What is OUSA: your guide to student advocacy

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is an advocacy group that creates student-driven and evidence-based policy recommendations. They strive to advocate for an accessible, affordable, accountable and high-quality post-secondary education in Ontario. The OTSU joined OUSA earlier this year after its members voted in favour of joining.

OUSA is non-partisan and their policies are written and ratified by students, highlighting their purpose of being by students, for students. They ensure that our policy recommendations reach provincial legislation through conferences like Lobby Week.

OUSA represents the interests of ~160,000 university students at nine student associations across Ontario, including those from Queen’s, Brock, Western, Waterloo, McMaster, Trent, Laurentian, Wilfrid Laurier, and Ontario Tech universities.  A Steering Committee runs OUSA with elected student representatives from each membership school. This is similar to the OTSU's Board of Directors structure, except our Board is selected based on faculties.

How Does OUSA Work?

• Conducts research to identify issues affecting the accessibility, affordability, accountability and quality of undergraduate education in Ontario
• Develops credible and constructive policies to address these challenges (the OTSU contributes by taking Ontario Tech students’ perspectives to OUSA and authoring policy recommendation papers. This year we are co-authoring papers on Housing, Transit and Community Development and we are co-editors on International Students and International Education and Addressing Racism & Religious Discrimination
• Takes their recommendations to Lobby Week at Queen’s Park to influence the government to enact positive change in their undergraduate education policies.
• Organizes campaigns to communicate the needs and interests of OUSA members
• Builds partnerships in the post-secondary education sector to advocate for students

What Does OUSA do?

Colates student voices

When it comes to advocacy and policy change in the public sector, there is strength in numbers. OUSA was formed so that post-secondary students in Ontario could bring their voices together and have student concerns heard at the highest level.

OUSA represents nine schools, and each one has a different focus based upon their unique student needs. To address this, OUSA holds an annual strategic planning conference which involves the steering committee and home office staff, and provides the group with an opportunity to prioritize OUSA's advocacy, activities, and events for the year.

Additionally, OUSA holds bi-annual General Assemblies during the academic year—OUSA's highest governing body. During each weekend-long conference, each membership school brings with them student-at-large delegates so that they can better represent their school’s student body. The OTSU will bring four delegates to edit, rewrite and make suggestions for the six policy papers OUSA is writing this year.

Provides research-based evidence

To date, OUSA has authored six comprehensive research papers that have been used to provide the Government of Ontario with policy recommendations, including:

1. Student Health and Wellness
2. Rural and Northern Students
3. Housing, Transit & Community Development
4. International Students and International Education
5. Gender-Based and Sexual Violence Prevention and Response
6. Addressing Racism & Religious Discrimination

Lobbies the government

Annually, OUSA spends a week at Queen’s Park for the Student Advocacy Conference, where delegates from each member association meet with legislators and staffers to discuss pressing issues in post-secondary education. Here, delegates highlight OUSA’s recommendations to the government and ministries to the Members of the Provincial Parliament.

How does the OTSU contribute, and Why Does It Matter?

Policy highlights boundaries by acting as the standard for acceptable conduct and business processes in post-secondary education. By writing policy papers and recommendations our goal is to create fact-based research to ensure these policies are for students and by students. To this end, the OTSU:

• Is authoring the Housing, Transit and Community Development policy paper
• Has published the article “As Fundamental Inequity: Technology in Classrooms in OUSA,” published in Issue 17 of Educated Solutions: Our Evolving Partner in Education: Technology in Post-Secondary
• Is editing the International Students and International Education and Addressing Racism & Religious Discrimination Policy papers
• Bringing Ontario Tech students’ advocacy priorities to OUSA, including cost of living, housing (tenant rights, landlord-tenant board breaches), transit, mental health, food insecurity

How Do I Get Involved?

Your voice matters (that’s why we keep asking for your  input!). Now that you are armed with this information, here’s how you can raise your voice:

• Apply for our next call for delegates when we post on our socials
• Interact with our surveys, consultations, and focus groups
• Apply to our advisory committees and committees of the Board
• Ask questions at our Annual General Meeting
• Work with us! We hire students for a number of positions. Openings are on our jobs page
• Talk to OUSA members yourself! OUSA will be visiting the north and downtown campus on October 18th please stop by their tables to learn more!

We hope this helps you to understand OUSA better, and we hope to see you at our Annual General Meeting!

~The OTSU