Hello again,
We made it through September. Last month I wrote that August was the last stretch of quiet before the year started in earnest, and September made good on that promise. Campuses come alive this month like no other time of year. First-years arrive with their lives packed into the back of a car, residence floors go from empty to full in a single weekend, and orientation and welcome events fill every quad, hallway, and lecture hall. It is busy, it is chaotic, and it is genuinely one of the best parts of the year. To every student who arrived this month, whether for the first time or the fourth, I hope you found a moment to enjoy it.
That same energy runs straight through student organizations. Our member associations spent the month running welcome programming, onboarding new volunteers, and answering a flood of questions from students finding their feet. OUSA was no exception. In June, I made a commitment that students and student leaders would feel more connected to what OUSA is doing, and September was the month when a lot of what we planned over the summer moved off the page and onto campuses.
This month we took OUSA on the road, with campus visits to Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, and Queen's University, and one more still to come at McMaster University in October. At each stop, we set up a booth and talked with students directly: what OUSA is, what we do at Queen's Park, and how their own student association is part of that work. Plenty of students had never heard of us before stopping by, and that is exactly why we were there. The more students understand that their school has a voice at the provincial level, the stronger that voice becomes.
The booths were also a chance to collect responses for the second round of our OSAP student survey, which we are running in collaboration with the College Student Alliance (CSA) and Ontario Student Voices (OSV). Over the summer, I shared that the preliminary findings from our first round were already drawing interest at Queen's Park. This second round, taken now that students are living with the August 1st changes rather than bracing for them, will give us a clearer picture of what the new funding model actually means day-to-day. Working alongside our college partners means that picture covers students across the whole sector, not only those at universities.
Just as valuable were the conversations we had with university administration at each school. We heard directly about the pressures institutions are facing across the sector and where they see the biggest challenges ahead. We also talked about where our interests align and how OUSA can work more closely with institutions when we bring shared concerns to government. Students and administrators will not agree on everything, but on many of the issues facing Ontario's universities right now, we are stronger when we make the case together.
In August I mentioned that we were looking forward to more conversations with the Ministry in the fall, and that conversation came quickly. This month we met with the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) to discuss the reports universities have produced under Bill 166, the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024. That legislation requires every institution to have a student mental health policy and policies to address and combat racism and hate, and to report on them. OUSA was asked to consult on where the Ministry and institutions can go from here to make sure those policies are actually protecting students. We appreciated the Ministry's openness to hearing from students on this, and we look forward to continuing the work.
September also brought a major announcement from Minister Quinn. On September 10th, at McMaster University, the province allocated 40,000 new funded seats at publicly assisted colleges and universities, completing the more than 70,000 seats announced as part of its $1.7 billion investment. The new seats are focused on STEM, health care, education, and the trades, and some are available to students as early as this fall. Institution-by-institution announcements have continued through the month.
More seats means more students getting the chance to study in Ontario, and that is good news. But a seat is only as accessible as a student's ability to pay for it. With the grant-to-loan shift that took effect in August, many of the students these seats are meant for will be weighing them against a much larger debt load. We will keep making the case that expanding access and making it affordable have to go hand in hand.
We also continued our work with the Engineering Student Societies' Council of Ontario (ESSCO) on ways our two organizations can collaborate going forward. Many of the students ESSCO represents are also OUSA members through their student associations, and on issues like work-integrated learning, affordability, and the cost of unpaid placements, our priorities overlap a great deal. We have had generative conversations with their executive team throughout the summer and into the fall. We are making good progress, and I look forward to sharing more in the coming months.
Our Steering Committee met again in September. Among the items on the agenda, we set the date for our next alumni event, which will take place on December 4th, 2026. Details will follow, and I hope to see many familiar faces there.
That alumni event carries extra meaning this year, because OUSA will soon be turning 35. For three and a half decades, student leaders from campuses across Ontario have been coming together to research, write policy, and carry students' concerns into Queen's Park. If there is one phrase that sums up those 35 years, it is this: Live, Laugh, Lobby. It has been an amazing 35 years for this organization, and the work happening today stands on everything those alumni built. To everyone who has been part of OUSA over the years, thank you. We are still at it.
This month also marked a milestone for our publications, with the release of the 20th issue of Educated Solutions. First published in 2004, Educated Solutions is OUSA's annual publication exploring the challenges facing Ontario's university students. Each issue brings together contributions from students, sector partners, and others working to change the system, and pairs their analysis with practical recommendations.
This year's issue, Reimagining Post-Secondary Affordability, could not be more timely. With the changes to tuition and OSAP that came into effect this summer, students are starting the year uncertain about how they will manage rising housing, tuition, and food costs. The authors take a close look at the true cost of post-secondary education in Ontario, covering financial aid, tuition, housing, living expenses, unpaid placements, the costs facing commuter and international students, and the long-term sustainability of the sector. Affordability has been our priority since day one of this year, and this issue puts real evidence and real solutions behind it. I would encourage you to give it a read.
Finally, keep an eye out for our 2026-2027 Action Plan, which will be released soon. It sets out the work OUSA has committed to this year, and it will be the clearest picture yet of how the priorities I have been writing about since June turn into action.
At the end of August I said that once students were back on campus, we would be listening closely and taking what we heard back to government. September was the listening part, at booths, in boardrooms, and around the Ministry's table. October is about carrying it forward: our visit to McMaster, the next round of survey results, the release of our Action Plan, and preparations for Fall General Assembly. Thank you to every student who stopped by a booth, filled out the survey, or simply asked what OUSA is. You are the reason this work matters.
Thanks for reading. As always, feel free to reach me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Rory Norris
President, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA)