In traditional universities, students pay extra fees for their textbooks–at Athabasca University, your course fee covers the cost of course materials. In instance of a tuition raise, the council discussed several issues, such as whether it’s best that students are provided with course materials, versus the monetary and availability aspects of students finding their own or used textbooks (with a conceivable trading system on the AUSU website, of course.) One student guest at the teleconference made the suggestion that AU could offer reduced fees for courses in which students receive fewer course materials, or in instances of Challenge for Credit [ed. It is already cheaper to challenge a course than to register in one normally].

Since international students and those in remote areas may not have the resources or access to the materials they would need, it was agreed that instead, AU be advised that more materials be available for borrowing, and that if AU wants to increase its tuition fees, they should build their library to accommodate the quality of student education. For example, at the back of any study guide, you will find a page of suggested reading, yes one councillor noted that the majority of those books are not available through the AU library. The council is adamant that AU stick to its mission statement of an “open university”, and maintains that the many requests for AUSU’s Emergency Bursary are anecdotal evidence that students can’t afford increasingly higher tuition.

I asked what influence AUSU had on Athabasca University in terms of this proposed tuition hike. The council admitted their impact is low, and they were being informed of it as a formality only, the increase already being in AU’s strategic plan two or three years ago; which begs the question: what impact do students actually have on their education at AU, and what can the students’ union do for us, if the University isn’t willing to listen? I have had a chance to sit in on many student council meetings, and know firsthand that the AUSU has its members in mind–after all, the council is made up of students! Yet student’s union communication with Athabasca University seems to be strained; I often detect exasperation among council members reporting back on their contact with AU reps.

On a happier note, new scholarship information was relayed, with a plan to raise a quarter of a million dollars for the scholarship fund over the next five years. (to which one member joked the benefits would not be seen until after all council members have graduated.) Council member Lonita Fraser suggested that AUSU consider sponsored scholarships. (i.e.: Nursing Federation scholarships for AU nursing students.)

And, for those interested in debating, it was announced that a new AUSU Debate Club is underway. Although the club’s status is in its initial stages, keep your eyes open on the AUSU website for more information in the coming weeks.

One council member pointed out that as a distance-education institute, graduates have spent a significant amount of money on their degree, as well as travel/accommodation to the graduation ceremonies (especially since typically, they are bringing family as well.) With approximately 250 grads this year, having a mixed crowd [of grads and undergrads], along with hours-long recognition, graduation, and presentation ceremonies, families would have a difficult time connecting at the post-ceremony luncheon. AUSU council members generated several ideas to alleviate the potential problems, such as forgoing the traditional graduate gift-giving ceremony, instead increasing the budget to promote a separate, AUSU-sponsored luncheon, which would also give AUSU a chance to establish itself separately from Athabasca University. Some council members disagreed with this suggestion, arguing that because students have invested so much time and money on an AU degree, the traditional gift is tangible nostalgia–students should feel as though they’re “getting something” in addition to the degree they’ve worked so hard for.

One council member, who’d had experience with convocation, admitted that while she loved the gift she received upon her graduation, in the long run, it was unimportant–she suggested that a meaningful congratulatory card recognizing her efforts would be just as meaningful (ed. especially since traditionally, December grads did not get their gifts until the following June)— and that it might be accompanied with a small token, such as a pin, or key chain. After much discussion, the council’s prospective decision for this year’s convocation is to forgo gifts (although keeping the honoraries), increase the budget for an AUSU luncheon, so that families can comfortably gather. Post-ceremony, a congratulatory note and/or gift will be sent to the graduates.

Moving along, the subject of the new federal privacy legislation (FOIP) was introduced. The legislation regulates the collection of personal information from AU staff and students. As a student, you are entitled to your privacy, and response to any surveys or focus groups is not mandatory–it is an opportunity to voice your opinion. Recently, several AUSU committees have launched research and implementation efforts to provide groups and services that are tailored to student’s interests. However, even if the committee is gathering information on behalf of the AUSU council, under the Canadian Privacy Act, AUSU’s clubs and groups are not recognized under the legislation. To prevent any incidents, the council appointed Privacy Officers, (Tamra Ross Law, primary.) to oversee all outgoing documents.

