Team WRL ran on comprehensive platform covering the pillars of: Broader Learning Environment; Health, Wellness, and Safety; Academic and Professional Development; and Infrastructure and Campus Resources.
LEGEND
PILLAR 1: BROADER LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Tricolour Festival
The ReUnion Street Festival occurred on October 18th, the Saturday night of Homecoming weekend. The event was a tremendous success, with an estimated 10,000 attendees. Students and alumni connected in an informal setting, and city partners were extremely supportive of the result. The AMS is putting forward a student fee at tonight’s AGM to secure the future continuation of this event.
Improved Distribution Process for Homecoming Tickets
Following difficulties with Homecoming football ticket distribution last year, the AMS communicated extensively with
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Athletics and Recreation to ensure distribution methods were fair and clear. After examining the issues that arose last year, it became clear that the issue arose as a result of miscommunication around the mechanism for ticket distribution. As such, the AMS partnered with Athletics and Recreation to ensure students were aware of the process, resulting in a much smoother distribution period. Beyond this, the AMS lobbied to ensure students would not be charged for football tickets in the new Richardson Stadium. Following questions around revenue generation for the capital project, the AMS was engaged in discussions that ended in assurances that the current student activity fee for Athletics and Recreation would continue to cover ticket costs as long as it is in effect.
Liaising more Effectively with Clubs on Campus
The Clubs Office went through a complete overhaul this year, with policy changes addressing the inadequate support and guidance provided to that Office. New procedures for ratification, grant allocation, and administrative accountability will ensure greater effectiveness of the AMS and its relationship with clubs. The addition of an Assistant Clubs Manager dedicated to financial and space auditing and overseeing the event-‐‑sanctioning process will undoubtedly fill a glaring hole in the AMS’s fiscal,
legal, and insurance responsibilities. All changes were completed with a desire to improve the level of customer service provided to clubs on campus. The newly formatted club executive workshop was well attended and the Tricolour Open House ran more smoothly this year, taking into account past feedback.
Fostering an Inclusive, Supportive, and Spirited Orientation Week
Orientation was once again a highlight of the academic calendar. The newly created Leadership Director position proved instrumental to ensure high quality leader training and support to benefit the incoming class. There continued to be strong collaboration and cooperation amongst the various weeks and an effort to share “best practices.” Students played an integral role implementing the changes made to the new policy governing the Senate Orientation Activities Review Board, and have proactively addressed concerns that arose this year, including developing a more effective communication framework to ensure that all information disseminated is timely and accurate.
Tricolour Sponsorship with Athletics and Recreation
On March 26th, all proceeds from sales at Tricolour Outlet will go to the Varsity Leadership Council in support for student athletes.
Improved Arts Council
Arts Council improved incredibly useful to foster a strong relationship with the new Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. Concerns surrounding the initial management
of the Isabel were raised through the Arts Council in a professional way and led to a number of productive and effective discussions. Arts Council will continue to serve as a valuable resource for the Commission as it begins to play a larger role in the performances that take place at the Isabel.
Campus Pub Crawl
This year, the AMS introduced QPop! Music Festival in the Fall Semester, with a follow-‐‑up event occurring in the Winter. This music festival brought together Clark Hall Pub, The Underground, Grad Club, and Common Ground Coffeehouse into a one-‐‑weekend event showcasing campus venues and local talent. The AMS will be institutionalizing QPop! as an annual event under the Campus Activities Commission.
PILLAR 2: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SAFETY Walk-‐‑In Clinic
The AMS has been engaged in discussions with DrugSmart pharmacy and several units across the university on an ongoing basis since February 2014. Given the unique challenges posed by introducing a clinic onto campus that operates independently from the university, we have spent a great deal of time with legal council, the Director of Risk Management, and experts in the public health field. We are currently in the process of finalizing a potential model that could be applied in the space, and look forward to updating Assembly
once a decision has been made. In addition, the AMS has been involved in discussions surrounding the redevelopment of the Physical Education Centre as a student health and wellness centre. Our hope is that this could provide a new home for HCDS as well as other health-‐‑related services, further enhancing the supports available on campus and near the University District.
