Lazy sherpas unemployed

   Right now, 1 in 5 students in Canada are unemployed. And not because they are content to be lazy on their parents couch this summer, but rather, the largely seasonal nature of student employment has not been favourable in this economic climate. A recent report released by Statistics Canada says that the unemployment rate for students aged 19-24 is higher than it has been since 1977, at 21%.

  

 Jillian Flake, the Public Relations and Communications Officer for CASA reports:

 

“Students who are unable to find work this summer will have a much harder time paying for their education this fall, and might not be able to return to school in September ” said Arati Sharma, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).  

“There are government resources available to students to assist them during these difficult times,” continued Sharma. “But we are concerned that very few students are aware of them.”

Despite having invested in significant new programs such as the Repayment Assistance Plan and the Canada Student Grant Program, as well as increasing student loan limits, the federal government has not been successful in promoting awareness and information regarding these programs.

“We’ve told the government they need to do a better job of telling students about the financial aid available to them. It’s even more important for unemployed students so they can continue going to school,” said Sharma.

 

 

   With such a hard environment to find a job, many students are becoming creative with the way they earn money. CASA is looking for these creative students to tell their story to the media. Beverly Eastham, Chair of CAUS and Vice-President External at the Univeristy of Alberta Students’ Union tweets:

 

Are you a student who has had to take unusual employment/’odd’ job due to economy? Willing to talk to the media? Tweet @uasuadvocacy asap!

8:30 PM Jul 31st from web

   Or, you can email CASA’s digital technology officer Sharif Virani at dto@casa.ca

   So, have you learned how to spin wool? Perhaps you’ve taken to becoming a sherpa? Maybe you’ve transfered your biochemistry skills to creating heroin in the basement of a Hell’s Angel’s roadside bar?

 

 

 

   Or maybe you remembered when Bedouin Soundclash played in a sold out U of L Zoo Campus Pub and then saw them last night at the Blarney Stone and managed to become a roadie?

 

 

 

   In any case, shoot me a wall post, tweet, email, phone call, text, or otherwise if you have a good story to tell. And for all those unfortunate souls jobless and hopeless for going back to school, remember your financial options are open. Student Loans are always available, and with the government’s new Repayment Assistance Program, paying back that student loan is getting easier.

 

Happy Sherpa-ing,

 

Jeremy G

Council of Alberta University Stu-Whaaa?

CAUS and its Role

The ULSU is a member of CAUS, the Council of Alberta University Students. Why should you care? First, the Post-Secondary Learning Act, which also mandates our existence, directs us to provide a voice for students at the municipal, provincial, and federal level. Second, CAUS provides that Albertan venue for expression of Lethbridge University students’ concerns about their education, and how it is affected by the provincial government. Most importantly, if we sit still with our hands crossed, listening without giving any feedback to the people operating the education system we go into debt or work hard to pay for, do we deserve the terrible treatment we would likely receive?

What happens when one doesn’t stand up for themself

What happens when we all voice our opinions and come to compromise.

 

Advocacy

Advocacy is the name of the game. Through round-table discussion, the Council is currently discussing what our provincial lobbying priorities will be for the next year. Balancing local issues with provincial issues, the Council must come to a consensus as to how we will be approaching the government in the next lobby conference. Stronger together than separately, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge Students’ Unions will come to agreement and then approach the relevant ministries to get tangible results that benefit our students.

08/09 Lobbying Priorities and Accomplishments:

• We lobbied for increased deferred maintenance –i.e. monies for repairing and upkeeping University buildings. The year saw $155 million in new funding and a promise to match federal funding for deferred maintenance.
• CAUS asked for tuition increases to not exceed the CPI cap. This means that as the Consumer Price Index increases (it did by 2% this year), institutions cannot increase tuition past that. Indeed, the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Doug Horner, committed to this, and with CPI going down from 5% to 2% in 09/10, the increase to tuition has gone down from previous years. 
• Further, CAUS asked for the elimination of property taxes on University residences, in order to create an environment encouraging Universities to complete capital projects to create new residences.

 

What the 09/10 ULSU Exec have been up to

This past week, the ULSU Exec went to a CAUS changeover conference, to discuss policy direction for the next year, and elect new positions for the Council Board.

