August 15, 2012  ¥  Issue 111  ¥ http://www.sgps.ca
E-Newsletter
SGPS Office: Summer Hours
The SGPS Office is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (closed noon until 1 for lunch)
We are located in room 021 of the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC)
SGPS Orientation Week 2012
All the details you need to know about the events of Orientation Week are provided on the SGPS website. Check out all the fun stuff we have planned for you this year! New and returning students are welcome!
http://www.sgps.ca/orientation/
Orientation week provides you with many great opportunities to learn about the various services offered by the SGPS and Queen's to graduate and professional students. Orientation week also provides you with many opportunities to meet students in your program of study and across our diverse University.
The SGPS snail-mails an orientation guide to all new and returning graduate and professional students. Look to receive the Orientation Week Survival Guide around the third week of August. This guide contains all the details about orientation week events. The guide also contains a lot of important and useful information for graduate and professional students. A digital copy of the guide can be downloaded at:
http://www.sgps.ca/orientation/downloads/12-13-oguide-1up.pdf
All the SGPS events for Orientation Week 2011 can be found at:
http://www.sgps.ca/orientation/calendar.html
Registration and payment for events can be found at:
http://www.sgps.ca/orientation/registration.html
Please note if you are interested in free events, do not register online, but rather send an e- mail to social@sgps.ca and we will sign you up! Also, for any individuals who are fasting for Ramadan, please be assured that food can be served at later times during our evening events like the semi formal and lunch can be packed up for you during our day events.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact SGPS Social Commissioner, Cassandra, via e-mail at social@sgps.ca.
E-Newsletter
Aboriginal Council of QueenÕs
The Aboriginal Council of QueenÕs University (ACQU) is seeking to fill a vacancy. The seat is reserved for an Indigenous student who is also a member of the SGPS. The ACQU meets four times per year on average. The duration of the representative's tenure is up to two years.
Furthermore, the ACQU is looking for student representatives, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, with interests in the following fields:
Working Group on Indigenous Knowledge, Curriculum & Research
Working Group on Aboriginal Student Access & Support
Working Group on Indigenous Cultural Awareness & Programming
For more information, please contact Janice Hill:
By phone:	613.533.6000, extension 77999Ê
By email:	janice.hill@queensu.ca
Copyright Workshops
There is a variety of information circulating in the media on development related to copyright law, some of it inaccurate. To clarify what these developments means for education, Mark Swartz, Copyright Specialist at Queen's University, will be offering weekly question and answer sessions. These are open to anyone at the university. 
Wednesday, August 22 at 2:30pm
Thursday, August 30 at 2:30pm
Register for one of these workshops here:
https://moodle.queensu.ca/mod/facetoface/view.php?id=99633
For more information please see the Copyright website:
http://library.queensu.ca/copyright
or contact Mark Swartz, Copyright Specialist
Office: Copyright Advisory Office Office of the University Librarian 207 Stauffer Library Queen's University Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6
Phone:	(613) 533-6000 ext 78510
Email:	mark.swartz@queensu.ca
IM:		markdswartz@gmail.com
Student Activity Fees
Student activity and faculty society fees are assessed to students registered on-campus in the School of Graduate Studies and Research, the School of Religion, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Education. Complete activity fee details can be found at:
http://www.sgps.ca/info/fees.html
E-Newsletter
SGPS Office: Summer Hours
The SGPS Office will be closed Mondays and Fridays until mid-August.
Completing Your Degree
Congratulations! ÊYou are in the final stages of completing your graduate degree. Before you begin the next phase of your life, take the time to ensure that your plans to complete your degree are well in hand. Please review each stage carefully. For complete details:
http://www.queensu.ca/sgs/forstudents/completion.html
Health and Dental Insurance Claims
Need help filing an insurance claim through your SGPS insurance? Stop by the SGPS Office for help getting your claim in the mail. We will help with the paperwork and pay the postage!
SGPS seeks Volunteers For The Free QueenÕs Steering Committee
The SGPS is looking for volunteers to participate in organizing a fun and vibrant workshop series for the Winter 2013 term. FREE Queen's is a hands-on workshop series that has Queen's graduate and professional students teaching and sharing concrete skills with the Kingston community. Basic to more advanced classes encompass a wide range of skills which are determined by the FREE Queen's Steering Committee. Members of the Steering Committee decide on the event's timeline goals and timeline, as well as select participants and advertise the event. If you are interested in becoming involved in this year's Committee, please contact Becky Pero, VP Graduate at vpg@sgps.ca, by September 1, 2012.
FREE ISIC--NOW WITH APP!
