BCNSA Meeting Minutes – October 7, 2004
Today’s meeting was guided by a wonderful PowerPoint presentation put together by the VP of Finance Sean who was unable to attend the meeting. Special thanks to Sean for keeping the meeting in order and informative for all at the meeting.
The first order of business was the election of a new secretary. 2 first year students applied for the job. At the start of the meeting, one applicant was present. We decided to post pone election until the end of the meeting to give the other candidate an opportunity to arrive.
News
Faculty Meet and Greet
Jen: The faculty members have given positive feedback on the Meet and Greet. They thought it went very well, which is, of course, good to hear. What do you guys think of the meet and greet and is there anything you would like to see done to improve it?
Rob and Michele M: The sub was great! J
Michele M: We should have another one in January to let the students know more about NSERC applications and positions.
Jen: Also, lab tours in January for students to see what labs are all about. This will help students decide which labs might be good to apply to NSERC for the summer.
Michele M: Why don’t we set up the Faculty Meet and Greet early in January (first week of classes perhaps) and have a sign up sheet for laboratory tours.
à Everyone seemed in agreement of this idea
Jen: As for the format of the faculty meet and greet?
à All who attended the event liked the format.
Jen: Final note on this – let’s not forget that we do have some textbooks to raffle off for the winter semester! The meet and greet may be our event to do this raffle.
FASS and Program Status
FASS has approved the idea for formal program status of the BCN degree. Jen gave a breakdown of what formal program status means. Right now, graduates of the BCN program receive a degree in Honours B.Sc. in Biology and Psychology (double major) with Thesis. In a formal degree, your diploma would read Honours B.Sc. in Behaviour, Cognition and Neuroscience. In addition to the change of name on the diploma, a major reason for having formal status is funding differences.
Formal status may allow for BCN to acquire an official program coordinator, advisor and teacher in Neuroscience specific classes. As of right now, our professors involved with our program do a wonderful job of supplying us with as many of these services as they can, but really it is above and beyond their priorities to their respective departments. Our professors are busy people (as we know) and having someone who is hired specifically to handle this job would be beneficial to us as students as well us to our professors. Also, formal degree status means slightly better recruitment into the program. Formal degree status also brings to light enrolment issue. The current entrance cap is 20 students. Formal degree status can push for a larger entrance acceptance but does not mean it. As students, we have previously voiced our opinion of supporting a cap in enrolment for various reasons and this issue is still up for debate. The website hold more information about the program status and the way in which this proposal is passed.
Okay à on to the new stuff: The BCN proposal is now at the Program Development Committee stage. We sent a letter to the PDC in April – should we send another and are we still in support of a program cap?
Michele M: I’m in favour of the cap. I like the low student to prof ratio. Also, if we want good research possibilities we need to have tight entrance criteria.
Anca: When I saw that only 20 students were let into the program it made it attractive for me. It told me that all students let into the program would be motivated to be there and made me want to be a part of it.
Jen: Should we send another letter then?
(Everyone in favour)
Jen: Okay – we will prepare a letter and have it ready for anyone who would like to sign it at the next meeting.
Heather: I’ll look into when the next PDC meeting is and if we are on the agenda. I’ll also check into if we can attend the meeting in a showing of support.
Mentors Program
Claudia gave the group an update on the Mentors Program (which she has in a nice typed list). In summary, all 4 of the students in the mentors program have joined the BCNSA. Claudia suggests that the best way to reach more of the first year students would be to call before entrance at the University. It’s a very personal means of communication and can leave a lasting impression. So far, the best way to communicate with mentees has been e-mail, but Claud reminds that at least one initial meeting should be in person.
To address problems in meeting times, Claud suggests meeting during colloquium times, either before or after, or on a week where no presentation is scheduled as both mentee and mentor should be free. The main issues that mentors have dealt with involve questions about course selection, what the degree audit means, and thesis concerns. Claudia is considering writing a new section on the thesis aspect of the program for next years mentee guide. Claudia is also going to contact mentee post midterms to see how they are doing and whether or not they find themselves needing the mentor service more.
Jen asks: Should mentor service be open for anyone in BCN?
Omar: I think it should be open to anyone who thinks they need it
On the side: New Idea
Katie: What about having a FAQ section on the website with questions such as :what is a thesis, what is neuroscience, etc…..
Heather: We could break it up, have a FAQs for Prospective students and one for Current students
Omar: Also we should post graduate profiles on line, a “where are they now” to show students what can be done with a BCN degree.
The “How-to Successfully Graduate from BCN Guide”
Jen: I’ve been thinking about putting together a guide for graduating students about how to go about getting things in order for graduate/professional school applications, as well as scholarship applications. There are so many due dates, concerns, things to do, it’d be great to have a package with all the information in one place. Things like differences between the US and Canada, how starting in 4th year is really too late, getting the right references, keeping track of volunteer work and contacts, etc. I’ll get a sign up sheet either at the next meeting or via e-mail to those who are interested.
Finances:
So far this year, we have made $85 in net profit. We are still waiting for some members to pay their entrance fees! If you have not done so, please do so ASAP
Fundraising:
T-shirts:
Possible slogans for the Front:
“BCN: Bacon without the vowels”
“BCNSA – What the %$@&?
“Playing mind games since 2000” (IE put the slogan that’s currently on the back on the front or just leaving it on the back with no slogan on the front)
Anca: What about “you’ve been cerebellumed”
Katie: Personally, I do not like “playing mind games” I think it sounds devious and doesn’t represent the group
à After much debate, Jen closes the topic with deciding to bring a finalized t-shirt design to the next meeting for an official “Yes/No” decision!
Video Scavenger Hunt:
Michele M: This will hopefully be a big fundraiser. We’d like to hold it around Hallowe’en, have it be near campus (no cars necessary) though not necessarily on campus itself. We’re thinking of teams of 5, giving them a limited amount of video tape time. Teams must provide their own video camera and pay an entrance fee. The groups will meet at the Thirsty scholar when done, the tapes will be viewed and the winning team gets a cash prize. Teams can be from anywhere on campus.
All interested people at the meeting signed up for the committee. If you are interested in helping out, contact Michele to get on the committee.
Course Materials:
Still collecting – please donate to Tim to get things posted!
Announcements
CANCELLED!
There is a lunch next Friday for speaker Simon Alfred. This lunch is free and open to BCN students on a first come, first serve basis. If interested contact Michele Askew. Also note that the colloquium is on Friday October 15th at 3:30pm in the normal room (BB122) and not Thursday. Please attend unless course conflicts prevent you from attending. The speech will deal with synaptogenesis.
Also, there was concern about speakers talking over one hour. Most speakers try to keep their talks about one hour, but it is up to the speaker to decide. If you have a course conflict and must leave after one hour – that’s fine! Don’t worry about it – just plan ahead. Sit near the back of the room and quietly leave. Our guest speakers understand that students do have classes to attend and sometimes leaving is necessary.
A final note:
Anca has been acclaimed as secretary because the other candidate did not show up. We welcome her dedication and look forward to having an official secretary. Many thanks to both candidates and congrats to Anca.