09/10 Lobbying Priorities:

• Improving student financial aid
• Keeping tuition tied to CPI
• Increasing base operating funding to Alberta’s universities
• Targeting deferred maintenance
• Disability Student Resources
• Elections Act to to be more student-friendly

Through CAUS, your expectations that the SU will be providing you with a voice to the provincial government are met. Exceedingly, this year’s executives believe that the Council of Alberta University Students is an organization to invest time and resources into, to benefit UofL students. A new townhouse-style residence building is in the University’s capital plan, so let’s help them with their goal by creating a positive financial environment for them to complete their project and provide students with more spaces. As the recession hits the University, they may want to increase tuition to fund their operations, so let’s make sure we have tuition tied to CPI to make sure students can afford their education. As University Hall’s cramped science laboratories generate layers of chemical crust, lets help the University secure funding to move those labs out of that building, off the heads of all those residence students living a few floors down. Support us in supporting you. Generate conversation with our peers about these issues and make sure every student you meet is well-informed. However, if nothing else, stay tuned. There is more to come.

Cheers,

Jeremy Girard

CAUS: Budget 2009 Gives Students More of the Same

Budget 2009 gives students more of the same

Edmonton, AB – The Alberta 2009 budget puts the government into the red, but avoids passing down cuts into post-secondary education. Minister of Finance and Enterprise Iris Evans announced that Government of Alberta would be continuing their previous commitments in post-secondary education but unveiled little in the way of new spending or programs that were not previously announced.

“There is a missed opportunity to make post-secondary education the key to our economic recovery,” said Beverly Eastham, chair of the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS). “But students are relieved to see that the government is not reversing the many gains that have been made in the last few years.”

Included in yesterday’s budget is a 6% increase to the base operating grants for universities. This will ensure that tuition does not go up past inflation and that Alberta’s universities do not face cuts similar to the early 1990’s. However, students and universities will continue to face serious challenges next year and throughout the duration of the economic downturn, as no new funding was announced within the student financial aid program despite rising costs in getting a degree.

“We are still far from having the most affordable universities in Canada or meeting the challenges in providing a higher quality education-but it is good that the province is not looking to put more of the cost onto students this budget,” concluded Eastham. “We wanted to see more funding and lower tuition, but this is fortunately not a step backwards.”

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The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) represents the interests of students at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.

For more information contact:
Beverly Eastham
CAUS Chair
tel: 780-492-4236
cell: 780-237-1707

On the tangibles of advocacy…

As outlined in the Post Secondary Learning Act of Alberta, the mandate of all student unions/associations in Alberta is to advocate on behalf of their constituents, to the University administration, and to the three levels of government. This year the ULSU has done this through its membership in The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), attendance at City Council meetings, as well as on numerous committees at the University level (including the Board of Governors, the Senate, General Faculties Council, and University Budget).

Of these groups, the federal and provincial advocacy tends to be the most contentious when it comes to the student body. The ULSU pays approximately $26,000 in membership fees to CASA and CAUS. As you may have guessed, the money for these membership fees comes from YOUR SU fees. A common question we receive, and rightly so, is “What are the benefits of being part of these organizations?” People frequently want to see the tangibles for the money they have contributed, so how do we justify spending all this money to be part of these organizations?

The answer is quite simple – access.

March was home to the Lobby Conventions for both CAUS and CASA, which were both weeklong events during which members from the ULSU go to the respective capital cities and advocate on behalf of the students here at the University of Lethbridge.

For CAUS, President Adam Vossepoel, VP Academic Jenn Prosser, and VP Academic Comissioner Kendall Yamagishi spent several days in Edmonton lobbying MLA’s and Ministers. During that week, CAUS had 51 meetings with members of the Legislative Assembly, including meetings with the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Doug Horner. 

For CASA, Adam Vossepoel, President Elect Jeremy Girard, and I spent a week in Ottawa running around Parliament Hill. During that week, CASA had over 160 meetings with MP’s, Senators, and parliamentary aids. Some names you might recognize are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Elizabeth May, Gilles Duceppe, Stéphane Dion, Speaker of the House Peter Milliken, local MP Rick Casson, and local Senator Joyce Fairbairn. That’s right; we were able to meet with all five party leaders, a first for the organization. Also, I was invited to attend a special meeting with the top dogs at Elections Canada, were we had the opportunity to discuss the “Lethbridge Incident,” as well as future plans to increase accessibility for student voters.  

So all of these meetings are fine and dandy, but the follow-up question is do they accomplish anything?

