By Ben Hoffman
A proposal for fourth-year students to assist tas in labs netted two students tuition for a semester.
The President’s Challenge is issued each year by the University of Calgary administration to seek out students who have good ideas for inexpensive and effective small steps to creating a better learning experience on campus.
“We have been very serious for quite some time, particularly lately about listening to students in a lot of different ways,” U of C Vice-President Academic Dr. Ron Bond said at the reception on Fri., Mar. 26. “[This competition] is a tradition that goes back quite some time. There have been some great ideas generated by students over the years.”
All of the finalists’ submissions were taken into consideration by a panel of judges, and ranked based on their cost and feasibility.
First place was taken by a joint proposal from Faculty of Science’s Lee Bogle and Faculty of Kinesiology’s Jen Campbell. Their winning for their proposal would see senior undergraduate students helping tas in labs and tutorials. The prize was one semester tuition or the cash equivalent which the two will split.
“Both of us have been involved in very science intensive courses,” Campbell said. “We figured our labs and tutorials are places where we really could use a little bit more attention and a little bit more help.”
“Specifically, a lot of times the tas are overwhelmed by large class sizes,” continued Bogle. “It’s hard to get help when you need it.”
Bogle and Campbell assure the plan to get volunteer undergraduates to assist tas would see direct benefit to students, tas `and profs.
Second place was given to the Faculty of Medicine’s Matthew Chow for his faculty days proposal, aimed at creating new events and faculty celebration to boost campus morale. Chow won his choice of a $500 bookstore gift certificate or free parking for a year in the Art Parkade.
Third place was won by graduate student Jenny Krahn, whose idea centered on teaching support for new faculty members. The prize was a $200 gift certificate for the bookstore.