Peer Support Centre Enhancement
The Peer Support Centre hit a record for the number of students it has supported this year. Marketing & Outreach for the Centre proved extremely successful, with Queen’s TALKS and PSC CARES Week attracting lots of positive attention. ASIST (Assisted Suicide Intervention & Skills Training) was expanded to include all the PSC managers this year and CoGro gift cards were provided to volunteers to grab coffee and a muffin while on shift.
Accessibility of Walkhome to Faculty Societies
This year, Faculty Societies were provided with information about Walkhome and how it can provide satellite sites at their events. A mechanism was established to request Walkhome at faculty society events and was distributed at the beginning of the year.
Integrating the Marketing of Telephone Aid Line Kingston and Walkhome
Marketing for Telephone Aid Line Kingston (TALK) was integrated into service provision at Walkhome through the distribution of pamphlets at the kiosk at any time the service was open, and through staff training
around what the service could offer. Gluten Free at The Brew
The management team at Common Ground undertook a testing period to decide which gluten free options were most desirable for students. Based off of the results, gluten free banana loaf and quinoa salad were added to the menu. A product survey followed to ensure students continue to receive gluten free options that meet their needs.
Tricolour Fitness App
After a number of discussions around creating a “responsive website” that would provide information around capacity, fitness classes, fitness tips, and the Gaels schedule, difficulties in integrating the “varsity” and “recreation” back ends of the website with the provider, Sidearm, were prohibitive. At present time, the AMS is waiting on a quote from a different developer to solve some of the challenges with feeding information from the “2 website” structure.
Promoting Safety and Security in Student Housing
The Housing Grievance Centre is now equipped with light timers, for sale at cost. The Municipal Affairs Commissioner has been an active member of the Campus Safety Working Group, prioritizing more effective marketing and communication methods. The University District Brite Program, developed by the MAC and the Commission of the Environment & Sustainability, will work to install new energy efficient light bulbs across 100 porches in the UD which will simultaneously allow for the
streets to be better lit at night. Grocery Delivery Service
Grocery Checkout is ready to implement their grocery delivery service in the University District next Fall. At present time, we are finalizing an outstanding space requirement with the objective of allowing them to begin trials over the summer.
Health and Dental Plan Communication Strategy
A couple years ago, the AMS decided that Studentcare would take over all marketing and communications of the plan with a small cost per plan. This year, Studentcare will be implementing a survey to understand how students view and interact with the plan, with no cost to the AMS. From this analysis, we will be able to guide Studentcare’s communication strategy in future students in a way that works for Queen’s students in particular. Essentially, this will create a custom communication plan for Queen’s.
PILLAR 3: ACADEMICS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Expanded Summer Courses
The number of summer courses offered at Queen’s has increased from 37 in 2013, 44 in 2014, and 46 for 2015, with 10 of those courses significantly redeveloped. Credit is due to the Faculty of Arts & Science, Jill Scott, Vice Provost (Teaching and Learning), with strong advocacy by our Academic Affairs Commission.
SOLUS Updates
SOLUS has undergone system updates to enhance its ability to meet student needs. Moving forward, the AMS will continue to work with the
Registrar’s Office to make the course registration process as simple as possible.
Establishment of Courses without Prerequisites
Under the university’s new budget model, many departments and faculties are looking to introduce new courses or certificates that can be taken by students across the university without the requirement of program-‐‑specific prerequisites. In particular, many of these initiatives have stemmed from the School of Business and across departments in Arts and Science, and an undergraduate law class has been introduced as well. The creation of new programs has occurred with heavy involvement from the Academic Affairs Commission, and the AMS has advocated for the expansion of opportunities for interdisciplinary study across the university. Moving forward, the AMS will be engaged as the university pursues other avenues for course development, including further online courses available across the province or expanded opportunities through the recently created Arts and Science Internship Program. The AMS has also worked towards the establishment of course credits and internships that are established around existing AMS opportunities.
Electronic Course Packs
The P&CC worked with Access Copyright to introduce electronic course packs under a trial period.
This project was set up with one course as a pilot, and each student in the course received an electronic version of their physical course pack for free. At the end of the semester, students were surveyed to determine whether or not they saw value in this offering.
Library Text-‐‑It
The AMS successfully partnered with the library to introduce an app that allows you to text yourself a call number when searching for a book in the stacks.
