Hi Everyone,
Once again another month has come and gone. We have had a busy month at OUSA going from our General Assembly (GA) at Western, our campaign on work integrated learning, and finally our annual advocacy conference. Heading into December, Steering Committee and Home Office Staff will begin to work on our plans for second semester and how we can continue to advocate for student interests within the province of Ontario.
At the beginning of November we had our General Assembly. I am happy to say that all three policy papers, Rural and Northern Students, Ancillary Fees, and Sexual Violence Prevention and Response, passed during the weekend plenary. I want to congratulate all of the authors and thank them for all of the hard work and dedication they put into these papers. GA also is where we decided to select paper topics for next semester. We have already started to work on our Access Strategy, International Students, and Municipal papers.
We also wrapped up our #MyWILis campaign. It was great to connect with our students about what work integrated learning means to them and how more students can take advantage of these opportunities. I am excited to bring this information back to the Ontario Government and the Ministry as we work together to increase WIL opportunities for students in post-secondary.
Finally, we are just finishing up our advocacy conference at Queen’s Park. OUSA schools have been active in lobbying to the provincial government on issues surrounding post-secondary affordability, sexual violence prevention, and data collection. It’s been a great week and we are so excited to see the many outcomes to follow over the next year. Thank you to everyone who met with us and a special thanks to Minister Deb Matthews for meeting with the entire steering committee.
As we come to December, we are getting ready for an exciting second semester with OUSA. As always, there is lots to do. We are excited to be working with MPP Yvan Baker on Bill 76 Pathways to Post Secondary Excellence Act, and to be continuing our work with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development on the creation of the New OSAP and the funding formula.
As always, feel free to keep in touch with OUSA through myself or any of steering committee. It’s your voice which guides our initiatives and priorities for the year.
Stay OUSAwesome,
Jamie