The ARUCC 2012 Conference will be held at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel, June 25-28, 2012.

In recognition of Quebec's Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Holiday and Canada Day celebrations, the main Conference sessions are scheduled Tuesday, June 26-Thursday, June 28 with optional Pre-Conference Workshops on Monday, June 25.

Co-hosted by ARUCC, OURA and CRALO, the 2012 Conference is a must-attend event for college and university strategic enrolment management professionals involved in all aspects of recruitment and retention.

The Marriott Hotel is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, just steps from the Parliament Buildings, the Rideau Canal and the ByWard Market and recently completed multi-million dollar renovations to its bedrooms and public spaces.

Further details regarding program content, functions, exhibits and accommodation will be posted on the Conference website later in November.

Mark your calendars now for June 25-28, 2012! We look forward to seeing you in Ottawa next year for ARUCC 2012!

OURA Innovation Award Winners
University of Waterloo

The recipient of the the OURA Innovation Award was the University of Waterloo who developed a graduate admission system. The system facilitates a paperless application management process and provides online services to applicants, referees, reviewers, departments, Faculties and the Graduate Studies to improve timelines for decisions, offers and responses.

Some key components of the system include:

• electronic document management
• electronic reference letters
• online applications for department evaluation
• online recommendations for admission
• harmonized offer of admission

Congratulations University of Waterloo on your OURA Innovation Award.

ARUCC 2012 - Call for Proposals

Share your SEM wisdom and experience with colleagues from across Canada at the ARUCC 2012 Conference in Ottawa (June 25 - 28).

The ARUCC 2012 Conference Program Committee is seeking proposals for strategic level sessions focusing on initiatives, practices and policies that support institutional enrolment management and contribute to student success.

The themes of the seven conference session tracks are:

1. Strategic Enrolment Leadership and Governance
2. SEM/Student Success Research
3. Academic Resources/Scheduling
4. Retention and Student Success Leadership
5. Recruitment and Admissions Leadership
6. Mobility Leadership
7. Data Leadership

For details on these themes visit the call for proposal section of the ARUCC conference website.

Submit a short abstract/proposal for a conference session by completing the on-line proposal form, located on the same web page as the conference details.

Please submit your proposal by December 1.

September and October are traditionally very busy months for folks in awards and financial aid. No doubt we will have lots to share during our first teleconference meeting in late-November. Our tentative agenda is as follows:

• ARUCC 2012 conference - call for proposals related to scholarships and awards
  
  
• AGM 2012 One-Day Event in Toronto in February
  
  
• Miscellaneous discussion items:
  • SAG bursary processing
  • Award management - best practices
  • Handling demanding donors
  • Liberal's pledge of tuition-grants for middle- to low-income students
  • Additional discussions items are welcome.

The Standing Committee welcomes input from members of the Scholarships and Awards Group. Members include anyone who is a regular member of OURA and has responsibilities related to the development, management operation of scholarships and awards programs in the Registrar's Office or related student service area. Please submit any topic suggestions you may have for our Annual Meeting in February or for any other meeting of the Standing Committee to: Brenda Denomme

Brenda Denomme

The Graduate Studies group has a reputation as a collegial group as we are small in numbers and therefore always willing to share what we do and how we do it at our respective institutions.

One of our key responsibilities is to maintain the OURA Graduate Studies International Placement Guide and I would like to thank committee member Elena Arena for volunteering to be the primary contact for updates and additions.

In repose to the decision of the tri-agencies to replace scheduled scholarships and fellowships regional meetings with web-based options, the Graduate Studies group will be sending a letter to encourage the tri-agencies as part of their overall communication strategy to use web-based communication tools in combination with face-to-face meetings.

As well, the Graduate Standing Committee is in the process of preparing a proposal for the creation of an on-line Ontario Visiting Graduate Student (OVGS) form so that Ontario universities can serve our graduate students more effectively by delivering this service on-line.

Cheers,

Heather Kelly
Chair, Standing Committee on Graduate Studies

University Information Program (UIP) Review
Deliverables from the UIP review are in process and we hope to have an initial draft in early 2012. This involves the development of an Operations Manual and a distinct Terms of Reference. The OUAC, OURA Executive, and SCSSL look forward to implementing the UIP Review report with the OUSSP-SC.

The concept of a virtual fair - a recommendation based out of the UIP review - was not deemed viable for the fall 2011 recruitment cycle. Key stakeholders continue to discuss opportunities for enhanced virtual engagement, examining target audience, delivery mode, content and sustainability.

Ontario Universities' Fair (OUF) October 14 - 16
The Ontario Universities' Fair (OUF) was once again a huge success! Ontario's universities connected with nearly 110,000 prospective students, parents and educators. The OUF saw a record high attendance on the Saturday, with more than 56,000 people. This was the largest one-day audience ever recorded at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

University Information Program (UIP)
Ontario's universities conducted 8 UIP programs across the province this fall. New publicity initiatives, such as targeted Facebook advertising, contributed to strong attendance this year. The Standing Committee on Secondary School Liaison will have a full debrief at our December meeting.

Regional Dialogue 2012
We are pleased to announce that the 2012 Regional Dialogues have been set for the following:

Tuesday, May 1: Algoma
Thursday, May 3: Lakehead, Orillia Campus
Friday, May 4: Queen's
Tuesday, May 8: York, Keele Campus
Wednesday, May 9: York, Glendon Campus
Thursday, May 10: Waterloo

These events have been communicated with the Ontario guidance community.

Respectfully,

Marisa Modeski, SCSSL Chair