OUSA shake-up planned

University of Otago students will be asked to vote this month on sweeping changes for their student organisation.

After a year of discussions and consultation, the working party reviewing the Otago University Students' Association's governance structure has released its report and has recommended a major shake-up.

If adopted, the new structure would result in a smaller number of executive members governing the organisation and a strengthening of links with the student body.

As well as representing more than 22,000 students, the OUSA is also a multimillion-dollar business. It owns property, employs staff and operates many business activities, including a book shop, a publishing company, a radio station, several sports facilities, welfare and advocacy services and an event management division.

It became clear during the review the OUSA had an "endemic" issue with inadequate representation, inadequate governance, confusion of functions and overlapping functions, 2010 president Harriet Geoghegan said in the working party's 42-page report.

That had led to "systemic isolation" from the student body, which had in turn affected the turnout at student general meetings and the number of students voting in elections.

"The recommendations aim to involve more students than ever before in the OUSA structure ... to reconnect and engage with our student members in a way that hasn't happened since arguably the early 1990s."

A focus on developing a lower level of representation would increase the stocks of young leaders looking to move up to executive level, Ms Geoghegan said.

The recommendations also fitted with the OUSA's revised strategic plan, which defined the organisation's core values as being inclusive, responsible, engaging and relevant, she said.

If the changes are to be implemented from next year, students and the OUSA executive will have to vote this month on whether or not to support the recommendations.

A referendum will be held between July 16 and 22, with the decision finalised before nominations for next year's executive open on July 26.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:-
• Reduce executive from 17 to 10.
• Establish eight committees: welfare, education, postgraduate, policy, finance and expenditure, recreation, communications, and events.
• Establish formal relationships with existing student representative bodies.
• Reduce workloads for executive to 10 hours a week during academic year.
•Retain minimum wage pay rate for first-time executive members; introduce 25% wage increase for those elected for a second year.
•Introduce honorariums of $50 a month and free tickets to OUSA events for committee members volunteering at least 10 hours' time a month.