If any of you were watching CPAC during the last week of March, you would have probably noticed a few questions during question period about Post Secondary Education, questions that were formulated directly from CASA policy. During the 2008 Federal Election, many of the main political parties had policy almost word-for-word from CASA in their PSE plans. Both the new Canadian Student Grant Program and Repayment Assistance Program introduced by the government address policy presented by CASA; policy that was contributed to by the ULSU. The ~$2 Billion in funding for deferred maintenance announced by the federal government was not just a victory for CASA, but also the University of Lethbridge, as we recognized this as a major issue on our campus. When teamed up with CAUS, we are able to secure $145 million of that for the U of L. Last year CAUS succeeded in lowering interest rates on student loans in Alberta, something that many of us here are quite appreciative of. Elections Canada said they want the ULSU to be one of their main partners in formulating a student strategy for the next election. Elizabeth May said the Green Party wants to use CASA as their main source of information and policy on PSE. The Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked positively about CASA in caucus (he is not frequently known for mentioning advocacy groups in caucus). If you noticed that now when you apply for an Alberta Student Loan, they no longer consider the value of your car as income, that’s another CAUS victory. The increase in funding for university residential spaces across the province? Check mark CAUS!

While these victories may seem small compared to the dozens upon dozens of policies presented by CASA and CAUS, you really need to look at the system in which they are working. If you ask for 30 things, you might only get two, and it could take a year or two to implement. That’s the nature of the bureaucracies of the provincial and federal government. However, that is MAJOR progress. It’s the needs of students being addressed, and both CASA and CAUS are attributed levels of success that many similar organizations could only dream of. Not many organizations can say they get meetings with the head of every political party, or have its members on a first name basis with the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. But we can, and that’s worth something.

Brodie Pattenden

VP Admin

The 2008/2009 CAUS Membership

ULSU VP Admin Brodie Pattenden with Stephane Dion

ULSU President Adam Vossepoel with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff

 

 

 

 

CAUS summer student position now accepting applicants

Research and Communications Assistant

The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) represents 70,000 university students to the government and other stakeholders, and we are looking for someone to join our team in Edmonton for the summer to help our efforts to improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of post-secondary education in Alberta.

The Research and Communications Assistant will undertake two projects over the course of the summer developed with feedback from student leaders from across the province.

The Research and Communications Assistant must have a high school diploma and either be enrolled in a post-secondary institution or have received a degree or diploma from a post-secondary institution. The position will involve occasional travel.

The position is conditional on receiving a STEP grant from the Government of Alberta and is full-time for the summer of 2009 and will pay $12 an hour. The deadline for applications is March 23, 2009 via e-mail at duncan@caus.net. Further information is available online at www.caus.net. CAUS is an equal opportunity employer.

New universities present opportunities, challenges for students

Edmonton, AB – The Government of Alberta announced today that it would be tabling the Post-Secondary Learning Amendment Act, 2009 that would open the door to Mount Royal College and Grant MacEwan College to become universities.

“The news of another Alberta university is exciting, but there will be many challenges for any new university and their students to face,” explained Beverly Eastham, chair of the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), which represents students at the University of Alberta, University of Calgary and University of Lethbridge. “A new university has that much farther to go than the currently established universities to meet the goals of being accessible, affordable and of the highest quality.”

Any new university will have a busy year to prepare for their first cohort of students as a university come September. In addition to preparing curricula and degree proposals for approval by the government, the new university will have to ensure that prospective students are aware of the changes, and help to ensure that a vacuum is not left by those looking for a college environment in Alberta. It is essential that pains be taken to ensure that the enrolment levels of other institutions do not drop off in September and thus negatively effect those universities. The addition of another university is good news for prospective students looking at their post-secondary options, however, the concern of providing quality as well as accessibility to Alberta students is prevalent. Besides access to space, it is crucial for the necessary infrastructure to be in place to ensure that a degree from any of Alberta’s universities is recognized world wide.

“Perhaps the most pressing concern is to ensuring that funding is put in place for students attending such an institution. A degree coming from an Alberta university should be recognized globally as one of the best – ongoing funding for all post secondary institutions needs to be increased to meet our shared goals,” concluded Eastham.

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The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) represents the interests of students at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.

For more information contact:
Beverly Eastham
CAUS Chair
tel: 780-492-4236
cell: 780-237-1707

Duncan Wojtaszek
CAUS Executive Director
tel: 780-437-4531
cell: 780-297-4531

Advanced Ed. Minister in The Gateway, an interview.

An interview with the Minister for Advanced Education and Technology, Doug Horner, came out in this weeks issue of The Gateway, University of Alberta’s on-campus paper.

Check out the article here.

Notable: the discussion surrounding deferred maintenance and residence space.

Jenn Prosser, VP Academic

Open Up! Students, tell us what YOUR story is.

Have a university horror story? Council of Alberta University Student’s is running a province wide contest to get students to open up about the challenges they face in accessing higher education. The contest runs until December 16th and all submissions will be entered to win an ipod.

