The UWSA

Opt Outs for the Health Plan are now open!

July 15th, 2015

If you have registered for classes, are a full-time student, and have other health plan insurance, you can now Opt Out of the UWSA Health Plan.

You will need your policy number of your existing Health Plan coverage to Opt Out online.

To Opt Out, you will go to Green Shield’s Opt Out website here.
You will also need your student number.

You will submit your request, and you will be reimbursed once Green Shield has reviewed your submission and assessed your existing coverage. We will provide further information about reimbursement in the coming weeks.

Opt Outs are open until Sept. 22

If you have further questions about the UWSA Health Plan, you can email health@theuwsa.ca

We are hiring!

July 8th, 2015

Are you passionate about student services on campus? Why not be a coordinator!

We are hiring a LGBT* Centre Coordinator, a Women-Trans Spectrum Centre Coordinator, an EcoPIA Coordinator, an International Student Association Coordinator, and a Safewalk Coordinator.

You can read more about these coordinator positions here.

Health Plan Opt Outs Start July 15th

July 3rd, 2015

All full-time undergraduate students, taking 9 credit hours or more in a term, are automatically included in the UWSA health plan.  If new or returning full-time students have alternative coverage, they can choose to Opt Out of the UWSA Health Plan. They will be able to do so as early as July 15th, if they have already registered for classes.

On July 15th, students who choose to Opt Out will be able to do so on Greenshield’s website. We will post a link to their site on July 15th.

The Opt Out deadline is September 22nd and coincides with the Course Add/Drop Period.

For more information about the UWSA Health Plan, please visit here.

Bike Lab Limited Hours

June 30th, 2015

This week the Bike Lab will run limited hours. Yesterday, the lab was open for it’s regular Monday hours.

Today and tomorrow (July 1) the Bike Lab will be closed.

The lab will return to regular hours next week. Check out more about the Bike Lab (including hours!) here.

UWSA Response to UW Budget

June 24th, 2015

Open Shop hours for the summer:

June 23rd, 2015

Monday 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday 12 p.m. –  4 p.m. FAB Lab (Womyn, LGBT*, non-binary folks only)
Wednesday 4 p.m. –  8 p.m.

Open Shop is a free, mostly volunteer-run service offered by the Bike Lab to students, community members and youth (with parental consent). At Open Shop, we’re committed to providing the tools and mechanical support you need to get your bike riding safer and better, within our means. At the Bike lab, we have a selection of salvaged and donated used parts to repair and modify bikes free of charge, as well as some basic parts for sale.

During summer, Open Shop is often very busy, so visitors are asked to be patient in the space as we do our very best to assist you while fixing your bike.  Open Shop is a great way to meet new people and learn new things!

If you’d like to volunteer to help us run Open Shop, or volunteer for any of our other programming, please fill out the volunteer intake form here!

Breaking Ground on New Student Housing

June 22nd, 2015

Peyton and Kevin join Sherman Kreiner, UWinnipeg Vice-President, Student Life and Community Renewal Corporation Managing Director; Brian Bowman, Winnipeg Mayor; Mohinder Saran, Minister of Housing and Community Development; Greg Selinger, Manitoba Premier; Shawn MacDonald, Regional Vice President Commercial Banking, RBC; and Dr. Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg to commence the start of construction on a new 14-storey apartment complex for UWinnipeg students, individuals and families.

Read more about 320 Colony Street here.

Bike Week Winnipeg

June 18th, 2015

This Week, June 13-19, 2015 marks the second annual Bike Week Winnipeg: a weeklong celebration of people riding bicycles and the UWSA Bike Lab is right in on the action!

On Sunday, the UWSA Bike Lab took part in the Community Bike Shop Day. This was a chance to get together with good buddies, The Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub (The W.R.E.N.C.H.) and South Osborne Bike Hub to repair some bikes, make some bike art and share the community bike shop love!

On Monday,  Bike Lab was there bright and early to offer tune-ups for riders at the Bike Week Kick-off Pancake Breakfast. There were so many pancakes, we were able to feed our volunteers and drop-ins for open shop for the rest of the day. Thanks Bike Week!

On Friday, June 19^th the Bike Lab will be a participating in the 8^th Annual Bike to Work Day as a pit stop! We’ll be provide a place for people to stop and enjoy the company of their fellow cyclists on the morning of Bike to Work Day Winnipeg. We’ll have mechanics to help with minor repairs and adjustments, as well as refreshments!

Come visit us on Bike to Work Day!

Join the conversation about the Indigenous Course Requirement

June 11th, 2015

On Wednesday, June 17 we invite you to participate in a Community Pipe Ceremony to discuss the Indigenous Course Requirement (ICR) We have also worked with the University to create a series of commonly asked questions about the ICR. You can read them here.

UWinnipeg/UWSA wants to be inclusive and open as possible by inviting all community members to share their thoughts in an open dialogue on ICR. Cultural practices and ceremonies are fundamental to the survival of Indigenous people’s knowledge, culture and beliefs. By including traditional Indigenous ceremonies into the curriculum development process at the University of Winnipeg, we are fostering an environment of inclusivity, cross-cultural education and reconciliation. We encourage and welcome all people across campus and the surrounding community to take part in this sacred ceremony and process of building respect and mutual understanding.

In order for this initiative to reflect the diverse spaces which the University of Winnipeg inhabits, we need community voices to be a part of the development of the course. We encourage all students, faculty, administration and community to bring your ideas on how the ICR can and should be implemented into the University. Your voices are needed in order to make this process meaningful and successful.

We are honored that elders Dan Thomas and Myra Laramee will be conducting the pipe ceremony for the community. The abundance of knowledge and guidance they have contributed to our communities, educational institutions and systems is extraordinary and we are proud that they will help guide us through this change in a spiritual way. Myra Laramee asks that women follow protocol and wear long skirts to the ceremony.

You can find the event on Facebook here!

Want more information about the ICR? Find it here.

Health Plan Topic of the Week: Do you know your UWSA Health Plan number?

June 8th, 2015

Your UWSA Health Plan number is also known as your Green Shield Identification number and part of it includes your student number.

Your number is UWS followed by your student number-00. The two zeros after the dash tells Green Shield that you are the primary plan member. If your spouse has been added to the plan, they will have the same identification number but it will end in –01. Children will be –02, -03, etc, starting with the oldest child.

Example: UWS(student number)00

You will need your Green Shield Identification number when you submit a claim form.

Have more questions about the your identification number or the UWSA Health Plan? Email health@theuwsa.ca