YDS Workshops
A position was introduced into YDS this year that created the capacity to host workshops for students looking to improve their Photoshop skills as well as all YDS staff. Beyond this, YDS undertook a comprehensive effort to recreate their office as a hub for creativity and artistic innovation. As a result, the space has become the perfect location for teaching, learning, and discovery.
Career Services Enhancements
The Academic Affairs Commission partnered with Career Services to develop the “It All Adds Up Campaign,” designed to encourage students to not think of their university interests as disjointed from a career path, make the resources available more visible, and ease the stress that often accompanies such a large decision.
Innovation Crowdfunding Platform
The AMS has worked with the Office of Advancement to devise a tool that would facilitate the congregation of crowdfunding sites for Queen’s start-‐‑ups and ventures. This would allow
them to be more easily pitched to alumni who may be willing to provide seed funding or mentorship for each initiative. Recognizing the heavy usage of platforms such as Kickstarter for this purpose, the AMS is in the process of establishing a “Queen’s University” Kickstarter community on the site. This will allow investors or interested alumni to browse Queen’s-‐‑based innovations, but will not require the creation of a separate platform to use.
PILLAR 4: INFRASTRUCTUE AND CAMPUS RESOURCES
Via Rail Discounts for Students
Via Rail has agreed to provide discounts for AMS members during busy travel times such as Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and Reading Week. We are currently in the process of confirming the details of this deal, to be implemented by the end of our term. Beyond this, we are working with the university to make a number of travel options available to students, which would include a smaller Via Rail discount throughout the year.
Queen’s-‐‑Wide Energy Management Strategy
The university worked with Honeywell in the establishment of a strategy examining large-‐‑scale infrastructure changes that could make the university more energy-‐‑efficient. Beyond this, a lighting project is underway across the university, with the JDUC incorporated. The AMS also establishing an Energy Management and Sustainability Working Group
under the SLC, and it has undertaken a number of initiatives including running the entire JDUC with Bullfrog Power for a week.
Open Government
At present time, the AMS website is not equipped with the infrastructure required to host Open Government information online. That said, the AMS has consulted heavily with the university’s Ethics Review Board, and has added the necessary requirements for an “Open Government” page in the Project Requirements Document for a revitalized AMS website. Once the new website is developed, all the legwork has been accomplished to get this feature up and running.
Cell Phone Boosters
Queen’s ITS has worked hard towards the implementation of cell phone boosters across campus at no cost to students or the university. The AMS has worked with Queen’s ITS in the identification of areas of high need through a survey disseminated to the student population. While not all boosters have been installed as of yet, implementation will continue starting with the areas identified as being of highest need by students.
Introduction of New Services to the JDUC
The AMS is in the process of negotiating a contract with a dental service provider following their successful bid at public tender for the performance lounge space in the JDUC. We will have the contract signed by the end of the term, with construction occurring over the summer for a Fall start date.
Dynamic Furniture and Charging Stations
New tables have been purchased for the Common Ground Coffee Shop and the lower ceilidh of the JDUC to assist with flexible learning, and new charging stations have been installed through the SLC. In addition, the charging stations available at the Queen’s Pub for patrons.
Transportation to the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts
During the renegotiation of the Bus-‐‑It contract with the city of Kingston, the AMS successfully lobbied for the inclusion of a route running from West Campus to the Isabel Bader Centre to main campus on 15 minute intervals.
Pop-‐‑Up Shops at Tricolour Outlet
A pop-‐‑up shop has been introduced through Yearbook and Design Services as the AMS’ first foray into e-‐‑commerce. In addition, the team at Tricolour Outlet has worked all year to better define the feasibility of an e-‐‑commerce segment of Tricolour Outlet. Queen’s Business Consulting was hired to work with the AMS for the duration of the semester to provide a non-‐‑biased evaluation of the feasibility of this service. This work will ensure the AMS has done its due diligence, and the resulting analysis will be a useful tool in supporting the implementation of e-‐‑commerce in that service in future years.
Advancement Officer
The AMS has established an Advancement Office, with the first Advancement Officer having been hired.
PILLAR 5: ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION Creation of Marketing Street Teams
The AMS created a Marketing Street Team this year, and they were instrumental in assisting with marketing research. Their work on the ground ensured students from all faculties participated in surveys and focus groups that informed budgeting and goal planning across the Society.
