YOUR MSA PRESIDENT
The Mohawk Students’ Association (MSA) has had a dynamic and transformative year.
We continue to press forward into maturity, self-actualizing in our areas of focus, growing in Advocacy + Leadership, Engagement + Support, and Sustainability + Operations. Our vision has been getting clearer in achieving student personal success in their college experience and beyond. Our mission is to create a community that every student can lean on for positive experiences. We have done that by listening to you, the students, and being intentional about hearing your stories and feedback in surveys, student forums and in-person touch points. This was a high priority for the board during the 2022-2023 term.
This Impact Report serves as a guide, communicating the discoveries of the past year and our trajectory ahead. It highlights stories of the connections made, gaps identified, services and more. It also includes a comprehensive financial breakdown of the 2022/2023 academic year.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Our heartfelt gratitude extends to the entire Mohawk College student community. Your presence forms the bedrock of our existence, directing our actions. To the dedicated MSA staff and student staff, your unwavering dedication to excellence is the core of our triumphs, enabling us to be true champions of student causes.
A profound acknowledgment is also in order for the MSA 2022/2023 Board of Directors. Your steadfast commitment to representing the best interests of our students is commendable and vital to our shared success.
Thank you,
Elizabeth-Joy Phillips
We Advocate for the things that matter most to you, the students!
Your MSA President
Why We Exist
Strategic Plan in Motion
Student Advocacy
Food Experience
Communications to Members & Engagement
Financial Report
Major Contributions
Student Services
Events, Clubs & Communities
Table of contents
Click to hear Elizabeth-Joy's welcome message!
STRATEGIC PLAN in motion
The MSA uses a strategic plan as a five-year road map to stay on track with our vision, mission and values. It helps define us as your student union and directs what actions we need to take to accomplish our goals during day-to-day operations and when the unexpected happens, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHAT IS A STRATEGIC PLAN?
We want you to know who we are and what we have to offer you as your student association. But for that to happen, you need to feel comfortable accessing our support and services.
HUMANIZING THE MSA BRAND
our 2020 - 2025 priorities
The MSA wants to empower you to create a community you can lean on for positive experiences, relevant support, a listening ear, and a strong voice. That’s why we have been focusing our energy on recruiting students for:
empowering mohawk students
We've been establishing our work culture through:
More Professional Development Opportunities
Mental Health Resources
Equity Sequence Training
Becoming Living Wage Certified
We are developing our work culture at the MSA through ensuring that our staff and Board of Directors have the tools and resources necessary to effectively do their jobs.
ESTABLISHING an MSA WORK CULTURE
We want all students to become active members of the MSA and part of that is ensuring we provide them with a safe place where they feel like they belong. Through our model of governance, we’re focused on increased representation and ownership.
ADVANCING EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We recruited board members with different student experiences from various campuses, such as:
The result?
These board members are students who come from diverse backgrounds, such as:
Moreover, these board members bring unique student perspectives from programs such as:
our 2020 - 2025 priorities
Weekly Student E-blasts
Strategic Social Media Planning
Street Team Engagement (In-Person Invitations)
Student Hiring Fair (In-Person Invitation)
Student Staff Positions
Elections (MSA Board of Directors)
AMM (Annual Meeting of the Members)
We’ve been accomplishing this goal through more omni-channel messaging, such as:
IAHS
Stoney Creek
triOS
Airport
Fennell
Six Nations Polytechnic
International
Indigenous
People of colour
Mature
Parents
Neurodiverse (ADHD, ASD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders)
Marketing
Social Work
Nursing
Aviation
budget directive
The MSA Board of Directors oversees everything we do as a student association. If they see a need within the student population, the board addresses it by creating budget directives for the MSA operations to follow. These directives help us focus our attention and resources, like our budget, on the most important priorities for students during the 2022-2023 year.
