien, whose collaborative work Rebound Passages suspends hundreds of scraps of text by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung in transparent plastic capsules.

Find more information on ArtPrize on its Web site, www.artprize.org.

A cycling culture helps people invest in their health and in more affordable transportation, says Jeannine DeGagne.

A former personal trainer in Kenora before she returned to school as a disability studies and psychology student, DeGagne aims to raise awareness about exercise and the benefits of outdoor activity. The annual Bike to UWindsor Week is intended to educate students and professors on the health and environmental benefits of commuting to campus on a bike.

“By riding a bicycle, one can avoid parking fees and be more active,” says DeGagne. “We have collaborated with Campus Police and other departments to create a community to promote this idea.”

Co-organizer Nicole Noel, research coordinator at the Centre for Studies in Social Justice, promotes an environmental perspective.

“We are promoting cycling as a more affordable alternative to cars,” she says. “Reducing pollution will make the city and the university safe and conducive for cycling.”

On Wednesday, cyclists received safety tips from special constable Rose Briscoe of the Campus Community Police Service, ranging from locking bikes more securely to avoiding traffic offences. Reflectors, bells and helmets for those under 18 are a huge part of bike safety, Briscoe says. She encourages cyclists to register their bikes online with Campus Community Police to help prevent bike theft.

Kari Gignac, secretary for Bike Friendly Windsor-Essex, provided further information on road rules, proper equipment and trails in the city.

“We want people to feel safe on our roads and trails,” she says. “The City of Windsor has provided us with trail maps to help with this cause. We hope to see more cyclists on the road once they are equipped with this information.”

Bike week continues today with a free bicycle check-up by the professionals of Courtesy Bicycles, a sponsor of the event, at noon in the CAW Student Centre. For more information, including a full list of event sponsors, check out the event Web site.

--story and photo by Chantelle Myers

Campus flags will be lowered Thursday, September 20, in memory of retiree Edna Renaud, who died September 16. She joined the University’s staff in 1963 as a housekeeper, a position she held until her retirement in 1979.

Funeral services were held September 19. See her obituary for details.