OUSA's Ontario Online Institute Submission
TORONTO, August 24 /OUSA/ – The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) today released a student vision for the design and implementation of the Ontario Online Institute. Based on consultation with students and experts in the field of online learning, the report covers issues related to the affordability, accessibility, accountability and quality of the online learning experience.
Students are in full support of the Ontario government’s decision to create an Ontario Online Institute. This endeavour will provide increased flexibility for students and has the potential to significantly improve access to post-secondary education, especially for traditionally underrepresented groups facing financial, physical, social, cultural, and geographic barriers.
After examining organizations dedicated to the provision of online learning in Ontario and around the world, students recommend that the Ontario Online Institute be designed as a consortium of universities and colleges that would share online courses, resources and infrastructure. To overcome the drawbacks of such a decentralized model, and ensure students can easily navigate the system, provider institutions should come together to create integrated systems of admissions, student support services, quality assurance, and credit transfer, as has been done at Open Universities Australia.
In addition, students are excited to welcome Dr. Grace Lynch, Senior Project Manager at Open Universities Australia, for a presentation to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities on Wednesday, August 25. OUSA and its partners have arranged the visit to learn from her extensive experience and incorporate best practices into the design of the Ontario Online Institute.
LINK TO WEB VERSION OF DOCUMENT
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OUSA President Meaghan Coker
With the beginning of the fall semester just over a month away, OUSA has been busy preparing for the coming school year.
In July, OUSA had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Thomas Carey, a Professor at the University of Waterloo in the Management Sciences Department and currently a Visiting Senior Scholar in the area of Knowledge Mobilization for Exemplary Teaching and Learning at HEQCO (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario). Dr. Carey shared valuable information on the most prominent examples of online teaching and learning models, in addition to the prospective research themes that HECQO will be examining in the coming months for the Ontario Online Institute.
Additionally, OUSA was invited to take part in a day of discussions with the Canadian Publishers’ Council. This offered an interactive environment where students and publishers’ were able to highlight areas of aligned values, while continuing to express the diverging perspectives between students and textbook publishers’.
Later in August, OUSA will be attending the Partnership Conference hosted by CASA (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations) in Ottawa. This conference has always offered a unique opportunity for the provincial alliances, including NBSA (New Brunswick Student Alliance), ANSSA (Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations), and CAUS (Council of Alberta University Students) to meet and discuss the priorities of each other and potential for coordination on issues. This year’s conference will be focusing more explicitly on understanding the framework and effects of a new model for federal representation of student alliances.
Lastly, having determined the direction for this year at last month’s Strategic Planning Conference, we have been focused on developing the Action Plan for the year, coordinating our research and policy initiatives, advocacy priorities, and communications strategies. In assessing OUSA’s plans for 2010-2011, it is a year that is budding with potential and will be bursting with activity. With the strong commitment from our membership and relationships with our partners, there are great possibilities of moving towards ensuring and enhancing a high quality post-secondary education system, one that offers our students the opportunities they deserve.
Meaghan Coker
OUSA President