What this means to you, the student, is that, say for example, you belong to the AUSU Sports Club–the club is looking to tailor their efforts towards members’ preferred sports, and they send a survey to their members. The AUSU privacy officer oversees the content, and if you have any questions or concerns about your privacy via the information collected, there is a contact for you to address. (ed. The appointing of a privacy officer is a legal requirement of any government regulated organization (which AUSU is), and this appointment fulfills that requirement. The name of the privacy officer will soon be included on all AUSU forms and surveys, along with a phone number so that students may contact the officer for information relating to the AUSU privacy policy).

Lastly, to briefly update on the rest of the meeting’s activities, the council spent time reviewing various administrative updates, resolving communication issues and procedures, and approving or amending policies throughout Legislative, Clubs and Groups committee, funding, etc. The council also delegated committee status for the Newsletter, Planner, Web, and Convocation committees, each labeled ad hoc, the history of each being a necessity for future student councils. As well, the Finance Committee is in the beginning stages of investigating investment opportunities. Matters to consider include investing in ethical companies, and high-risk, vs. low-risk investments. (Because low-risk investments take longer to produce results, it was suggested that the committee mix assets, investing in both high and low risk.)

This year, student fees have been slightly lower than anticipated, but AUSU was able to save over $60,000 by cutting funding from the student planner project and by creating changes in marketing strategies, such as mail surveys, etc. The handbook budget alone was reduced from $80,000 to a proposed $15,000 with council’s decision to break away from a partnership with AU, opting instead to create their own handbook geared towards distance education students, which is to be printed in January of next year. (editor’s note: the new student planner will be produced for 2005, but it will no longer be automatically sent to all new students. It will be available to all AUSU members upon request, to ensure that only those who want a planner, get one)

Other sources of savings included The Voice, which has more writers, but reduced office supply costs, as well as the bursary fund, which had $1300 remaining this year. After a motion was passed to approve the 2004/2005 preliminary budget, the council went on to discuss a couple of issues related to the AUSU website.

Barring a few script replacements, the bulletin system is essentially fixed now, and direct messaging will make it easier for students to launch initial contact with each other when arranging a Study Buddy. It was brought up that many students on the Study Buddy board are not looking for a study contact, rather, a personal opinion on the course they are taking — this is what the course evaluation surveys are designed for, and students are encouraged to fill them out.

Finally, council evaluated the software used to build the surveys — while they’re perfectly functional, the system operates on old version software, and is liable to become unstable as new versions of web browsers emerge, and a new open source version may be considered, at no cost to the council.

Next up on the agenda, the student council is happy to present new scholarship opportunities, such as financial aid, academic achievement, student service, and more. Information has already been posted on the AUSU website — if you’d like more information on eligibility and application procedures, you can find the new scholarship information at [http://ausu.org/services/scholarships.php].

With modern Internet providing everything from grocery shopping to distance education, submitting online credit card information is a standard procedure for many of us today- we use the Web when paying bills and bank account balances, not to mention that pesky eBay habit! But we’re all concerned when it comes to the privacy and safety of our credit card numbers, and AUSU is no exception. Each council member had an opinion to offer when the topic of introducing Paypal or a credit card merchant account to the AU site came up. When it comes to paying tuition fees online, or buying AU merchandise, the council had to make a decision on payment methods, and it came down to credit card versus Paypal debate. Council members were very much concerned with protecting students from fraud and credit card abuse, and even cited money orders as an option. One member pointed out that the council should probe students’ interest for AU merchandise ideas, since there are only a couple of online orders per month, there is no real need for a Paypal system at this point in time. The marketing committee volunteered to advertise and promote AUSU sales, and a motion was passed to stick to Visa/Mastercard payments, money orders, and phone-in methods of payment until further notice. (ed. AUSU should be equipped to accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express over the phone within three weeks).

