Oct 30 Council Meeting Minutes (For review) ·...
Transcript of Oct 30 Council Meeting Minutes (For review) ·...
GSA COUNCIL Meeting Graduate Students Association
GSA Council October 30, 2014 6:30 PM
Present President Caitlin Campisi VP Academic Shawna Carroll VP Internal Eunice Chow VP Finance Shaun Chen
APHD DSA Rep Emily Dunbar
APHD DSA Rep Rebecca Banfield CTL DSA Rep Shakina Rajendram
CTL DSA Rep Jeannie Larson LHAE DSA Rep Sigrid Roman
LHAE DSA Rep Alimamy Bangura LHAE DSA Rep Clark Hoefnagels
SJE DSA Rep Chris Cully Member Lingzi Wang Member Andy Xia
COUNCIL
MINUTES ITEM GSA Council Meeting
October 30th, 2014 at 6:30 PM Rm. 12-‐274
1 Call to Order Council members introduced themselves around the room.
2 Approval of the Agenda BIRT the President Report and Chairperson’s Word be delayed until arrival of the President Mover: Emily Dunbar Seconder: Rebecca Banfield Approved
3 Approval of the Minutes BIRT the Sept 18th Council Meeting Minutes is approved Mover: Rebecca Banfield Seconder: Sigrid Roman Approved
4 Chairperson’s Word Chair: VP Finance
5 Exec Reports
• President presents her report, detailing numerous meetings attended, tasks completed, advocacy items addressed, committees chaired, etc.
• VP Academic presents her report, detailing GSA social media updated, Conference Funding applications processed, meetings attended, committees chaired, etc.
• VP Internal presents her report, detailing Head Grant applications submitted by DSAs, meetings attended, committee chaired, forms revised, administrative duties completed, etc.
• VP Finance presents his report, detailing reports completed, GSU Head Grant Application submitted on behalf of the GSA, Special Projects Funding adjudicated, etc.
BIRT all October Executive Reports are approved for receipt. Mover: Andy Xia Seconder: Alimamy Bangura Approved
6 Update on the GSA Executive Meeting with the Dean
• Conference Travel Program: GSA Exec will send a formal report of student feedback about the OISE Conference Travel Program to the Dean upon her request.
• GSA and Faculty Council: GSA Exec confirmed with the Dean that the GSA President is currently an
ex officio member of the Faculty Council and that there are student representatives on the Faculty
Council across departments. These relationships will be built upon to more formally strengthen the connection between GSA and Faculty Council.
• Student participation in Dean’s Review process: Students may submit feedback to the Dean’s
Review Committee through the Assistant Vice Provost’s Office, who will anonymize all feedback other than constituency (degree, program, department), and to Angela Nardozi who is the Student Rep on the Dean’s Review Committee
• Dean’s Conference: Funding and other supports will come from the Dean’s Office 7 Update on all Standing and Ad-‐hoc Committees
• Finance: Refer to VP Finance’s October Report in Item 5.
• Sustainability: Tabled
• Equity: VP Internal was elected Chair. Various initiatives were discussed at the first meeting.
Committee members intend to strike two sub-‐committees to address different issues that racialized and LGBTQ-‐identified students face at OISE.
• Accessibility: VP Academic was elected Chair. The Committee looks to continue the OISE Washroom Project from last year and will also move forward with a number of initiatives that will define Accessibility more broadly.
• Logo Contest Selection: The final selected design was created by Alpesh Mistry from the LHAE department. The prize was awarded to him on October 30, 2014 in the GSA office on the 8th floor, and a picture was taken for the GSA website/records
BIRT the new GSA logo is approved. Mover: Sigrid Roman Seconder: Shawna Carroll Approved
• Dean’s Conference Co-‐Chair Selection: OISE students Christina Mitas and Andrew Kretz were selected as the Co-‐Chairs. Meetings are underway for the planning of the conference.
• GSA Constitution Review: The President was elected Chair. Meetings will be biweekly until the AGM. o VP Finance’s Term: (VP Finance steps out of the meeting room to avoid a conflict of
interest.) Because of a by-‐election when he was first elected to the position, the VP Finance is about to serve more than three years in his position come November. After reviewing the recommendation made by the GSA Constitution Review Committee, a discussion takes place.
Whereas the change in Executive more than halfway through the term would cause disruption in the programming and services of the GSA; Whereas Art VII sec. 8.1.2 relate only to eligibility for candidates in GSA elections and there is no current GSA elections; BIRT the current VP Finance is allowed to carry out the rest of his term until April 30, 2015. Mover: Alimamy Bangura Seconder: Shawna Carroll Approved BIRT that all Finance Committee meeting minutes be approved
Mover: Eunice Chow Seconder: Shawna Carroll Approved
8 Update from GSA and student representatives: • GSU: GSA Reps attended two meetings. Council discusses the impact of the GSU Health and Dental
Plan in terms of privacy issues based on a complaint made by an OISE student and the lack of access by part-‐time students.