All SGPS members get a free ISIC card. Come to our office with your student card to get your free card any day of the year that we are open. Already have an ISIC Card? Get the free ISIC Benefits mobile app so you can easily find all of the ISIC discounts around the world! The app is available for iPhone/iPad, Android, and Windows Phone.
iPhone/iPad
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/isicbenefits/id417705974?mt=8
Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.jool.isic
Windows Phone
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-GB/apps/3845b225-1e27-46fb-b858-dc80fd3e8359
E-Newsletter
Queen's Community Consultations: Mental Health, Suspension of Admissions, and Ontario Post-Secondary Reform
Queen's is currently soliciting feedback on three important documents. Queen's and the SGPS values your input on all three. 
1. The first is a discussion paper by the Principal's Commission on Mental Health, found here: http://www.queensu.ca/cmh/index.html. If you have any feedback, you can contact the Commission directly atcmh@queensu.ca.
2. The second is a draft of a policy written by the Senate Committee on Academic Development (SCAD) about the suspension of admissions to Academic Programs. This arose out of concerns surrounding the suspension of admissions to the Bachelor of Fine Arts program last year. The program is now accepting admissions again, but Queen's still needs a policy to determine how situations like these will be handled in the future. The draft is here:
http://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/index/SuspensionofAdmission.pdf
Please contact the secretary of SCAD with any feedback at watkinm@queensu.ca by Sept 17.
3. The third document is external to Queen's. It is a discussion paper released by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities about proposed reforms to Ontario post-secondary education. Queen's has set up a website to discuss the paper:
http://www.queensu.ca/connect/mtcupaper/
The paper itself can be found here:
http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/publications/DiscussionStrengtheningOntarioPSE.pdf
Please offer your feedback before August 31st.
In all three cases, the SGPS would also appreciate hearing what you have to say! So feel free to send any feedback to president@sgps.ca as well. Thank you. 
CFS-Ontario AGM Agenda & Notice of Motions
The agenda and notice of motions document for the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the CFS-Ontario is available on the SGPS website. If you have any feedback or questions, please contact SGPS VP Campaigns and Community Affairs, Matt Shultz (vpcca@sgps.ca). You can download the pdf document here:
http://www.sgps.ca/downloads/cfso-agm-2012-motions.pdf
Follow the SGPS on twitter and facebook
The SGPS is now using Twitter and Facebook to keep you updated. We will be posting things like upcoming social events, deadlines (registration, optional fee opt-outs, health and dental) and lots of other important information for our members.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2310661892
http://twitter.com/QueensSGPS
E-Newsletter
SGPS Dental Bursary
The SGPS Dental Bursary is an amount of money set aside in the SGPS annual budget that is used to help alleviate the financial difficulty of SGPS members due to specific dental procedures only covered at 10% by Green Shield. ÊIt is available for any SGPS member or a member of their family who is enrolled in the SGPS Dental Plan. The procedures mentioned above include:
	¥ Root Canals
	¥ Gum treatments
	¥ Crowns
	¥ Bridges
It also exists for those members who have used the maximum of $750 for the benefit year.
In order to apply for the bursary, please visit our website atÊ
http://www.sgps.ca/services/awards.htmlÊand click on the PDF icon under the Dental Bursary heading. ÊOnce you have completed the form, you can either:
	¥ Drop it off to the SGPS office located in the lower JDUC, Room 021
	¥ Mail it to 99 University Avenue, Room 021 JDUC, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
	¥ Email it directly to our office -Êfrontdesk@sgps.ca
	¥ Fax it to 613-533-6376
**Hard copies of the form are also available at the SGPS office.
Once your completed application has been submitted, it will be sent to the SGPS VP Finance & Services. ÊHe or she will then forward the anonymized application on to the SGPS Finance & Services Committee for review. The committee will assess your application and then make a decision based on the Dental Bursary Policy outlined in the SGPS Bylaws & Policies (P.1.4).
In 5 to 10 business days from the application submission, you will receive a response from the VP Finance & Services either indicating the need for more information, clarification or of the committee's decision.
If your application has been approved, a cheque will be made within the next 3 to 4 business days and you again will be notified by email.
If your application has been declined, you will be given the reason(s) behind the committee's decision. If you have any questions regarding your application or the SGPS Dental Bursary, please send an email to the SGPS VP Finance & Services (vpfs@sgps.ca).
Your Queen's netID and Password
Please remember that Queen's will never ask you for your netID password or other confidential details about your Queen's e-mail. You may receive e-mails from time-to-time that ask for such information. Please be advised that they are not legitimate e-mails.
If, for any reason, you send your Queen's password to a third party, you should immediately change your password. Info on changing your password can be found at:
http://www.queensu.ca/its/email/tutorials/emailaccount/netid.html
E-Newsletter
A Message From The Office of the University Registrar
Registration Info for Graduate Students
If you are a new or returning graduate student, please review the information below about Fall 2012 Registration, fee payments and UHIP.
Registration
All graduate departments are currently working with the Office of the University Registrar to register you in courses for Fall 2012.Ê You do not need to go on SOLUS to enroll in your graduate courses.Ê If you have any questions about what courses you will be enrolled in, please go directly to your graduate department for clarification.ÊÊ You should be able to view your course registration on SOLUS by mid August.
