Hi folks,

It is wild to think that this is our update for the Fall semester. Our term has been filled with a lot of work on behalf of students as we have strived to achieve as much as we could on your behalf. Below, we offer the highlights of much of the work undertaken over the past few months, where you can find more information and areas where you can provide feedback on the direction of the UASU (check out the draft strategic plan). You can read the full 55-page report to Students’ Council here!

Academics

1. Academic Support and Reporting

Efforts were directed toward improving the student experience through better advising and feedback mechanisms:

• Improving Advising: Participated in the Enhancing Advising Project, helping to brainstorm solutions and ensuring the student perspective was heard. Authored the Advising Priorities report, which laid out the UASU’s recommendations for improved advisor training, best practices, and more to the Enhancing Advising Project.
• SPOT Survey Reform: To increase SPOT survey participation and make student feedback more impactful, the UASU worked to help students provide "actionable feedback" and advocated for departments to formally incorporate survey results into instructor evaluations.
• Academic Concerns Reporting: Launched a project to create a resource for students on how to navigate and report academic concerns through official university procedures.
• Evaluative Course Materials: Collaborated with BoG Rep to survey students and raise awareness with the University of students’ limited access to practice materials and other essential course content. Plans to improve access are ongoing.

2. Women’s Health and Menstrual Support

A major focus this year was on health equity and academic accommodations for women:

• Women’s Health Social: Hosted the first Women’s Health Social in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Women’s Health Association (IWHA), Student Success and Experience, CWS, and Club Periodically. Over 15 student groups attended to connect through storytelling and shared advocacy.
• Collaboration: Launched the Women’s Health Coalition, a new initiative aimed at uniting student groups to collaborate on key health priorities and identify one focus issue each year to guide collective awareness, fundraising and research efforts. The inaugural focus issue is menstrual health. Worked closely with Club Periodically around building further education and awareness initiatives.
• Research & Advocacy: Conducted a Menstrual Health Survey that revealed significant wellness impacts on students. This led to the hiring of a graduate researcher to inform future university policy and academic accommodations.

3. Textbook Affordability

The UASU employed a dual strategy to address the rising cost of course materials:

• Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC): Successfully promoted the ZTCup, recognizing faculties like Nursing  (51% adoption) for reducing student costs. A new ZTC Working Group was formed to work towards clarifying processes for ZTC qualification, and strengthening data collection and long-term filing.
  • We are finalizing a report of recommendations for improvements to the program, including automating review processes, improved data collection and stronger ZTC participation  expectations.
• First Day Access (FDA) Opposition: The University is moving forward with an automatic textbook billing model (FDA) for Fall 2026 despite student opposition. 
  • President Almeida is planning a plebiscite for the 2026 General Election to provide a clear student mandate against the program. 
  • VP Tamsett is working with the Bookstore to ensure that, IF the program is implemented, it is in the best format it can be, which will cause the least harm to students.

4. Student Governance and Representation

The UASU worked to protect and expand student influence within University leadership:

• Academic Governance: The General Faculties Council (GFC) Executive Ad-Hoc Committee on Academic Governance (CAG) successfully advocated against a proposal that would have reduced student representation on GFC from dozens of seats to just three.
• Exam Deferrals: Advocated for a major policy change to allow students to apply for exam deferrals before missing an exam. A formal proposal is set to move through the university governance cycle in early 2026.
• SRA Summit & CoFA: Worked to enhance the Council of Faculty Associations (CoFA) as a responsive and collaborative space for student leaders across the University. Hosted a full-day summit for Student Representative Associations (SRAs) to build advocacy skills and connect them directly with senior university administrators.

5. Accessibility and Undergraduate Research

• Research Opportunities: Collaborated with the URI to launch an advanced directory search tool, making it easier for students to find research placements. More work is planned to increase student and instructor awareness of the improved tool, and emphasize the importance of undergraduate research.
• Francophone Services: Pushed for the translation of Bear Tracks and My Schedule Builder into French. Submitted recommendations to the University on how to approach translation where current software limitations exist.
• CSJ ONEcard Pop-up: Successfully established a ONEcard distribution point at Campus Saint-Jean during Orientation, saving students the trip to the North Campus.

External

1. Employment and Financial Aid 

Addressing youth unemployment and the high cost of education was a central pillar of this year's external work:

• Federal Success (SWPP): The recent federal budget allocated $635.2 million over three years to extend the Student Work Placement Program, ensuring continued wage subsidies for student co-ops and internships. This is a major advocacy success, which also entailed a 15,000 increase in seats.
• Provincial Support: Advocated for the Alberta Youth Employment Incentive, an $8 million program providing a $10/hour wage subsidy to create 2,500 new jobs. Find more info on our advocacy work that helped achieve this outcome here.
• Operating Grants: Presented to the Jack Mintz Panel, successfully advocating for recommendations that include increased institutional funding and more financial aid grants 
• Financial Aid Stability: Maintained consistent communication with the Ministry of Advanced Education, successfully preventing the financial aid disbursement delays that plagued previous years.

