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TUITION IS BALLOONINGOUT OF CONTROL
Students across Ontario have voiced their concernsregarding the democracy and accountability at post-secondary institutions; student participation on campusand access to those opportunities; the current cost of tuition and ancillary fees; and the overall accessibility tohigher education. At the local level, the Central Student Association (CSA)has involved its membership in a number of differentcapacities to get a sense of how undergraduate studentsare feeling at the University of Guelph. Not surprisingly,many students on this campus have expressed concernsin all of the aforementioned areas. In an effort to shed lighton some of these concerns, the CSA has come up with aseries of creative recommendations to these concernsthat would change and improve the lives of studentsattending this institution.This document will be presented to all major decisionmaking bodies at the University of Guelph, studentorganizations, and the student body at large.
Our goal isto raise awareness about the issues mentioned in thisdocument, and advocate that the Board of Governorsand Senate take our recommendations intoconsideration when moving forward with the planningfor the next academic year.
On February 1, 2012,students gathered inthe University CentreCourtyard to protestagainst the rising costof post secondaryeducation.
 ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Photo Credit: Denise Martins
 
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On an annual basis, the University of Guelph hasdemonstrated its commitment to providing students withopportunities to be involved in the decision makingprocess at various levels of this institution. Accordingly,there is at least one student representative on mostcommittees facilitated by the University. Although thewillingness to incorporate student opinion into thedecisions that the University makes is encouraging,students feel disconnected from the Board of Governors.For example, early on in the Winter 2012 semester, theCentral Student Association tabled in the UniversityCentre Courtyard to test their peers on their knowledgeabout the governance structure at this institution. Fromconducting this simple survey, it became abundantly clear that most students do not know what the Board of Governors is, its responsibilities, and most are unaware of the opportunity to connect with their (student)representatives on the Board of Governors, or that theythemselves, can run for election.
Recommendations
B
Increase the number of elected studentrepresentatives.
Guelph has a well-known and respected reputation for student engagement and has been a forerunner in thisfield in terms of student representation on all levels of committees. Therefore, it is time to see a larger studentvoice on the Board of Governors. As the Board of Governors, along with Senate, is the highest governingbody in a bi-cameral system at the University of Guelph,we believe an increase in student voice on this board isnecessary. An increase in students would allow for a morediverse representation of the student body to sit on theBoard of Governors, as well as increase studentparticipation and engagement. If more students are ableto sit on the Board of Governors this will only increase thepromotion of such things as elections, processes, andactions. Therefore, we recommend that the Board of Governors increase the number of student seats byadding two additional undergraduate student seats for atotal of four, and one additional graduate student seat for a total of two.
C
Implement accountability measures within theresponsibilities of the Board of Governors to ensuregreater accountability to the University of Guelphcommunity.
In any given year, the general student is not connected to(and often has no knowledge of) the Board of Governors,and their student representatives on said board. We,therefore, recommend that the Board of Governors, as awhole, should be encouraged to actively inform and solicitfeedback from all University of Guelph stakeholdersduring their term. Although pledging one’s time to beinvolved with any committee, board, or organizationrequires a large commitment and is often done so as avolunteer, there must be a clear succinct way of informingthe community of the proceedings of the Board. Here aresome ideas:
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Distributing a semester report outlining a summaryof decisions and public conversations within theBoard of Governors.
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Holding public forums once a semester.
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Presenting and/or providing updates at StudentExecutive Council.
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Letters to the Ontarion/ an information column.
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 A blog post about each meeting.
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 A Facebook page.
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Create annual performance evaluations for theBoard of Governors that can be made public to theUniversity of Guelph Community.
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 A CSA ex-officio seat on the Board of GovernorsBy recommending these options, the CSA does not aim tocreate more work or monopolize the time of the individualdirectors on the Board of Governors; however, we do feelit is important that the Board of Governors has somemechanism by which they are expected to be accountableto the community of which it serves.
D
Investigate and implement new and creativeways to educate the student population aboutthe Board of Governors and its annual elections.
 As the elections process and timing of the Board of Governors has not been the high profile event of late,most students are unaware of it occurring. Studentstherefore are not running in the Board of Governorselection, or voting. If this process was communicated andadvertised further in advance of the elections occurring,more students may run for these positions. Furthermore,if more students are running, there will be an increase inawareness and interest for these elections. It is in thebest interest of the University—and by extension, theBoard of Governors—to develop a communicationsstrategy to promote the Board of Governors, which willultimately ensure there is a greater level of democracyand accountability within the highest decision makingbody at the University of Guelph.
Most students do not know what theBoard of Governors is, itsresponsibilities, and most are unawareof the opportunity to connect with their(student) representatives on the Boardof Governors, or that they, themselves,can run for election.
Board of Governors Accountability & Representation
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Here at the University of Guelph we are proud to have a very engagedand active student body. Many students choose to investigate andpursue extra and co-curricular involvement. This includes activitiessuch as student government, athletics (both at varsity and intramurallevels), clubs, volunteering, and mentoring. Being involved with theseactivities adds an invaluable experience to a student's time atUniversity, is integral in the full development of the student, andcontributes to student retention (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991).This time provides leadership development and networkingopportunities for students, skills and opportunities that are often notgained inside the classroom. Often, the only time available wherestudents are most able to attend group meetings for these extra andco-curricular activities is the 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm dinner hour break.Now that this time is being used to schedule classes, students facemany challenges finding time to meet in a group setting.Unfortunately, many students now miss out on these leadershipopportunities due to having to choose between academics andstudent engagement.Furthermore, abolishing the dinner break time slot adds further stressto many students during the day. This break was a time for studentsto recharge, grab some dinner, catch up on readings, hang out, andparticipate in sports and recreation, etc, before classes resumed at7:00 pm. For students that are employed throughout the semester,this dinner hour break is often the only time they can be engaged inan extra/co-curricular activity on campus. Furthermore, there arecertain courses scheduled during the 5:30 pm time slot that aremandatory core courses for particular programs, without alternativesections offered. Students encountering this will have no other optionexcept to take the course during this time, foregoing studentinvolvement and leadership opportunities.We understand that with enrolment increasing year after year, wemust find a time and place to schedule the classes required for our numbers. Scheduling over the 5:30 pm dinner break cannot be theonly solution. Instead we must look to developing the infrastructureon campus as well as other creative solutions to accommodateteaching needs.
Recommendation
B
The Central Student Association recommends that the dinner hour break be protected from classes being scheduled against inthe future.
C
The Central Student Association also recommends thatSenate strike a sub-committee to look at alternatives and ideasto scheduling classes during the dinner break hour.
STUDENTS: ‘WE NEED A BREAK!’Protect the Dinner Hour Break
Being involved with theseactivities adds an invaluableexperience to a student’s timeat University; it is integral inthe full development of thestudent; and it contributes tostudent retention.
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Photo Credit: Demetria Jackson
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