Monthly Archives: April 2020

Informal AGM Recap

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If you attended our virtual AGM on Friday via WebEx, thank you! We were unable to reach quorum at the meeting but we gave an update to those in attendance about our year in review and our plans for the next academic year! Please find all documents below that were discussed. The meeting was recorded and a copy of the video can also be found below. 

Watch a recording of our informal AGM here:

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EGS Provides Services

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Engineering Graduate Society continues to provide services to Graduate Students during Shutdown

Despite the COVID-19 related shutdown of McMaster University, the Engineering Graduate Society has continued to provide important services to its members. Recently, two out of three seats on the EGS Council dedicated to SEPT students were filled in a School wide election, and those members are acclimating to their new positions well.

More internally, the Executive has been hard at work updating Elections bylaws after feedback from this years Council. With these new changes, which have been approved by the Council, the EGS may elevate any department representative-elect to a voting seat before their official term begins. This will allow for more discussion and accountability of incoming Executive Officers, who are elected by the outgoing Council.

Travel Awards for the summer semester have been thrown in a bit of a tizzy, with most conferences worldwide being cancelled as research institutes implement working for home procedures and governments close borders. Our Travel Awards Chairs and Committee have opened up the fund to anyone who has purchased tickets, travel, or accommodations and is unable to obtain a refund. Please be in contact with the committee for more information.

Events and Academics have been reacting to the change in expected schedules with grace and agility. While nothing can be publicly confirmed, we are in negotiations to bring a world class expert on thesis writing techniques to lead an online workshop! Keep an eye on this space for more details.

Finally, our External Directorate has been maintaining connections between engineering students and our partners in the Faculty, the University, the GSA, and CUPE. Every day we are advocating for student interests, and making sure that important information is disseminated as quickly as possible.

Virtual AGM 2020

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The GSA invites all members to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 17th at 11:00AM. At our AGM we will present what the GSA has done for you over the past academic year and our plans moving forward into the 2020-2021 academic year. Due to physical distancing measures, we will be hosting our AGM virtually via WebEx! Please enter the meeting via this link and and click here to view the agenda for the AGM.

Additionally, please find other important documents attached below which will be discussed at the AGM on April 17th:

Watch a recording of our informal AGM below:

FREE Legal Consultation

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If you have not received an email already from our Health and Dental provider Studentcare, we would like to share some important information about your Health & Dental Plan and a new legal service now available to members.

Due to COVID-19, you may find yourself in a difficult or complicated situation with your employer, landlord, or academic institution, which may leave you wondering about your rights. To support you during the crisis, you now have free access to a legal consultation helpline for 1 month.

To consult with a lawyer on issues arising from the pandemic, contact the Appointment Booking Centre at 1-833-288-4620.

An agent will take note of your request and forward it to a lawyer who will promptly contact you.

•  WHAT?
A free legal consultation service for any matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic
•  WHEN?
Effective immediately, for the month of April
•  HOW?
Call the toll-free number: 1-833-288-4620

COVID-19 GSA Update- Apr 3rd

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Hello grad students, 

Just a brief update of how our discussions have been with the University over the past week!

With respect to advocating for tuition waivers and financial constraints for graduate students soon to defend, there are still a few factors for the university to consider before releasing any final statements. But we are actively advocating for all of us throughout this time and ensuring that this issue is constantly on their minds.

Please find a few notes below that they were able to have final messaging about:

  • Students are encouraged to communicate regularly with their supervisors about goals to be achieved while working from home and their research progress.
  • Students who have unusual challenges in terms of access to internet and hardware required to work from home should communicate this to us at the GSA (macgsa@mcmaster.ca), Andrea Cole (coleand@mcmaster.ca) in the School of Graduate Studies with a cc to their Faculty’s Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
  • Students who have accepted an offer for a May 1, 2020 start but who are reconsidering their start date may defer to September 1, 2020 or January 1, 2021 after consultation with their supervisor.
  • No graduate student should be in the lab on-campus at this time unless the lab has been permitted an exception by the Vice-President Research’s office.
  • Emergency financial assistance is available to graduate students. Please consult https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/covid-19/#tab-5 for details.
  • Graduate instructors have been informed of the degree of flexibility allowed in determining numerical grades for courses concluding at the end of the Winter 2020 term. Further clarification of options is expected subsequent to the April 8, 2020 meeting of Senate. 

In addition to these points, we are asking you to please fill out this very brief survey no later than April 8th @ 5PM outlining your specific concerns that we will compile and present to the University on April 10th. Also, we are partnering with SGS to have a weekly café drop in where you can voice specific concerns throughout this time and also have a chat with fellow graduate students about how we are all getting through this time. Updates to follow shortly.

We are in communication with upper administration every day and have recurring meetings set up with Leadership at the University on a weekly basis. For many of our questions, they have tried their best to be accommodating to find solutions for us and the student body in general; however, we too are still waiting for clarification. That’s not to suggest we are dormant. We continue to voice our concerns to McMaster.

And please continue to check our website and the McMaster University Website for current information and developments with respect to COVID-19.

If there are any other concerns that you’d want further follow-up with, please feel free to shoot me an email personally (gsapres@mcmaster.ca) and I’ll try my best to get back to you as soon as possible!

Regards,
Your GSA