How we use our resources to address student needs
We’ve grown as an organization to recognize the importance of our full-time and part-time student staff making a living wage to cover their basic expenses. That’s why the MSA is Living Wage Certified, meaning the wage we pay our employees reflects their community’s financial cost of living.
more resources towards student staffing AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
It’s common knowledge how we function depends on both our mental and physical well-being. That’s one of the reasons you pay for health insurance in your fees to the MSA; we want you to feel secure in case of the unexpected because you have a safety net from our provider, Studentcare.
more SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
2022-2023 accomplishments
SATELLITE CAMPUSES
Through the years, we’ve wanted students at the Institude of Applied Health Sciences (IAHS) and Stoney Creek campuses to access some of our support and services without travelling to Fennell Campus. So, we hired two full-time Student Service Coordinators to work at each campus:
IAHS – Emma He
Stoney Creek – Dorthan Bruce
EQUITY FOR ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES
Comms & Engagement
Clubs & Communities
Student Services
Events
Food Experience
Your Board Approved the Cost of Empower Me, Without Raising Student Fees.
The MSA approved a pilot for two programs offered through the Dialogue App, hosted through Studentcare. These include Conversation (a mental health support tool) and Virtual Health Care.
Over the course of the 2022-2023 year, projected usage for the Health and Dental Plan included:
Show me!
An ongoing goal within the MSA has been to offer opportunities to our student staff that help them grow professionally. That’s why we created a growth plan for our current part-time student staff and opened student leadership positions in the following departments:
STUDENT LEADERS AT THE MSA
Communications & Engagement
Clubs & Communities
Student Services
Events
Food Experience
Health Claims: $656,502
Dental Claims: $818,275
Modernizing practices and aligning services to an increasingly digital user base supports hybrid models
Suspend or limit funds outside of student staffing not utilized for in-person activities within the last two years
Support Strategic Plan Initiatives
Food & beverage for student engagement vs. revenue generation
Other Budget Directives Approved by the Board
VIEW FULL REPORT
Your MSA President
Why We Exist
Strategic Plan in Motion
Student Advocacy
Food Experience
Communications to Members & Engagement
Financial Report
Major Contributions
Student Services
Events, Clubs & Communities
Table of contents
Student Services
Converting into a hybrid mood. From staffing to events, health, and workshops. A virtual model was introduced to keep up with the advancing digitally prone student lifestyle. During the Fiscal 2022-2023, the MSA student services empowered students financially through food security, equipment loans, and student staffing.
Every New College year comes with overwhelming questions, and MSA Student Services is determined to answer each one of them!
2022-2023 Fiscal Year:
Our Main Attractions for Students
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, we focused on a plan that aligns with students’ priorities. As our target audience and student type are different in Fennell, Stoney Creek and IAHS campuses of Mohawk College, our attraction plan for each campus differed slightly.
Click the buttons below to see what we did at the different campuses!
Fennell Campus
stoney creek Campus
iahs Campus
15,071
Fennell campus encompasses the largest resources for the MSA, being one of the busiest locations among all campuses; we focused on areas that attracted the most students. Presto bus pass, health and dental and food security services were the most prevalent MSA services for the year 2022-2023.
Riders accessed MSA Presto bus pass between 2022-2023
1,251,126
Recorded bus rides at all campuses
MSA Front Desk Employee Paint a Welcoming Picture for New & Returning International Students.
The MSA backs the idea to foster a sense of belonging in you. The best way we see it happening is to speak your language and make Mohawk home for you.
Students in general conversation or coming to the MSA more than once love the service they receive from our student. We have a diverse front desk staff fluent in four different languages. One of our Spanish speaking staff created a safe and inviting space mainly for those who speak her language and international students.
Our front desk staff is the main reason students engage and learn about MSA services. Through students’ engagement, we understand their needs and target facilities accordingly. Career closet and Legal counselling allow students to take professional advice from experts. International students highly appreciate this service.
Student Service Assistants at Fennell worked 230 hours per month on average.
accessed career closet for their interviews.
39 students
recorded for legal services.
679 total uses
Our student coordinator at the Stoney Creek campus, efficiently engaged with each student to assess their needs and worked with staff to address them through the MSA services, information delivery and events. Collectively, we understood Stoney Creek students’ struggles and initiated programs such as food security events, breakfast program, and Community Fridge launch.
