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The Communiqué
August has been a very busy month as OUSA continues its preparation for the provincial election; printers have been printing, film crews have been filming and web masters have been web mastering. The results have been fantastic so far and we're very excited to have now launched the campaign province-wide. I have big hopes for student engagement in this election and everyone here at OUSA is working towards giving our students the resources they need to vote. Eliminating barriers to student voting is on everyone's radar this year, and we're pleased to see the efforts that institutions, student groups and Elections Ontario are making towards motivating voters and easing processes. Keep checking back with OUSA and the College Student Alliance at itsyourvote.ca for all the up-to-date information about the parties, the priorities and the process in the upcoming month. Keep an eye on your own campuses as well for OUSA materials and your own association's chances to get involved in the campaign.
The election means some announcements for post-secondary education too, and we were pleased to see education and financial assistance reforms remaining a priority in the parties' campaigns. Announcements around more realistic parental contributions in OSAP calculations from the Progressive Conservatives and more relaxed repayment conditions for recent graduates who find work in the not-for-profit sector from the Liberal Party were welcome news for students. Having our universities and colleges as a focus in campaign discussions reflects the importance of our higher education system to Ontario's economic and social health.
Going forward, September itself always promises to be an exciting time of year as students new and old make their way to our campuses after an all too brief summer. I'm looking forward to the energy and buzz that accompanies their return; having Laurier full again reminds me of why we do what we do at OUSA, all of Ontario's student associations, our institutions and governments, and means that we get to see the many projects that our Home Office and members have worked on take off.
Til next time,
-Sean Madden
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 | | ItsYourVote.ca Website |
As the writ drop of the 2011 Ontario General Election approaches, more than 600,000 college and university students across Ontario are also preparing for the 2011-12 school year. To help students stay informed and encourage them to vote on October 6th, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and the College Student Alliance (CSA) have collaborated to launch the province-wide It's Your Vote campaign.
"Voter turnout in the last Ontario election was an all-time low. College and university student associations are working together to increase student participation in this election and remind the parties and all Ontarians that post-secondary education must be a priority for the Province," said Sean Madden, President of OUSA.
The campaign website ItsYourVote.ca was launched today. The website will have videos, blogs and information updated throughout the campaign to help students find out how and why they should vote. It also includes a joint platform entitled "Our Vote, Our Future" which contains students' electoral priorities for post-secondary education.
"Post-secondary education has and will continue to drive Ontario's economic recovery. We know that 70% of all new jobs will also require post-secondary education, and continued investment is necessary," added Brian Costantini, President of CSA. "Students will be looking for commitments from all parties to enhance the affordability, accessibility, quality and mobility of the post-secondary system."
College and university students look forward to seeing all political candidates on their campuses this September, and hearing more about each party's plan for investing in Ontario's post-secondary education sector.
The College Student Alliance and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance represent over 280,000 college and university students at 34 student associations in communities across Ontario.
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VIDEO: Students! You Need to Vote - 2011 Ontario Election
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Students! You Need to Vote - 2011 Ontario Election
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The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) wants you to vote in the upcoming October 6th, 2011 provincial election.
Go to ItsYourVote.ca for more information and to see OUSA's joint campaign with the College Student Alliance (CSA) on increasing student participation in the election.
And stay tuned, as more videos will be released throughout the campaign!
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 | | Click to read article in The Mark |
Republished from The Mark - Taking the Axe to Education (August 8, 2011) Written by Sean Madden
Canadians have cause for worry as the U.K. guts its higher-education funding.
Imagine your premier announcing that, over the next few years, funding for universities will be cut by 80 per cent, undergraduate tuition will triple, and a loan system resulting in lifetime debt for about 30 per cent of students will be imposed. While many are vehemently opposed to this policy, your government pushes ahead anyway. A year later, the changes have been implemented despite massive student, faculty, staff, and institutional resistance.
