DAY 1: Given the crazy academic schedule I have had lately, I have had a hard time trying to prepare for this campaign. This morning, it dawned on me that I would not have time to grocery shop until late in the week, so I would have to cost the groceries I currently have. Today I ate three meals: cereal, pasta, and pizza. Pretty standard. Here is the issue: with one meal, over 3/4 of my allowance of the day was taken up (slices of pizza). I was forced to do this today as I am on a tight deadline for a paper and I could not go home to make dinner. It worked out that based on my crude math that I barely made it under the $7.50, despite my small servings. And my friend was generous to give me a free muffin–which was great! 
Man am I glad that I did not get that hungry today though!
Food For Thought: Day 1
So, as the first day of this campaign winds to a close, I can’t help but think about how exciting an adventure this is bound to be. The video blogs have started to go up, and we’ve all been busy chatting away with the media while eating our $7.50 worth of food a day. During the course of the campaign I will be foregoing meat on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which should help keep costs low. Today started off with a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter, and some orange juice and milk to keep me going. I packed up my delicious lunch – a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and an apple. Water is easy enough to come by on campus, so I don’t think today cost too much. Dinner was quite simple – a box of Kraft Dinner and some home made salad. All in all things don’t seem very difficult so far, but then again I guess this is only day one! I’m excited to see what day two has in store, and there’s some exciting stuff coming up, so stay tuned for more on the Food For Thought trail.
Andrew
Monday, March 8, 2010
So today started off late as I slept through my alarm so by the time I was up and ready to go I didn’t have breakfast until 11:30am. It was more of a brunch and I just had some pasta with a tomato cream sauce with diced tomatoes. I used a quarter of the fucilli in a package that I got for $1.72, so the pasta cost $0.43. I used half a can of sauce which comes to $1.43 and $0.50 for half a can of diced tomatoes. So the total cost of that meal is $2.36 and included 2 servings of grain products and 1 serving of vegetables. I had two glasses of water with it and 2 more glasses of water throughout the afternoon. I then went grocery shopping and despite my plans to make a casserole tonight I really wasn’t hungry when I got home so I just ate a Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs which was $1.80 and includes 1 serving of grains and 1 serving of protein. I then had a glass of milk, which was $0.62, and a glass of V8 juice, which was $0.55. These drinks got me a serving of dairy and 2 servings of vegetables. I am going to have another glass of water before bed. So my total cost for the day was $5.33 but I only had 3 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of grains, 1 serving of dairy and 1 serving of meat.
Sarah Baker
Today OUSA launched its Food for Thought Campaign, aimed at creating awareness of OSAP’s deficiencies in its funding and need assessment formula. The Toronto Star wrote a piece that appeared on the front page an in the Greater Toronto section. You can read the article below or on the Toronto Star site HERE. You can also read OUSA’s Press Release on the campaign’s launch HERE.
Louise Brown – Education Reporter, Toronto Star
It’s not just about missing her Starbucks London Fog tea – although at $4.50 a cup, half her new budget would be used up.
Nor is it the submarine sandwich she’ll have to skip as she races from class to work; on $7.50 a day, the only sandwich Rachel Crane can afford is home-made.
“How many cucumber sandwiches can I eat before I wither away?” asked the fourth-year Brock University student, a Georgetown native.
Crane is one of four Ontario undergraduates who will spend the next three weeks eating on just $7.50 a day, the amount the province’s student aid program provides for food. In daily blogs and twice-weekly videos, they hope to show the need for Ontario to raise its student loan ceilings.
To cut costs, Crane will seek one of the $25 emergency grocery vouchers Brock’s student union offers cash-strapped students; this year it has upped the number of vouchers to 105 from 75 last year because of the recession.
“What I’ll really miss is the fresh fruit and vegetables you need to be healthy,” said the 22-year-old business major. “OSAP assumes students should live below the poverty line, and that’s not good, especially for students who need the energy you get from healthy eating,” said the fourth-year student.
The Food For Thought campaign – a sort of OSAP diet that starts Monday, was launched by the Ontario Undergraduate Students’ Alliance to highlight the fact Queen’s Park has not raised student loan limits in four years.
