The UOIT Board of Governors (BoG) make decisions that affect students, faculty, staff and the community in a big way. They set tuition fees, decide admission standards, approve the school’s annual budget, hire and fire staff and faculty, and much more.

Now they want to make those decisions behind closed doors without our knowledge or input. They recently passed a policy that makes more of their meetings private, in-camera sessions. The policy also requires five days advance notice from anyone planning to attend a BoG meeting and 10 days advance notice for anyone wishing to speak on an issue. However, they only release their agendas seven days before a meeting. 

The governing body of any public institution has a fundamental responsibility to remain accountable to its stakeholders. The UOIT BoG should be moving toward more openness and transparency, not away from it. We, The Student Association at Durham College & UOIT, want to keep the UOIT BoG accountable to all of us by allowing consultation and discussion from the people their decisions affect.