The breakfast program was a hit with Stoney Creek students. The program provided students with fresh breakfast on the go so they could learn in early morning classes on full stomachs.
Stoney Creek student advisors engaged in conversations with many students at the campus. Students found the interaction method fascinating and shared their stories.
Community Fridge initiative was another success story of the 2022-23 fiscal year, which became a reality after student conversations about rising inflation, loss of jobs, and food insecurity.
The MSA Community Fridge is a shared, open-access refrigerator available to all campus community members. It serves as a hub for individuals to donate and collect food, creating a supportive and sustainable system for combating food insecurity.
~82%
International students helped
Student Service Assistants at Stoney Creek worked 133 hours per month on average.
Students accessed the Community Fridge
278
78%
217 students fed
22%
61 student couples and families fed
IAHS campus has majority of Nursing and Allied Health students. Their programs are highly competitive. Due to which students expressed burnouts. MSA heard their stories and provided health services and workshops like:
Identifying and dealing with burnout.
Health and Dental information.
Dialogue app information.
Wellness facilities available to student in Fennell and IAHS campus.
Student Service Assistants at IAHS worked 119 hours per month on average.
Mental Health Matters
The MSA initiated communication through Dialogue app, a free online mental and physical health application. Through Dialogue, students can have secure conversations with their specialists within their comfort zone.
Last fiscal year our target was: Digitalizing lifestyle, bringing health at your doorstep. So, if it's hard to get out of bed – we bring health to you.
703.1 hours
were recorded in virtual health counselling in the first five months
virtual doctor visits recorded through Dialogue app, primarily for ENT, food allergies, GI, and mental health concerns.
103 virtual doctor visits
in student opt-out rate
3%
reduction
Your MSA President
Why We Exist
Strategic Plan in Motion
Student Advocacy
Food Experience
Communications to Members & Engagement
Financial Report
Major Contributions
Student Services
Events, Clubs & Communities
Table of contents
Fennell
Stoney Creek
IAHS Campus
Airport Campus
campuses
MSA Events, clubs
& communities
The MSA considers every minor detail to make student life exciting. Hence, during Covid times, student leaders got involved and learned how students want their college life, returning after Covid. Seeing that students’ excitement is high, MSA leaders created social activities, shaping a year around student’s interests.
Mohawk Student's Association empower students and celebrates diversity .The Fiscal year 2022-2023, our focal point was celebrating diverse cultures through a passion for the game. The FIFA World Cup viewing party brought nations together and is the shining star of the Event’s team success. The MSA provided a safe space for international students to celebrate their homeland.
The Arnie became a celebratory home for international students away from home, bringing thousands to celebrate global unity over a two-week event.
Celebrating Diverse Cultures
4
sTUDENT aTTENDANCE
7000
eVENTS & pOP-UPS
75
Across all 4 campuses
Events/month
9
They say:
"Events & Experiences add pleasure to student life" MSA backs the notion!
As we emerged from the pandemic, we received a palpable enthusiasm for community celebrations, and students were eager to attend in-person events, leaving behind long-distance, virtual sessions.
iNTERNATIONAL Students' Experience is our prime concern
A student stopped our manager in the hallway to thank the team for putting on such a wonderful experience, and appreciated the fact that we were able to provide the soccer for all students to watch, as some students do not have that capability to do so within their student house or home.
- Mohawk College Student, in attendance at the World Cup Viewing Party (Fennell)
ON CAMPUS EVENTS
69
OFF CAMPUS TRIPS
6
We subsidized experiences at Canada’s Wonderland and Raptors games.
Why? Because every student should be able to enjoy these outings, regardless of their financial circumstances.
VR Club
Stoney Creek Student
Clubs & Communities
The MSA Clubs and Community caters to all Mohawk College students on an emotional level, adding value. Starting the year 2022-2023, the pandemic was ruling, the MSA’s 450+ clubs and communities members worked hybrid to consolidate 50+ smaller gatherings. Also, the MSA organized 15+ pop-up clubs in 2022-2023 fiscal year, bringing communities together whilst keeping social distance parameters into effect.
Result?