Next up on the block was consideration to provide council member Tamra Ross Low a software program (Dreamweaver) , to help with AUSU’s new layout as the head designer of the AUSU and Voice websites will no longer be working with AUSU (she is not concentrating on other aspects of her business). If you’ve been active on the AUSU message boards, you’ve already noticed the post where students were encouraged to provide feedback on AUSU’s current website, which will be redesigned to improve accessibility, content and overall navigation.

The Athabasca University Sports Club has also applied for funding– the Sports Equipment funding policy will give students the opportunity to provide necessary equipment to organize their own team sports. The AUSC offers AU students with an interest in sports a place to find information on nutrition, athletic training, fitness, and a listing of local/national sports events and scores, as well as a bi-weekly “Ask Angela” advice column featuring fitness pro and student member, Angela Staley.

The AUSC has also launched a successful fitness support group, where members share weekly journals of their fitness goals, as well as troubleshoot with other members, regardless of age or fitness level. For more information, or to become a member, check out the AU Sports Club page here: ( http://www.ausu.org/clubs/ausc/index.php)

The council wrapped up the meeting discussing lighter topics such as the Newsletter Committee’s plans to introduce regular member profiles, an Ask AUSU segment, and to feature student writings on important issues, such as tuition. The council then went on to an entertaining debate on the distribution and/or disposal of leftover AU Convocation portfolios — in an amusing discussion, the council tried to contemplate ways to pawn the portfolios off on each other. The portfolios cannot be reused because of dating on the front covers — council members who thought the portfolios were attractive were allowed to keep one — the rest shall be tossed.

All current AUSU members are invited to attend AUSU council meetings via teleconference. Inquire at ausu@ausu.org.

The July 19th AUSU council meeting saw a proposal from the AUSU Marketing/PR Committee, who are looking to update and redesign the AUSU website. The committee will solicit student input on the accessibility, content, and navigation problems of the current site, before creating a new layout for ausu.org. The committee will submit their testing by a forum topic, a chat room focus group, and a student survey. Students are encouraged to submit their suggestions upon the given opportunities, as well as by submitting comments directly to the AUSU via email.

The council went on to evaluate and discuss several internal issues, such as balancing the responsibilities of former council member Stacey Steele, the need for additional staffing in AUSU office, and scholarship distribution [editor’s note:. More information on the staff and councillor departures will be posted on the AUSU website front page in the next day or so].

The council discussed possible methods of distributing the monetary awards such as scholarships, including depositing the amount directly to the Registrar’s office, thereby contributing directly to the scholar’s tuition fees, instead of the standard issued cheque.

The meeting became quite excited as the council discussed the AUSU 2004 Student Handbook/Planners. While the current organizers are printed in conjunction with Athabasca University, AUSU has no formal contract with AU, and wishes to cancel the partnership to print an AUSU student planner. While concerns include printer costs and contracts, and the time in which it will take staff to update the pages and content, the new planners will be AUSU-focused, and more applicable to distance-ed students. The new planners will be smaller, and are anticipated to begin shipment on January 1st, 2005.

Council meetings have been shorter and more sporadic over the early summer months, and reports are also briefer. This has been due, in part, to a plan for council to move along with a lot of old business by meeting more frequently and addressing a few issues at a time. Council reporters have not been available for all meetings. Starting next month, council should be moving back to a once per month schedule, as the briefer meetings of the last several weeks have been very productive and have cleared many old items off the agenda.

Included this week is this report from one of the early summer meetings, on May 17th, again reported by Stephanie Antscherl.

Highlights of the May 17th Council Meeting
Stephanie Antscherl

This month’s meeting started off on a fairly light and informal tone, as the new AUSU student council easily settled into their first council meeting via teleconference. Strategies were discussed regarding promotion of the AU Student Union to new students, and getting more Tutor Profiles on the AUSU website.

