OUSA

Canadian Club Announcement

TORONTO, May 30 /OUSA/ – Students are encouraged by the Ontario government’s new roadmap for the post-secondary education sector, entitled “Putting Students First.” The plan was announced this afternoon by the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy and addresses important student priorities concerning the affordability, accessibility, accountability and quality of higher education in Ontario.

The strategy proposes changes to the way colleges and universities are funded, such that institutions have incentives to focus on teaching quality and institutional strengths, not just on enrolment growth. The plan also highlights continued support for underrepresented students and a new initiative to develop programming in primary and secondary schools that will encourage and inform students through the transition to post-secondary education.

“Students have always believed that improving access to post-secondary education needs to begin early, and today’s announcement signals that we will begin to directly address these challenges,” said Sean Madden, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “Undergraduate students also have had concerns with the balance between teaching and research in our universities, and welcome the plan’s emphasis on recognizing teaching excellence alongside research excellence.”

“It is reassuring to see that the Ontario government’s vision emphasizes putting students first. We are hopeful that this commitment will include student involvement in the upcoming negotiations of new institutional agreements to help ensure that our priorities are included,” said Sam Andrey, Executive Director of OUSA.

While students await some of the plan’s details, particularly concerning changes to the funding formula, the continued regulation of tuition fees, and investments in student assistance, OUSA looks forward to working on the next steps of this broad new plan for post-secondary education.

OUSA's 2011-2012 Executive (L-R) Pat Searle, VP Admin, Natalie Cockburn, VP Finance, Sean Madden, President

TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ – The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is pleased to announce that Sean Madden has been elected OUSA President, effective immediately. Madden replaces Meaghan Coker, who has completed her one-year term. Joining Madden in the OUSA Executive Team is Natalie Cockburn as Vice President Finance, and Patrick Searle as Vice President Administration. The executive is elected for the 2011-2012 academic year.

As President, Madden leads the OUSA Steering Committee and acts as chief advocate for the organization. Madden is also the Vice President University Affairs at the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union.

“Madden, Cockburn and Searle are accomplished student leaders who have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving post-secondary education in Ontario,” said Sam Andrey, OUSA Executive Director. “I am confident they will lead OUSA to new heights.”

OUSA would also like to thank outgoing President Meaghan Coker, Vice President Finance Saad Aslam, and Vice President Administration Joe Finkle, for their exceptional work and commitment to the organization over the past year.

OUSA also welcomes two new members this year: the Trent in Oshawa Student Association (TOSA), who join OUSA as associate members, and the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students (MAPS), who have become full members.

“We are thrilled to welcome McMaster’s part-time students and the students of Trent in Oshawa to the OUSA family,” said Sean Madden. “Their diverse perspectives will provide new energy to our alliance.”

“With OUSA’s proven record of solid research, well written policies, and excellent representation of post-secondary education students, we are excited to be joining such a credible and influential organization that can effectively represent our interests,” said Sam Minniti, Executive Director of MAPS. “We are particularly looking forward to raising awareness about the experience of part-time students and mature learners.”

“Membership in OUSA provides our students with effective representation at the provincial level,” said Kelly Vanleyden, President of TOSA. “By joining our voices with those of students across Ontario, we all benefit.”

With the addition of MAPS and TOSA, OUSA now represents over 145,000 full- and part-time university students at nine student associations across Ontario.

TORONTO, March 29 /OUSA/ – Ontario students welcome the McGuinty government’s 2011 Ontario Budget commitment to promote access to education through the funding of 60,000 new spaces in Ontario’s universities and colleges over the next five years. Though facing a sizable deficit, this strategic investment of $64 million next year rising to $309 million by 2013-14 demonstrates again that this government recognizes the importance of higher education.

“Investing in Ontario’s youth is the silver bullet that will ensure our province’s long-term prosperity,” said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “This is absolutely the right choice for Ontario’s future.”

The government has also announced that this new funding will be contingent upon Ontario colleges and universities renegotiating their multi-year accountability agreements with the government for the first time since 2006. Students continue to have concerns with these agreements and are pleased that such a critical lever for providing accountability to students and to the public will be revisited.

Though this is the last Budget before the next provincial election, there are no references to post-secondary education tax credits, indicating that the government may not fulfill its 2007 election promise to move the $330 million currently spent on these credits. The proposal was to use the funds for up-front grants which have a greater impact on accessibility. This morning, the Liberal Party of Canada also recognized the benefits of such a move and announced its intention, if elected, to redirect funds spent on federal post-secondary tax credits to up-front grants.

“Students had hoped that, given the Province’s deficit, the government would act on an opportunity to improve access to higher education by reallocating existing funds,” added Coker.