During fiscal year 2022-2023, C&C hired approx. 450 members, including social media team, street crew and back-office student staff.
You dont talk to bots but real humans
Similarity
Being part of several clubs and communities provides opportunities for students to make friends sharing similar passions.
Diversity
In case you want to learn a new skill to excel at your job. We have multiple diverse clubs.
Student Engagement
C&C provide a great sense of friendship, network building and skill development opportunities, all of which are tied to an overall empowering college experience.
The MSA Adding Value to Student Experience
CLUBS & COMMUNITIES
You might get along with students you attend daily class with, but what about thousands of others rushing through the busy college corridors & other campuses?
We believe Student Life is not just only about academic success, it is also about creating memorable experiences and meaningful connections. This is why the MSA made a safe space for sharing similarities to enhance student experiences.
Communities come together for a purpose based on a shared common identity, while clubs are built on shared interests. Over the years, Clubs and Communities (C&C) has been creating a safe space for students to establish a sense of community outside their subjects of study.
TO UNITE LIKE-MINDS ACROSS CAMPUS
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
POP-UP activities
15+
MEETINGS/SMALL GATHERINGS
50+
TRANSFORMING STUDENTS INTO FUTURE LEADERS
If you don’t want to be a follower – Be a leader instead!
In 2022- 2023 fiscal year the MSA clubs and community partnered with the Journalism program for their year-end assignment. For the project, every journalism student picked an active MSA club and/or community and featured an article in Ignite newspaper.
Your MSA President
Why We Exist
Strategic Plan in Motion
Student Advocacy
Food Experience
Communications to Members & Engagement
Financial Report
Major Contributions
Student Services
Events, Clubs & Communities
Table of contents
Financal Report
· Student Employment Opportunities
· The MSA Breakfast Program
· Health & Dental Insurance
· The MSA Food Bank
· Academic Appeals
· Legal Counselling
· Events
· Clubs & Communities
· Food Service Offerings
· Advocacy Initiatives
Click the red buttons to see some examples of where your funding goes at the MSA!
Our new ice machine helps us create over 10,000 smoothies per year for Mohawk students!
The MSA has been built by students for students, so without the financial contribution of your student fees, we would not be able to remain in operation or provide crucial resources like:
MSA General Fee: $215.20
HSR Bus Pass (U-Pass and Presto) Fee: $203.20
Health & Dental Fee: $191.57
Individual Full-Time Student Fees:
A portion of your MSA Programming, Services & Student Government Fee went into the MSA Operating Fund last year. We then used the operating fund to cover day-to-day business expenses, like employee salaries, initiatives, events, and student activities.
MSA Operating Funds
The MSA uses a Straight-line method of Amortization that spreads the estimated cost of an item over how long it will be useful or its expected lifetime. Booster Juice had to replace its ice machine last year for $5,915.00 after it was used to make roughly 47,000.00 smoothies in its lifetime.
Only one leasehold improvement was completed in the 2022-23 fiscal year, amounting to $16, 530.00 which was the renovation of office space for the Director and Student Experience Team in room G110.
The Cost of Time
The MSA earned $7,583,790 in revenue from 2022 – 2023. After subtracting expenses of $7,345,888, we ended the year with a net income of $237,902.
Summary
chart Two
Chart One
· Legal Counselling
· Events
· Clubs & Communities
· Food Service Offerings
· Advocacy Initiatives
VIEW FULL REPORT
For a full fee breakdown, view the full report below.
Administration
Governance & Advocacy
Student Services
Communications
Programming
Food Services
Throughout most of 2022, the Bank of Canada started to raise interest rates significantly to combat inflation quickly. As a result, we earned $303,332.00 in interest on our cash deposits compared to the previous year, when we made $56,000.00. The MSA used this amount to enhance and support the growing needs of its business.
How We (the MSA) Grow Your Student Funds!
Click to hear Michael explain operating funds
Your MSA President
Why We Exist
Strategic Plan in Motion
Student Advocacy
Food Experience
Communications to Members & Engagement
Financial Report
Major Contributions
Student Services
Events, Clubs & Communities
Table of contents