Attendance at Faculty Society Meetings
The AMS has presented at many faculty society meetings this year on a number of topics as appropriate.
Meetings with Faculty Society Presidents
Presidents’ Caucus met regularly over the summer for the first time, with high attendance. In addition, one-‐‑on-‐‑one meetings or Skype calls for available faculty Society presidents were held over the summer.
Morning Show
The AMS produced 8 episodes of “You, Me, and Our AMS”, a regular segment showcasing the work of the Society and upcoming events. The university posted several of these on their home page, and the first show in September garnered several thousand views.
Mid-‐‑Year Reviews
The Executive administered mid-‐‑year reviews of our performance to Assembly, and reviewed and implemented the results. As well, the Commissions provided mid-‐‑year reviews of their goal plans to allow Assembly to engage with questions or concerns.
Renegotiation of the Management and Operations Agreement
The Management and Operations Agreement is a comprehensive contract between the AMS, the SGPS, and the University that codifies the terms of the AMS’ participation in the Student Life Centre as well as our role as Building Manager on behalf of all three parties. For several years, the AMS has raised concerns with many components of this agreement, and there has been a general sentiment that it is not of optimal benefit to AMS members or the AMS. That said, as a result of the difficulties with renegotiation a complex 3-‐‑party contract, we have been forced to extended the agreement beyond its life several times. This year, the AMS drove a number of conversations that addressed concerns with the fundamental structure of the agreement as well as a number of concerns with its terms. Following nearly a year of work, we are in the process of finalizing a substantially revised agreement for signature prior to April 30th.
Collective Bargaining policy
The collective bargaining agreement between the university and the faculty union encompasses a number of major issues related to teaching load, teaching evaluations, the university’s budget, and the problematic pension plan. Recognizing the profound impact of the collective bargaining process on the experience of AMS members, the AMS has spent the last 10 months in discussions with both administrators and faculty about their priorities at the bargaining table and our concerns with the present state of affairs. In order to ensure student concerns are heard and articulated in negotiation, we will be releasing a document setting out critical issues for the University to consider during the collective bargaining process.
Shared Service budget submission
Recognizing the constrained resources across the university, the AMS produced a document outlining student suggestions for the shared services budget. This encompassed practical changes to curb spending as well as strategic requests for reinvestment in key areas for student support. The AMS is pleased to report that almost every recommendation in that document is being implemented for the 2015-‐‑16 budget.
Athletics and Recreation fee review
The AMS is looking to restructure the student activity fee for Athletics and Recreation to better align service provision with student contribution. Among other things, this will address the current practice of saving a “contingency” with student fees from the initial years following a fee increase to subsidize future costs resulted from spending growth in excess of incremental revenue. In tandem, it will ensure Athletics and Recreation can maintain service levels on an ongoing basis without the need to return to the AMS for a fee increase to fund the basic increases in operating costs every 10 years, as is presently the case. While several years remain before A/R’s next budgeted increase, the AMS has submitted a formal proposal to Leslie Dal Cin, Director of Athletics and Recreation, with the hope of reaching agreement in principle this year for a new fee model to be implemented at a later date.
Student Experience Office and Student Community Relations restructure
Given the similar mandates of many services offered by the AMS and the Student Experience Office or the Student Community Relations Office, the AMS submitted a proposal to the Dean of Student Affairs proposing a number of structural changes to the SEO and SCR with the objective of eliminating overlap and exploring opportunities for collaboration. This initiative stemmed from the Shared Services Budget Submission passed by AMS Assembly.
Richardson Stadium A number of concerns were raised with respect to the Richardson Stadium revitalization project and the lack of student engagement or involvement in the vision for the new structure. Following a number of conversations with university committees and the Board of Trustees,
students successfully lobbied for a thorough consultative process – including townhalls, an enhanced website with feedback mechanisms, and formal engagement with AMS Assembly – prior to detailed design drawings being finalized. The results of this consultation will be considered to ensure student feedback is taken into account wherever possible in the final product.
Innovation strategy Over the course of the year, our team has been working with the Queen’s Innovation Connector, the Office of the VP Research, and the team at Innovation Park with the objective of advancing student innovation and entrepreneurship. We are excited to be introducing two new spaces – one on campus and one at Innovation Park – that will contribute to a holistic ecosystem of services and support. In tandem with this, the AMS has pioneered new programming and support services to further contribute to the development of this culture at Queen’s.
