USSU Executive Blog

The past two weeks have certainly been a whirlwind of activities.  After attending the Academic Support Committee meeting, and handling a continued grievance, I set flight for Montreal with the rest of the team.  ihaveaplan.ca (your health coverage providers) invited us over for a stakeholder meeting.  For the sake of avoiding redundancy, I will let you read Jared and Alex's blogs on this very informative trip!  What I do have to point out however, is the opportunity we had of sharing unique projects on our campuses.  My favourite by far, had to be University of Alberta's presentation.  They currently hold the Guinness World Record for  the largest dodge-ball game! In February of 2012, 4979 students engaged in an hour long game of dodge ball.  This project obviously cost a fortune, but was funded by their alumni and well wishers.  Even Bob Rae was in the crowd cheering on!  Check this out! 

Anyway, back to Saskatchewan.  The rest of my schedule's been filled up with hearings and committee meetings.  I've been wrapping up the committee meetings for the year, which will give me a great opportunity to focus on planning for the upcoming year.  It's certainly been interesting, trying to keep on top of all the readings for the meetings.  I think I may be learning quick though.  I do hope to get a clearer focus on what I can and cannot share from the meetings, with you.  You certainly would benefit from some of the discussions that take place.  

Anyway! All registered for fall classes? Well, I hope you've started thinking about textbooks! Don't we just love spending all that money.  I encourage you to contact your professors and encourage them to use materials from Open Access.  Open Access is the use of scholarly research, made freely available over the internet.  The use of free academic material is becoming more popular in university classes.  This does not only provide cheaper alternatives for students, but helps instructors curtail copyright infringement.  So contact your instructors right away!  I also encourage you to check out this link: http://www.ussu.ca/bebooksmart/index.shtml  to find more ways that you can cut those textbook costs.

So, you've all heard about the high increase in world population and the dismal prospects of feeding the entire world by 2025. Anyway, you also know how the UofS has led a great record of agriculture-related research. Well, why not put two and two together and try end world hunger!  Well, thanks to some people that had their thinking caps on, we will soon see the establishment of a Global Food Security Institute, right here at the UofS!  Through integrating science and policy research and innovation, this centre will find solutions to sustainably feed our world! Right here at the UofS! Pretty sweet.  Looking forward to this.  Congratulations to our our Vice-President of Research, Karen Chad and her team, on this initiative.

Till Next Time!!

Ruvimbo

Posted by sdh302 at 09:13 AM | Permalink

A couple of weeks ago the USSU Executive attended a student conference sponsored by our health and dental insurance provider, Studentcare.net/works. One of the most interesting things I discussed while at the Student Care conference in Montreal was the many different ways in which Student Unions can support student groups on campus.

Campus groups are always looking for more members and I have several ideas to facilitate meeting that need. First, improving the online club listing would be a great start. Our current webpage that lists all the clubs that have been ratified with the USSU has served us well but contains opportunities for improvement: USSU Campus Group List. A better example, and one that I would like to model is the listing that can be found on the McGill website: McGill Example. Second, we are going to have some great opportunities for campus groups to get involved in both Orientation and Welcome Week to help recruit new students, so stay tuned for that.

The ratification process for groups is also something about which I receive a lot of comments. I am currently looking into improving the online form that groups use to ratify by removing some of the unnecessary fields and adding more instructions and hints on how to fill it out correctly. If you have any ideas on how to make this process easier each year (or to just prove that anyone reads my blog), then please email me at vpopfin@ussu.ca. Finally, the USSU can provide resources on how to plan events or successfully run a group. I will be putting some of these resources online in the coming weeks.

Campus Clubs are a great way to get involved in your campus community. There are more than a hundred of them and so there is something for everyone, but if you don’t see one that appeals to you, think about starting one in support of your particular interest.

Posted by jsj110 at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Over the course of last week, I attended a conference with Vice President of Student Affairs, Alex Werenka, in Montreal. The conference was held by StudentCare, the health and dental plan that the USSU is partnered with. We were not the only student union in attendance for there was representation from UBC, McGill, Queens, and Concordia, just to name a few.

We were engaged in a number of different sessions pertaining to aspects of the health and dental plan, student initiatives, and a great keynote speaker, Stephen Sills, the Creative Director of Student Life Network. The Student Life Network is described as a collection of integrated web applications that drive students to interact and communicate with each other. Stephen challenged all of us to think out side of the box when we look to engage students on campus. He insisted on social media as the medium between the union and the students so we can create social interaction offline. He spoke of a text messaging system that allows students to create dialogue around an issue that is important to them or share an idea they believe could help the campus community. Ideas began to come from a number of different people such as a WOW tournament for the gaming club on campus where over 100 people came out to play, and an art event where plastic covered the walls and floors and students groups were able to come out, be creative, and afterwards sell their art for their club. This theme of engaging students in a different and a collaborative way truly was the theme of this trip, and I hope that some of these ideas we saw has rubbed off and the USSU can look at this issue in a new way. 



We were able to meet a lot of student leaders over the past week. Fostering new relationships like this helps with student collaboration, and as such, I look forward to the forthcoming conversations.



Jared Brown

Posted by jbv373 at 02:06 PM | Permalink

This past week the Executive was in Montreal, so be prepared for several blogs on Montreal and how amazing it was. We had the opportunity to go to a Client Stakeholder Meeting for StudentCare. It was a very educational and well-planned set of meetings and it was rather fun.