Summer Term Fees for 2013
Summer term fees for 2013 have not yet been applied to student accounts and, as a result, the fee payments and schedule quoted on SOLUS only reflects the Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 fees. Summer term fees for 2013 have not yet been finalized and will be posted to students accounts after they have been approved by the Board of Trustees in early 2013.
2012-2013 Payment Plan (PPL)Ê Ê
If you currently pay fees through the PPL, and/or if this is the fee payment option you wish to use in 2012-2013 here is some important information about this fee payment method;
Students will be required to self-enrol through SOLUS from August 8-31.Ê Please note that students MUST enrol or re-enrol in the Plan every academic year.ÊFurther communication will follow regardingÊinstructions on how to self enrol into the PPL in SOLUS.
Effective September, 2012, payments will be evenly calculated overÊ7 months, October through to April. A Summer Term PPL will allow you to make payments calculated over 4 months, May through to August. If you enrol in the Fall/Winter PPL, you will be automatically be rolled into the Summer PPL unless you advise the Office of the University Registrar that you do not wish to participate in the Summer PPL. The payments will display on SOLUS and you should make note of the payments and their withdrawal dates.
Withdrawals will be on the 5th of every month with the first payment on October 5th and the last payment on April 5th.Ê Withdrawals for the Summer PPL will also be on the 5th of every month, withÊthe 1st payment on May 5th and the last payment on August 5th.
For detailed instructions on PPL and how to access it in the SOLUS Student Center, please visit this link:
http://www.queensu.ca/registrar/currentstudents/fees/payment/preauth.html
continued on the next page ....
E-Newsletter
A Message From The Office of the University Registrar
Registration Info ContÕd
PPL Enrolment
You must self-enrol in the payment plan through SOLUS. You can enrol in the Fall / Winter PPL from August 8 to 31, 2012. Please ensure that your banking information is correct!
Paper PPL enrolment applications will NOT be accepted.
It will still be your responsibility to 'self-enrol' into the payment plan.
Students who cannot use this payment method will not be allowed to enrol into the plan.Ê
Students not on the PPL
If you are not enrolling or if circumstances prevent you from using this payment method, then tuition and fees are due as follows;
Fall Term - September 1st - Tuition and student assistance levy
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊSeptember 30th -Ê balance of fees
Winter term - January 1st ÊÐ all winter term fees
Summer term - May 1st Ð all summer term fees
Required for International / Other students
University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP):
All international students registered at QueenÕs University and residing in Ontario during their period of study are required to enrol in the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) Ð participation is mandatory for both the student and their dependants residing in Ontario.Ê
Please visit this website for more information: 
http://quic.queensu.ca/incoming/howdoienrolinuhip.asp#students
Queen's Ban on Water Bottles starts Sept 2012
If you encounter any water fountains on campus that need to be fixed, here's what you can do:
call the Fixit at the Physical Plant Services at (613) 533-2000, extension 77301
email Fixit fixit@queensu.ca
go on the Physical Plant Services website, select "Service Request" button, and from the pop down menu select "Work Order Request"
http://www.queensu.ca/pps/requests/fixit/fixit.php
Recycle At The SGPS Office
Drop off your used batteries, ink cartridges and old cell phones at the SGPS office and we will recycle them.
E-Newsletter
SGPS Bursaries
The SGPS administers the following bursaries:
Emergency Student Aid
Dental Bursary
Grants Program
Sustainability Action Fund
Sports Fund
Club Fund
For more information: http://www.sgps.ca/services/awards.html
A Message From The Office of the University Registrar
OSAP Information
If you are an Ontario full-time student, the 2012-2013 OSAP application is available on the OSAP web site now. Please ensure you submit the on-line OSAP application and submit all required documentation as soon as possible to ensure that your OSAP funding will be available to you in September. Remember, once your study period starts, QueenÕs will confirm your enrolment and your OSAP funding for the fallÊterm will be deposited directly into your bank account. This means No more line ups in the Student Awards Office to confirm and pick up your funding certificates!
Reminder: Your Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MFSAA) must be taken in person to a designated Canada Post Outlet where you must present two pieces of documentation to an authorized person to prove your identity. You can do this right away before the 2012 Fall term begins.Ê The MFSAA should not be mailed to the Office of the University Registrar Ð Student Awards.
Full details about changes to the OSAP delivery for 2012-2013 can be found on the University Registrar - Student Awards web site
Tips for an error free OSAP application! Find out more about how to report scholarships/awards and other types of income correctly to ensure your 2012-2013 OSAP assessment is accurate!
Check the status of your OSAP application online to see if there is anything further for you to do!Ê www.osap.gov.on.ca
Call the Student Awards Office at 613-533-2216 or email at awards@queensu.ca if you have any questions