Promotion of the broader learning environment
The AMS has taken a more active approach to establishing itself as an advocate for student autonomy and responsibility in the development of campus culture, university governance, and the offering of core campus programming – the out of classroom learning opportunities we collectively and colloquially refer to as the broader learning environment. This year, many of these efforts came in the form of advocacy centred around the areas of student responsibility and autonomy as outlined in the Broader Learning Environment policy document ratified by AMS Assembly in April 2014.
National Survey of Student Engagement data review and implementation
The National Survey on Student Engagement is a comprehensive statistical tool that assessing student engagement in a number of areas of university life, offering comparative data with many other universities across Canada and the United States. The AMS is represented on a small committee that has undertaken to analyze the data across various faculties and departments at Queen’s, with the ultimate objective of
providing conclusions and recommendations to faculties and departments to improve the student learning experience.
Internship credits for AMS positions
The AMS is currently working with the university to investigate the possibility of establishing internships or for-‐‑credit opportunities associated with several full-‐‑time positions within the AMS through the newly approved Arts and Science Internship Program. In tandem, we are investigating the opportunity of creating a more structured mechanism for the creation of independent study courses that align with AMS work. This would serve to reduce the opportunity cost associated with obtaining full-‐‑time work in our organization, and would provide added value to the opportunities we currently offer.
Flex dollars for services Following a clarification on the definition of a “meal” from the CRA, the university is investigating the potential expansion of the products that can be paid for with “flex dollars”. The Executive is working with Bruce Griffiths, Director of Housing and Ancillary Services, to establish the criteria under which the AMS may be allowed to be included in this expansion.
Implementation of policy process in tandem with expanded marketing research strategy
With the newly created Market Research Coordinator in place, the AMS started to operationalize a comprehensive marketing research strategy this year. As a component of this, we have established a relationship with Institutional Research and Planning and experts within the Queen’s School of Business to provide expertise and mentorship, and have implemented policy to codify the integration of student feedback into our goal planning and budgeting process. Further, our newly created Marketing Street Team was active on campus, expanding our toolkit for data collection. With the assistance from the Queen’s School of Business, we were also able to make our first foray into focus groups, allowing the AMS to collect more detailed and complex feedback than has been possible in previous years.
In tandem with this, the AMS created a Policy Committee to develop the emerging bank of policies around issues impacting student life at Queen’s. The goal to have this committee provide a structural support for the development of well-‐‑researched and solutions-‐‑based advocacy -‐‑ including primary research from the Marketing and Communications Office -‐‑ to aid students in providing a well-‐‑informed voice at the table. This research-‐‑based approach was instrumental to our success in diverse advocacy initiatives this year.
Student Services strategic review
The AMS lobbied successfully for a comprehensive review and strategic planning process for student services at Queen’s. Recognizing the difficulties associated with the university’s financial situation coupled with the expected increase in enrolment, it is imperative that we engage in this process to ensure service levels are sufficient and effective in future years.
Student Life Space Plan The AMS lobbied successfully for the creation of a long-‐‑term plan for student life space on campus. Undertaken through the newly created Student Life Sub-‐‑Committee of the Campus Planning Advisory Committee, we have just finished a large-‐‑scale supply and demand analysis of all student life spaces at Queen’s. Following data analysis, we will be able to identify clear needs that will inform the creation of a plan that could integrate as a subset of the Campus Master Plan.
JDUC Long Term Plan The AMS has concluded a thorough consultative process for the JDUC long-‐‑term plan created by Shoalts and Zabach Architects Ltd. Modeled after the well-‐‑received consultation for the Campus Master Plan and under advisement from the Student Life Sub-‐‑Committee of the Campus Planning Advisory Committee, we have hosted open houses, implemented focus groups, conducted presentations, and disseminated surveys to seek feedback on the initial draft of the plan. Our hope is that the final plan will eventually be integrated in the larger long-‐‑term planning process for student life, which the sub-‐‑committee is working on.
