Current Advocacy Efforts
CSI’s advocacy department is constantly working for you on issues that you’ve told us are important and essential to your student experience.
See the page below for more information on each of our ongoing initiatives!
International Tuition Equity
INTERNATIONAL TUITION EQUITY OVERVIEW
CSI is a member of the Ontario College Student Associations for International Tuition Equity Coalition, which is an action-oriented group of Ontario College Student Associations, who are motivated and inspired to advocate for international tuition equity.
Organized by a core group of 5 Student Associations, we recognized the need for a strong and unified voice to provide representation for over 50,000 international students we represent.
Student Housing
STUDENT HOUSING OVERVIEW
By reaching out to students to hear about their housing experiences, working with community partners to advocate for greater housing availability and affordability, and engaging relevant policymakers, this project’s purpose is to find the best way to ensure students are housed safely, at a price that does not complicate their educational experience.
This project aims to gain an understanding of the current housing challenges faced by Conestoga Students and explore best practices and develop solutions to address them, focusing on accountability, affordability, equity, and sustainability.
Recent Media Coverage — CBC Kitchener
Recent Media Coverage — The Record
STATUS
Complete.
Preliminary research and student consultations have been completed. Please read the final report below.
In addition to our Your Guide to Student Living, CSI has successfully supported the push for the development of a Brantford-specific tenant support website that will provide an additional outlet of information for students.
Read more here
CSI actively is engaging with the City of Kitchener to ensure students are represented in the next steps of the Lower Doon Land Use.
Read more here
Report: Read about Addressing and Supporting the Student Housing Experience
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.
Transportation
TRANSPORTATION OVERVIEW
This project aims to gain an understanding of what transportation methods students use and how their transit experience can be improved, including parking, buses, biking, inter-city transit, and more. With sustainability in mind, this project aims to ensure students have long-term, sustainable, and green-friendly transportation solutions at all existing and future Conestoga College campuses.
STATUS
Complete.
Please read the final report below
LINK THE WATERSHED OVERVIEW
CSI has joined the Link The Watershed Initiative and is advocating to improve public transit between Brantford, Guelph, and Waterloo Region. The initiative aims to link our communities with a network of four new conventional transit routes operated by our existing municipal urban transit providers (Brantford Transit, Grand River Transit, and Guelph Transit) as soon as possible; with additional service changes to the rural transit services Brant Transit, Wellington RideWell, Ride Norfolk, PC Connect, and GOST to create a highly integrated network of rural and urban transit services and linking the Watershed.
Learn more about the initiative: www.linkthewatershed.ca
Sign the petition to show your support for linking the watershed: www.change.org/linkthewatershed
Recent Media Coverage — The Record
Recent Media Coverage — CBC Kitchener
ADVOCATING FOR FREE TRANSIT ON ELECTION DAYS
CSI has been advocating to local municipalities and the Region of Waterloo to request that Grand River Transit offers free transit services on Election Days for federal, provincial, and municipal elections to reduce barriers to voting and improve accessibility to polling locations for students.
Recent Media Coverage — CBC News
Help us continue to advocate to the Region of Waterloo by emailing your Regional Councillor and telling them why you support making transit free on election days.
Find out who your Regional Councillor is and their email here:
www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regional-government/council
Report: Read about Navigating Transportation Together
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.
Truth & Reconciliation
TRUTH & RECONCILIATION OVERVIEW
This initiative aims to push Conestoga College to commence the work of Truth & Reconciliation by beginning consultations with the indigenous communities Conestoga College on whose land the college rests and whose nations the college is embedded within. We seek to foster the work of Truth & Reconciliation in our organization as well, in a way that meaningfully engages and empowers indigenous students and community members in partnership with Be-Dah-Bin Gamik.
STATUS
In progress. Updates to be provided.
Report: Read about First Steps Towards the Path of Truth and Reconciliation
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.
Academic Fairness
ACADEMIC FAIRNESS OVERVIEW
This project aims to understand how Conestoga students experience and interact with the academic appeals process and work to improve the academic appeals process by providing the necessary resources to support students in all matters related to academic fairness. Whether a student is going through the process of appealing a grade and needs guidance on how to navigate the process or would like more hands-on assistance in the latter stages of the appeals process, this project will research how to best aid students in the educational experience, and ensure their academic journey is seamless.
STATUS
Complete.
Research and student consultations have been completed. Please read the final report below.
Report: Read about Building and Strengthening the Academic Appeal Environment
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.
CSI Year-End Survey
CSI YEAR-END SURVEY OVERVIEW
The CSI Year-End Survey is issued annually to our student membership to understand their interests and needs better. The lived experience of the student population at Conestoga College is the primary concern of Conestoga Students Incorporated (CSI).
As an organization, our mission is to enhance student satisfaction and success by providing a variety of student services, taking measures to ensure our student members feel supported and secure in their educational experience. We take the insights gained from this survey to assist in the CSI Board of Director’s strategic planning process. This information is then used to develop CSI’s annual strategic plan and influence program planning and delivery.
STATUS
Complete.
See the result’s of our previous CSI Year-End Survey Reports here:
Year-End Survey Results (2022)
Year-End Survey Results (2021)
Year-End Survey Results (2020)
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.
Past Advocacy Efforts
2021/22 CEC AND CAAT-A BARGAINING
When bargaining negotiations broke down between the CEC and CAAT-A Faculty, CSI began to take proactive measures to ensure students were informed about the current state of the negotiations at all times and worked with other student associations across the province to call on both parties to continue negotiating and put students first. These efforts included the creation of a bargaining information page, frequent meetings with Conestoga College administration and Conestoga’s Local Union Representatives, letters to both bargaining teams and the province, and developing internal response plans to ensure additional supports would be available for students should a strike occur.
Media Coverage from The Record
Thank You Letter to CEC and CAAT-A
DISCLAIMER: The recommendations contained within this report are for the consideration of CSI’s Executive Team and/or Board of Directors. These recommendations are not guaranteed to be adopted and/or implemented by CSI. An individual or collective action plan (such as CSI’s Strategic Plan) will be created and published in the future which may or may not include these suggested recommendations.