BIRT the GSA supports the extension of the Health and Dental Insurance to part-‐time students. BIRT that the GSA Reps take this issue to GSU Council. Mover: Caitlin Campisi Seconder: Shawna Carroll Approved
• OISE Alumni Association: The President attended a meeting of the Alumni Association on Oct 8th, where the STU was also present. Council discusses GSA’s potential participation in an event suggested by AA and STU to celebrate the B.Ed. program.
• OISE Faculty Council: There are ten graduate students on the OISE Faculty Council. The GSA President is an ex-‐officio non-‐voting member.
• Other OISE Committees: No updates
9 Departmental Student Associations (DSA) Head Grant
• Head Grant for Departmental Student Associations: VP Internal discusses with Council the
distribution of the Head Grant in the first and second semesters to DSAs. The VP Internal will continue to work with each DSA to ensure they all receive their head grants.
BIRT the Head Grant be distributed to the DSAs in an allocation of $1000 in the Fall semester and $500 in the Winter semester. Mover: Eunice Chow Seconder: Rebecca Banfield Approved
10 Petition to improve and expand transitional services to international students from China
• Proposal of Petition to GSA Council: The petition was presented to Council by Andy Xia (Member of Council, M.Ed., Dept. of CTL). Council discusses the wording of the petition, especially regarding the inclusion of all international students. Also in discussion are the potential endorsement by the GSA and further collaboration with the International Students Association at OISE.
BIRT the GSA continue to collaborate with Andy Xia on the proposal to expand transitional services to international students. Mover: Caitlin Campisi Seconder: Jeannie Larson BIRT the previous motion be amended to include “and that the GSA facilitate a meeting for the involvement of the International Student Association to collaborate with Andy on this issue.” Mover: Alimamy Bangura Seconder: Emily Dunbar Approved
BIRT the GSA continue to collaborate with Andy Xia on the proposal to expand transitional services to international students and that the GSA facilitate a meeting for the involvement of the International Student Association to collaborate with Andy on this issue. Approved *See Appendix B for the revised version of the proposal and signature page from Andy as per the feedback from Council
11 Department and Program Updates
• APHD: The budget has been drafted in accordance with the needs of the multiple programs in the department.
• LHAE: Struck Constitution Review Committee and held a big event for students concerning
employment opportunities after Ph.D. that was very well attended and well received. Execs meet every Friday from 11-‐12PM
• CTL: Plan to host pre-‐conference prep session series as requested by CTL students and other social
events (skiing, karaoke). 12 Other Business
None
13 NEXT MEETING • Thursday, November 27 at 6:30pm
14 ADJOURNMENT
Mover: Shakina Rajendram Seconder: Jeannie Larson Approved
Appendix A: GSA Constitution Review Committee’s Recommendation Regarding the Term of the VP Finance
GSA CONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE
Meeting: GSA Student Lounge, 8-‐109 October 23, 2014 4:30 – 6:30 PM Present Caitlin Campisi (Chair) Shawna Carroll Eunice Chow Lynne Alexandrova Rebecca Banfield Regrets Christina Mitas
Recommendation to GSA Council regarding VP Finance’s Term
Does the Constitution enable or prohibit VP Finance Shaun Chen from completing his term in 2014-‐2015?
• Whereas the only clause in the GSA Constitution that relates to number of Executive terms is 8.1.2.;
• Whereas 8.1.2. states that “Individuals who have held Executive posts for three terms are ineligible for a fourth term”;
• Whereas article 8.1 relates only to eligibility for candidates in GSA elections; • BIRT the GSA Constitution Review Committee recommend to the GSA Council that the
VP Finance be allowed to serve the rest of his term until April 30, 2014.
