After reviewing the latest research on targeted student success interventions in Ontario universities, students are excited by the positive results and encourage the provincial government to champion broad implementation of these programs across the Province.

For the past three years, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has sponsored research into intervention programs designed to promote access, retention and quality in post-secondary education. Results of these interventions, released today, demonstrate the significant impact targeted programs can have on student success.

For instance, at Carleton University, a Peer-Assisted Study Session (PASS) was implemented in courses with high failure rates. Controlling for admission average, participants showed significant improvements in academic success, understanding of course concepts, and self-confidence. Academic success improved with the number of hours of participation, up to an overall improvement of 1.75 grade points.

"This research has confirmed once more that targeted initiatives to support struggling students can significantly improve student success," said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). "It's now up to the government and institutions to come together and take real action on these findings."

OUSA's recent survey of over 10,000 Ontario undergraduate students showed over half were not satisfied with academic advising, career counseling, and services for students with disabilities. Direct government funding for student support services and early warning systems is needed if Ontario is to see widespread improvements in student persistence and success.

On the morning of June 22, OUSA hosted it first Student Roundtable Series discussion at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto. The focus was on alternative cost-recovery models and how Ontario can ensure sustainable funding for post-secondary education while improving accessibility, affordability and quality.

The roundtable began with a presentation by OUSA's Director of Research & Policy Analysis on highlights from OUSA's two-year research project into various cost-recovery models from around the world. The discussion was moderated by Academic Transformations co-author Ian D. Clark, who praised OUSA for its eagerness to discuss such a difficult and broad issue, and for a thorough and high-quality research project.

Joining the discussion with OUSA's Steering Committee were representatives from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, the Council of Ontario Universities, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, and many other partners from throughout the higher education sector.

The roundtable series was created as an opportunity for OUSA to facilitate discussion amongst its partners on topics that are interesting and important to students and the sector. This roundtable hopes to be the first of many student-led discussions about how we can work together towards improving the accessibility, affordability, accountability, and quality of post-secondary education in Ontario.

As you no doubt already know, it was confirmed this morning that University of Waterloo President David Johnston will succeed Michaelle Jean as the governor-general of Canada. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance would like to congratulate Dr. Johnston on this exceptional honour and extend our thanks for his contributions to the university sector over his esteemed career. Dr. Johnston has worked at many of our member schools, including time spent at Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario, and Queen's University, while also providing leadership to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

I worked with Dr. Johnston in my time as a student representative at the University of Waterloo and I came to know him as a man of great integrity and leadership with a strong vision for post-secondary education in Canada and the world. Hearing the news networks this morning speak about his Grandpa Book nickname reminded me of Dr. Johnston's incredible storytelling, his desire to interact with students, and his ability to take a diverse group of people and opinions to a place of common purpose. I am excited to see him bring these skills and his passion for education to his new leadership role for the people of Canada.

Sam Andrey
Director of Research & Policy Analysis
University of Waterloo, BSc'10

The month of June provided OUSA with some important events, and lots of preparation for upcoming activities as well.

Our Student Roundtable Series had its first event on June 22nd. All of our partners and sector stakeholders were present, and feedback was very positive. Some constructive comments revolved around creating a more comfortable environment for debate and conversation among the participants, which will be implemented by introducing break-out sessions at the next event.

Our Steering Committee and Home Office spent 4 days at our Strategic Planning Conference in Collingwood. The event facilitated team building exercises, and outlining OUSA's advocacy, policy, and communications priorities for the upcoming year. The team is very excited to move forward, and it promises to be a year that doesn't disappoint.

After our Transition Conference, OUSA began following up on its commitment towards its Alumni, and on June 23rd, hosted its first Alumni Council meeting. The meeting itself was a very enlightening experience, as it showed how much OUSA's reach into the post-secondary education sector has expanded through our alumni in their employment and participation amongst all of our partners. The Alumni Council proved to be an invaluable tool in maintaining OUSA's institutional memory and future aspirations.

-Alvin Tedjo

My past month has been a mix of research in and out of the office, government and sector advocacy, and strategizing with our student representatives. Work continues in the research and policy world of OUSA on our priorities of the summer: student financial assistance, early outreach programs, and internationalization. I have also begun preparing our final release of the Canadian Student Survey data surrounding student satisfaction and priorities, and our submission on the recommendations put forward in HEQCO's new book Academic Transformation. I attended a one-day conference on student success initiatives in Ontario and the 3-day conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education to learn more about the new and exciting teaching techniques that are being adopted by our professors and institutions.

I spent quite a bit of time at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in June. I attended sessions relating to labour market outcomes and university pension solvency to learn more about how these issues affect our students. We also provided student input to Ministry staff on our concerns relating to students with disabilities, satellite campuses, the way the province funds growth, and first generation outreach funding. OUSA was proud to host representatives from all over the sector at our recent Student Roundtable where I presented our findings on global cost recovery methods and alternative ways to fund universities and recover student tuition costs. The conversation at the Roundtable allowed for a fruitful discussion on student financial aid and funding, which I hope will lead to a continued focus on the way that student costs relate to accessibility.

Finally, the home office just returned from our Strategic Planning Conference in Collingwood where Steering Committee set the direction for the year ahead. In terms of research and policy, we are going to be focusing on system growth, ancillary fees, Aboriginal students, student success, and cost inflation after we are finished with our summer projects. I have no doubt that this is going to be an exciting year for us here at OUSA!

 -Sam Andrey

Its been a busy month research-wise for OUSA, with significant progress being made in our projects on Early Outreach and Internationalization. Personally, I'm excited to start writing Internationalization the paper with Daud Grewal (VP-UA, Brock University Student Union), and I'm very optimistic that the final product will be reflective of both the needs of OUSA's members and the long-term interests of sector.

As the summer continues, I will also be starting on OUSA's response to the recommendations of the Academic Transformations book.

Chris Martin


The Early Outreach Appendix is complete and contains a comprehensive review of the types of initiatives institutions and community organizations have undertaken to address the issue of access.

Additionally, we have met with the programs director at MTCU and received the breakdown of the funding they provide for first generation projects. We will be taking a closer look at the Ministry's decision to cancel funding for outreach and redirect support to retention  initiatives, despite research indicating the greater issue is access. I'm looking forward to working with Kieran Slobodin from Queen's University and finalizing our priorities and recommendations.

Morgan Campbell