Universities and colleges struggle to find the balance of providing an education while also providing an experience. To facilitate this balance, educational institutions often have administrative offices designated to work directly with students, whether this be an ombudsman or vice president of students. These roles exist to provide students a direct line to the decision makers. However, these offices are often set up to receive and respond to complaints, operating more as a sounding board than a facilitator and motivator of student ideas.

Nationally, the waters of student agitation are churning. Recent trends in the costs of education are leaving many questioning the value of pursing a university or college degree. The most recent report from Statistics Canada highlights that students will pay 4.3% more this year (2011-2012) to attend school, making the average tuition for university $5,200 and college $2,500. This does not include ancillary fees, costs of living, academic materials, and some degree of recreation. Compounding the problem on the institutional side are issues such as an infrastructure backlog totaling $6.4 billion, of which $2.4 billion is to be considered urgent. While in comparison to other countries Canada fares ok on the costs of attaining a level of postsecondary, that should not be an excuse for allowing our costs to increase and situation to worsen.

Much of the solution to the educational challenges facing Canadians rests in the hands of our legislators, but that does not mean institutions cannot take action on increasing their institutional value for prospective students and alumni.

So, how do universities do this? Through meaningful consultations with students. The reality is that there are many strained relationships across Canada between the institution and student. I know from my time as student union president that I often had arguments with our university over how seriously the institution took the opinions and feedback provided by students.

William Brown, in Reflections of a University President, writes on the importance of on-campus consultation,

“Time consuming as they can be, such processes often produce better decisions than quick pronouncements from up high. […] They can generate loyalty and a stronger sense of community. And they can even save time in the long run by avoiding missteps and the need to repair relationships damaged by having failed to consult appropriately ahead of a decision.” (Brown, 2011. p. 17).

Attending university or college is about gaining an education in the classical sense, but also an education in participation. I think it helps to look at a campus as a training village. As students, at any age, we attend the places of higher learning to help train and better ourselves for the real world.

By engaging students in the discussion and decisions of the institution, there is a real opportunity to increase the value of one’s education and connection with their alma mater, building strong community participants and loyal alumni. Whether this is facilitated through including student representation on an institution’s Board of Governors, Senate, or as simple as creating an advisory board to the president, there must be an avenue on campus for students to contribute to the strategic decisions of an institution and not just complain.

Setting the tone for a more consultative role of students may be as simple as investing in the constant facilitation of campus-halls, and residents’ walks. It may also be more complicated and require a much broader and slower cultural change. Regardless, students should be considered like a voter or a taxpayer—the key stakeholder.

This consultation should happen through the student association on your campus, as they are the elected voice of students. There is no end to processes and approaches to consultation, but there is no substitute for face-to-face communication — great things can come from a simple conversation.

by Zachary Dayler

National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations

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