Board of Directors releases priorities for the 2024-25 academic period

Over the summer, the Algonquin College Students’ Association Board of Directors spent over 150 hours collecting feedback from students to see what issues they care about most.

They then discussed the results and decided on three priorities for the 2024-25 academic year: academics, transportation and mental health. Here’s what you need to know:

Academic Quality

The BOD will work closely with Julie Beauchamp, senior vice president academic at Algonquin College, to ensure the curriculum is updated and that students have the proper knowledge to gain employment in an evolving job market.

Maria Silveira, president of the SA, said the BOD will focus on resources the college can provide for co-op and job support programs, based on feedback from students.

“We hope that in the near future we will have a progress report or information to share with the students,” Silveira said.

Transportation Availability

Transportation is an issue that affects many students because it impacts the overall student experience, according to Silveira.

“Myself, I rely on OC Transpo and we know it can be unreliable and we can struggle with it sometimes, and in Perth and Pembroke, our smaller campuses, there are no public transit options at all,” said Silveira.

Because of the lack of transportation in Perth and Pembroke, those students are required to get to campus using other methods, including driving and walking.

The BOD will work with community leaders to advocate for transit options for those campuses, as well as OC Transpo for more reliable transportation in Ottawa.

Ayden Dorman, a first-year computer engineering technology student at the Ottawa campus, said transportation would be his top priority of the three.

“I’ve got a few people in my class who’ve complained about having trouble getting to school on time,” Dorman said.

Mental Wellness

The BOD wants to make sure the support services being offered match the specific needs of students.

They will work on a system to lower wait times for counselling services and provide more effective support to all students.

Arlo Jordan, a second-year business management and entrepreneurship student, believes mental health is an important issue for the SA to address because it’s been a growing problem since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The mere fact that they’re going to address mental health is really awesome, because many students have had mental health problems as of late,” Jordan said.