DEO Priorities and Updates

President: Muhammad Haseeb Arshad

Key Priorities

GSA Bylaw and Policy Revision

The GSA Bylaw and Policy document is crucial for ensuring transparency and accountability within our association. As the President of the GSA, revising this document is a top priority.

Proposed an ad-hoc committee to improve council meeting engagement and effectiveness.
Led discussions on election integrity, including secure platforms and conflict-of-interest bylaws.
Met with key stakeholders, including the Executive Director, Chief Returning Officer, and CASA’s Senior Policy Analyst, to discuss governance and election integrity.
Initiating a quarterly Presidential Performance Review for accountability and working on HR policy development with the GSA board.

Passed bylaws to create a Black Graduate Students’ Association councilor position in the GSA council.
Recommended policies under the nominating subcommittee to eliminate perceived conflicts of interest in election roles (e.g., Speaker, Deputy Speaker, CRO, and DRO).
Forwarded new referendum policy recommendations to the Election and Referenda Committee.
Expanded the quarterly Presidential Performance Review to include anonymous feedback from voting and non-voting members. Currently working on implementing recommendations from Q1’s ad-hoc committee to improve council effectiveness.

Coursework Based Masters Scholarship

The natural language processing analysis of "Understanding Financial Realities: An Analysis of the Financial Condition among UofA Graduate Students" revealed that course-based master's students face significant mental health challenges and financial struggles. This led to the initiation of a hybrid award based on academic performance, financial need, and community service.

Advocating for more funding towards the Graduate Student Support Fund (GSSF)

The GSSF grant, which supports graduate students through various grants, has remained stagnant at $946,000 for four years. Advocacy efforts are underway to secure an increase in this funding.

Advocating for UofA’s policy revision around student protests

In recent months, the university's decision to call EPS in response to student protests has been criticized, highlighting the need to address policy gaps related to unauthorized use of university property and to hold the university accountable in alignment with SEAP’s culture of care strategy.

Advocated for policy changes, including the creation of an advisory board with students and community members to advise the Crisis Management Team on handling student protests.
Pushed for transparency in decision-making and accountability, and proposed compassionate training modules for UAPS peace officers.
Submitted a document to Adele Kent with recommendations on transparency and accountability for future university actions.
Continuing to advocate for explicit financial support for student protestors and working on establishing a one-time financial grant from the GSA for students in crisis.

Met with the lead of the third-party investigation, Hon. Justice Adele Kent, to review the timeline of events related to recent student protests.
Engaged with University President Bill Flanagan, Dean of Students Ravina Sanghera, and Justice Kent to discuss policy-related issues surrounding student protests.
Collaborating with Palestinian faculty members and the Registrar’s Office to finalize financial support for displaced Palestinian scholars and students.

Graduate Peer Support Program

The program will provide support in mental well-being, violence prevention, and inclusion, with an emphasis on cultural inclusivity and multilingual volunteers, ensuring that students from all backgrounds feel supported and understood.

Graduate Academic Peer-Connect Conference

Every year GSA supports academic events through group grants. This year, we are launching the Academic Peer-Connect Conference in collaboration with FGPS, where students can submit research ideas for evaluation.

UofA Food Strategy and Campus Food Bank Support

The proposed food strategy promotes health, fairness, and sustainability by supporting local food producers and fostering environmental responsibility. It also includes advocacy efforts for the Campus Food Bank to ensure continued support for students in need.

Engaged with University President Bill Flanagan, Provost Verna Yiu, Deputy Provost Melissa Padfield, Dean of Students Ravina Sanghera, CFB Executive Director Erin O'Neil, and Student Union President Lisa Glock to discuss support for this initiative.
Prepared a detailed support document for the University Senate, advocating for enhanced funding for the Campus Food Bank (CFB).
Highlighted the CFB’s projected $60,000 shortfall in the next fiscal year due to increased demand, urging a direct budget line for the CFB within the university’s operating budget.

Understanding and Improving Student-Supervisor Relationships

In response to recent SEAP heatmap results, a research survey is being conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the issues related to student-supervisor relationships and identify ways to improve them. This initiative is a joint venture between the GSA and FGPS.

Collaboration secured with the Dean of FGPS to conduct the survey; themes for survey questions related to academics and student experiences were explored with the VP Academic and VP Student Life.
Discussions held with VP Academic, VP Student Life, and Dean of FGPS to finalize the survey’s scope and collaboration.
Survey questions to be finalized by mid-September, with the report expected by the start of the winter term.

Engaged with VP Academic Rija Kamran, VP Student Life Benjamin Kutcher, and Dean Tracy Ravio to discuss survey collaboration and objectives.
Held discussions with Associate Professor Sujata Persad (FoMD) and Dean of FGPS, Tracy Ravio, to define the scope of the survey.
Survey questions will be finalized by mid-January, with the aim of completing and releasing the survey report by early February.

