Executive Blog

Hey Everyone,

It is a very exciting time for AUSU right now.  We have just finished another successful election and for the first time, we now  have elected 13 councilors.  It is inspiring to see the quality of candidates that ran in this election and we are grateful to all who participated.  If you looked at the biographies, posters, forums, YouTube videos, The Voice article, or any of the three debates, you could tell that the candidates had really done their homework.  Not only is the new council well informed, but it is a great mix of students both geographically as well as by faculty.  It has been fairly common in the past for council to be dominated by business students, but this is not the case this year.  It will be a well-rounded group that will bring experience from a range of faculties and programs.

It was also inspiring to see the engagement from our members during this election.  I saw many questions being asked via social media and in our mobile app.  There was a real excitement about getting involved and I know that I spoke to many members who were not able to run for council but really expressed interest in getting involved.

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Election Time!

Have you ever wondered as a student how to make a difference for other students? Well, for some, that means running in the ongoing council elections, and for others, voting for those that will best represent your interests. It is important that all of us cast our vote for the next council. These will be the students that will be in charge of deciding how to best spend our student fees that go to the students’ union.

I urge everyone to go and read up on the candidates, listen to their answers in the debates, read the interview questions in The Voice, and read the election forums. This will give you an idea of where the candidates stand, and their plans for what they want to accomplish if elected to council.

Your vote matters! There will be thirteen new councillors chosen in this election and they will be your councillors for the next two years. They will represent all of the undergraduate students that attend AU and will be doing important work that will affect all students, such as deciding what services and awards to offer, deciding what advocacy topics to prioritize, and representing AU students at the institutional, provincial, and federal levels.

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Paying for School

Financing your post-secondary education will be one of the largest expenses in your lifetime, and, according to Maclean’s magazine, could result in an average cost of nearly $20,000/year (Brown, 2017).  That’s why I am keenly aware of my responsibility to voice your need to keep the costs of tuition and fees low, and the opportunities for student aid and financial benefits high.  The topic of paying for school is a multi-faceted one, and I’d like to share what we’ve done on your behalf recently to try to keep school affordable.

In November, the Alberta Government announced that tuition and mandatory instructional fees would remain frozen at 2015 levels for the 2018/2019 school year (Graney, 2017).  I was honestly surprised by this announcement, and I immediately feared for the approximately 65% of AUSU members who reside outside of Alberta.  As we have seen over the last several years, when AU isn’t able to increase revenue through Alberta students, it is the out of province students who carry the even heavier load.

Further, the Alberta government has been working on numerous lengthy reviews that were anticipated to provide a sustainable structure for predictable tuition and fees.

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I just wanted to update you all on some things that have been going on at AUSU that are related to my position of VP External and Student Affairs. We have had some new initiatives come out and are being worked on within the last few months that are exciting.

Many of them involve student engagement. I think that is definitely an important part for everyone, because we don’t get to interact with each other the same way that you would attending a brick-and-mortar university.

The first new way that AUSU is trying to build engagement is with Facebook Live sessions. Since we work online, we wanted to interact with everyone in a different way, but online. What we are doing is starting each session with a topic, and discussing it throughout the session. The topics have been planned with interaction in mind, so we are including questions and topics that students can comment on during the live video and we’ll respond to those. We are also giving out a free swag pack to one member at random who interacted with our session!Continue Reading

Something exciting is on its way to your inbox, if you haven’t received it already.

AU has officially begun the launch of @athabasca.edu email addresses for all AU students!

One day soon, you will receive an email, asking you to activate your Athabasca University student Office 365 account.  And, after following a few very simple steps, you’ll be all set up.  This is a very exciting new service for students that AU is providing, and one that holds many benefits beyond simple email.  Your new Office 365 license includes popular software applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint; as well as some fun, new communication and productivity tools like Yammer and Sway.

I was very lucky to receive my student email account early on, and I’m happy to share my experience and a few pointers with my fellow students to help make the transition as seamless as possible!Continue Reading

September is here, and so with it the Fall. At AU, there is 12 months of intake, so this is not necessarily a new time for all of you. But these are the ending times of the year, and time for celebration if you’re finishing your course(s) or starting one.

There has been a lot going on in the month of August, and most likely for September. For my own schedule, I have been busy with meetings for AU and for AUSU. But I even managed to sign up for some courses too, so if you’re in courses this round, then I am with you (and feel your excitement!).

At AUSU, there’s been a lot ongoing. The big thing happening for AUSU has been our proposed bylaw revisions and the consultations involved in those. If you look at the revisions, the main changes include an increase from 9 to 13 councillors, revisions to the sections on the membership fees and The Voice Magazine, an addition outlining the responsibilities of the executive director, signing authority regulations, and the addition of a strategic plan of AUSU. Continue Reading

Going back to school?

As September nears, some of you may be preparing to go back to school, or know someone that is. While students at AU can start classes at any point, many end up taking the summer off. Maybe you were away on vacation. Or maybe you just needed some time off and it happened to be in the summer. Maybe you’re a visiting student who has the summers off. Whatever the reason, it may be that you, your friends, or your family are starting up classes again this fall.

So what does that mean? Well, getting back to the working and studying mentality may be hard after the summer break – especially since AU students aren’t going anywhere physically to attend a campus. For some, this means sprucing up that home study space. For others, maybe some new supplies are needed and will kick-start that study mindset. Whatever is it, we should try our best to get back in our studying space and to keep on track with our studies. If you have a specific way of getting back to your studies, please share it in the comments below!Continue Reading

Today was a big day for undergraduate students at Athabasca University!

The Board of Governors unanimously passed a budget that approved a change to the course materials fee to allow full transparency, choice and cost savings for students as it relates to texts and etexts.

AND

The Board of Governors unanimously agreed to an amendment to allow existing international students to be grandfathered at a rate of tuition very similar to what they are currently paying, as opposed to a market reset being put in place that will apply to students not currently enrolled at AU.

Today, I can say that student voices were heard.

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My first post for the AUSU Executive Blog, for June 2017 – what topic? Community & gratitude. Okay, that’s two topics, but a worthwhile combined topic to me. When I reflect on the nature of AU, and listening to the continual concerns of the AU community, one of the large ones is community.

AU comes from the newer tradition of distance and online education and holds the title of a “Global Pioneer” in open, online, and distance education.I feel honored to serve students, as their needs arise. In reflection on a proper topic to write for the Executive Blog, I looked at previous posts.

I wanted to gauge the reported concerns and hopes for the community from the view of AUSU executives, past and present. Some of the topics included, in one word, waiting, advocacy, representation, AU, cheating, surveys, requirements, vacation, and affordability – more or less.¹Continue Reading

“Thank you for your patience.  Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.”

Do you hate waiting?  I know I do.

It seems we are living in a “right now” society, where everything we want can usually be found at the tip of our fingers.  Waiting has become something we are less and less used to.  Our society has evolved in a very short period of time into one where waiting is not only inconvenient, it’s unacceptable.Continue Reading