A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
The Sheridan Student Union’s (SSU) mission is to create an exceptional student experience through student focused programs, services, and advocacy. We strive to do this as an active member of the Sheridan community by facilitating opportunities for student leadership and creating strategic partnerships to improve the quality of life on campus for all students. This past year marked a number of significant improvements to the way that the SSU interacts with students, and saw many highlights to our clubs, services, and student votership.
In June 2018, we launched Clubs Corner, the central place for all clubs, societies and club events on campus. This platform allows all students and staff to join clubs that are of interest, browse the Event Calendar for happenings on campus, and follow discussion threads about clubs you may be interested in. It serves as an easier and more efficient way for students to interact with the nearly 125 clubs that the SSU saw ratified within the 2018/19 year, while also making it easier than ever to create events or clubs on campus. Clubs Corner saw 5,500 students get registered prior to the end of the 2018/19 year, and we’re pleased to say that almost 1 in 3 students are now currently involved in Clubs Corner, an incredible achievement for its first year.
We were proud to announce a new service called Empower Me in September 2018, a mental health and wellness service that connects students with qualified counsellors, consultants, and life coaches for a variety of issues. Empower Me also offers a full suite of academic life services, such as life coaching, financial planning, and nutritional counselling, which are supports that we believed all students should be entitled to. The SSU will be continuing this service for the 2019/20 year, and actively working to increase student awareness of the service and learn how we can provide access through more channels.
In November 2018, the SSU held one of the largest referendums in its history that sought to define the future of student transit will look like here at Sheridan with the U-Pass Referendum. We worked with municipal transit authorities to develop a U-Pass proposal that would allow eligible students unlimited ridership on all public Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton transit routes, as well as a direct route between Davis and Trafalgar campuses. We saw around 25% of students vote on this key issue, and received sufficient votes for the U-Pass to be approved, with the U-Pass set to launch in Fall 2019.
However, in January of 2019, the Ontario Government made sweeping announcements surrounding tuition cuts, OSAP restrictions and a Student Choice Initiative that affects student fees relied upon by student unions across Ontario, including Sheridan Student Union. The SSU connected with local MPP's, government contacts and senior college leaders to assess the implications of this announcement, which has rippled across many parts of the organization. On April 1, it was made clear that the SSU or Sheridan could not implement the U-Pass, as it did not meet required timelines.
Further to this, it was determined that mounting costs and fiscal restraints made operation of the shuttle no longer sustainable in the long term. Having previously been funded by the college and the Sheridan Student Union (SSU), as well as through the collection of student ancillary fees, the inability of the SSU to collect student fees for transit services, we were no longer able to offer the U-Pass or shuttle bus service after August 31, 2019. This has been something that has remained a priority for the organization moving forward, and we continue to collect feedback from students about how they commute to campus.
These are just a few of the changes that have occurred at the SSU over the past year. In addition to the many ways that the SSU is directly making impacts on campus, we also have been working with Sheridan on a variety of multi-year campus-wide initiatives. Ranging from Sheridan’s Strategic Plan to the Campus Master Plan, these partnerships demonstrate how the SSU is delivering on its commitment to create an exceptional student experience. We continue to seek out opportunities to include student voices in college panels, committees, and working groups, and hope to be able to speak more to this in the future!
Our employees have been key to our successes throughout the past year. While we said goodbye to our previous President following the conclusion of his term, we’ve seen an incredible amount of our student staff return to continue making a difference on campus. Our Student Leaders worked to implement a wide array of events, campaigns, and initiatives that sought to raise awareness to key issues, engage students in creative ways, while also serving as an outlet to kick back after classes. Our full-time and part-time staff have continued to find innovative ways to support students on campus, and are an ever-important driver to improve the organization. Coupled with the dedication and strategic guidance from our Board of Directors, the SSU is in a strong position to sustain our success for years to come.
