From March 19 to 21, OUSA held its annual spring General Assembly, bringing together student leaders from across Ontario. Hosted by the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario, students came to discuss the challenges facing higher education today and develop educated solutions to address them.
After three days of discussion, hard work and a number of late nights, the delegates passed new policies on assisting students with disabilities and the future of differentiated mandates at Ontario universities. Additions to OUSA’s student success policies were also approved, mostly focusing on internationalization and supporting the broader learning environment on campus.
Over many hours of breakout sessions, students discussed issues ranging from improving the OSAP need assessment formula to developing a blueprint for the recently announced Ontario Online Institute, to investigating potential new models of cost-recovery for the system.
OUSA welcomed the Honourable Chris Bentley, Attorney General, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and former Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, as the conference’s keynote speaker. The Minister gave a short address and answered questions from students for the better part of an hour. Also present was Liberal Party President and Ottawa MPP Yasir Naqvi, who engaged in a spirited discussion with student leaders over lunch.
Alex Usher of Higher Education Strategies Associates was also on hand to present the preliminary results of the Canadian Student Survey, a landmark initiative surveying over 21,000 Canadian students and undertaken this year by OUSA and its partners across the country.
OUSA would like to thank the volunteers at UWO for hosting us and for ensuring a very well organized weekend.
