Governance
Council Elections
The Athabasca University Graduate Students’ Association is governed by the GSA Council, consisting of three Executive Committee members and eight Student Council Representatives, two from each faculty. Each year, the GSA holds official elections for Council positions in January through March.
Interested in running for an elected Council position but still aren't quite sure if its for you? Please join us for a Q&A Session on January 13th at 11:00 AM MT.
AUGSA also has elected positions for representing academically employed graduate students. Elections for the Labour Relations Representative (Chair) and Labour Committee Members take place following the same timeline outlined below as the Council elections. For more information on these elected positions, click the button below.
2025 Elections Timeline
AUGSA Executive Committee & Labour Relations Representative
- Friday, January 31st - February 7th: Accepting Nominations
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Saturday, February 8th - 12th: Candidate Preparation
- Candidate Meetings: TBD
- Thursday, February 13th - 19th: Candidate Campaign
- Tuesday, February 18th & 19th: Online Voting
AUGSA Council & Labour Relations Committee
- Friday, February 21st - 28th: Accepting Nominations
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Saturday, March 1st - 5th: Candidate Preparation
- Candidate Meetings: TBD
- Thursday, March 6th - 12th: Candidate Campaign
- Tuesday, March 11th & 12th: Online Voting
AUGSA has three (3) Executive Committee members:
- President
- Vice-President Academic
- Vice-President External
AUGSA has eight (8) Council members. This includes two Council Members per faculty:
- Two (2) Council Members from Faculty of Science and Technology
- Two (2) Council Members from Faculty of Health Disciplines
- Two (2) Council Members from Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Two (2) Council Members from Faculty of Business
Please ensure to read the role descriptions below prior to running in the AUGSA Council election. You can also review AUGSAs bylaws and policies for additional information on the roles and responsibilities of each position as well as election rules that govern the elections process. To view the remuneration associated to the elected positions, please review the Council Remuneration Policy.
Role Descriptions
*AUGSA also has elected positions for academically employed graduate students. To view the role descriptions, please click here.
- All Graduate Students are eligible to run in the AUGSA Elections.
- You must reside in Canada and be an *active member of the Association for the duration of the term (May 1 to April 31).
- All Council members must be *active members in good standing, successfully complete at least three (3) University graduate credits during their term in office and may not academically withdraw during their term.
- Students who are not in course-based programs and do not fulfill the three-credit requirement can participate/remain as a Council member if they get prior approval from a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of Council. These students must remain in a graduate program and be actively paying program fees.
- Permanent full-time Athabasca University staff are not eligible to run for Council Member positions.
*Active members of the association includes all graduate students, program and non-program, at the University who are in good standing.