Students remain optimistic that the forthcoming five-year plan for the higher education sector will build on the government’s significant past investments and continue to improve student financial assistance and the quality of the learning environment at Ontario universities.

TORONTO, March 28 /OUSA/ – Ontario students welcome the McGuinty government’s announcement of full funding for 60,000 new spaces in Ontario’s universities and colleges over the next five years. This investment is crucial to Ontario’s long-term prosperity and to meeting the Premier’s target of 70 per cent post-secondary attainment.

“The government has demonstrated once again that it understands the importance of higher education to Ontario’s social and economic future,” said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “Reaching the Premier’s attainment goal will require growth in participation for students from traditionally underrepresented groups, and providing sufficient space is a necessary first step.”

Guiding Ontario to robust economic growth will require continued investment in post-secondary education, as every day, new jobs requiring a higher education are created. Since 2003, the government has created over 100,000 new spaces in universities alone, and despite a sizable deficit, the government’s commitment to access has not wavered.

“Ontario’s students stand in full support of this initiative, and stress that further investment in the quality of an Ontario post-secondary education is equally essential,” added Coker.

Students are hopeful for further commitments to building a more accessible, affordable, accountable, high quality higher education system in tomorrow’s 2011 Ontario Budget and the forthcoming five-year plan for higher education.

Click image to view the Toronto Star online article

TORONTO, March 1 /CNW/ – Concerned that Ontario’s colleges and universities remain less accessible to a number of underrepresented groups, a coalition of student organizations representing over 2.5 million Ontario students have joined together for the first time to recommend the creation of a new access strategy. Students call on the province to replace the current patchwork of access initiatives with a holistic access strategy that would involve multiple government ministries and tackle all access barriers simultaneously.

The call is contained in a report released today entitled Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Equal Access to Higher Education. Although Ontario has one of the highest post-secondary attainment rates, the report examines why thousands of low-income students, Aboriginal students, rural and northern students, students with dependants, and students whose parents did not attend higher education continue to be underrepresented in higher education, despite sincere efforts by government and post-secondary institutions to promote access.

“This government has demonstrated a commitment to improving access, and while some individual programs are making a difference, much more remains to be done,” said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “With one voice, students are saying that we can and must do better.”

To reverse this trend, the report lays out the framework for a holistic access strategy through forty-two recommendations covering six focus areas:

• Expanding funding for community-based and institutional early outreach programs, such as Pathways to Education;
• Helping students move within and between educational pathways through continued improvement to the credit transfer system and the implementation of bridging programs;
• Better using the primary and secondary school system to guide and assist students in transitioning to higher education, for instance through an expansion of the successful dual credit program;
• Increasing distance and online learning opportunities, specifically through the forthcoming Ontario Online Institute;
• Improving the Ontario Student Assistance Program to provide more targeted, non-repayable grants, extend eligibility, and fix the broken need assessment formula; and
• Strengthening college and university support programs for students from underrepresented groups.

Because seven of every ten new jobs will require a higher education, Premier McGuinty recently set a provincial target of 70 per cent post-secondary attainment. Given the numerous economic and social benefits of a well-educated populous, students fully support the Premier’s target and stress that meeting this goal will require a concerted effort to close participation gaps.

Copies of the report are available here. The report is co-authored by OUSA and its partners at the College Student Alliance and the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association.

OUSA represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students at seven Ontario institutions.

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For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Alvin Tedjo, OUSA Director of Communications & Public Relations, work: (416) 341-9948, cell: (647) 669-6885, email: communications@ousa.on.ca

Click image to view report online

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

TORONTO, January 24 /OUSA/ – Today, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) released students’ priorities for the 2011 Ontario Budget in its submission entitled An Educated Investment: Advancing Post-Secondary Education. Meaghan Coker, President of OUSA, will present the submission this afternoon to Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and participate in the Committee’s pre-Budget consultations. She will outline students’ three key priorities: ensuring access to higher education, adequately investing in our universities, and promoting student success.

Students’ first recommendation to improve accessibility is to fulfill the Liberal government’s platform commitment to reallocate funds spent on education tax credits to reduce students’ up-front costs. Other proposals include reducing the expected parental contributions of Ontario Student Loans to make more families eligible for aid, and extending the Ontario Access Grants to all years of undergraduate study.

For the government’s new five-year plan for post-secondary education, students recommend planning to meet the demand for growth, demonstrate progress toward a more fair cost sharing model, and invest in targeted quality improvements. Specific proposals to promote student success include pedagogy training for all new faculty and teaching assistants, the creation of Ontario Teaching Chairs, and a new matching program for enhancing student support services.