“They did a great thing four years ago but it hasn’t been enough – especially not when poverty reduction is a big part of this government’s strategy,” said Alexi White, the alliance’s executive director.
The Ontario government overhauled student aid in 2005, boosting loans by $358 million a year by 2010 and introducing the first non-repayable grants for low-income students in more than a decade.
Now, as post-secondary institutions await the government’s next multi-year funding plan, White warns OSAP’s annual living allowance for a single student living away from home is only $12,540 a year – below Ontario’s poverty line of about $15,200 for rural areas to $22,171 in big cities.
“The government also expects students to be able to save $2,170 from summer earnings – even though the student unemployment rate last year was 16.4 per cent,” said White. He noted too that students who earn more than $50 a week during the year to supplement their loan have that amount clawed back from their loan payments.
“Campus food banks are on the rise and it’s not fair that the government assesses student need at an unrealistically low level,” he said.
Among the other “Food For Thought” bloggers;
- Andrew Beach is a theology and political science major at the University of Western Ontario who will take part in the campaign by making lots of pasta to take to campus – cheap carbo-loading – and shopping at No-Frills;
- Queen’s University music student Sarah Baker will blog about her efforts to cook her own food, from muffins to casseroles, and forego chips and chocolate;
- Political science major Nick Gibson of Wilfrid Laurier University plans to use his parents’ Costco membership to buy groceries and avoid fast food.
“My aunt gave me a cook book recently – I guess I’ll start trying out recipes.”
On Monday, OUSA is launching its first Food for Thought Campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the deficiencies of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Specifically, the campaign is targeting the OSAP needs assessment, which is a formula that is used to calculate how much a student needs to live on during a school year. It calculates its numbers based on what it believes to be the necessities, and for food, the program assesses that students only need $7.50 a day, or $2.50 a meal. Since we believe that $7.50 is an inadequate amount to properly sustain an individual in a healthy and meaningful way, we thought we would start an experiment and see if it was possible. We found 5 students at 4 of our institutions to attempt the experiment over the next three weeks. They will begin on Monday and end on Friday, March 26th. They will be blogging on the OUSA website daily, and be posting video blogs every few days.
They have created intro videos about themselves, and I have posted them below. Visit www.ousa.ca/foodforthought/ for more information about the campaign and the participants.
Rachel's Intro Video
Sarah's Intro Video
The definition of differentiation as it pertains to post-secondary education is subject to broad interpretations. The five largest universities in Canada have called on the country to create a differentiated system that would result in two tiers of institutions. Under this model, these universities would receive the vast majority of funding designated for research and innovation, would teach only a limited number of undergrads, and would take on more graduate students to help support their research agenda. The remaining universities would focus on undergraduate teaching rather than research. The premise of this proposal centers on the hypothesis that Canada will not be able to compete globally if it does not concentrate its research funding.
A second proposal contrasts the first in that it calls on the government to continue to allocate research grants on the basis of the quality of the applications. This plan would encourage “natural” differentiation so that schools would be rewarded for quality research and would invest in those areas where they excel. By allocating funding based on excellence, institutions would only be able to fund their finest research programs and would be encouraged to abandon those areas where they do not excel. Over time, universities would become specialized in very specific areas, but would still preserve the traditional approach of blended teaching and research universities.
The issue of differentiation is significant to undergraduate students because it would alter the current approach to baccalaureate education. Institutions that strictly teach would not be able to offer undergraduates exposure to research opportunities, which may hinder their ability to continue on to graduate studies. If universities are forced to focus their research to only a few areas, it may begin to impact the quality of undergraduate education. Despite a traditional divide between teaching and research, many institutions are attempting to bring more research into classrooms to enhance the undergraduate experience. This would be more difficult to implement without strong research programs. Furthermore, removing top researchers deprives students of professors that excel in the application of their field. It is possible that the university system could become antiquated, with an emerging disconnect between curriculum and the latest research.
