OSA Issue Choosing Process
Could your idea become a future piece of legislation that betters the lives of students in Oregon?
OSA Statewide Survey
The OSA Statewide Survey is administered to students across Oregon’s colleges and universities. The results of this survey are highly influential to setting OSA’s policy agenda for the 2025 Legislative Session.
The OSA Statewide Survey Campaign asks students to rank issues from least pressing to most pressing. By understanding how students prioritize these issues, OSA gains a better understanding of what matters most to the student body. What issues do you want OSA to prioritize?
How does the Issue Choosing Process work?
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Part 1: Issue Brief Open Submission
October 2023 - January 2024
Do you know the potential solution to a pressing student issue in Oregon? In order for OSA to take on a student’s issue as an organizational priority, students will need to complete an OSA Issue Brief template to concisely articulate and persuade their fellow students of the problem, solution, and action.
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Part 2: Issue Brief Deadline
January 12th, 2024 by 5 PM
Upon submission, your issue brief will be reviewed by a council of students from across Oregon’s colleges and universities who lead and support OSA’s legislative advocacy. The council will be tasked with reviewing all issue briefs and selecting which issue briefs will be on the OSA Statewide Survey Campaign.
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Part 3: OSA Survey Campaign
February 2024 - May 2024
The OSA Statewide Survey Campaign is a survey that is administered to students across all of Oregon’s colleges and universities. Students are asked to rank issues from most pressing to least pressing. The results of the survey are highly influential to setting OSA’s policy agenda for the 2025 Legislative Session.
Student Issue Brief Report
This report is a collection of OSA Issue Briefs that were completed by students across Oregon in preparation of Oregon’s 2025 Legislative Session. These briefs not only reflect the diverse perspectives and concerns of the student body but also guide OSA's legislative advocacy efforts towards effecting positive change on behalf of Oregon's students.
While issue briefs serve as a crucial tool in shaping OSA’s legislative advocacy, it's important to note that the process doesn't guarantee that every identified issue will translate into actual legislation. Rather, this process informs OSA about the key issues affecting students, enabling the organization to strategize and assess whether legislative action is both feasible and necessary in the future.
What is an OSA Issue Brief?
An OSA Issue Brief describes an issue you would like the Oregon Student Association to prioritize solving over the next 2 years. If you would like OSA to take your issue on as an organizational priority you will need to concisely articulate and persuade your fellow students of the problem, solution, and action.
OSA is a student-led organization that makes real change in the lives of students across Oregon. OSA is not interested in compiling a list of problems without any idea of how to solve them. You are in the driver’s seat. What will your statewide organization’s priority issues be in the next legislative session?
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Research and think critically about the most pressing issues and barriers facing college and university students in Oregon and nationwide.
It all begins with an idea. Not sure where to start? Check out these resources for sparking inspiration:
Final Report and Recommendations from the Joint Task Force on Student Success for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education (December 2022)
OSA End-of-Session Report - 2023 Legislative Session. See section “Unfinished Business.” (July 2023)
Further reading:
Cost of College Over Time: Rising Tuition Statistics (January 2023)
For First Time, U.S. Releases Data on Student Basic Needs (August 2023)
The Mental Health Crisis on College Campuses (March 2023)
16 Ways That Universities And Colleges Can Prevent Violence Against Women And Support Survivors (November 2019)
Oregon’s Affordable Housing Crisis a Challenge For College Students Too (May 2021)
The High Cost of College Textbooks, Explained (March 2019)
Step 2: Fill out the OSA Issue Brief Template
An OSA Issue Brief describes an issue you would like the Oregon Student Association to prioritize solving over the next 2 years. If you would like OSA to take your issue on as an organizational priority you will need to concisely articulate and persuade your fellow students of the problem, solution, and action.
Students may complete issue briefs individually or as teams — cross-campus collaboration is encouraged! Students are welcome to submit multiple issue briefs. If you plan to submit an issue brief, please take two minutes to fill out this interest form.
Click here for the OSA Issue Brief Template. Follow the instructions within the document to complete the brief.
Need help completing your issue brief? Reach out to any OSA Staff for support.
Step 3: Submit your OSA Issue Brief to the OSA Council of Legislative Advocates
All OSA Issue Briefs are due by 5 PM on January 12th, 2024. To submit issue briefs, students should email a editable copy of the brief to the OSA Legislative Director Nick Keough (nick@orstudents.org) with the subject line “Issue Brief (YOUR NAME).”
Upon submission, your issue brief will be reviewed by the OSA Council of Legislative Advocates, which is a council of students from across Oregon’s colleges and universities who lead and support OSA’s legislative advocacy. The council will be tasked with reviewing all issue briefs and selecting which issue briefs will be on the OSA Statewide Survey Campaign in Winter and Spring Term of 2024.
Step 4: Get Ready for the OSA Statewide Survey Campaign in Winter and Spring Term of 2024!
The OSA Statewide Survey Campaign is a survey that is administered to students across all of Oregon’s colleges and universities. Students are asked to rank issues from most pressing to least pressing. The results of the survey are highly influential to setting OSA’s policy agenda for the 2025 Legislative Session. In other words, your idea could become a piece of legislation that betters the lives of students in Oregon!
If you have any questions about the OSA Issue Choosing Process or need support in completing an issue brief, please contact OSA’s Legislative Director, Nick Keough, at nick@orstudents.org. Happy Issue Choosing Season!
