I thought summer was busy until September rolled around! It is hard to believe I am already a third of the way through the term. I am thrilled to provide an update and remain excited for the rest of the year. 

External advocacy 

President Banister and I attended was the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) Changeover, where I was elected as the Chair of CAUS. Since then, projects I have overseen for CAUS include our priorities document, a Counterpart Conference in Lethbridge, presenting priorities to the Ministry of Advanced Education, and meeting with the United Conservative Party interim leader Nathan Cooper. There are currently three ongoing reviews regarding advanced education which I actively give input on as Chair; Agencies, Boards, and Commissions (ABC), Funding, and Tuition frameworks. I continue daily to have conversations regarding student employment, mental health funding, tenants rights, and tuition rates and regulation, amongst a wide range of topics. Overall I believe it will be a pivotal year for students, as there are some expectations that the system that governs post-secondary institutions in Alberta may change.  

For federal advocacy,  I participated in the CASA Policy and Strategy conference in Kananaskis and the Foundations conference in Ottawa, developed UASU internal advocacy documents, and had several one-on-one meetings with MPs and Ministers across the province. Locally, I hosted Election Year: Meet Your City Council Candidates, have overseen bringing Edmonton Election polling booths on campus, and am working on developing a GOTV effort for the municipal elections. 

At all of these external opportunities, I present the UASU’s political policies and priorities. I have been able to inject the UASU’s political policy and my own mandate on deferred maintenance, tenants rights, housing affordability,  international students, additional academic fees, employment, and student financial aid throughout all our advocacy organizations. I have had up-take on several points, the most prominent three below:

Mental health funding 

The largest success from this summer is the renewal of mental health funding on post-secondary campuses (25.8 million dollars over three years and several commitments to improving services) which will positively improve the lives of thousands of students across Alberta. The University of Alberta received $1 million a year for three years, a win for stable funding. However, this level of funding will not allow the University to improve services. My mandate was to pursue 3-5 year granting terms and an FLE based distribution method and I had hoped for a minimum increase that reflected inflation rates at a comparable FLE number to similar institutions. Without an increase, this means that I, the UASU, and U of A will have to continue to highlight the necessity of these services and push for them to remain on campus, develop sustainably, integrate appropriately, and receive appropriate levels of funding.

Tuition and student financial aid

I continue to push CAUS’s position on tuition, which is asking for a reduction in tuition rates so that they are comparable to 1991 rates plus inflation. I have seen massive engagement on this point, some of it push back, but the government remains open to the conversation. Equally important has been CAUS’s position on Student Financial Aid (SFA). CAUS and the UASU have actively pursued moving tax credits, equal to approximately $200 million in financial aid funding, into up-front grants to improve access for groups that face systemic barriers on a sliding scale of need. Billed as a “free tuition” model in provinces such as Ontario and New Brunswick, such a system has been proven to increase access to postsecondary education. I have seen public statements from both the Minister of Advanced Education Marlin Schmidt and Premier Rachel Notely that indicate that this is now at the top of mind for the cabinet, and we hope to see real movement with the tuition review to support a new system of SFA. Also, I have seen government pick up on developing regulation for international students tuition, and thoroughly believe that any new tuition framework will include regulation for international students. In the end, we likely will see the results of the tuition review this year, and I remain optimistic that student and my priorities of sustainable, predictable, and affordable tuition will be reflected. 

Housing

Tenants rights for students in shared residence has been one of our most consistent advocacy points in all government stakeholder meetings. We find that members of the government are often surprised by this situation and are very supportive of pushing for change. We will be doing a public campaign push in the coming months and hope to see movement within the year. 

The redevelopment of the UASU’s housing registry to be more student-friendly is currently underway. Resources fully outlining a person's rights and proper renting procedure will be fully integrated. We also will push this resource as a safe, trusted, and stable alternative to sites such as Kijiji or Rentfaster. It will be the most service-related campaign mandate completed in my term, and I am very excited for its launch. 

Conclusion 

I remain absolutely honored to work for students, am blessed with an amazing team, and continue to conquer new challenges daily. I cannot possibly report everything that has happened, so please reach out anytime to discuss any aspect of my mandate and progress, and make sure to check out my original platform online on Facebook or at reedlarsen.ca