April 18, 2023
Blog
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April Update from the President
Hi everyone,
It's very bittersweet to be writing my final blog as President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. Just under 12 months ago, I was elected President of OUSA to serve the needs of over 140,000 undergraduate students. This position has been both extremely challenging and extremely rewarding, and has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities of my life. I'd like to thank the Home Office staff, our Steering Committee, and the countless students and partners who have made OUSA's work so successful and so meaningful. Now, for the last time, I'd like to update you on the work we've done this month.
OUSA Releases Habitats 2016: Students in their Municipalities
Some universities have the privilege of being located in destination cities, and some towns are fortunate enough to host globally renowned institutions. In Ontario, students typically get the best of both worlds.
Talking with ABLE about Experience’s at Brock (Part 2)
Written by Jeremy Steinhausen
Following Disabilities Week at Brock, I met up again with Keely, Alanna, and Jessica (if you have not read our pre-Disabilities Week conversation, do so here. In this second part, we continue our conversation on disabilities and how ABLE looks to help continue to foster an inclusive and accessible environment for all students.
OUSA Releases Policy Statement: A Response to Sexual Violence within Post-Secondary Education
Statistics describing sexual violence are jaw dropping. As we have discussed in the past, the Canadian Women’s Foundation reports that only one third of Canadians understand what sexual consent means. Sixty-six percent of female victims of sexual assault are under age 24 and less than 10 percent of sexual assaults are reported to police.
OUSA Releases Student Employment Policy Paper
The relationship between university education (or post-secondary education more broadly) and graduate employment is always a hot topic in the sector. Employment outcomes are in fact used as a proxy for determining how well universities are working-- see Ontario’s key performance indicators. Students too are incredibly invested in their employment prospects: employment related motivations remain at the top of lists of why students attend university (according to the Canadian University Survey Consortium (CUSC), the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, and other surveyors of students). Going into our 43rd General Assembly, more than half of our delegates said they were most interested in this year’s Student Employment policy paper.
OUSA Releases Online Learning Policy Paper
What does online learning mean to Ontario’s university students? OUSA’s new policy paper, Online Learning, offers insights from students on what their vision for online learning is and what it could be going forward.
OUSA Releases Students with Disabilities Policy Paper
OUSA’s 43rd General Assembly had the responsibility of revising and ratifying the Students with Disabilities policy paper. It’s important to frame this decision as a responsibility given the perennial challenge of being a student leader: having to represent students whose lived experiences you may not share.
OUSA Welcomes New Member
I'm very excited to announce that at the final meeting of the year, OUSA's Steering Committee voted unanimously to approve a membership bid by Laurentian University's Students' General Association (SGA-AGÉ), who will be joining us as full members next month as we start the 2016-2017 year.
2016 Recipients of the OUSA Teaching Excellence Awards
The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Teaching Excellence Award recognizes educators who excel at unlocking the potential of Ontario’s young people. Successfully engaging individuals in the learning experience depends on an instructor's ability to spark students' curiosity and desire to learn. It is our pleasure to give these remarkable professionals the recognition they deserve.
March Update from the President
Hi everyone!
It's a bittersweet feeling to be writing one of my last monthly updates as OUSA President, but I'm proud of the accomplishments OUSA has made this year and happy for the chance to share them with you. Although March has been a relatively calmer month for OUSA than the previous two, it has still seen important moments in OUSA's advocacy, both in our internal operations as well as our lobbying to the province.