May 25, 2026
Blog
Interested in writing for OUSA? Contact Tobi Olumurewa, our Manager of Communications.
Presidential Update - October 2016
Hi Everyone!
It is nearing the end of the month which means that the colours of our campuses are slowly changing, mid-terms and essays are upon us, and OUSA is preparing for our Fall General Assembly hosted at my home school of Western University.
When will financial literacy leave a lasting impact on students? | Savons-nous faire un impact durable chez nos élèves quant à la sensibilisation financière?
We have made it past thanksgiving, fall reading week, and Welcome Week is but a faint memory. It is around this time of year that many of us begin to look at our bank accounts and see the money from our summer job(s) start to dwindle down. This is when we all start to wonder, “How am I going to make it through the rest of the year? How can I make this work?” November is Financial Literacy Month which raises the question, “Is it time we change how our education system views an issue that should have been changed decades ago?”
Putting the Residential Tenancies Act in Review
Every fall, thousands of students arrive in university towns and get ready to move into new apartments. However, during the past few years, some students have been encountering a costly, frustrating situation – their apartments are still under construction.
Presidential Update - September 2016
Hey Everyone,
I can hardly believe that the end of September is already here! It’s been a crazy month on our campuses and a great month for us at OUSA. We saw excited first year faces, the return of our upper year students, and finally our campuses are filled with the hustle and bustle that we are so used to (unfortunately the coffee lines have returned).
The ‘Essential’ Gap Year?
Gap years are ever increasing in popularity amongst students. But can you necessitate taking one?
A gap year is the year between high school and post-secondary or between post-secondary and graduate school during which individuals typically choose to work or travel. In our parent’s generation, gap years were a rarity and though they are growing in popularity, the statistics in Canada are nowhere close to the popularity in Europe, where gap years are considered a rite of passage.
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Last January, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) created headlines across the province with a precedent-setting decision related to academic accommodation for students with disabilities. It began when a PhD student at York University was seeking an academic accommodation, and was required to relay her Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM) diagnosis. She refused to accept this – she knew that a label was not necessary to receive appropriate accommodations. Eventually, the OHRC intervened and released new academic accommodations for students with mental health disabilities.
Continuing the Push for Accessible University Data: Or what Bill 127 could have accomplished
Imagine a centralized location where current and potential post-secondary students would be able to access the admission requirements for every program in the province. Imagine a place where these people could also see the total cost of these programs, including tuition, ancillary fees, and the costs of required educational materials. Maybe this centralized location could also include some information regarding student satisfaction with all aspects of their institutions.
OUSA Releases the Students with Disabilities Survey Report
One principle underlines all of OUSA’s advocacy work:
All willing and qualified individuals in Ontario must be able to access and excel within the post-secondary education system.
This includes students from marginalized groups, like those with disabilities.
Unfortunately, students with disabilities continue to be underserved by their universities. They access and complete university at lower rates than those without disabilities; they are likely to experience more exclusion, marginalization, and difficulty than their peers; and their experiences of discrimination can be compounded by other characteristics, including the type of disability they have. Among Ontarians with disabilities, those with physical disabilities are the most likely to attain postsecondary credentials, yet learning disabilities, mental health disabilities, and chronic illnesses are the most common among university students.
Experiential Learning is Not Just a Marketing Strategy
A Texas professor said “You can read about something, you can watch a video; but it’s only when you’re doing it that you truly absorb that knowledge.”
With desirable careers in such high demand, employers are increasingly favouring individuals with hands-on experience. It is estimated that more than half of employers require new employees to have proficiency in their field. This makes sense, since experiential learning has many benefits. Beyond experience in the field itself, studies show that experiential learning increases retention of information, attitude towards learning, and creativity.
The Necessity of Social Programming on Post-Secondary Campuses
There is a story we like to tell.
It’s the one where you leave post-secondary education and enter the workforce with a crisp degree and a new outlook. You have your resume in-hand, ready to take on the world. You’ve worked hard for four (or more) years and have learned skills in each of your courses that gave you well-rounded knowledge. You can now draw on this in every interview you have been offered. Sound familiar?