The last few months have been very busy for Council members. The new group of 9 councillors met for the first time on March 16, and a variety of projects have been ongoing since then. Some of the highlights of the last few months:
· New Council spent two days attending a board development workshop in April. It was an opportunity for the new members to get acquainted, begin building working relationships and to start planning for future AUSU projects
· At the April meeting, Council reviewed the honorarium structure. It was felt that previous honoraria rates were low and did not provide fair or adequate compensation for the expected workload. This was hampering productivity and participation, and creating hardship for Council members. Council decided to increase honoraria to bring them closer in line to what other comparable organizations receive for their work.
· Council members attended the International Conference on Distance Education and the International Symposium on Educational Conferencing. Several members of Council presented papers at these sessions that dealt with student issues and ways the student union can work to resolve these.
· Council took an active role in Convocation 2002. We provided a graduation gift of a small engraved clock to each graduate, and sponsored a pancake breakfast, lunch and tea (with AU). AUSU’s participation was greatly appreciated by the university and by the graduates and their families.
· AUSU worked with the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) to prepare presentations to key government officials regarding tuition concerns in meetings held during June and July.
· Council has been actively working on redevelopment of the website, including a new look for the Voice and a new logo.
