What We Do

The Alberta Students’ Executive Council (ASEC) is a provincial advocacy organization which represents the interests of more than 110,000 students from 17 post-secondary institutions across Alberta. We are a place where students learn, lead, and work together to create innovative solutions for Alberta’s post-secondary sector.

Federally, ASEC is a founding member of the Federal Student Advocacy Alliance (FSAA). A national coalition of more than 281,000 students at 33 universities, colleges, and institutes in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan. Together we work to provide Western Canadian students with a unified voice to influence national change.
To learn more about the FSAA click here to visit our website

ASEC works with student leaders and post-secondary stakeholders to create solutions for the issues students face everyday, and we bring these solutions directly to the policymakers and legislators in Alberta, and across Canada.

Advocacy

ASEC advocacy is evidence and experience based. At the goalsetting conference, student leaders create a comprehensive list of their concerns from personal experience- from the rising cost of textbooks and transportation issues to mental health supports, nothing is left off the list. From there, the student leaders decide which concerns will become the next year’s advocacy priorities. The priorities are then researched by the staff team, who will use the results of the research to develop policy recommendation for the government, the respective institutions, or other stakeholders. The resulting policy recommendations are approved by the Board of Directors.

Our approach is to develop practical, solutions-based policy recommendations that serve all of Alberta’s students, that present a benefit to the province, and appeal to the stakeholders we approach.

Practically, ASEC staff and board members meet with members of the post-secondary community and government representative on a regular basis. This allows for the maintenance of ongoing, working relationships so that once a year, ASEC delegates build on these relationships and represent the advocacy priorities in-person at the Advocacy Week conference.

Professional Development

ASEC offers professional development opportunities at our AGM conference. The AGM is the last in-person conference of the academic year, so ASEC offers the student leaders workshops on professional development such as resume writing, interviewing skills, and networking. Lastly, they’re given presentations from former student leaders on life after student leadership. Preparing the ASEC Alumni for their careers is an ongoing priority for the organization, and the ASEC alumni network gets stronger every year because of it!

Networking

ASEC prioritizes connecting student leaders to the government representatives and post-secondary stakeholders from their own communities. This approach gives the student leaders the opportunity to meet colleagues, learn about their own community, and develop connections.

Additionally, ASEC has the advantage of four in-person conferences a year, which connect students from across Alberta. ASEC student leaders have built these relationships over the year or two they are engaged as leaders, and they can continue to do so through the ASEC alumni network in a way that supports future leaders.