$1.2M dollar investment The AMS is working with the Office of the Provost to
advance 4 projects for the $1.2M committed towards the revitalization of the JDUC from the remaining student contribution to the Queen’s Centre. These projects were chosen from the initial JDUC long-‐‑term plan, and underwent thorough consultation with students in the form of surveys, presentations, and open houses. The remaining projects constitute important opportunities to inject new life into the heart of the building while also remaining mindful of financial restrictions. We are presently obtaining detailed design drawings for the projects, and will be putting them out to public tender with the hope of starting construction prior to the summer. This timeline meets the Spring 2015 deadline stipulated for the spending of the funds, and has us on track to complete construction by September.
Sexual assault prevention and response
The AMS, through the Social Issues Commission, played a central role in the university’s response to allegations of inadequate resources and support to both the prevention and response to sexual assault. The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Working Group, and the development of the University’s Sexual Assault Protocol, was a predominant focus this year, where input into the protocol, consultation, and interim strategies were discussed at length. Assembly also engaged in this topic and is advised to provide feedback on the report that will be released at the end of this year.
Review of alcohol policy This year, we have reviewed the alcohol policy to ensure we are still providing safe on campus drinking establishments on campus. We are working with the university to create a strategic document to guide the policy and help us interpret the policy moving forward.
Creation of StudioQ This year, Yearbook and Design Services, Convocation Services was amalgamated with Queen’s TV. This amalgamation will introduce the first ‘creative hub’ to campus, allowing students the ultimate learning opportunity in the world of design.
“Camp David” Over the summer, the Executive met with the senior administration for a number of hours to discuss orientation week, non-‐‑academic discipline, and alcohol
policy recognizing these are three issues of historical disagreement between the two parties. Recognizing the positive impact of this activity, the Principal’s office arranged regular meetings between the Executive and groups of senior administrators to discuss a number of topics affecting the student experience. This constituted part of a larger effort to be proactive and solutions-‐‑based in our interactions with the university. The attendance at each meeting varied on the basis of the topic being discussed, and over the course of a year it helped us to establish a firm basis for any future discussions around difficult topics.
The Academic Affairs Commission prioritized more effective engagement with students on issues that matter to them. Strengthening both the teaching and learning environment at Queen’s has been a focus, with an inaugural “The Forum” Conference bringing students and faculty together to openly discuss challenges and opportunities with the current classroom model. The quick and effective response to concerns surrounding HLTH 102 sparked a renewed focus on maintaining high levels of teaching and research excellence. Introducing avenues for innovation to thrive on campus took shape this year, with the Collider Initiative giving students the chance to share ideas, resources, and their passion for entrepreneurship. The Commission, in conjunction with the Academic Grievance Centre, supported countless students with their academic inquiries and concerns this year, showing its dedication to student achievement. Strong work conducted with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance resulting in a number of successful advances in enhancing student financial assistance, mental health, work-‐‑integrated learning, the tuition framework, and political engagement within our post-‐‑secondary sector. The Campus Activities Commission was committed to ensuring that all initiatives have a strong mandate, direction, and relevancy to the student body. The immediate restructuring of the Arts & Outreach and Recreation portfolios to allow greater flexibility in event planning and recruitment was one step in the right direction. Recent attention has been paid to integrating the QPOP Musical Festival into the Arts portfolio and a new partnership has been developed with the Isabel Bader Centre, where the AMS will have a greater hand in developing the Isabel’s performances for next year. Dedication to maintaining high quality of work with the Senate Orientation Activities Review Board’s (SOARB) has proven instrumental in ensuring that the goals of Orientation Week are not only met, but continuously strengthened. The CAC is well-‐‑known for putting on spirited and meaningful conferences and this year was no exception. Queen’s Model Court, Queen’s Model Parliament, Queen’s Model United Nations, and the Queen’s Media and Journalism Conference were unparalleled examples of student excellence. The Commission of the Environment & Sustainability soared to new heights this year, with a strong emphasis placed on building connections within the