2. Housing and Transit

Significant strides were made in securing affordable living and transportation options:

• Student Housing Win: Secured a $15 million Downtown Student Housing Incentive to support 500 units at or below market rent for students. In collaboration with the Edmonton Student Alliance (ESA), a second housing survey was launched to inform future City of Edmonton housing assessments.
• Transit Advocacy: In collaboration with the ESA, partnered with Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) to launch a comprehensive transit survey to guide service improvements for students.
• Augustana & CSJ: Working with Augustana leadership to explore a long-term transportation solution (potentially a dedicated fee) between Camrose and Edmonton. Supported Campus Saint-Jean (AUFSJ) with fundraising setup.

3. Provincial and Federal Advocacy 

This semester, the UASU leveraged its external influence to support marginalized student groups:

• Indigenous Students: Advocated federally for dedicated Indigenous housing, support for Indigenous students through the Post Secondary Students Support Program and equivalent and provincially for stable funding for the First Peoples’ House.
• International Students: Pushed for the removal of separate co-op work permit requirements and advocated for improved permanent residency pathways through the federal Comprehensive Ranking System.
• Unpaid Placements: Developed proposals to reduce the cost of Police Information Checks (to be at cost), and increase funding for rural placement support via RhPAP.

4. Municipal Engagement

• Get Out the Vote (GOTV): Mobilized over 100 volunteers and hosted a Mayoral Forum to increase student participation in the municipal election, and ensure student issues remained a priority in municipal discussions.
• Leisure Access Pass: Advocated to include full-time students in the City’s Leisure Access Program, which would provide free or low-cost access to recreation facilities. The motion for a feasibility study has passed.
• Councillor Relations: Conducted targeted meetings with multiple City Councillors to push for Bus Rapid Transit funding and the expansion of the "Build Canada Homes" initiative for students.

5. Organizational Growth and Partnerships

• Provincial Advocacy Reform: Through CAUS, led a historic joint budget submission representing over 220,000 students. The UASU is transitioning toward joining the Alberta Students' Executive Council (ASEC) to create a more sustainable provincial advocacy structure.
• Fundraising Strategy: Integrating a multi-year fundraising strategy into the new UASU Strategic Plan, including a review to better support the fundraising efforts of Student Representative Associations (SRAs).

                                                                
Operations and Finance 

1. Strategic Planning & Future Vision

We spearheaded the creation of a new UASU Strategic Plan (2026–2030) to replace the expired 2023 version.

You can read the draft Plan here. If you have any feedback, please provide them to vp.finance@uasu.ca ahead of January 13th, 2026. Some of the principles we have applied include:

• The Strategic Plan tries not to say what we advocate on or what services/social enterprises, but instead it lays out how we advocate and how we choose and work on our services/social enterprises.
• The Strategic Plan tries to provide general operational direction to the UASU while respecting the authority of future student leaders and other UASU structures, in order for the Plan to remain relevant over time.

2. Communications & Media Strategy

In collaboration with the Marketing department, the UASU revamped its social media presence to increase engagement:

• Content Shifts: Increased use of higher-density content like carousels and pinned posts, and moved toward a unified texture and colour branding style.
• Video Updates: Launched personality-driven video series "Tea Time with Katie", "Lights Camera Logan", “Up Next With Your VPX”, and “_____ With Thiessen”  to provide students with regular updates and raise awareness of ongoing topics.

3. Financial & SRA Reform

Efforts were made to empower Student Representative Associations (SRAs) by streamlining financial processes:

• SRA Membership Fee Reform: Proposed delegating routine audits to trained staff (while keeping Council oversight) to reduce bureaucracy.
• Faster Funding: Confirmed that SRA membership fees will be disbursed earlier (September/January) starting in Fall 2026 to help student groups manage their budgets better.
• Joint Fee Agreements: Established accountability contracts with all fee-collecting organizations to ensure reliable funding and transparency.

4. Supporting Students Who Parent

Led several initiatives addressing accessibility barriers for student parents:

• Grants & Childcare: Assisted the Students' Union and Community Early Learning Centre (SUCELC) in securing an Inclusive Spaces Program Grant and pursued a new partnership with Kids and Company to expand available childcare spaces.
• Resource Mapping: Actively participated in the Students Who Parent Working Group to centralize resources.