On behalf of the SSU, I am honoured in my role as President for the 2019/20 year to present the 2018/19 Impact Report. This year’s report will include operational achievements and student-focused initiatives, while also outlining our financial performance for the past year. In light of the many changes that the SSU has experienced related to the Student Choice Initiative, we will be outlining some key operational budget changes that have been made, and explaining some upcoming projects that the SSU is currently working on.
We hope you appreciate the incredible changes to the organization over the past year, and we look forward to continuing to improve your #SheridanLife!
Sincerely,
Ben LeBlanc
President, Sheridan Student Union
A MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD
“As we all head towards the end of the fall semester, we reflect on the time that has so quickly flown by. Just as Fall is known as the season of change, many changes have come to the Sheridan Student Union as well. As this school year continues on, those of us on the board of directors and the Sheridan Student Union as a whole strive to serve the Sheridan community and represent the student body with its interests as our utmost priority. Although we have had many challenges and difficulties so far, we faced them together as a community and have stood strong together in the face of adversity.
Perhaps our greatest challenge so far has been the Student Choice Initiative (SCI). The SSU has been diligently working in preparation for the SCI ever since we’ve received notice from the government in late Spring, and tirelessly worked throughout the summer in preparation for the 2019-2020 school year. Fortunately, thanks to the steadfast efforts from all of our staff, and the abundant support from the Sheridan community, we are able to continue being the voice of Sheridan students with minimal sacrifices.
We certainly have had quite a number of challenges this year, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our triumphs as well. Together with our students and the college, the SSU also continues to evolve and grow for the better. As we continue to ensure a positive experience, we take one step at a time to make sure we never falter in our conviction and dedication to our students. At our Davis Campus, we’ve renovated The Den for our students to have a more modern environment to enjoy. At our HMC campus, the construction of our HMC 2A building is coming along smoothly and should be finished and ready for students by 2020. At the Trafalgar campus, our newly opened Booster Juice is settling in nicely and quickly becoming a cornerstone of our Trafalgar community.
These are just some of the positive developments the board of directors has worked hard with the SSU staff in bringing to the Sheridan students and community, but there are still plenty of more exciting plans and changes to come! In the meantime, we hope that you continue to support us here at the Sheridan Student Union. It is our honour and privilege to serve and represent the Sheridan students in our continued efforts to ensure all students have wonderful experiences during their time at Sheridan, and none of this would be possible without your continuous cooperation, feedback and support.
Thank you, and here’s to another successful and wonderful year for us all!
Xin Zhang
Chairman of the Board
On behalf of the 2019-2020 Sheridan Student Union Board of Directors
Student Choice Initiative
Earlier this year, the Ontario Government announced a 10% reduction to college and university tuition fees, along with the ‘Student Choice Initiative’, which enables students to opt out of paying certain ancillary or incidental fees covering a range of services.
To help you understand these services and how they benefit your #SheridanLife experience, we’ve broken down how they work and what’s included:
Student Union Fees
SSU STUDENT LIFE
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The SSU provides student-centric programming and initiatives across all three Sheridan campuses to enhance the student experience. This fee supports the SSU’s operation and provides additional perks, including pre-sales for SSU concerts, free admission to pub nights, discounts on food purchased at SSU venues, access to SSU’s equipment loan and binding services, and support for student academic appeals and concerns.
*Optional Fee
SSU FOODBANK
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This service helps you access food and other essentials when you need it most. Through this service, you can support each campus food bank where every student has access to 2-3 days’ worth of non-perishable food on a monthly basis. You can even choose between vegetarian, gluten free, and dependant options. Learn more at: thessu.ca/foodfirst
*Optional Fee
STUDENT REFUGEE PROGRAM
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This program is run by World University Service of Canada, a non-profit organization that offers refugee youth both post-secondary and resettlement opportunities. For less than the cost of a small coffee, you can support another student’s opportunity for resettlement, education, and the chance to take part in the SheridanLife.