Queen’s and Kingston community. Sustainability Week proved to be a phenomenal example of how, when student groups get together, they can energize the conversations that take place all across campus. Initiatives like The Blue Dot Campus Challenge extended the partnership to universities around Canada. As the culture of sustainability becomes more prominent in decision making, these relationships will become incredible important. The CES, in connection with the SLC Energy Management and Sustainability Committee, assisted in a number of operational enhancements across AMS services. The Sustainability Speaker Series brought together Queen’s students and the Kingston community, with attendance growing throughout the year. And finally, a proposal to restructure the Sustainability Action Fund is being developed in conjunction with the University’s Sustainability Office, signaling a stronger environmental commitment by all parties. The Commission of Internal Affairs rewrote the book, literally, on a number of our policies surrounding Assembly structure and composition, student activity fees, and elections & referenda. The Clubs Office went through a complete overhaul this year, with policy changes addressing the inadequate support and guidance provided to that Office. New procedures for ratification, grant allocation, and administrative accountability will ensure greater effectiveness of the AMS and its relationship with clubs. The addition of an Assistant Clubs Manager dedicated to financial and space auditing and overseeing the event-‐‑sanctioning process will undoubtedly fill a glaring hole in the AMS’s fiscal, legal, and insurance responsibilities. Conversations surrounding Non-‐‑Academic Discipline took a completely new approach, with stronger emphasis placed on collaboration and cooperation, rather than unnecessary antagonism. Countless improvements were made to the system this year, including, but not limited to: the addition of a risk and safety matrix, designed to ensure more consistency in sanctions, greater detail in statistics reporting, a new summer judicial committee, a commitment to report potential safety hazards to Environment Health & Safety, the signing of an MOU with campus security to clarify communication channels, and various improvements to the newly-‐‑created Group Non-‐‑Academic Discipline process. The timeline to process cases have been significantly reduced, citing greater effectiveness in our proceedings. The Municipal Affairs Commission fostered an effective and progressive relationship with City Council, both prior and proceeding the municipal election. This proved invaluable with respect to broadening priority sidewalk clearing routes and the approval of the ReUnion Street Festival. The student election platform, “Proud Citizens,” addressing quality student housing, recycling
reformations, and pedestrian-‐‑friendly streets will serve as a guide for proactive discussion in the years to come. The overhaul of the housing website allowed for students to have greater clarity (and ease!) through their housing search, while allowing the AMS to get a better understanding of the current state of the rental market. The University District Urban Design Committee conducted an in-‐‑depth analysis on structural improvements than can be made to the area, taking into account student interests, and the report was submitted the Queen’s School of Urban and Regional Planning for review. The Student Maintenance and Resource Team (SMART) has seen a lot of growth this year, with the credibility of the service growing each year throughout the community. The Social Issues Commission strived to realign how it engages with students on issues such as accessibility, race & racism, gender equality, accommodation support, and mental health. Educational approaches were fine-‐‑tuned in order to recognize the level of knowledge and comfort that exists on campus. The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Working Group, and the development of the University’s Sexual Assault Protocol, was a predominant focus this year, where input into the protocol, consultation, and interim strategies were discussed at length. The SIC weighed-‐‑in heavily on the external audit conducted on Health, Counselling, and Disability Services, with the areas of concern and suggestions for improvement ultimately incorporated, or soon to be, into the recommendations. Anti-‐‑oppression training continued to be a strong avenue for which the SIC engages with the Queen’s community, with a record number of presentations being conducted this year. The Peer Support Centre saw tremendous growth, with marketing and outreach planning a huge role in its visibility on campus.
Collective bargaining The formal bargaining process between the university
and the faculty association will commence immediately following the end of our term. As such, while student opinion on the process and the agreement will be articulated through policies and briefs, it will be imperative that the new Executive remain engaged in the proceedings and offer public comment if necessary.
Queen’s pension problem The Queen’s pension plan carries substantial solvency and going concern deficits, indicating that the overall financial health of the plan is poor. In recognition of the importance of maintaining a well-‐‑funded plan, the government of Ontario has required universities to pay into their solvency deficits. Starting next year, Queen’s, will be supporting payments in the amount of approximately $30M from its operating budget to fund these payments. This constitutes a substantial portion of the operating budget, and will necessitate thorough discussions around potential changes to the plan (determined via collective bargaining) as well as the careful examination of all areas of the university’s finances.
Continued improvements to student life space
While many processes have been undertaken to plan for and improve the current complement of student life space at Queen’s, a great deal of work is outstanding. With the data collection for the Student Life Space Plan being finalized, the creation of a vision for these spaces – incorporating the JDUC long-‐‑term plan – will be required. The intention is that this plan will eventually operate as an addendum to the Campus Master Plan, and will be the basis for future conversations around fundraising and implementation of updates to our spaces.
