I talked about focus groups LAST WEEK, OUSA’s first foray into primary research, and gave some hints about the depth of valuable information that was gleaned from the 40 or so students I met and talked to during the first semester. As I said before, the topics covered were student financial aid and student services, and focus groups were held at three universities: Brock, McMaster and Laurier.
Today, highlights from the report on these groups become available on this very website. This slideshow is a look at some of the most important findings from the focus groups, the implications these findings have on both OUSA and the PSE sector at large, and finally some recommendations that OUSA and others might be interested in considering moving forward. Take a look at the slide deck HERE.
From my perspective, the focus groups were not only a huge success, but have also provided us with some new and unique perspectives that will help OUSA do even better work in the future. For example, in each group I heard students talk about their specific circumstances and how little OSAP was able to accommodate them. Students explained that their parents weren’t contributing to the costs of their education, but because of parental income requirements they were unable to get much money in a government loan. One student explained that they had a sibling with special needs, and thus while their parents had enough money “on paper” to support them, their actual ability to provide funds for school was very limited.
This kind of information allows OUSA to better understand the nuances of larger issues and discover details about programs we may not already be aware of. In this way, I was able to get a feel not only for how OSAP or student services worked in theory, but what their actual impacts were on everyday students.
There is so much more to say and report here, but I’ll save you all from reading it twice, and simply suggest that you go take a look at the presentation I’ve prepared. If you’d like more information, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Paul S. Bien
Director of Research and Policy Analysis
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