Finalizing the Contract for New Health & Dental Provider

The council have selected to work with the new health and dental provider, Ellement, by using their preferred insurance plan Studywell.

Advocating for new UofA’s Mobile App

The GSA is advocating for the development of the myUAlberta app that improves access to campus services and enhances communication for students. Proposed features include e-class integration, real-time transit updates, and notifications for university updates, all aimed at increasing student engagement and ease of access to campus resources.

Engaged with University President Bill Flanagan, Provost Verna Yiu, Dean of Students Ravina Sanghera, and Student Union President Lisa Glock to discuss the app’s vision and objectives.
Met with the UofA App Refresh Team to discuss student needs and priorities.
Offered assistance in identifying potential vendors for app development.
Collaborating with Kelly Park, Senior Project Manager for Enrolment Systems and Service Innovation, on the app’s development.

Advocating for Student Financial Issues

Following a survey on financial realities and mental health, the GSA highlighted the financial pressures facing graduate students across Canada through its federal and provincial advocacy efforts.

Met with the Minister of Advanced Education to address key issues such as affordability, targeted graduate student funding, institutional accountability, and labor concerns.
Raised awareness of graduate students’ financial and mental health challenges with the UCP and NDP caucuses.
Presented UofA students’ financial challenges at the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies.
Established a potential collaboration with the Student Union of UBC to jointly advocate for graduate student issues.

VP Academic: Rija Kamran

Key Priorities

Advocating for University-Wide PhD Minimum Funding

Full Implementation of PhD Minimum Funding: Continuing advocacy for University-wide adoption and enforcement of minimum funding levels for PhD students to ensure financial stability and equity.

Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies endorsed the PhD minimum funding, with a phased implementation starting in Fall 2024 and Full implementation in Fall 2025

Key meetings have included regular communication with the Dean and Vice-Provost FGPS and regular meetings with the Minimum Funding Implementation Group.
The association continues to collaborate with the Implementation Working Group to ensure that the mechanisms in place prioritize the best interests of graduate students.

Federal Advocacy with Canadian Association of Student Alliance (CASA)

Federal Advocacy with Canadian Association of Student Alliance (CASA): Graduate Advisory Committee & National Advocacy Committee.

Set key priorities for Federal Advocacy for the upcoming budget cycle and academic year.
Progress on this priority is facilitated by the VP Academic participating in CASA’s Graduate Advisory Committee & National Advocacy Committee. As the vice-chair of the graduate advisory committee, VP Academic is working with the members on the Graduate forum during CASA’s advocacy week in November, this will help highlight the various roles graduate students assume during their studies, strengthening the advocacy asks like indexing Tri-council funding, reformed Tri-council committees and Federal Labour protection for graduate students amongst others.

Tuition Relief Mechanisms for Graduate Students

Advocating for implementing tuition relief mechanisms for graduate students.

VP External: Parman Mojir Shaibani

Key Priorities

Advocating for Enhanced Transit Safety for Students

Addressing student concerns regarding transit safety by advocating for safer, more reliable transportation options

Advocating for Transparency and Reduction in Non-Instructional Fees

Advocating for clearer tuition guidelines to ensure transparency in fee allocation and reduce the burden of mandatory non-instructional fees on students.

Securing Federal Grants to Support Graduate Students

Advocating through CASA to secure critical federal grants that enhance funding opportunities and financial support for graduate students.

Advocating to Limit Provincial Oversight on Federal Grants

In response to Bill 18, which requires provincial approval for federal funding agreements, this priority aims to reduce provincial involvement in the approval process for federal grants through targeted advocacy efforts.

Advocating for Affordable Housing and Fair Rental Practices

In response to rising rent prices and insufficient notice for rent increases, this priority focuses on advocating for affordable housing solutions and fairer rental practices to better support graduate students.

VP Student Life: Benjamin Kucher

Key Priorities

Increased Indigenous Representation

The GSA is prioritizing Indigenous representation and advocacy, showing a commitment to supporting Indigenous students and promoting reconciliation.

Two key achievements that have been made on this priority are the approval and introduction of the new DEO position of VP Indigenous Relations and our involvement with CASA’s National Indigenous Advocacy Committee (NIAC).
Key meetings have included regular communication with the VP IPR, IGSA, and the NIAC.
Progress on this priority is facilitated by the VP Student Life becoming one of the co-chair of NIAC, and will be furthered by our participation in CASA’s Advocacy Week in November. Additionally further meetings and work are ongoing to implement the Indigenous World View statement embedded in SEAP.

Building Community Networks

Building community networks to strengthen connections, support collaboration, and enhance resource sharing among students and organizations.