5. Facility Improvements & Sustainability 

The UASU is optimizing physical spaces and environmental impact:

• RATT Café: Successfully opened RATT as a café space (Monday to Thursday), providing a "third space" for students to study and socialize outside of traditional bar hours.
• Dewey’s Re-envisioning: Currently developing a long-term plan for Dewey's to address operational concerns and accessibility.
• The SEED Fund: Rebranded the "Green Fund" to the Sustainable Empowerment and Equitable Development (SEED) Fund to broaden its scope and encourage more grassroots student sustainability projects.

6. Community & Electoral Engagement

• SRA Movie Nights: Launched free collaborative movie nights at the Myer Horowitz Theatre to connect students and specific faculty groups with UASU facilities.
• Elections Task Force (ETF): Established a task force to review bylaws and voter turnout strategies to provide recommendations on improvements to the democratic process.
• Community Partnerships: Secured student perks and event access through partnerships with local organizations like the Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Elks, and the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Student Life 

1. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 

Addressing SGBV remains a top priority, with a focus on institutional reform and education:

• Task Force & Training: Established an SGBV Task Force to identify service gaps; recommendations are due in the Winter Term. New trauma-informed disclosure training is being developed for student leaders.
• Support Networks: Advocated for the expansion of the Options Navigation Network (ONN) beyond its current three faculties to provide better support across the university.
• Education & Advocacy: Proposed mandatory consent education based on Western University’s model. Hosted You Deserve Safe Housing info session about "sex for rent" schemes to educate students on housing exploitation and human trafficking. Planning a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Awareness Week in January, in partnership with the UASAC.  

2. Accessibility, Safety, and Outdoor Spaces

Working to make campus more navigable and physically safe:

• Equitable Mobility: After finding a dedicated vehicle service unfeasible, shifted focus to mapping accessible routes via Safewalk and collecting student data on accessibility barriers to make recommendations to the University.
• Language Accessibility: Successfully pushed for the Health and Dental Plan (Alumo, formerly Studentcare) website and materials to be available in French for Francophone students.
• Safety Infrastructure: Surveyed students on outdoor accessibility and safety concerns to make recommendations to the University. Advocated for better outdoor lighting and pedestrian-activated flashers on 111th Street.
• Parking Win: Successfully extended the parking ticket appeal window from 7 to 14 days and streamlined the adjudication process.

3. Equity and Inclusivity 

Efforts centred on creating a campus environment that respects diverse identities:

• Facilities: With funding from Student Success and Experience, installed a Mamava Lactation Pod in SUB. Updated washroom signage to be gender-inclusive and destigmatized.
• Pronoun Campaign: Distributed educational resources and pins to professors and students to normalize correct pronoun usage and support gender-diverse individuals.
• Policy Advocacy: Represented student interests regarding provincial legislation on fairness in sports. Supporting The Landing in their search for a new space.

4. Indigenous Revitalization

A focus on rebuilding trust and honouring reconciliation through:

• Major Events: Co-hosted the Residential School Memorial and Mâwacihitowin, a community gathering featuring traditional hide-tanning and Indigenous vendors.
• Institutional Support: Provided direct support to the Indigenous Students’ Union (ISU), including securing voter rolls for their elections and assisting with the Indigenous Student Leaders Summit.

5. Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Funding Success: Secured $70,000 in grant funding for the "Recovery on Campus" program to support students dealing with addiction.
• Committee Work: Actively represented students on boards for the Campus Food Bank, Health and Dental Committee, and various mental health networks to ensure student voices shape wellness services.

6. Residence

• Health and Safety: Worked from student complaints and an environmental scan to advocate through the Residence Advisory Committee on temperature controls and systems. 
• Supporting Self-Determination: Coordinated communications between Residence Associations and supported their advocacy efforts, governance, and funding structures.
• Informing Students: Developing strategies to engage students on rent increases, meal plan increases, and sexual and gender-based violence prevention resources.

7. Student Leadership and Outreach 

• Lateral Collaboration: Adopted a "lateral" approach to working with SRAs, focusing on partnership rather than hierarchy.
• Creative Outreach: Utilized "Lights Camera Logan" videos, social media videos, and the "Letters From Logie" blog to communicate updates in an approachable way.
• Support for Student Groups: Continuing support to clubs as the UASU transitions to Rubric for student group management.

We would like to wish you all a restful holiday break. We know the holidays can be a stressful time, so please remember that whether you are away from home this winter or surrounded by family and friends, it’s okay to slow down, take care of yourself and reach out if you need a little extra support.

With love,