USRI feedback, unanimous CSA membership resolution fill Oct. 16 SLC docket

By Ashar Memon, October 17 2018 —

The University of Calgary Students’ Union approved a resolution to join a municipal advocacy group during a marathon two-hour meeting of the Students’ Legislative Council on Oct. 16.

Announcements by SU executives kicked off the meeting. Vice-president academic Jessica Revington announced that nominations for the 2018–19 SU Teaching and Excellence Awards will close this Friday, Oct. 18. Vice-president student life Nabila Farid announced that Pet Therapy will also return to That Empty Space on Friday.

SLC then listened to a presentation by U of C vice-provost teaching and learning Leslie Reid on changes to the Universal Student Ratings of Instruction (USRI) instructor feedback form.

Reid and project coordinator Travis Klemp mentioned several potential changes to the USRIs, including a shift to using online forms, changes to the questions presented on the form and the availability of the feedback to students. Reid said she expects a revamped pilot questionnaire to be launched sometime in the 2019–20 academic year.

Next, Board of Governors (BOG) student-at-large Frank Finley delivered a pre-report on an upcoming BOG meeting. Finley highlighted several topics that will be discussed at the meeting, including changes to the U of C Presidential Re-Appointment Policy, the IT Strategic Plan, the Climate Action Plan and the Institutional Sustainability Strategy.

Capping off the lengthy consultation section of the meeting was a presentation by Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) chair Andrew Bieman and vice-chair Amanda LeBlanc on CAUS’s advocacy priorities.

During executive reports, SU president Sagar Grewal said that he will be travelling to Ottawa next week with U of C president Elizabeth Cannon for an advocacy event. Grewal also said that he expects the university to announce its new president by the end of November.

Revington reported attending General Faculties Council, while vice-president operations and finance Kevin Dang reported purchasing menstrual products for the SU’s free period product program and supplies for the SU Stress Buster workshop. Farid reported attending a meeting of the “The Last Day of Classes Neighbourhood Task Force,” which was established to address concerns about off-campus activities on the last day of the academic year.

During committee chair reports, Dang said the Policy Development and Review Committee met for the first time and Farid reported that the Clubs Committee approved a last-minute event funding request.

Faculty of Arts representative Raquel Jackson announced that the Faculty of Arts Students’ Association will merge their newsletter with the SU’s newsletter for the rest of the year. Fellow arts representative Quinn Stevenson said that he located and installed a new microwave in the Arts Lounge. Several faculty representatives also reported working on applications for the Quality Money program.

After reports, Cumming School of Medicine representative Jarin Thundathil asked Dang for an update on possible changes to Bermuda Shorts Day. Dang said he had nothing to report.

Engineering representative Ahsen Imran asked Dang when U-Toppings Pizza, the vendor replacing Pita on the Run in MacHall, will open. Dang declined to give a date, saying that the space is still undergoing changes.

The meeting concluded with a vote on the second and final reading of a resolution to join the Calgary Student Alliance, a combined body of local post-secondary students’ unions and associations focused on municipal advocacy. The resolution passed unanimously.

The next meeting of SLC will be on Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the MacHall Executive Council Chambers. Access elected official reports, trimester reports, minutes and all other SLC documents here.