I don’t know how much you know about the USSU’s Health and Dental Plan that covers all undergraduate students (there is also a plan for GSA) but it’s pretty great, especially for students who are no longer covered by the plan they had when they were kids. We are covered up to 80% on prescription drugs, so for those of you who are on birth control the costs are pretty minimal. If you need to get a vaccination for say tetanus you are 100% covered up to $150 (per year). If you have an emergency and need an ambulance the plan covers it for reasonable and customary charges. You’re covered up to $500/policy year for dental, and $50 per year for eye exams. If you check out the Ihaveaplan.ca website you will find a network of healthcare professionals such as dentists, massage therapists, optometrists, physiotherapists that offer additional discounts to students. The plan also runs from Sept. 1st –August 31st so even in the summer you are covered. It is also pretty spectacular to know that if you are going to be studying abroad the plan covers a certain amount of time before and after your scheduled term in case you want to travel before or after. They also have travel coverage, so there is money available if your trip gets cancelled or if there is an interruption in your trip. I learnt quite a lot from the meetings with StudentCare and even meet some of the people from the videos on the website, because all of the people in the videos work in the office.

I think my favourite thing that I learnt about StudentCare was that those who run it and are the representatives for it in the various provinces were all part of student governments during their time in University or College so they have a great working knowledge of what students want and need. If this plan is lacking anything or if you want to know more, please contact me!

Alex

Posted by jbv373 at 09:31 AM | Permalink

Greetings to you all!

I hope you've all had the chance to enjoy the lovely sunshine we've had (and the rain)! It kinda sucks to be stuck inside all day when it's lovely out but, oh well.  So, I attended my very first Pow Wow ever last Wednesday.  Wow, was it ever exciting!  Having grown up in an African country that's lost its culture, it was very encouraging to see the proud Aboriginal people displaying who they are.  I loved it.  A huge congratulations to all those graduates!
 
Well, the Academic Grievances continue to pile in.  I've had my head buried in academic policies, over the past couple of weeks, seeking solutions.  I'm loving it!  If you have any questions concerning your academic courses/grades, feel free to contact me anytime. If you are dissatisfied with an assessment, we encourage you to seek an informal resolution with your professor as soon as the concern arises.  If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can contact us and we'd be happy to advocate on your behalf.  We can either advise you in the process of your informal resolution, or speak to your instructor/department head on your behalf.  In addition, we can also walk through formal appeals with you.  Oh, and by the way, by ‘we,’ I mean the Confidential Student Support Officer and I. Come visit us!
 
Have a good one!

Ru

Posted by jbv373 at 01:52 PM | Permalink

Last weekend your USSU Executive had the fortune to spend some time with the new University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU). Before that we also met with Haanim Nur, the new president of URSU, and gave her a tour of the completed Place Riel building. The result of these meetings was very positive. There are many areas in which the USSU and URSU can collaborate, especially when it comes to education. Since it is the provincial government who has jurisdiction over post-secondary education we can streamline our lobbying efforts by working with Regina towards common goals. We will soon be traveling to Regina to have a tour of their student union building, although I’m certain that it’s nowhere near as nice as ours.

Meanwhile in the realm of Operations and Finance, I have been working on fine-tuning the processes used to ratify and fund campus groups. A handful of clubs have ratified already which has allowed me to identify some of the common points which groups have difficulty understanding. Over the next few days I will be compiling some resources and releasing them to all clubs which should make the relationship between the USSU and campus groups even stronger. Also, there are some exciting opportunities for clubs that ratify over the summer so stay tuned for details.

Finally, I have been occupying the remainder of my time going through policy documents and ensuring that they are up to date and reflect current practices of the USSU. There are also several changes I’d like to make revolving around elections, campus groups, and more.

Remember that my door is always open if you have any questions about campus groups, transit, or essentially anything with a dollar sign in front of it.

Steven

Posted by jbv373 at 02:30 PM | Permalink

Wow, how time flies. I am in absolute awe that a month has passed since I started my new job as VP Student Affairs. I am in love with this position! Through this position I was fortunate enough to get to meet and have lunch with the incoming President, Illene Busch-Vishniac. She is amazing and I am looking forward to working with her in the future. I also have been able to connect with many of the upper administrators for the University like the Registrar, Secretary of the University, Vice Provosts, etc. It’s really cool meeting people with so much knowledge about the University. We had lunch with Bob Ferguson of Campus Safety a few days ago, he drove us to Boffins in Innovation Place taking a route that I’d never even imagined. Did you know we have horses on campus?! I pride myself on my extensive knowledge of the University, but I am humbled to meet so many people who know so much more than I likely ever will. It’s also good to go to meetings with people who are somewhat disconnected from the student experience, who recognize that, and to bring a student voice to that subject.

I am having a lot of fun here with the staff. I’m enjoying getting to know everyone better, and love the surprise staff treats every once in a while. I am also unbelievably excited to venture to Montreal for a client stakeholder meeting with Studentcare (our student healthcare provider) with the rest of the Exec, though we’ll all only be there for one evening together. It should be fun, I love Montreal and Ru has never been, so be excited to hear her stories.

As always please don’t hesitate to contact me! I look forward to hearing from you.

Alex

Posted by jbv373 at 03:24 PM | Permalink