Committed to Students, Connected to Community is our inaugural Strategic Plan, spanning from 2021 to 2026. Also known as Document 007A, the Strategic Plan represents our commitment to our members on several issues that we want to address over the next five years. This plan is the product of conversations, consultations, and deliberations over the course of eighteen months between 2019 to 2021.
Approved by both the Board of Directors and the broader membership at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April 2021, the plan commits the GSA, its staff and volunteers to a new mission, vision, and values, along with specific strategic priorities. These priorities and goals will inform an ongoing Strategic Action / Annual Plan (SA/AP), guiding organizational direction and individual goals of GSA leadership.
Strategic Priorities
Our Strategic Plan underscores three strategic priorities that, along with their corresponding goals, will help ensure that our ongoing commitment to seeing the vision through to implementation. These three priorities encompass major themes that our conversations and consultations have identified as the GSA’s opportunities for growth.
Commitment to Leadership – By example, we will provide leadership at all levels to build a better future for graduate students.
- The GSA will provide greater leadership at the institutional, local, regional, provincial and national levels. Highlighting our history of exemplary leadership, we will become leaders in thought and action for addressing challenges within student government.
- The GSA will explore opportunities for partnerships and collaboration, both within the institution and beyond, to provide our membership with greater access to resources and opportunities to improve their experience during their study and upon graduation.
- The GSA will develop opportunities for mentorship, formal and informal, internally within our membership and externally within the broader campus community, providing a means of connection for junior and senior students alike
Commitment to Community – Fostering and promoting an equitable and supportive graduate student community.
- The GSA will develop inclusive and equitable programming, reflecting the diversity of our membership while ensuring accessibility across graduate programs. We will endeavour to create spaces where graduate students feel supported and engaged.
- The GSA will strive to create a culture of respect within the graduate student community and beyond, championing greater acceptance of graduate student identities across all aspects of university life.
- The GSA will promote solidarity and speak with a unified voice on behalf of graduate students. Fostering collaboration across programs, faculties, and disciplines to create a graduate community of care.
Commitment to Service – Championing solutions for service addressing the needs of graduate students.
- The GSA will explore opportunities, both at the university and beyond, to create new services for graduate students and develop opportunities into offerings to address ongoing needs while regularly re-evaluating current services to ensure value for our members.
- The GSA will champion the need for expanded graduate services to relevant university stakeholders to improve current service while continuing to press for dedicated and differentiated programming exclusive to graduate students.
- The GSA will continue to provide outstanding advocacy on behalf of its members, raising critical issues to the appropriate decision-making bodies in a timely manner to facilitate the greatest possible outcomes for graduate students.
