OUSA represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students at seven institutions across Ontario.
Our vision is for an accessible, affordable, accountable and high quality post-secondary education in Ontario. To achieve this vision we’ve come together to develop solutions to challenges facing higher education, build broad consensus for our policy options, and lobby government to implement them.
Find out more about our activities, our history, our structure, what people are saying about us, and the people behind the organization. We hope this gives you a comprehensive look at how OUSA is put together.
You can also provide your thoughts on our work by sending us a message through our feedback form. And if you have any questions about what we do, feel free to contact the OUSA Home Office.
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VISION, MISSION & ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS
The vision, mission and goals of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) are as follows:
Vision
To improve the accessibility, affordability, accountability and quality of undergraduate education in Ontario.
Mission
It is the mission of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance to:
- conduct research to identify issues affecting the accessibility, affordability, accountability and quality of undergraduate education in Ontario;
- develop credible and constructive policy to address these challenges;
- lobby the government to affect their undergraduate education policy;
- organize campaigns to effectively articulate the needs and interests of our members;
- communicate research and policy to both educate and affect the opinions of stakeholders, Ontarians and government; and
- build partnerships in the post-secondary education realm to accomplish our vision.
Goals
In order to meet its vision and the needs of its members, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance shall:
- strive to be the premiere student advocacy organization in Ontario, leading all others in access to government, breadth of partnerships, scope of activity and involvement of students and student associations;
- provide a forum for constructive dialogue between full- and part-time undergraduate student associations in Ontario;
- strive to accurately represent our member schools on issues directly related to the educational interests of undergraduates, including the accessibility, affordability, accountability and quality of post-secondary education in Ontario;
- be directly accountable and responsive to the undergraduate students on the respective campuses of its member schools in all areas of its activities, including the maintenance of a decentralized structure of operations responsible in its function to its members; and
- strive to be the first point of contact for student associations, government and media, for information and discussion on issues affecting Ontario’s system of undergraduate education.
FAQs
Below you will find some frequently asked questions about OUSA. We hope that the responses provided will help to answer your questions and to alleviate any confusion you may have about the organization. If you have any questions that are not addressed below, or would like further information, please feel free to contact our Executive Director
- What does OUSA stand for?
OUSA stands for the ‘Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.’ - What is OUSA?
The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is a coalition of elected university student councils from across Ontario. They have come together to protect the interests of Ontario’s undergraduate students by providing research and ideas to governments on how to improve the affordability, accessibility, accountability and quality of post-secondary education in the province. These elected student representatives work together to set OUSA’s policies and direction. To learn about OUSA’s successes for students, please click here.
The organization approaches its goal of advancing the needs of undergraduate students through five means: direct lobbying, public advocacy, issue awareness campaigns, research & policy solutions and building partnerships. - Who does OUSA represent?
OUSA represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students though seven student unions from Windsor to Kingston. - What has OUSA done for students?
OUSA has a long record of success in lobbying for changes that benefit students at Ontario’s universities. Some notable accomplishments include:- successfully lobbied for $150 million investment in university infrastructure in 2009
- successfully lobbied for creation of the Ontario Distance Grant and Text book & Technology Grant in 2008
- Secured $5 million investment to help underrepresented groups access higher education in 2008
- successfully lobbied for a two-year tuition freeze and associated funding for 2004/05 and 2005/06;
- successfully lobbied for student representation on the review of higher education in Ontario (Leslie Church, former Executive Director of OUSA, sat on the Post-secondary Review Advisory Panel);
- successfully lobbied for $20.9 million in changes to student financial aid in the 2004 provincial budget, including:
- reducing the parental contribution;
- updating the definition of “independent” student from five to four years;
- increasing debt forgiveness for loans near-default; and
- extending OSAP to accepted refugees.
- Fifteen of the 28 recommendations from the final report of the Post-secondary Review reflect OUSA’s priorities as outlined in our submission;
- successfully lobbied for a tuition cap in 2000 (at two per cent per year for inflation);
- established a coalition of university stakeholders, with the aim of raising public awareness of post-secondary issues;
- lobbied to create the Ontario Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid (OACSFA);
- created the framework for legislation that limited ancillary fee increases and rested decision making in the hands of students;
- persuaded the government to increase the allowable earnings threshold for students to $1,100;
- worked with the Alma Mater Society at Queen’s University to defeat deregulation at that institution; and
- ensured student involvement in the development of the Quality Assurance Fund.
- How effective is OUSA at garnering media attention?
OUSA is extremely effective at garnering media attention. In 2008/09 alone, we received over 22 million print impressions in national, local and campus newspapers including The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, The National Post, The Hamilton Spectator, The London Free Press and The Kitchener-Waterloo Record. We have also recently appeared on CBC Newsworld, TVO, CHCH, CBC Radio and Television, CTV and GlobalTV. - How effective is OUSA at meeting with government?
OUSA is highly effective at meeting with representatives at different levels of government from all of the major political parties. On an annual basis, we meet with over half of all elected MPPs, and the majority of Ministers in the cabinet of the provincial government. We also meet regularly with public service representatives at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Ministry of Finance to advance students interests to the provincial bureaucracy. We also meet with political staff representatives to discuss issues that are top of mind for the government and opposition parties. Finally, we make regular submissions and send regular correspondence to government on issues that matter most to students. - What is the hierarchy at OUSA?
OUSA is run by the elected student leaders from its member campuses. A representative from each student union/federation/association sits on OUSA’s Steering Committee. Members of the Steering Committee elect a President in mid-May who serves until May of the following year (the term for elected student leaders is May 1 to April 30). The President of OUSA is the executive head of the organization and acts as the chief student representative to media, government and other stakeholders. In addition, the Steering Committee elects a Treasurer and Secretary, who also serve as officers of the organization.
The day-to-day activities of OUSA (as mandated by the Steering Committee) are carried out by three full-time office staff: an Executive Director, a Director of Research & Policy Analysis and a Director of Communications & Member Relations. The office staff work from the home office in Toronto and often travel to member campuses throughout the year to meet with students.
The organization has a General Assembly in the fall and a second General Assembly in the spring, giving students from its member campuses the opportunity to approve policy and to set direction for future policy and research initiatives. General Assemblies are held at member campuses on an undefined rotation, as determined by Steering Committee members. Click here for a description of OUSA’s policy development. If you would like to learn more about OUSA’s General Assembly process, please contact us. - Is OUSA a partisan organization?
OUSA is a non-partisan organization that responds to the will of its members. If you read our research or our comments in national or local papers, you will find that our policies and positions do not rest on any particular area of the political spectrum. They are founded on diligent research, developed by students, approved by student representatives, and are derived from formal and informal meetings with university students across the province who share their concerns about the education they receive. - Does OUSA participate in public demonstrations?
OUSA engages in activities that are mandated by the Steering Committee. In the past, student leaders have felt that public demonstrations were not the most effective way for OUSA to carry out its vision and mission. If the will of the membership mandated OUSA to participate in public demonstrations, the organization would engage in such activities.
