Due to the cancellation of in-person classes and the need to contain the spread of COVID-19, the ASSU Office will be closed from March 16th to April 3rd. We will reevaluate as we get closer to the end of the term.
During this time we will be available through all of our social media as well as email at students.assu@utoronto.ca
Stay safe, everyone! We’re all in this together.
Are you interested in volunteering in the community? Project: Universal Minds is ASSU’s high school tutoring program. U of T students meet one-on-one with local high school students to help them in English, Math, or Science.
We are currently taking applications for the upcoming academic year. You can find out all the info, as well as applications here.
ASSU is proud to host an exclusive screening of The Internet’s Own Boy, as part of disOrientation Week 2014. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director, Brian Knappenberger. Join us on Friday, Oct 3rd at 7pm in SS2117.
“The Internet’s Own Boy follows the story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz’s help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet.
But it was Swartz’s groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two-year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Aaron’s story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity.
This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/767788589952653/?fref=ts
Reserve your spot today: www.bitly.com/1tkOUGf
In the fall of 2013, ASSU received a number of reports of instructors not returning the required percentage of the final mark back to their classes in time for the drop date. Due to our close relationship with the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS), and specifically the Office of the Dean, we were able to have these particular instances addressed. However, our executive team discussed the possibility that there could be other instances of policy non-compliance occurring unbeknownst to us because of a lack of policy knowledge amongst our constituents.
Out of this concern grew the idea for a review of course syllabi from across the Faculty, as a means of acquiring solid data regarding policy compliance instead of relying on anecdotal evidence in our discussions and lobbying efforts with the Faculty. As the syllabus is essentially a “contract” for the requirements of a course and the primary source of course-related information, ASSU recognizes the importance of these documents to students.
Our team began collecting syllabi through our course unions, personal contacts and by donating our own syllabi to the cause. We must acknowledge the support of Course Union executives who actively participated in the collection process. We were able to compile 93 syllabi from across the Faculty, representing a vast majority of program indicators, series level and both fall and full year courses.
During the spring semester of 2014, members of the ASSU executive committee analyzed these syllabi for compliance with mandatory FAS policy, standard practice regarding non-essential elements of course syllabi, and for other relevant information. We appreciate the invaluable contributions of executives Charles Dalrymple-Fraser, Branden Rizzuto and Mohammad Ali Saeed, who completed a majority of the data analysis for this project.
The following report outlines the findings of our review. We also offer some recommendations aimed at improving policy compliance and the overall quality of syllabi for students in the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Thanks to everybody who filled out our survey on course evaluations. Your results were compiled into a report and were presented into the faculty. Currently, the Faculty is looking over the report and is figuring out next steps to make the system better. We, of course will keep you updated. The report we produced is posted at our website here:
Course Evaluations Survey Results
The two main points that we asked for your input on, what you thought the system lacked and how it could be improved.
What you said could be improved on:
Elena Iourtaeva