Any and all submissions are welcome! Submissions can focus on any challenges you face be it tuition charges, housing, transportation, transfer credits, poor classroom space….the possibilities are sadly endless.

Photo’s, letters, stories, video, send ‘em all in! Woah, the even rhymed. Sick.

This is great chance for your direct words to be presented to those who can make a difference.We will be collecting all submissions together to form a document using YOUR experiences to present to the Government of Alberta and our respective institutions on what challenges students face in attending post secondary school.

Please send in all submissions to su.academic@uleth.ca or to the front desk of the Students’ Union office here at the UofL, or if you’re in Edmonton or Calgary send your stuff to the respective Student Union offices. All names will be kept confidential. Contest closes December 19th 2008.

For more information please feel free to contact:

Lethbridge: Jenn Prosser, VP Academic ULSU – su.academic@uleth.ca

Calgary: Alastair MacKinnon, VP External UCSU -suvpext@ucalgary.ca

Edmonton: Bev Eastham – VP External UASU – vp.external@su.ualberta.ca

Alberta has the fourth highest tutition in the country or: holy crow!

Tuition in Alberta continues to rise
Average Alberta university student to pay $239 more

Edmonton, AB – Statistics Canada reported today that university tuition continues to rise in Canada, with Alberta coming in near the top of the pack. Nationally tuition rose 3.6% this year to $4,724 but Alberta experienced a 4.7% increase to $5,361.

“It is disappointing to see tuition go up in Alberta while other provinces are working on freezing or even lowering tuition,” said Beverly Eastham, University of Alberta Students’ Union VP External and chair of the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS).

Average undergraduate tuition fees for full-time students 2007/08 2008/09 change
Nova Scotia $6,110 $5,932 -2.9
Ontario $5,388 $5,643 4.7%
New Brunswick $5,590 $5,590 0.0%
Alberta $5,122 $5,361 4.7%
British Columbia $4,922 $5,040 2.4%
Saskatchewan $5,015 $5,015 0.0%
Canada avg. $4,558 $4,724 3.6%
Prince Edward Island $4,440 $4,530 2.0%
Manitoba $3,271 $3,276 0.2%
Newfoundland $2,632 $2,632 0.0%
Quebec $2,056 $2,167 5.4%

Students recently proposed that in the next provincial budget the Government of Alberta fully fund a rollback on tuition for 2009/10. “Tuition is too high in Alberta, and now is the time to take action and lower it,” said Eastham.

The Statistics Canada report can be found through this link.

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The Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) represents the interests of students at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.

For more information contact:
Beverly Eastham
CAUS Chair
tel: 780-492-4236
cell: 780-237-1707

Duncan Wojtaszek
CAUS Executive Director
tel: 780-437-4531
cell: 780-297-4531

Student Housing Awareness event brought to you by the letter’s U-L-S-U.

Student housing leaves no room for learning

Thursday October 2nd, 2008 join the ULSU in University Hall Atrium to discuss the issues that face students in finding safe and affordable housing.

In the Lethbridge city census of 2008, the City of Lethbridge put the current vacancy rate at 3.87% with a population of 83 960 people. Although 3.87% seems a reasonable rate of vacancy for a city of our size, this year’s census “expanded the dwelling unit types to occupied, unoccupied, under construction and vacant lot.” Which boils down to a vacancy rate including land and housing which is unable to be occupied.

Lethbridge, being a smaller urban center is often seen as a student friendly much more affordable place to live than Calgary or Edmonton. Yes, this is very true but that does not diminish the fact that student constantly face issues in finding housing to fit their particular needs. Transitory life styles, low and inconsistent incomes, little background in legal rights and an energy intensive life style are all factors which combine to make it very difficult for students to find suitable housing and protect their rights.

From a report put out by Social Housing in Action: “The vacancy rate is currently less than 1% (CMHC, 2006). Rental stock is declining with over 300 rental properties condominiumized this year alone (Real Estate Board, 2007). Gentrification is also occurring, further reducing affordable rental and ownership stock. The rental industry has seen significant increases in rental costs; 22% in the past year.”

Student housing rights are an issue which affects not only students but also the members of the university community and community at large. Lethbridge is a city whose prosperity and community development is greatly aided by students and our ability to live in a secure and suitable place is fundamental to academic and social success while attending University.

Please join us noon-1:30pm October 2^nd, 2008 in the Uhall Atrium to talk to representatives from the province of Alberta, ULSU, the University Administration, Social Housing in Action and the City of Lethbridge about Lethbridge’s student housing issues.

Free dessert and coffee will be served.