*Optional Fee
SSU ACADEMIC SUPPORT
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This fee allows the Sheridan Student Union the ability to provide academic supports including the intranet portal development (Access Sheridan replacement) costs SSU is committed to.
*Essential Fee
SSU BUILDING FEE
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This mandatory fee supports the building, maintenance and updating of student centres at all three campuses.
*Essential Fee
SSU BUILDING OPERATING COSTS
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Supports repairs and maintenance, utilities, cleaning, insurance, maintenance and operational staffing and security costs of Student Centres at three Sheridan campuses.
Take a tour of our Trafalgar Student Centre here.
*Essential Fee
SSU CLUBS
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Joining or starting a club is a great way to meet new friends, develop or explore new interests, and enhance your SheridanLife. This fee supports club growth and development, staffing and promotional supports, and the oversight of the more than 100 clubs that are currently operating at Sheridan.
Learn more about how to discover clubs at: thessu.ca/discoverclubs
*Optional Fee
SHERIDANLIFE RADIO
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SheridanLife Radio is our campus radio station, run by students for students. They broadcast original features, podcasts and live shows produced by students from every corner of our campuses. Through this service you can support and continue to enjoy the student voice on campus.
To tune in, or learn more visit: sheridanliferadio.ca
*Optional Fee
SSU HEALTH & COUNSELLING
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Supports promotional materials, events, partnerships, the Empower Me Program (online and telephonic multi-lingual mental health support), and staff support related to supporting accessing basic medical care, mental health or counselling services available through the student health plan.
For more about the Empower Me program, visit:
thessu.ca/empower-me
*Essential Fee
SSU CAMPUS SAFETY
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The SSU Campus Safety fee enables the Sheridan Student Union the ability to provide the SafeWalk service, giving students a walk anywhere on campus in the event they are studying late, leaving a night class, or heading home from a pub night. This includes SafeWalk staffing, training, service provision, and promotion.
For more information about Safe Walk, visit:
thessu.ca/safe-walk
*Essential Fee
SSU CAPITAL FEE
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This mandatory fee supports the furnishing of student centre spaces, and provides equipment and capital needs related to student centres at all three campuses.
*Essential Fee
HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN
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This mandatory fee enrols full-time domestic students in Sheridan Student Union’s Health and Dental Plan, providing a wide variety of health and dental coverage, as well as travel insurance to cover unexpected emergency medical expenses. Students with acceptable proof of alternative coverage may opt out of this program during defined opt-out periods.
Learn more about your Health & Dental plan at:
thessu.ca/health-dental
Shuttle Bus
In 2013, Sheridan and the SSU began offering a shuttle service between its campuses in Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton. Historically, this service was funded by the college and Sheridan Student Union, partly through the collection of mandatory student ancillary fees.
Mounting costs, and an interest in broadening student access to public transit in Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton prompted a student referendum for a Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) in November 2018, to be funded through mandatory student fees. While the majority of students voted in favour of the U-Pass, a new policy within the Student Choice Initiative restricting the types of student fees that could be deemed mandatory prevented its implementation. As a result, Sheridan and the SSU could not move forward with the U-Pass or the existing shuttle service. Read more about this here.
With a shared interest in having affordable and enhanced public transit service between our campuses for students, Sheridan College has been modeling scenarios that would allow for an optional, fee-for-service shuttle to run for Sheridan students travelling between the Davis (Brampton) and Trafalgar (Oakville) campuses.
With that in mind, Sheridan College announced that beginning on September 3, shuttles will run Monday to Friday from 6:15 am and 9:15 pm, on a fee-per-use basis.
The cost to ride is $5 one-way, or $50 for an unlimited monthly pass. Each ride should take 45-60 minutes each way (depending on traffic) compared to the 90 minutes that the trip currently requires, using two different municipal transit services.
Rides must be purchased in advance by students and employees through the Sheridan One Card and are non-transferable and non-refundable. The shuttle will not accept cash fares.
Have questions?
We encourage you to visit Sheridan’s website to learn more.