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DEO Priorities and Updates

Our Directly-Elected Officers (DEOs) are your advocates and representatives within the GSA. Each DEO focuses on specific areas that are crucial to enhancing the graduate student experience at the University of Alberta. Below, you’ll find the latest priorities and updates from each of our DEOs. Click on each section to learn more about their ongoing projects and initiatives.

Read Priority Updates

President: Muhammad Haseeb Arshad

VP Academic: Rija Kamran

VP External: Vacant

VP Student Life: Benjamin Kucher

VP Student Services: Saad Arslan Iqbal

Associate VP Labour: Muneeb Masood Raja

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.

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.

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.

UofA Food Strategy

The strategy aims to promote health, fairness, and sustainability by supporting local food producers and fostering environmental responsibility.

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.

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: Vacant

Key Priorities

Priority 1

Description

VP External: Vacant

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.

Union Member Education and Empowerment

Offering educational opportunities to union members to ensure they are informed about their rights as graduate student workers.

DEO Priorities and Updates

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

UofA Food Strategy

Understanding and Improving Student-Supervisor Relationships

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: Vacant

Key Priorities

Priority 1

VP External: Vacant

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

Territorial Acknowledgement

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