Appendix B: A Proposal to Improve and Expand Transitional Services for OISE International Students at the Graduate Level A Proposal to Improve and Expand Transitional Services for OISE International Students at
the Graduate Level Dear Dean of OISE, My name is Xiaoyong Xia. I am a first year Master of Education student in the Language & Literacies Education program. I am also one of the elected council representatives of the OISE Graduate Student Association, representing all OISE graduate students in the University of Toronto Graduate Student Union. In the past two months, I have had the great privilege of meeting and studying with numerous brilliant international students from all over the world, many of them are already accomplished educators in their home countries. They gave up their successful careers to pursue a degree at OISE because OISE is one of the world’s leading institutes in the studies of education. I have witnessed the amount of effort and commitment they put in their studies, which is both admirable and inspirational. Their dedication and hard work is a testimony of OISE’s academic excellence. However, it has come to my attention that, despite all the effort these students put forth, many of them still struggle academically. This includes, but not limited to: failure to select the right courses; difficulty with comprehending in-‐class instructions; low participation rate; unfamiliarity with the degree requirement; unfamiliarity with extracurricular programs (such as collaborative programs and GPS); and so on. After privately discussing this issue with some of the students, I have come to the conclusion that their struggles are a result of the fundamental differences between the school systems of Canada and their home countries. The students feel that they were not adequately prepared to face the new Canadian system so suddenly; and the existing transitional services and resources are not enough to help them. In other words, they do not possess the necessary knowledge to succeed in the Canadian university environment. As a former immigrant who also had to struggle to adjust to the Canadian system, I could personally relate to the difficult experiences these students are undergoing now. And, as an OISE GSA council representative whose responsibility is to advocate for students’ rights, I feel it is my duty to bring this issue to the attention of the Dean’s Office. OISE has always prided itself as a global institution; however, it is clearly not doing enough to help its international students. Therefore, I have drafted this proposal to ask OISE to improve and expand its transitional services and resources to better assist all international students at the graduate level. Below is a list of recommendations I gathered from the students whom I talked to. 1. A thorough orientation on the major differences of Canadian university systems.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest obstacle international students face is that they are not familiar with the Canadian university system. The class structures, schedules, and expectations are all very different from those in their home countries. These differences prove
to be highly challenging transitional roadblocks for students. As a result, many students would like to see an orientation where the basic structure of Canadian university system can be explained. An alternative solution would be to compile a short information brochure or booklet on this topic. These brochures can be distributed as powerful recruitment tools if OISE sends representatives or recruitment officers to another country.
2. Better usage of existing international transitional services and resources at OISE and
UofT. The University of Toronto and OISE currently have several transitional services in place already for international students, such as the Centre for International Experience (CIE). CIE also offers transition advising appointments that specifically aim to assist international students. However, many students are unaware of these resources. We feel that CIE should have a larger presence in OISE in order to reach out to more students. Moreover, OISE should establish a central communication system where useful information, support and resources can be disseminated to the students.
3. Invite former OISE international students to orientations and information sessions.
A lot of the students I talked to are very concerned and anxious about life after graduation, especially Master’s students since the Master’s program is only three terms long. They will soon face a challenging job market and are unsure of what to expect or how to succeed. If OISE could hold an orientation where international alumni are invited to speak about professional development after school, it would be extremely beneficial for all international students.
4. Better promotion of extracurricular programs.
Both OISE and the School of Graduate Studies offer valuable extracurricular programs that can enrich students’ academic and professional development (such as OISE’s collaborative programs and SGS’s Graduate Professional Skills). However, many international students do not know about these programs or are not sure how to register for their classes. In fact, these programs are unknown to many domestic students as well. We believe OISE should better promote these programs so more students can benefit from them.
5. Utilize popular social media tools to better serve students.
OISE should fully utilize social media tools outside of North America to reach out and better serve its international students. For example, to target students from China, OISE could use the two most popular social media tools: RenRen (equivalent to Facebook) and Wechat (equivalent to Twitter or MSN). These tools can be used to promote OISE and UofT services, programs, and resources, and help create a closer student community, thus significantly boosting OISE’s international recruitment effort. I would be happy to spearhead this initiative. When I was an undergraduate student at York University, I created the official page for the university on RenRen. Through it, I regularly posted blogs that promoted York’s programs, events, and services. It became very popular among Chinese students. The page attracted over 1,500 followers in two years. You can get a quick view of the page at the link below: http://page.renren.com/601058309?id=601058309
I believe by implementing the above recommendations, we can transform OISE into a truly internationalized institute and attract even more exceptional students from all over the world. Finally, I believe OISE has an obligation to ensure international students receive proper transitional services. International students pay three times the tuition. Many of them have no
family or friends in Canada, and OISE is the only home away from home they know. As a result, OISE should take the responsibility to ensure international students receive the care they deserve. Thank you very much for reviewing and considering this proposal. I look forward to your response and the opportunity to help OISE become an even better school than it already is. Sincerely, Xiaoyong Xia M.Ed Candidate, OISE, University of Toronto, 14/15 Council Representative, OISE Graduate Student Association, 14/15
We, the undersigned of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), propose that OISE: Adopt the recommendations listed in the attached proposal and improve its transitional services to better serve international students. Name Program Student Number Signature