(Click image to read rest of article in The Mark, or click HERE to read on OUSA.ca)
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Sam Andrey | Executive Director
|  August certainly felt like a different month here in Toronto. As the civil service and many of our partner stakeholders quieted down, the political activity heated up considerably. All of the parties have now released parts of their platforms, with the Ontario Liberal Party and the Ontario PC Party taking turns in August outlining their proposed next steps for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). We also met with many of the MPPs and candidates in ridings across Ontario to share our ideas for how to strength Ontario's post-secondary education system. OUSA has now launched our joint It's Your Vote campaign with the College Student Alliance. Throughout the month of September leading up to the October 6th vote, we will be releasing a series of videos, blogs and information designed to increase student participation in the election and inform students how and why to vote. We had a very productive election workshop with all of our member associations in mid-August, and I have no doubt that the campaign is going to go off without a hitch. Meetings on many of our other files continued throughout the month, including on the Ontario Online Institute, the new credit transfer portal, the expiring tuition framework, university teaching and learning initiatives, Multi-Year Accountability Agreements and community outreach programs. The office also got a little quieter this week as we bid farewell to our interns Chris and Kristen, who are off to continue their studies. They were both wonderful additions this past summer and contributed greatly to our work on tuition and accountability. The month of September is going to be a hectic and exciting period that will have a profound impact on the future of our sector and our students. I can't wait! |
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Alvin Tedjo | Director of Communications
|  If you haven't yet, go to www.ItsYourVote.ca, our comprehensive election website with the CSA that will guide and inform students on why and how to vote. Also, make sure you watch our VIDEO, that's now posted on YouTube, the itsyourvote website, and ousa.ca. If I have posted these links on your Facebook wall, Twitter account, or anywhere on the social media network and you are still my friend - thank you. And while you're there, please pass along to your friends and followers so they can decide whether to still be your friends too. We want the our election message to get out as much as possible, and that can't be done unless our students pass along the message! We need post-secondary education to enter the discourse of the election campaign, so we can make sure that the interests of students are heard and cared for.  Make sure to keep coming back to the websites as new blogs, videos, and other content will be posted daily throughout the campaign. And if you're on Twitter, you can hashtag the website with #itsyourvote, and when on Facebook, you can make the image below your profile picture as well.
So stay tuned, and make sure you make plans to vote on October 6th! (or at advance polls, by mail, or at your returning office!) |
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Chris Martin | Director of Research
|  To save my sanity, I will avoid starting this section of the communiqué with a platitude on how quickly the summer has gone by. Much of our time in August has been consumed with preparation for the upcoming election, the launch of the Ontario Post-Secondary Student Survey and preparing our accountability, tuition, system growth and ancillary fee positions. Sadly, Chris Rudnicki and Kristen Holman's internships have ended, but thankfully they left OUSA with some well-developed research on both accountability and tuition. Thanks to their efforts and hard work, I am confident that we'll be able to approach these issues with new positions and perspectives. We've set an ambitious research agenda for the year, with substantive new primary and secondary research endeavors. Our team is busy planning out a set of consultations in rural and northern areas, Aboriginal student consultations, collecting ancillary fee protocols, determining the expected tuition contribution system-wide for 2011-12 and much more. With a smaller team, the months ahead will be challenging. However, history has taught me that it's at times like this when OUSA really shines. I'm looking forward to the election, as well utilizing our new policies in our advocacy to the next government. |
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Laura Pin | Research Analyst
|  As September begins, the OUSA office is significantly less crowded, as we bid goodbye to our two (wonderful) interns, who both have left us for the University of Ottawa to pursue further studies. Aside from ten days spent in a canoe in the middle of Algonquin Park with six energetic teenagers, most of my August was devoted to research support and preparation for the System Growth policy paper for the fall General Assembly. The paper will discuss enrolment growth, cost inflation, satellite campuses, differentiation and other issues shaping the future structure of the higher education system in Ontario. With the provincial election fast approaching, September will be a busy month. I am looking forward to campus visits in a few weeks, and also consultations with Aboriginal students about our Aboriginal Students policy. |
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Chris Rudnicki & Kristen Holman | Research Intern
|  It must be true that times flies when you're having fun because we both cannot believe we're already bidding farewell to OUSA and heading back to school. Both of us had the unique opportunity to spend four months delving into issues that are extremely relevant, not just to students but to all Ontarians. Living and breathing policy and research - from the number crunching to the lengthy policy manuals - has allowed us to fully appreciate the amount of detail that goes into forming policy positions and just how complex the policy environment is.  Our time at OUSA forced us to be creative in our framing of policy questions and to be open-minded in our discussions of solutions. Not only has the work itself been incredibly rewarding, but it has also allowed us to impress our friends outside the OUSA office with our knowledge of tuition fee policy details and the many acronyms associated with accountability. All joking aside, there is something to be said for working in a position where you contribute to something that will matter long after you've left your post.