Re-branding of the GSA Coffee Break. This has been changed to the GSA Social Hour. This rebranding facilitates a wider array of activities that we are able to host. The second achievement is an increased level of engagement with students and student groups and building partnerships between organizations.
Progress on this priority is on-going and will be further facilitated through departmental partnerships on the GSA Social Hour, and various initiatives with the Dean of Students.

Improving Student Experience

Enhancing student experience by providing better resources, support services, and engagement opportunities to foster a positive and enriching academic environment.

A major achievement in this priority is the ongoing implementation of the Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP). Work has and is continuing to be done on addressing student concerns around campus accessibility and creating a more inclusive study environment.
Progress on this priority is ongoing and I will continue to meet with various partners across campus to discuss the different ways in which we can continue to improve student experience.

VP Student Services: Saad Arslan Iqbal

Key Priorities

Priority 1

Description

Associate VP Labour: Muneeb Masood Raja

Key Priorities

Collective Agreement Preparation and Bargaining Process

A major focus is preparing our initial proposal for the collective agreement, incorporating feedback from AEGSs and adhering to our approved bargaining mandate.

The GSA Negotiating Team has met several times, finalizing proposed changes to our proposal as per our mandate. We’ve also set up the bargaining process with the university to ensure smooth negotiations.
Meeting with the GSA Negotiation Team (19 June 2024), GSA Bargaining Meeting (24 July 2024), Bargaining Preparation (8 & 9 Aug 2024).
We have sent the university notice to commence bargaining, confirmed dates for our first two sessions, and are finalizing our initial proposal.

Successfully gathered extensive feedback from members on their priorities for the new collective agreement. Based on this feedback, the negotiating team has finalized proposed changes, and we are now awaiting the draft proposal from PSAC.
Once the draft is received, the team will reconvene to thoroughly review it before presenting it to the university.
Negotiations were slightly delayed due to the illness of the PSAC-appointed chief spokesperson, resulting in rescheduled bargaining dates. The negotiating team is now set to meet with the university bargaining team on December 3 to present our proposal.

Union Member Education and Empowerment

Providing educational opportunities to union members to ensure they are informed about their rights as graduate student workers, while also addressing several labor-related issues

In collaboration with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the GSA hosted three training sessions:
- Union Basics and Bargaining for all members
- Grievance Handling exclusively for Labour Relations Committee (LRC) members.
- Collective Agreement 101 training was offered to members in October, with a follow-up session scheduled for November.
The GSA will be working with the newly assigned PSAC representative to develop a year-long education plan for all members, LRC members, and the new executive team to ensure their ongoing training needs are fully addressed.
Majority of the issues raised by AEGSs have been resolved to the satisfaction of our members facing those issues.

Increasing the GSA Union Outreach and Visibility

Improving our outreach and visibility to our union members.

Providing more support to our stewards and enabling them to actively engage the members in their respective departments/faculties.
Increasing the number of tabling and outreach sessions to improve our visibility.
Providing faculty email lists to our stewards so they can establish better connections with union members within their faculties. Also working to establish communication with departmental student groups.
To better support our members, we are mapping where they work across campus and will try to recruit stewards based on their locations.

Read Priority Updates

President: Muhammad Haseeb Arshad

Key Priorities

GSA Bylaw and Policy Revision

Coursework Based Masters Scholarship

Advocating for more funding towards the Graduate Student Support Fund (GSSF)

Advocating for UofA’s policy revision around student protests

Graduate Peer Support Program

Graduate Academic Peer-Connect Conference

UofA Food Strategy and Campus Food Bank Support

Understanding and Improving Student-Supervisor Relationships

Finalizing the Contract for New Health & Dental Provider

Advocating for new UofA’s Mobile App

Advocating for Student Financial Issues

VP Academic: Rija Kamran

Key Priorities

Advocating for University-Wide PhD Minimum Funding

Federal Advocacy with Canadian Association of Student Alliance (CASA)

Tuition Relief Mechanisms for Graduate Students

VP External: Parman Mojir Shaibani

Key Priorities

Advocating for Enhanced Transit Safety for Students

Advocating for Transparency and Reduction in Non-Instructional Fees

Securing Federal Grants to Support Graduate Students

Advocating to Limit Provincial Oversight on Federal Grants

Advocating for Affordable Housing and Fair Rental Practices

VP Student Life: Benjamin Kucher

Key Priorities

Increased Indigenous Representation

Building Community Networks

Improving Student Experience

VP Student Services: Saad Arslan Iqbal

Key Priorities

Priority 1

Associate VP Labour: Muneeb Masood Raja

Key Priorities

Collective Agreement Preparation and Bargaining Process

Union Member Education and Empowerment

Increasing the GSA Union Outreach and Visibility

Territorial Acknowledgement

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