Above all, undergraduate students need to be involved in discussions surrounding differentiation of any nature because of the impact it will have on their education. So far the discussion has been too focused on the sustainability of the system and reducing the costs to government, with little or no regard for the impact of differentiation on the quality of undergraduate education. This must change.
From March 19-21, student leaders from across the Province will have an opportunity to discuss the various forms and consequences of differentiation during OUSA’s Spring General Assembly at the University of Western Ontario. We look forward to an exhilarating conversation.
-Adam Zabrodski & Robert Woodrich
Vice Presidents University Affairs
Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University & University of Windsor Students’ Alliance
Much of the policy debate about the post-secondary education sector in the province of Ontario is framed within the sector’s current structure. Typically, suggestions from stakeholders regarding what provincial or institutional changes should be made to improve the system – particularly with regards to institutional budgets, tuition fees, and financial aid – are understandably crafted with a number of built-in assumptions. Those assumptions include: that the responsibility for the system’s costs will be shared by the students who attend and by the government’s tax system; that post-secondary institutions are autonomous institutions that are financially regulated to some degree by the government; that student fees will be paid during the course of study to the institution providing the education; and that government will provide financial assistance, primarily through interest-bearing loans, for those deemed unable to pay.
The approach of developing practical and pragmatic solutions that largely fit within those assumptions has served the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance well since its inception. However, the organization has also prided itself on being a thought-leader within the sector that works to develop new and innovative ideas on how to improve the education of our students. It was with this spirit that Justin Williams (VP Education of the Federation of Students) and I felt it was important to step back and look at the post-secondary education system in a more global context. The primary objective of the study we launched over two years ago was to assess if our assumptions about how the mechanisms to recover the cost of post-secondary education were working for Canada, and more specifically for Ontario, and if there were other models or elements of cost recovery that should be considered as policy suggestions in the future.
Canada has much to be proud of with respect to its post-secondary education system, but it is without question that the future success of our country will rely in part on the current decisions made about how to evolve and improve the sector. Canada spends over $34 billion annually to fund the post-secondary education system and, as a percentage of gross domestic product, spends amongst the top three countries in the world both publically and privately on the sector. With that significant investment, the country has had the highest tertiary education attainment rate amongst OECD countries for each of the last four decades, with an almost even split between university and college education. The proportion of the population with tertiary education has risen over 4.0% annually since 1998, while those with less than upper secondary education has fallen by an annual average of 3.6%. However, the system is under pressure to continue expanding to meet the demands of a changing economy, while governments from coast-to-coast are under budgetary pressure and institutional costs are rising faster than the revenue to support them. Tuition and debt loads are growing as the cost burden shifts to students, quality metrics are slipping, and statistics suggest that not enough progress has been made to improve access for under-represented groups.
Our study sought first to outline the cost recovery model currently in place for both the university and college system in Canada and Ontario, and some of its implications. The study then conducted a review of the cost recovery model for post-secondary education system in 37 countries, with a focus on democratic countries with market economies or those that are of particular interest due to their expanding education systems. If the purpose of the study was to make sure we were not missing the forest for the trees, so to speak, then the definitive conclusion of the report is that it is a big and complex forest out there. Finishing a project as broad as this one, that has involved five different contributors often in five different cities, has been a challenge, and I am very excited to share our initial findings and implications at our next General Assembly in a few weeks’ time. Through the in-depth examination of global systems, many very interesting patterns and models have emerged, and I hope that the conclusions of this report are only the beginning of a longer discussion at OUSA about how to continue to improve the post-secondary education system in Ontario for our students for years to come.
– Sam Andrey
Federation of Students, University of Waterloo
“Dr. Joy Mighty and Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes to deliver keynote address at annual Partners in Higher Education Dinner”
March 1, 2010
OUSA is pleased to announce that Dr. Joy Mighty and Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes will deliver this year’s keynote address at OUSA’s annual Partners in Higher Education Dinner on Wednesday, March 31 at the Sutton Place Hotel.
Dr. Joy Mighty is the President of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Queen’s University. She has a wealth of experience and expertise as a teacher, educational developer, researcher and consultant, with a special interest in equity and diversity issues. With over 30 years practical experience, her academic and professional background spans several countries and levels of education.
Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes is Dean of the College of Management and Economics at the University of Guelph. She is a tireless advocate for change within higher education and has helped facilitate many national, provincial and local events focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Her work on academic integrity has garnered national and international attention
For many years, Joy and Julia have devoted themselves to improving teaching and learning on university campuses across Canada. Their commitment to education has directly and indirectly benefited countless undergraduate students. The two have recently collaborated on a book entitled Taking Stock: Research on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which not only examines what we know about teaching and learning, but also provides recommendations on where we must go from here.
OUSA’s annual Partners in Higher Education Dinner brings together stakeholders from across the post-secondary sector to discuss common issues. Attendees include, students, faculty, administrators, researchers, politicians and bureaucrats. For information on attending or sponsoring the dinner, please email communications@ousa.on.ca
-Alexi White
Executive Director
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
Released by the Canadian Press story in this CTV article HERE, the McGuinty government will announce in their Throne speech a renewed emphasis on post-secondary education. The premier said, “about 62 per cent of Ontarians go to college or university, but 70 per cent of new jobs demand post-secondary education,” a fact that OUSA has been advocating on for a renewed investment in the post-secondary system to allow greater access for potential students to reach higher education.
The speech is also expected to include an renewed emphasis on international students, adding, “why don’t we get serious about competing for international students? We could use the funds this generates to help expand our schools for our kids and create jobs.” In OUSA’s recent report Ontario’s Knowledge Economy: The Economic Impact of Post-Secondary Education, OUSA outlines how an investment in higher education creates jobs and supports communities. OUSA hopes that the Ontario government follows through with these recommendations to boost education investments to support and stimulate the economy while helping out students.
-Alvin Tedjo
Director of Communications & Public Relations
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
Today is my last day working for the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, OUSA. It’s funny, when I started here I knew the name and a bit of what was done here, but really had no idea the breadth and depth of issues that were dealt with on a daily basis. More importantly (in my opinion), I wasn’t prepared for the passion and dedication student leaders and staff had for making a real difference in the lives of all of Ontario’s undergraduate students. For the past 19 months I have had the privilege of working in this environment every day, and let me tell you, it’s been fantastic.
As I listen to 80s power ballads (via The Cult), I consider all of the hard work I’ve seen over the past couple of years. Shortly after I began statistics Canada released data which showed that Ontario students would soon pay the highest tuition in the country. Our organization moved fully into external relations mode, advocating loudly for the continued accessibility and affordability of the system. In interview after interview, our then President, Trevor Mayoh, reminded reports and the provincial government that the future prosperity of Ontario and Canada relied on making post-secondary education more accessible, and tuition rises of 5% a year were not going to do that.
This was just one of the many issues we tackled in my first six months on the job, and with each one, I became more and more impressed with the way OUSA did business.
And then the recession hit…
Suddenly, the whole sector, or really the whole world, went into damage control mode. But this didn’t stop us from advocating strongly for the issues students face every day like inadequate student assistance, lagging student services, or an ever deteriorating student experience. This year, under the leadership of Dan Moulton and a new Executive Director Alexi White, we redoubled our efforts and swung into high gear. We produced a 40 page document outlining our vision for the future of post-secondary education in Ontario. We then produced an important piece outlining the multitude of ways that higher education stimulates and supports our economy. We took every meeting we could get, seeing over 60 Mpp’s during our annual lobby conference not to mention a host of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers.
iTunes just kicked into “Love Removal Machine” and it seems an apt place to end. Let me say to all the OUSA members out there, if you ever wonder how hard your steering committee and home office work for you, just ask me. If you ever wonder what motivates your student leaders, I can easily say, without a doubt, that they fight only to make Ontario’s PSE system and your individual campus better for all students.
It has been my pleasure to serve 140,000 students in their endeavour to create a more accessible, affordable, accountable, high quality post-secondary education system. While it is time for me to move on, I leave OUSA with a hundred wonderful memories and a huge amount of hard work under my belt.
All that is left is to say….
Thank you.
Paul Bien
Former Director of Research and Policy Analysis