“The government showed its continued commitment to post-secondary education in last year’s Budget by providing $310 million for new spaces in colleges and universities and $81 million for enhancements to student financial assistance,” said Ms. Coker. “Students have welcomed these past investments and hope that Budget 2011 will continue building a more accessible and high-quality post-secondary education system.”

An Educated Investment: Advancing Post-Secondary Education – OUSA’s Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (Click Image to View Online Version)
Click Here to Download

OUSA's 2011 Budget Submission

TORONTO, January 17 /OUSA/ – The Ontario government today announced important steps toward the creation of a credit transfer system in the province that will reduce the need for students to repeat courses at different institutions, saving them time and money. Over $70 million will be made available over five years to assist colleges and universities in developing more transfer opportunities and providing adequate information, advice and support to all transfer students.

Ontario students transfer between colleges and universities significantly less than in the rest of Canada, and more than one in five transfer students report repeating coursework. Many students also cite a lack of timely and accessible information and support to successfully transfer between institutions. The government’s new credit transfer system will make considerable progress on all of these fronts.

“The introduction of a credit transfer system will have a positive effect on both the accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education in Ontario,” said Meaghan Coker, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “After identifying the problem, I’m pleased to say the government worked collaboratively with students and with our colleges and universities to expand student mobility and improve the student experience.”

While the eventual goal of the credit transfer system is to promote the transfer of credits between all post-secondary institutions, efforts thus far have focused heavily on developing pathways between colleges and universities. With this announcement, undergraduate students look forward to now refocusing the discussion on how to simplify and promote the transfer of credits between universities.

TORONTO, Nov. 11 /OUSA/ – Nearly three-quarters of university professors surveyed believe research has a bigger payoff than teaching, according to a report to be released tomorrow by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and available at www.heqco.ca. The report, entitled University Faculty Engagement in Teaching Development Activities, reaffirms the need for greater government and institutional leadership in promoting teaching and learning on Ontario’s campuses. While 95 per cent of professors at six Ontario universities indicated that teaching is important or very important to their professional practice, only 61 per cent believe that teaching is important or very important to their institution.

“Ontario’s professors clearly want to do more to enhance the quality of their teaching, but they are discouraged by a system that is driven by research dollars and institutional prestige rather than learning outcomes for students,” said Meaghan Coker, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). “This report should be on the desk of anyone concerned about the quality of a post-secondary education in Ontario.”

In addition to a general lack of emphasis on teaching, the report identifies a number of common barriers professors face in improving their teaching techniques. These include an overemphasis on research funding, a lack of incentives for the scholarship of teaching and learning, a flawed expectation of how professors divide their time between research and teaching, an abrupt transition from graduate student to faculty positions with little or no support for learning how to teach, and a tendency to forget about the needs of sessional and contract lecturers.

To drive institutional change, students are asking that the provincial government provide additional funding for teaching and learning that would be conditional upon each institution:

• Requiring new professors and all graduate students to undergo formal instruction in teaching, learning, and assessment;
• Increasing the capacity of their Centre for Teaching and Learning;
• Offering at least one small class experience to all first-year students;
• Appointing a teaching and learning leader in each department; and
• Establishing a taskforce on teaching and learning to recommend improvements on how to reward and measure teaching quality.

OUSA also calls on the province to lead by example and to establish chairs in teaching, similar to the research chairs already in existence.

“With a multi-year quality plan for post-secondary education under development, students are hopeful that we will see this research translate into the leadership and direction necessary to bring about a shift in the institutional culture around teaching and learning,” added Coker.

TORONTO, November 9 /OUSA/ – Undergraduate students recognize the benefits associated with a greater internationalization of Ontario’s universities and are concerned by the increasingly divisive political atmosphere surrounding this issue.

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), representing nearly 6,000 international undergraduate students, firmly believes in the need to expand international enrolment, as these students add to the diversity of perspectives and experiences in the classroom, enhance the broader cultural diversity on campus, and contribute significantly to the economic prosperity of the province.

“International students are our classmates and our friends. They deserve to be treated fairly by our institutions and our government,” said OUSA President Meaghan Coker. “With all that these students bring to our universities and to our province, the conversation should be about what we must do to provide the supportive learning experience that they deserve.”

Undergraduate students would welcome further investment in the priorities of international students. OUSA is hopeful that the provincial government will:

· regulate international student tuition at a fair and predictable level

· provide incentives for universities to improve their international student support programs

· re-enrol international students under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)

· expand the Opportunities Ontario program to assist students in gaining permanent residency status

With tuition fees increasing at an unsustainable rate, students agree that more needs to be done to improve the accessibility and affordability of higher education. OUSA has applauded recent improvements in financial assistance for domestic students and will continue to advocate for and support investment in all undergraduate students.

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance represents the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full- and part-time university students at seven Ontario institutions.