It might come as no surprise, but two of my favorite things to discuss are postsecondary education and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. My last two days have allowed me a great amount of time to discuss both.
Tuesday involved driving from Waterloo to Oshawa with Alexi to present information on the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance to Your Student Association (the student government for Durham, UOIT and Trent in Oshawa students). This was an exciting evening. Presenting after our partners at the College Student Alliance, Alexi and I had the opportunity to discuss OUSA with the members of YSA and take questions on a number of topics. Even more exciting, after individual discussions with participants I was rejuvenated at the fresh ideas and concern for PSE that each student brought.
After spending the evening in Toronto bonding with Alexi, I packed up and headed back home to Waterloo for another exciting OUSA event. Acting in my capacity as the VP Education at UW, I had the pleasure of hosting a town hall forum with OUSA’s director of policy and research analysis, Paul, and the University of Waterloo’s Vice President Academic and Provost. This meeting allowed each party to spell out their vision for the future of PSE in Ontario.
One of the most interesting moments from today’s town hall forum was when Feridun, VPAP from the University of Waterloo, announced his disapproval for using students paying outside vendors for quizzes and assignments. This is an exciting comment, as over the last couple of months we have been working to protect students from this practice.
In the end this was a great two days that reminded me just how great working for students with OUSA really can be.
-Justin Williams
With a tight win over the number-one-ranked Laval Rouge et Or last Saturday, the Queen’s Gaels are headed to the Vanier Cup, Canada’s intercollegiate football championship. Joining them will be the Calgary Dinos, fresh off a 38-14 win over the St. Mary’s Huskies in which the Dinos racked-up a whopping 426 rushing yards.
In the spirit of friendly intercollegiate competition, and because Queen’s University is a valued member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, we hereby challenge our partner, the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), representing the University of Calgary, to join us in a friendly wager:
If the Gaels win the Vanier Cup this Saturday, CAUS will write a poem extolling the virtues of Ontario and the tremendous ability of our university athletes. If the Dinos win, OUSA promises to do the same for Alberta. The poem must be sent to the other organization’s board members and must be posted on the organization’s website for at least one week.
What do you say guys? Up for it?
-Alexi White
Educated Solutions - Issue 6 (Fall 2009)
TORONTO, Nov 18. /OUSA/ – The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance has released its 6th issue of Educated Solutions. Educated Solutions is an annual student-focused magazine that is designed to provoke thought, discussion and dialogue about higher education in Ontario.
This issue was themed around the future of post-secondary education, and features articles about the future of funding, teaching quality, e-learning, student advocacy, university differentiation, debt and grants, infrastructure and institutions. It also features such contributors as the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy, Brock University President Jack Lightstone, University of Western Ontario President Amit Chakma, and University of Waterloo President David Johnston.
Educated Solutions also features a photo essay, and commentary and perspectives from current staff and OUSA alumni. This issue was printed with mixed sources, approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
The magazine is available in hard-copy format from the OUSA office, or from your campus steering committee member or campus coordinator. To receive a copy, please email communications@ousa.on.ca. An online version is available via this website. Click on the image of the magazine to be sent to an online reader.
Just a few minutes ago, a very nice delivery man came up our ‘service’ elevator and gave us our newly printed issues of Educated Solutions… I don’t think I can convey my happiness of this issue, both for arriving on time (sort of) and for the quality of its content.
I’ve uploaded the web version here, but pick up a hard copy from a steering committee member, or email me and I will mail you one… I’m just so happy it has turned out so well, and huge thanks to all those who helped me get it done, you know who you are.
-Alvin Tedjo
OUSA’s Lobby Conference at Queen’s Park is just days away and it’s shaping up to be phenomenal. We’re kicking things off with a press conference on Monday morning to release a new OUSA report that highlights the need for further investment in post-secondary education. A number of our partners from inside and outside the sector will be there with us, demonstrating the broad consensus that exists on the importance of higher education to the Province’s future.
For the lobby conference itself, we’ve already booked over fifty meetings with MPPs, including more than half of Cabinet. Kudos to the home office staff on a fantastic lobby brief, covering the key issues of financial aid, student success and tuition.
We’ll keep blogging throughout so stay tuned.
-Dan Moulton
As the 2009 year comes to a close, so to does the Millennium, or as it is more formally known the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF). In the realm of Post-Secondary Education (PSE) in Canada, I believe that there has been no organization as influential or as successful as the CMSF.
This comprehensive program distributed $285 million a year in financial needs based Bursaries; provided Access Bursaries to assist students of traditionally underrepresented groups attend PSE; encouraged student leadership and innovation through its Excellence Awards program; and conducted valuable PSE focused research that will continue to shape the way PSE in Canada operates.
