Annual Plan Progress Update: What’s Been Achieved and Next Steps

As we get closer to the end of the governance year, we’re all looking forward to welcoming our new Board of Directors! Something that’s just as important at this time of year is reviewing all the progress we have made on our Annual Plan priorities. Here’s a quick look at what’s been done so far and what the next steps will be: 

Campus Life 

There’s been a lot of changes to campus life and infrastructure over the governance year, and there’s a lot more to expect, but some of the most notable changes were the opening of Chaska in Student Life Centre (SLC) and the most recent opening of Smarty Pants ice cream. You can now pair your favourite snack or meal at Chaska with some delicious ice cream from right next door at Smarty Pants! 

 The Lounge on 3 also saw its grand opening in early 2024, and we’re continuing to work on the plan for the Student Lounge. Interested students can check out all the new projects approved by the Board under the Capital Program Fund.  

An exciting new change to look forward to is the addition of an audio recording studio! Having completed the environmental scan and research phase, a concept for the space and a plan on how it will be used will soon be developed. We are also in the process of finalizing research and recommendations on the Athletics fee. You can read more on the Athletics report and the recording studio here: Update on the Athletics Report and the Recording Studio.  

Clubs 

The past governance year has also introduced improvements to the current clubs system. In May 2024, we launched a new system for submitting and processing cheques from clubs. Student feedback shows that this system is more streamlined, accessible, and easier to use! 

Advocacy 

The 2024 governance year was a crucial one for advocacy campaigns! Student safety and community were significant themes this year, with many campaigns centered around student safety and building community support, such as the Red Zone awareness campaign and the Hot Lines / Warm Lines resource, now available on our website.  We are also continuing our work with Studentcare to implement gender-affirming care coverage for our members.  

WUSA’s very first advocacy pitch competition, the Change Engine, had its inaugural event in December. This pitch competition brought out amazing advocacy ideas from our students to improve campus and student life. You can check out this year’s winners and see all the other ideas that were submitted at The Change Engine Recap: Empowering Student Innovation or watch the video of the pitches on our YouTube channel. 

 A self-advocacy resource, named An Advocate’s Toolkit was developed as well. True to its name, it’s a helpful guide providing tips to navigate tricky conversations and express yourself more freely when handling conflicts and challenges. 

 The Housing Playbook, published almost a year ago in March 2024, provides students with a go-to manual that helps navigate local housing concerns. It will be expanded, and more resources and items will be added to it! Our partnership with the Waterloo Region Community Legal Service (WRCLS) also continued, offering students the opportunity to access the resources and workshops necessary to navigate and obtain legal advice for housing concerns. 

Co-op is a very big part of student life, and what better way to understand students’ experiences with co-op than to ask them directly! We hosted a co-op roundtable this term, where students were able to actively engage in conversation with the Board of Directors on their co-op experience and how we can help make it better. We also contributed to the rollback of the proposed co-op fee from 10% to 4%. 

This March, we launched our Global Kitchen cookbook, complete with affordable, easy-to-cook recipes from around the world! With recipe submissions from our diverse student community, you’re sure to find some delicious, simple, and budget-friendly meals. 

We are always looking to improve our current Orientation and transition offerings to new students, so there is collaborative work being done across departments in the University regarding this. Using input from the New Student Transition survey on orientation, conducted in late 2024, we are preparing a report which is expected to be finalized and ready in fall 2025! 

Thanks for a successful 2024-25 governance year and we’re looking forward to seeing what our new Board of Directors will accomplish in the 2025-26 year. Stay tuned for our annual Impact Report which will formally lay out all that was accomplished during the 2024-25 year.  

Anusha Akella 

Communications Assistant