NAITSA E-News April Edition

Monday, April 5, 2010

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NAITSA E-News April Edition: U-Pass results, Empty the Nest and more!

The NAITSA office is located at E-131 Main Campus, and is open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday.

U-Pass passes by 68% of the vote

The NAIT Students' Association conducted a referendum on the Universal Transit Pass program at NAIT, from March 19-25. This is a program that has previously run at both U of A and MacEwan, but never at NAIT. Opinions were strong on either side of the U-Pass issue, and we saw lively debates online, in The Nugget, and even between students in the halls. The final result was that NAIT students have voted 68% in favour of the U-Pass, with a total turnout of 2012 voters. The threshold for passage of the referendum is two-thirds of students who vote, or 66.6%. Further details regarding the administration of the U-Pass will be released closer to the 2010/2011 school year. www.naitsa.ca/upass

What is U-Pass?

U-Pass stands for "Universal Transit Pass."
It is a mandatory transit program for full-time post-secondary students, granting access to ETS, Strathcona County Transit and St. Albert Transit.
All students enrolled in participating post-secondary institutions are automatically charged a U-Pass fee every semester.
These students display a U-Pass sticker on their student ID card, which will be issued by the institution only.

How much does U-Pass cost?

For the new contract term, the cost will begin at $110 per semester in 2010/11, grow to $125 per semester in 2011/12, and end at $140 per semester in 2012/13, which represents an increase of 40% in 3 years.
U-Pass offers significant savings for students who take transit, as the cost of four regular student monthly transit passes in 2009/10 totals $270.

Who does the U-Pass affect?

Every full-time NAIT student, with "full-time student" being defined as a certificate or diploma student taking 150 hours or more OR a degree student taking 3 classes or more.
Apprentices and con-ed students are not included in the program and therefore will not be assessed the fee and will not get a U-Pass sticker.
Those students with a valid CNIB/DATS registration card, full-time students taking their practicum outside of the area serviced by ETS, St. Albert Transit and Strathcona County Transit, and students working for transit services will be able to get a refund when they show proof of their applicable circumstances.

How was the U-Pass decision made?

Over the past two years, surveys were conducted with NAIT students to determine U-Pass interest and expectations, which resulted in 86% of respondents replying in favour of pursuing the U-Pass for NAIT students. Because of the number of NAIT students who were interested in the U-Pass program, NAITSA participated in over a year’s worth of meetings between the City of Edmonton, ETS, the U of A SU, and the MacEwan SA, which resulted in a new U-Pass contract being negotiated, including the decision that an overwhelming majority (more than 66.6%) must be met in order for the U-Pass to go ahead at NAIT.

Voting for the U-Pass referendum was open online for a full week, 24 hours a day, with one day of on campus poll stations in various locations across campus for those without computer access (with the added intent of drawing attention to the referendum). Email notifications were sent to all eligible student voters, totaling over 13,000 Ookmail/contact email addresses provided by NAIT.

Finally, 2012 NAIT students voted in the referendum, a higher voter turn-out than for any other referendum or election in NAITSA recent record. 68% of these voters voted “yes” for the U-Pass, meaning that it passed with over the desired overwhelming majority.

Voter turnout was phenomenal, and the results were overwhelmingly in favour of the U-Pass. Because of this successful turnout, we’ve been receiving requests for how the U-Pass campaign was promoted. All NAITSA-created promotional material was up for over a month before the referendum, and referred people to our web page or office for further information. Our materials included:

www.naitsa.ca/upass website created with further information regarding service, our site had over 10,000 visitors during the month preceding the election
30 2´x3´ posters posted throughout campus including all large format posters stands
60 medium format posters posted on bulletin boards throughout campus
5000 handbills distributed through: NAITSA Office, The Nest, Common Market, Fresh Express, Bookstore, Athletics kiosk, Registrars Office, Cash Office, Health and Dental Office
3 weeks of full page/full colour ads in The Nugget and several articles by students were written regarding the program
Student Portal and Staff portal postings kept up throughout informational campaign
NAITSA Twitter and Facebook pages provided ongoing information regarding referendum
Notification of referendum sent to over 13,000 eligible student voter email addresses throughout voting period
Forum U-pass category opened with FAQ´s and Yes/No campaign threads
$1000 promotional material allowance provided to both No and Yes campaigns
Students requesting further info on either side of campaign directed to ensure to vote, and to contact the No/Yes campaign leaders to help out

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Empty the Nest!

Social Code, Wheatmonkeys, and our Last Band Standing winners The Apresnos will grace the Nest stage on April 9th for our annual end of the year party: Empty the Nest!

If that line-up isn’t enough to grab your attention, how do you feel about over $4000 worth in prizes? If you get called up on stage, you could try your luck at winning “THIS OR THAT,” meaning either a night at a swanky hotel OR a tent! A $250 grocery gift certificate, OR a flat of KD! A brand new laptop computer OR a coil-bound notebook! All that and much, much more will be given away to our lucky and not-so-lucky winners!

With the addition of $3.00 beer and a Nest packed full of JD Girls and NAIT students, you’re practically MAKING money when you buy your $10.00 ticket! Stop by The Nest or the NAITSA office today to pick one up, and visit www.naitsa.ca for more information on the artists and prizes! Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today!