We've both had a blast working with students to make Ontario's postsecondary education system more affordable, accessible, accountable and high quality. We look forward to keeping in touch as proud OUSA alum! Cheers,
Chris & Kristen |
| Steering Committee Updates |
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Mira Dineen | Queen's AMS Academic Affairs Commissioner
|  The countdown has begun to the arrival of students on Queen's campus and the Alma Mater Society is brimming with excitement! Highlights for the upcoming month include Orientation Week and the launch of the Alma Mater Society's voter information campaign. In preparation for October 6th (Vote Day!), we are thrilled that Elections Ontario will offer Queen's students three days of on-campus advance polls and we're also looking forward to a lively all-candidates debate on campus. Everyone was relieved earlier this month when new contracts were successfully negotiated and ratified by QUFA and CUPE, thus avoiding potential labour strife this year. The Academic Plan should be finalized this fall, just as the Strategic Research Plan is getting underway. We are optimistic that the university will articulate a shared commitment to the value of research to the undergraduate experience at Queen's. The final touches are being put on the new Medical School Building and the building will be formally opened at the end of the month. |
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 | | Trent in Oshawa Campus |
Trent University has had a campus in Oshawa for over thirty years. Originally located at the Durham and UOIT campus, Trent Oshawa students faced significant challenges in coming together to form a true community. In 2010, Trent Oshawa opened a satellite campus on Thornton Road in south Oshawa. While this allowed us to develop as a community more than on the Durham and UOIT campus, life on a satellite campus has posed many distinct challenges as well.
As the President of the Trent in Oshawa Student Association, I have been working on developing a Trent Oshawa identity. This has meant addressing a myriad of issues, the first of which is course selection. Often many courses with specialized, discipline-specific content are offered exclusively on the main campus. Students of Trent Oshawa often have to select courses not by preference but by what is offered. While students on the satellite campus are able to take courses on both campuses, the 45 minute commute often makes this both impractical and inconvenient.
Some professors at the Trent Oshawa campus teach both in Peterborough and Oshawa. Faculty who divide their time often do not hold regular office hours on both campuses, limiting the amount of connection students in Trent Oshawa feel with their faculty. Students often struggle to meet with professors who mainly teach on the Peterborough campus.
Often on satellite campuses, the library services are not equivalent to the main campus. Students at Trent Oshawa are faced with a very general assortment of books in the small shelves of the library. On the plus side, students can order from the main library in Peterborough; however the wait time to be delivered from one campus to the next can be up to 3 working days. Students on satellite campuses should have access to the same resources that are available to students on the main campus without having to wait an exorbitant amount of time.
 The Trent Oshawa campus also lacks a real bookstore. Students are required to buy books from the Oshawa campus for 5 days in the first week of classes; otherwise they must travel to the main campus. Last year, the line up for books often averaged several hours, with many students finding out that the bookstore supplier did not order enough books for the course. Our student association lobbies consistently for more opportunities to purchase books, to no avail thus far.
A particularly key issue for students on the Trent Oshawa satellite campus are food services. The food service hours of operation are nowhere near Peterborough's services and the selection lacks diversity. With 800 students on Trent Oshawa's campus, the demand for food is not as high as the main campus but Trent Oshawa students deserve diverse and nutritious dining options all the same. Making this problem worse, the Thornton road campus is not within walking distance of any restaurants or coffee shops, therefore making it impossible for students to access non-campus food during their break.
A more subtle struggle faced by our Trent in Oshawa Student Association is the lack of administrative departments located on the campus. Oftentimes, decisions affecting our livelihood are made on the main campus, with little chance for us to engage directly with the decision makers.
The Trent in Oshawa Student Association is trying hard to rectify the struggles and issues faced by our students on this satellite campus. The faculty and staff at the Trent in Oshawa campus have been instrumental in promoting the needs of Oshawa students. However, our small size and limited resources have posed many challenges so far.
Our story is not an isolated one, as more and more universities set up satellite or branch campuses. While these campuses can open up access to university to more Ontarians, these pursuits also need to be done in a way that protects the student experience. The Ontario government has recently developed a satellite campus policy that restricts the development of new satellite campuses without government approval.
Students are working with government to ensure that these regulations include minimum standards for academic and non-academic student supports. We have to ensure that all of Ontario's students are supported in the pursuit of their degrees - not just those on a main campus.
-Kelly Vanleyden
President, Trent in Oshawa Student Association
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The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance represents the interests of over 145,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students from nine student associations across Ontario.
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Alvin Tedjo
Director of Communications
OUSA | Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance |
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