Perhaps the most important issue discussed at the meeting was the lack of commitment from the AU Access to Students with Disabilities (ASD) department re: their urgent request for volunteers. It seems as though there is a lot of misdirection and confusion within the organization – plenty of students have been signing up to volunteer, and have since been given menial tasks at offices, or worse yet, have never even received follow-up or confirmation of their registration.

As the presentation of this issue went on, several AUSU council members submitted their own experiences in regards to the lack of activity from the ASD volunteer request, and a lively discussion ensued as it was revealed that there are many disabled students at AU who desperately need the aid of volunteers, and at present are being told that there are no volunteers, when in actuality, there are plenty of people waiting to volunteer, and in some cases even being falsely told that there are no opportunities available. The council firmly resolved to take firm action, and contact attempts will be made to resolve this situation.

A representative of the AU registrar’s office attended the early part of the meeting, answering questions and taking notes on several issues, including current scholarship eligibility- it seems that while full-time student status is a requirement for a scholarship application, the majority of students [especially distance-ed] are not considered full-time, even if they are enrolled at Athabasca as a supplement to full-time studies at an affiliated university/college.

Before leaving, the representative quietly thanked the council for its time, and remarked that he had a lot of information to take back to AU.

Next on the agenda was the conclusion of the changeover period for the new AUSU student council. Executive positions were designated by vote – Mac McInnis now taking over as council President, along with Teresa Neuman, vice-president, and Karl Low taking on V.P. of finance and administration.

The old council happily passed on the torch, dropping a few words of wisdom and experience to their descendants, advising them to focus highly on teamwork and student representation. One member, who stated she was quite confident in the new council’s abilities, commented, “with all the new executives, AU[SU] will be a very different place in a year or so.”

The new council then heard an informal proposal for a new AUSU committee (Marketing and Public Relations.) The purpose of the committee would be to link students to services and support, creating awareness of involvement opportunities and promos, etc. One idea was that AU Business students could carry out projects for the committee to gain experience. While the council had some concern over budgeting allowances, they seemed confident that the proposal was worthwhile, and a motion was passed to approve the new committee [Marketing and Public Relations.] Shannon Maguire will chair.

Also on the agenda was student-instructor relationships; instances of students hiring outside tutors have been a source of concern, and the council will be examining measures in which to make it easier for students to access the assistance they need, and recover AU student-tutor connections. Additionally, the council wants your feedback, and will be posting corresponding questions on AUSU website polls. You are encouraged to offer your opinion – after all, it’s the quality of your education. More information on this topic will be coming, I’m sure.

The council also received a proposal from the Canadian Federation of Students, a national union that would provide AU students with internationally recognized student I.D. cards, presenting full-time students with 25-35% discounts with ViaRail and Greyhound Bus Lines, Air Canada, and other travel discounts, working with TravelCuts and various international hotels. For part-time students, the CFS provides a Student Saver Discount Card, which offers coupons and discounts for local communities. While these offers are mostly campus-based, there would be online elements, like TravelCuts.com, for distance ed students.

The Canadian Federation also offers the Student Work Abroad Program, National Student Health Insurance, and is an affiliate of Homesforstudents.com, a website offering a searchable database of student housing for your area.

To join the Canadian Federation of Students would require a fee of $3.60 per student, per semester. To do the math on that one would equal a 72 cent increase on your tuition invoice for every course (based on a 5-course-per-semester example.) AUSU likes the idea of these benefits for students, but the council has made no commitment, though they have heard propositions from a similar organization. If AUSU were to consider membership to the CFS, a student referendum would be applied first, and based on student vote, would go from there.

Finally, I’m happy to report that something is being done about the AUSU forums. The council has given the go-ahead to transfer the forums to new a new format and/or server. Some existing forum threads will be archived, while older ones may be deleted, so it is suggested that if there are threads students wish to preserve, they save them at their earliest convenience.

Stephanie Antscherl is an AU student providing student coverage of AUSU council meetings. She is not affiliated with AUSU. For more information on any AUSU initiative, please contact council.