Long-‐‑term planning for This year, the AMS lobbied for a review of student
student support services support services and the creation of a long-‐‑term plan. While a steering committee began meeting this year, students will need to remain involved in these discussions to ensure we contribute substantially to the vision that results from this process.
Tuition framework Given that the current tuition framework for the province of Ontario will expire in 2017, discussions around student vision for tuition in the province will need to begin in 2015-‐‑16. This will require heavy involvement from the Academic Affairs Commissioner and the VPUA in conjunction with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, and will stem from the tuition policy paper that group will be producing this month.
Deferred maintenance The price tag on the university’s “deferred maintenance” problem now exceeds $300M, with insufficient allocations towards this area from the operating budget every year. Given the importance of our facilities and the lack of government support for this issue, the AMS will need to be a part of the difficult conversations related to campus infrastructure in the years to come.
Permanent staff policy and planning
The AMS’ permanent staff policy has not been updated in some time. Given the large role permanent staff play in the sustainability of our operations, it is imperative that a great deal of thought be put into the updating of this policy and the supports that exist for this team.
Proliferation of e-‐‑commerce across the AMS
E-‐‑commerce has been examined as an opportunity for a number of areas in the AMS. Moving forward, we need to thoughtfully examine how the presence of e-‐‑commerce might affect our services to ensure that we have a successful and sustainable business model in place. We must evaluate who the target audience would be for e-‐‑commerce and ensure that this is in line with our mandate.
Impact of dental service on health and dental plan
The addition of a dental service to the JDUC may create a substantial change in our Health and Dental model. With a more accessible service, claims may increase dramatically, and could lead to the need to reconsider
our current fee for the services provided. Moving forward, we should be working with Studentcare to understand the market and our insurance structure.
End of Initiative Campaign and 175th Anniversary
The university’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history is on track to generate more than the expected $500M, and will end just as the university moves into celebration of its 175th anniversary. This will constitute an important time for alumni relations at Queen’s; in the years following a long advancement campaign, donations may be more difficult to garner. That said, the 175th anniversary and opening of the new Richardson Stadium may present an important opportunity to re-‐‑engage potential donors with their school.
Capital projects at Queen’s
For the first time in several decades, Queen’s students have gone through a protracted period of time without contributing to a student fee supporting a capital project. Moving forward, updates to campus infrastructure are anticipated in areas such as the JDUC, the PEC, the second component of Richardson Stadium, and a new engineering building. In the next few years, students will need to discuss whether student support for these projects would be appropriate, and if so under what conditions.
Declining population dynamics in the 18-‐‑24 demographic across Ontario
As the “Echo Boom” generation (children of Baby Boomers) moves out of the 18-‐‑24 demographic, the traditional university-‐‑aged population will begin to shrink. The substantial effects of this population change were felt at universities across Ontario this year, and the problem will persist until the year 2030. Given that Queen’s generates a substantial portion of its revenue from these students, it will be important to look at how Queen’s performs relative to its peers in student recruitment, and also how the university can be more creative about the kinds of programs it offers and the demographics of students it attracts.
Unfolding internationalization strategy
As the university pursues the objective of bringing more international students to campus and more international experiences to Queen’s, the AMS will have to be
conscious of the supports that exist for the growing international student demographic on campus as well as the quality assurance mechanisms for newly created programs. As well, large international missions and marketing strategies will be an important area of focus in the university operating budget, and cannot come at a cost to the overall student experience.
Strong second year for the ReUnion Street Festival
Moving into its second year, it is imperative that the ReUnion Street Festival responds effectively to challenges relating to its new management structure and the fact that expectations exist for the scale of the event. The new team must effectively balance marketing strategies that will make the festival attractive, while also preventing against the possibility of having an evening that attracts many individuals from out of town or outside the Queen’s community. A sustainable funding model, which reduces the financial contribution from students, will be imperative moving forward.
AMS Recruitment The AMS must continue to prioritize recruitment for all positions on the government and corporate side. There must continue to be new strategies developed that enhance our efforts to appeal to the entire student body.
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