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MCMASTER STUDENTS UNION

Standing Committees

There are six Standing Committees of the SRA. These Committees operate each year, meeting approximately once per week to discuss their respective areas of responsibility. Committees consist of four SRA members, two non-SRA MSU members (any full-time undergraduate student taking 18 units or more, who is not on the Assembly) and an Associate Vice-President who chairs the meetings. It is within the Committees where the major work of the SRA is done.

The SRA also commissions Ad-Hoc Committees, which are created when a need is identified, tasked with a specific objective, and dissolved once everything is complete or when the SRA term has ended, whichever comes first.

To learn more about what each Committee is working on, check out the menu:

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The Standing Committee on Finance reviews, and provides recommendations to the Student Representative Assembly, Executive Board, and the VP Finance on MSU financial policies. All MSU Members are encouraged to attend our meetings!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact the Finance Commissioner at avpfinance@msu.mcmaster.ca

The Internal Governance Committee is tasked with updating, changing, and making recommendations on the governing documents of the MSU, as well as dealing with policy statements, which outlines the MSU’s position on a wide variety of matters. This committee is important to the MSU and the greater student population because it looks after the long-term considerations of the MSU. Without long term planning now, tomorrow will not be nearly so organized!

If you have any questions or would like to get involved as a non-voting member, send an email to avpinternal@msu.mcmaster.ca.

The Municipal Affairs Committee is a unique SRA standing committee that works to improve the lives of students through working with bodies that operate off-campus. In other words, this committee gets to work not only within McMaster, but also, within the Hamilton community. The committee advocates for students on a municipal level on issues including transit, student housing, and student retention. We do so by working with local organizations and continuing to create stronger bonds with the municipal government and surrounding community.

All McMaster students are more than welcome to attend and participate in our weekly meeting. If you are interested in joining the committee or finding out more information, feel free to send us an email at avpmunicipal@msu.mcmaster.ca

The Provincial & Federal Affairs Committee is an SRA Standing Committee that focuses on post-secondary education issues at the provincial and federal levels. We advocate for students to the Governments of Ontario and Canada to improve post-secondary education for all students and often do this through lobbying organizations. We work with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities (UCRU), which is composed of student unions from the top 15 research-intensive universities in Canada.

Aside from lobbying, the purpose of the committee is to engage SRA and MSU members in accomplishing their platforms, as well as work with the rest of the Education Department to create MSU policies. These policies are the values and beliefs held by the organization, which we use to lobby at every level of governance. The committee performs research projects related to current issues in the area of post-secondary information, to be used in policy-making and lobbying efforts. We also act as a liaison from our lobbying organizations to promote awareness and engagement on campus.

If you are interested in joining the committee or finding out more information, feel free to send us an email at avpprovfed@msu.mcmaster.ca. You can also check out our MSU Policy Bank.

The Services Standing Committee reviews the provision, delivery, and goals of MSU services and proposes suggestions for improvement in these areas.

If you have any questions or would like to get involved as a non-voting member, send an email to avpservices@msu.mcmaster.ca. We’d love to have you onboard!

The SRA Standing Committee on University Affairs (UA) is tasked with policymaking, information gathering, and advocating on behalf of students in regards to issues within the university. Advocacy initiatives are conducted by three committees, Federal and Provincial Affairs, Municipal Affairs, and University Affairs, who work to enhance the quality of education at McMaster. While the two former committees deal with MSU relations outside the McMaster community, the University Affairs committee deals with internal MSU relations within the university that influence the student experience. In working with the Board of Directors (specifically the Vice-President Education), the University Administration, as well as campus groups and stakeholders, our committee strives to meet the needs of our students and help provide them with a high-quality undergraduate experience at McMaster.

The committee is comprised of elected SRA and MSU members. While the election for these positions have already taken place, non-voting members are always welcome to attend and participate in our meetings. Please contact the Associate Vice-President University Affairs if you wish to get involved in the committee, have questions or project ideas, or would like more information: avpuniversity@msu.mcmaster.ca. All MSU members (students enrolled in 18 or more units) are always welcome to attend our meetings.

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