Platform Point #1: Listening to Students!

The Faculty of Arts is composed of over 11,000 undergraduate students, and they are all represented by a mere 40 or 50 students serving on the Arts Undergraduate Society Council. Currently, the AUS does not conduct a lot of broad-based consultation with Arts students, and thus it may be the case that it does not accurately represent the views of all Arts students.

I see a few possible solutions to this problem.

1) Encourage the Faculty to listen to students. With the current University budget cut, the Faculty will inevitably need to cut certain services and programs, and so I have asked the Dean to tell all Departments to start their own student focus-groups, to find out what the priorities of students are in terms of their academic experience (be it smaller class sizes, better teaching, more focus on research within the undergraduate degree, etc.).

2) Conduct a survey of all Arts students to find out what their individual academic experience has been like, and what their priorities are for spending by the AUS. This survey has been in the works for a while (being spear-headed by the current Academic Coordinator), and should come out sometime in the fall.

3) Hold public office hours in the SUB Concourse. Essentially, the AUS, and especially its Executive, would set up a booth or table in the SUB two or three times each month. They would be available to answer student questions and concerns, to distribute information about the AUS and its goings-on, and to listen to student feedback and suggestions for improvements within the Faculty. These office hours would also help to increase the inadequate level of visibility that the AUS currently suffers from.

Thoughts? Let me know at auspresident@gmail.com!