TORONTO, Feb. 5 /OUSA/This week, representatives of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) were invited to participate in the provincial government’s pre-budget consultations. In speaking before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Justin Williams, OUSA Vice-President and Vice-President of the Federation of Students at the University of Waterloo, outlined three key priorities for Ontario students: modernizing financial assistance, supporting student success, and restoring a fair and adequate funding model for our universities. OUSA’s accompanying budget submission, entitled Higher Education: The Engine of Economic Recovery, presents pragmatic solutions in each of these key areas while recognizing the government’s tenuous fiscal situation.
“Funding is the most important issue facing the post-secondary education sector today. The government needs to know what students’ priorities are and how to fund them, and OUSA has done that,” said Dan Moulton, OUSA President.
In addition to the formal pre-budget process and ongoing consultations with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, OUSA has recently taken these recommendations to policy staff in the Office of the Premier and the Office of Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
“OUSA has received great feedback from our partners in the sector and from the government about our very practical and essential our suggestions are. We hope the government sees this reality and enacts our recommendations in its budget,” said Moulton.
HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ENGINE OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY – OUSA’S SUBMISSION TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (Click Image to View)
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January 26, 2010
OUSA is pleased to announce that the Ontario Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA) has endorsed the financial aid recommendations contained in Ontario: A Province of Knowledge, OUSA’s submission to the Honourable John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, on a new long-term plan for post-secondary education.
In a letter dated January 21, 2010, the OASFAA leadership congratulated OUSA on the quality of the submission and, on behalf of the OASFAA Executive, extended their support, writing that “the intention and the work that OUSA is doing in bringing forth these issues is commendable.”
“OUSA’s documented ‘Priority One: Student Financial Assistance’ is a direct reflection of many of OASFAA’s concerns within the current OSAP program policies,” wrote OASFAA Co-Chairs Scherry George and Terry Ableson. “OASFAA, upon review of OUSA’s paper, wish to extend our support to the priority one recommendations.”
While many advances in financial assistance have been made through the government’s Reaching Higher Plan, both OUSA and OASFAA recognize that there is still much to be done to create a realistic view of the student and the financial barriers they face.
OUSA wishes to thank OASFAA for their continued advocacy on behalf of students and their commitment to creating the best possible financial aid system. Our two organizations have worked closely in the past and OUSA looks forward to continuing that partnership and collaboration.
OUSA President Dan Moulton
January saw significant developments in a number of OUSA’s ongoing projects. Most notably, the annual Blue Chair Campaign was a great success at our campuses across Ontario, shedding much needed light on issues of accessibility and early intervention.
With the release of the Provincial budget just around the corner, OUSA continued its advocacy push with a number of presentations to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. We were also happy to receive an endorsement of our financial aid recommendations from the Ontario Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Finally, I was pleased to accept an invitation from the Honourable John Milloy, Minster of Training, Colleges and Universities, to join him at the head table for his speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto on January 18. The Minister’s remarks largely focused on where we’ve come in the five years since the Honourable Bob Rae presented his review of the post-secondary education system in Ontario. He stressed the vast increases in enrollment seen under the McGuinty government and the significant improvements to financial aid provided through the expiring Reaching Higher Plan. For the future, the Minister stressed accountability and credit transfer as important files. Unfortunately, while all the perennial issues were touched on, the Minister said very little on the issue of quality of education, in the past or the future.
