AUSU Election, Call for Candidates OPEN

The Call for Candidates for the 2010 AUSU Student Council election is NOW OPEN. You have until February 15th to submit your self nomination if you wish to run in the March election. Council terms run for two years, and all positions are included in this election. AUSU Members will select nine candidates from the ballot, to form our new council for the 2010 -2012 term. The council will then hold an internal election to select its executive group, which consists of the President, VP External, and VP Finance. Regular council positions require 2-10 hours of work per week (depending on committee involvement), while executives can expect to spend 20-25 hours a week on council work. Further details about the positions can be found in the AUSU policies and bylaws, and in our election notice.

2009 Tuition, education and texbook amounts certificate

Update from Athabasca University Financial Services

Athabasca University Financial Services is pleased to announce that the official 2009 Tuition, Education and Textbook Tax Credit Certificate (T2202A) forms will be available on-line by the end of February to all eligible students. The forms will not be mailed out and instead are on-line in printable format for all students to access. Please visit AU's web site for further details on obtaining your tuition, education and textbook tax credit information for your 2009 tax return.

AUSU Merchandise for Sale

Our new catalogue features a range of merchandise with the AUSU and Voice logos. To download it in pdf, right-click here and save the file to your desktop.

We are only accepting credit card orders at this time, unless you are able to visit our Edmonton office. More items will be added soon! Suggestions are welcome

AUSU congratulates Doug Horner

Athabasca University Students' Union is pleased to offer its congratulations to the Honorable Doug Horner on his promotion to Deputy Premier of Alberta, to Minister Liaison to her Majesty’s Canadian Armed Forces, and his retention of his post as Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. Recently Minister Horner ensured that AU's funding remained equal to the year previous in the face of 2009's severe economic downturn. Now, as we did then, AUSU sends him a heartfelt thank you. With his increased power and stature, Deputy Premier Horner is in an excellent position to further safeguard Alberta's future through consistent investment in advanced education. Alberta's students deserve no less.

VPExternal AUSU, Barbara Rielly

AUSU Lock Loan Program cancelled

We regret to inform students that we have had to cancel our lock loan program in the ELC and CLC locations due to ongoing and extraordinary loss of locks. Please see our forums for further discussion of this issue. Contact our office if you would like to purchase a lock.

SmartDraw, a $297 software value, free for one year for AUSU members

AUSU is now offering the 2010 edition of SmartDraw for all our members. To access this deal and find out more, log in to your AUSU account (AUSU members only) and then click here. If you are an AU undergrad who has not yet set up an account on our site, select the registration link from the login box.

SmartDraw allows you to create a wide range of graphics for your assignments and submit them electronically in a file created in Word, Excel, or many other programs. You can export your graphics as TIF, GIF, or JPEG files to make a web graphic or even a logo. Just a few of the graphics you can make include venn diagrams, genetics charts, graphs, organizational and flow charts, and Gantt charts. For any course that requires charts that cannot be easily created in Word or Excel, this should be a real time saver and make it easier to submit all portions of an assigment by email. Remember, though, that you should always check with your tutor to find out if there is a specific format they prefer. Your tutor does not have to have SmartDraw to view these graphics, however. Installations under this program are good for one year.

AUSU News, Fall 2009

The fall AUSU news is arriving in mailboxes this week. If you are in a current AU undergrad course, you will receive an issue. For those who did not get their copy, you can read the latest edition online, here.

Changes to Exam Request Policy at AU

In September, new deadlines for requesting exams will be in effect. You will have to order your exam at least 20 calendar days before your write day, and 30 days in advance if you are outside of Canada. However, late requests will be accomodated for a $50 fee and if you use this option, you will be permitted to write your exam up to 30 days after the course end date. There is a discussion about these changes taking place in our discussion forums, so drop in and let us know what you think.

AUSU Phone Chat, November 30, 2009

Join us at 6:00 pm to chat with council and other students. Phoning in is free! Meetings are on the last day of every month at 6:00 pm MST. These are drop-in meetings, so feel free to come in part way through and leave as you like. This month's topic: Student moms, juggling childcare and study (dad count too!). To get the dial in number, email ausu@ausu.org or log into our forums and read the post about this meeting in the General Student Chat section. We have local dial in numbers for many countries.

Student Software Discounts

AU may not have an on site software store like other schools, but you can still get deep student discounts on software, computers and more. AUSU has teamed with Journey Ed to help our members access educational versions of software, and, by using our affiliate links, you will be helping to support AUSU and keep your students' union fees lowest in the country.

AUSU Career Link

The AUSU Career Link is up and running, and employers will begin posting opportunities over the coming weeks. Students seeking work or career options should post their resumes on the system, so employers can find you. We will be sending information to employment agencies across Canada to make sure that employers know that AU has many experienced, mature students with exceptional skills and the ability to learn on their own. If you haven't checked it out yet, visit our career link website today and get your career search started! Please drop us a line to tell us what other career services you would like to see over the coming year -- we're just getting started.

AUSU Frappr - we're all over the world!

Join our map and show us where you are. Please view our map and if it's your first visit, read through the posting information. Please email our webmaster if you have any questions. Enjoy!

AUSU members have the option of purchasing Health, Dental and Travel Insurance at student rates. The Campus Value Custom Plan is offered through Ingle International and Imagine Financial, and is available to students in most locations across Canada. If your location or age group is not listed on the rate sheets, or if you want additional coverage not included in the plan, please contact the insurer to find out about more options available to AUSU members. For more information on the plan and all contact information, see the full page story in our newsletter (link below), or visit our health plan webpage, here. Exclusive for AUSU members: AUSU members (aged 44 and under) who sign up to this program within 30 days of enrolment are guaranteed coverage.