It is because of the work of the CMSF that so many young Canadians have had the opportunity to attend PSE and that so many young Canadians have succeeded in becoming leaders and innovators. It seems that almost every student currently enrolled in PSE knows someone who has been positively impacted by the Bursaries and Awards disbursed by the CMSF. Entering university in 2006, I received a Millennium Excellence Award, without which my own successful participation in PSE would have been much less likely.
As an Excellence Award winner I was constantly encouraged to network with other Excellence Award winners and was invited to attend conferences and share ideas about improving the world we live in. CMSF promoted learning and leadership outside of the classroom, and even provided grants to participants who had the ambition to lead an innovative and self directed project with the purpose of creating positive change. The Millennium Scholarship Foundation is about the pursuit of dreams; academic dreams, careers dreams, and life dreams. I for one am very thankful to the CMSF for making my dreams possible.
So as we ring in the new decade this new years eve, may we also stop to remember and pay our respects, to what will be known as the best Millennium in the history of post-secondary education in Canada.
-Kory Preston
Although I’d prefer to be enjoying myself in Halifax, at the moment, I am typing away at my laptop’s keyboard as I TA a Friday evening Lab (Basics of Media Writing, in case you’re interested).
I hope my colleagues are having a productive time at the CASA (Canadian Alliance of Students Association) Annual General Meeting and in the interim, I’m working hard to ensure that my OUSA Campus Coordinator, Madeline MacIsaac, and I are prepared for our rapidly approaching Lobby Conference! Many of our students live in the riding of Provincial Finance Minister Hon. Dwight Duncan, not to mention long-time MPPs Bruce Crozier and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Hon. Sandra Pupatello, so we look forward to a productive lobby effort on behalf of students.
Our members were recently engaged in a town-hall meeting by University of Windsor President Dr. Alan Wildeman where issues such as quality of education and student success were discussed, and there is excitement to learn of the results of the first-ever Canadian Student Survey.
Finally, I’m excited about the newest edition of Educated Solutions, and I think that Alvin has done an excellent job in putting that together for us. Of course, I’m happy to see that my official photo didn’t make it to print!
-Robert Woodrich
Today, I submitted the FINAL version of the Fall 2009 issue of Educated Solutions to our printers. The road of this project started out in August when I took some design classes on how to use Adobe In Design and Illustrator. What I didn’t realize was that these courses taught me how to use the programs – it didn’t teach me how to be creative. As September rolls around, we start to ask around for submissions for the magazine, and if you thought getting 1000 word essays from students for grades was hard, try getting 1000 word essays from alumni, faculty, partners, etc. for no grades and no money, just an entry into OUSA’s tiny-but-mighty magazine. After several delays and pushbacks (something called General Assembly, Campus Visits and Lobby Con), I finally got some time to start designing. I was ill prepared to create a magazine from scratch, and definitely got some serious help from our previous editions (thank you Communications Directors of years past), and Renee Lung, the AMS’ former Communications Officer and graphic-design-ass-kicker who designed the template that this issue is based on. I honestly think that this may be the best issue of Educated Solutions to come out of OUSA, and that’s no disrespect to previous editors, just a continuation of building on previous successes. Thank you to everyone who contributed and help get this out for our Lobby Conference. Check out the online version here.
-Alvin Tedjo
Well…have you? Because that what the OUSA Home Office staff have spent the last two days doing. With our annual lobby conference just around the corner, we are putting in long days and making sure all our bases are covered so that this year’s major government relations effort is our best yet! Armed with great research and well thought out policies, student leaders from across the province will spend three very busy days from November 30 to December 2 sitting down with members of provincial parliament to raise important issues regarding post-secondary education. In the past, this has led great results for the students of Ontario, ranging from questions being asked in question period, to issues being raised in cabinet.
Ok…enough talk. Time to get back to making sure that everything is set!
-Paul Bien
I hope you are all well! I am in sunny Halifax at one of our partners’ (Canadian Alliance of Students Association) Annual General Meeting! Queen’s is pretty hectic on campus right now, with the Queen’s Centre opening very soon (December 1st). The Academic Affairs Commission of the AMS is hard at work planning OUSA Awareness week, and we are busy ordering some fun swag for the week including stress balls and coffee sleeves. The Teaching Issues Committee is busy planning our first Teaching Issues Forum on November 25th, where students will be invited to voice their concerns and opinions on teaching quality at Queen’s, I look forward to bringing their advice and comments to OUSA.
Ciao,
-Susannah Gouinlock
