News Article

Atlantic student services conference held at college campus


6/24/2008 9:17:47 AM


Delegates to the AACUSS Conference were greeted by Jade, a 7-month-old Newfoundland dog.


Christine Burke, left, was presented with the prestigious AACUSS Award of Merit for achievement and contribution to the development of student services in the Atlantic region. Presenting Burke with the award is Bilynda Whiting, AACUSS President.

College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Prince Philip Drive campus in St. John’s was bustling on Saturday, June 21, as more than 80 delegates took part in the 33rd annual Atlantic Association of College and University Student Services (AACUSS) conference.

The college partnered with Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) to host both the Atlantic and Canadian (CACUSS) student services conferences.

Delegates of the one-day Atlantic conference were greeted by a pair of Newfoundland dogs during registration and business got underway just after dinner with a number of concurrent sessions.

Sessions included: Student Peer Health Educators – For you, about you, by you…, with presenter Terry-Lynne King, a nurse/educator with the Student Health Centre at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Saint John. The presentation focused on UNB Saint John’s Peer Health Education program (which has been running for the past two years) through which health educators provide information to help students make healthy lifestyle choices and effectively use community and university resources.

Another session – Y Gens – Who are they and what do they expect from us? – was presented by Dr. Donna Hardy Cox, a member of the Social Work and Education faculty with MUN. This session explored the question of what the new generation of students expect from post-secondary institutions, and what the institutions can deliver.

Your Child is our Client: A SAAS Professionals’ Guide to Helping Parents Let Go, was the name of a session delivered by Oonagh Holmes, coordinator of Reunions and Events with Acadia University, Darren Newton, Resident Life Officer with MUN, and Dana Aylward, Employment Development Coordinator with MUN. This session focused on providing tips and strategies for managing parents, who are increasingly becoming more involved in their children’s academic and professional lives.

The final concurrent session was entitled Navigating Borders: A Q & A with Immigration Canada, and was delivered by Paul Snow, Manager of Operations with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In this session, Mr. Snow answered questions about study and work permits, and many other questions raised regarding international students coming to this country.

The remainder of the afternoon was devoted to Divisional Meetings where like-groups were given an opportunity to discuss common issues.

The conference closed with an awards banquet where, fittingly, most of the awards were won by the host university Memorial, including the prestigious Award of Merit which was presented to MUN’s Christine Burke.

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For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Manager of Marketing and Communications
College of the North Atlantic
Email: stephen.lee@cna.nl.ca