January 2011
134 posts
5 tags
Chris Anderson speaks at Mount Royal University on...
I was fortunate last night to check out a talk by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, at Mount Royal University.
As part of their Legacy of Ideas series, Mount Royal is bringing in a bunch of big-name speakers like Anderson and Malcolm Gladwell. I highly recommend you check this series out, since each speaker is at the forefront of ideas that are quickly changing how we live...
5 tags
More choices can change lives
Redressing the rural-urban divide in advanced education will take more than just offering financial support
As a result of their educational choices, rural Canadians face the increased likelihood of lives marred by lengthy bouts of unemployment and poverty.
A recent report from the C.D. Howe Institute described youth in rural areas and small towns as “culturally segregated from urban...
6 tags
5 tags
Majority of Ottawa residents polled believe...
According to a new poll of Ottawa region residents, 55% of respondents think tuition has risen to unacceptable levels, while 65% believe the current Ontario government has not performed any better than the previous government in terms of the PSE system. Of those polled, 39% believe universities should have more freedom in the way they are managed, while 12% think the government should be more...
6 tags
uAlberta suspends frat for 5 years over hazing...
Following a 3-month investigation into hazing activity at the University of Alberta’s Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity chapter, the university’s dean of students announced yesterday the frat has been suspended as a student group for 5 years. The suspension means DKE cannot use uAlberta’s name or insignia, use the university’s liquor or gaming licenses, or rent...
9 tags
SFU students, staff protest Goldcorp donation
A group of Simon Fraser University students and staff held a rally yesterday afternoon coinciding with a board of governors meeting in a move following what organizers claim were failed attempts to have the board listen to their concerns over SFU accepting a $10-million donation from Goldcorp. On its website, the SFU Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) states that the board’s...
3 tags
uToronto offers retirement incentive to profs over...
The University of Toronto is offering a buyout worth a year’s salary to about 500 faculty members and librarians 60 and older and with 10 years of service — a fifth of the faculty association’s total membership — if they choose to retire this year. A uToronto vice-president says the package’s goal was neither to cut costs nor reduce faculty, but rather to...
5 tags
6 tags
7 tags
6 tags
4 tags
Why Finland's schools are the best in the West
In what’s often called the real world, successful businesses are those that encourage their best employees, respond effectively to their clients needs and invest continually in their programs and infrastructure.
But does the same hold true when we talk about public education and substitute students for clients and teachers for employees?
As far as I’m concerned, yes. But...
4 tags
Quick Facts on Accessibility
-70% of all new jobs require some form of higher education
-For every dollar invested into higher education, there is a four dollar return into the economy
-Students with university educated parents are 3/5 times more likely to go onto university compared to students whose parents had a high school education
-The proportion of Aboriginal students completing high school is only 60%, the same as the...
3 tags
Education won’t create more jobs
…Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his band of brothers set out Wednesday to peddle the merits of “tax relief for job creators,” while Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced his pledge to roll back corporate tax breaks to 2010 levels if elected and instead invest in education. “We think the way to create jobs is invest in post-secondary education and help small and medium enterprises...
5 tags
5 tags
7 tags
Proposal lauds social justice centre
A new social justice centre at the University of Saskatchewan would help fight poverty and racial discrimination while promoting environmental and human rights in Saskatoon and around the world.
A University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) proposal says the centre would act as an umbrella organization for like-minded student groups on campus such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and...
5 tags
Fall Reading Week debate goes national
A number of Canadian universities are now toying with the idea of instituting a reading week during the fall semester in order to improve the student experience.
Although the change has not been without resistance at some institutions, the overwhelming majority of feedback regarding the implementation of the week-long break has been positive.
The student senate at Ryerson University passed a...
4 tags
New bill would give students textbook tax break
A break could be on the way if a bill before the House gains approval by state legislators. Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, has authored HB 455, which would exempt university and college students from sales tax on books purchased at the beginning of the spring and fall semesters.
“That sounds like a great idea,” said anthropology junior Nicholas Locke. “I generally wait until after class...
3 tags
US foundation releases framework for measuring...
On Tuesday, Indiana-based Lumina Foundation for Education unveiled a suggested national framework for defining the knowledge and skills students need to acquire before earning an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree. Called the Degree Qualifications Profile, the framework outlines reference points for what students should be learning and demonstrating at each...
5 tags
5 tags
4 tags
4 tags
Ryerson searches for name donor for Maple Leaf...
Ryerson University’s student paper reports that senior administration is well into discussions with an unnamed party for the naming rights to Maple Leaf Gardens, which the university acquired in the fall of 2009 for use as an athletic centre. Since the acquisition, Ryerson has been searching for an individual or a company to purchase the building’s naming rights. Although the...
6 tags
uAlberta grad student files human rights complaint...
The University of Alberta’s student newspaper reports that a graduate student has filed a human rights complaint against the institution’s cell biology department for unfair treatment after he complained about a faculty member whom he alleges made racist comments. After going to the graduate co-ordinator and department chair with his concerns, the student says he was asked by...
5 tags
Immigrant children more likely than Canadian-born...
According to a new Statistics Canada paper, immigrants who came to Canada at age 12 or younger were more likely than their Canadian-born peers to obtain a university education by age 25 to 34. This difference increased successively from those who arrived in the 1960s to those who came in the 1980s. Among male immigrant children who came in the 1980s, nearly 32% held a university degree by...
3 tags
uAlberta interested in "university village" in...
The University of Alberta’s provost says the institution is keen on The Katz Group’s idea of a “university village” in Edmonton’s downtown core that could include NAIT, Grant MacEwan University, and other institutions. The Katz Group has plans to develop a new downtown entertainment and sports district, and has had talks with the city’s major...
5 tags
Meritus U to close
Meritus University, a Fredericton-based online institution owned and operated by Apollo Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, announced Monday it is no longer accepting new students, will discontinue offering new courses for current students, and the last day of classes will be March 14. In a statement, the university says “there is a high risk that enrolment will...
5 tags
Education Notebook: B.C. identifies 45 suspected...
British Columbia has identified 45 private post-secondary schools suspected of operating illegally within the province…
…The government says it created the list to help students make informed decisions about where they want to study. “We’re the first jurisdiction in Canada to do this, but it is common practice in the U.S.,” said a spokeswoman for the Regional...
9 tags
4 tags
4 tags
uSask facing $617 million in deferred maintenance
The repair of 50-year-old cast-iron pipes of a campus swimming pool is one of dozens of projects the University of Saskatchewan has identified on its deferred maintenance list, a compendium of $617 million worth of required replacements or renovations. “We’re on borrowed time,” says one uSask official. “There’s no way we can continue in this fragile ...
9 tags
Access Copyright, universities remain at odds...
After failing to come to terms with post-secondary institutions over a proposed licencing agreement, Access Copyright remains at odds with Canadian universities and colleges over how to compensate creators for the use of their works in libraries and lecture halls across the country.
The dispute stems from last spring, when Access Copyright filed a proposed tariff with the Copyright Board of...
13 tags
5 tags
Secondary suites boost value of homes and...
Re: “Suite City will become second class, Ric McIver, Opinion, Jan. 18.
Ric McIver’s column is contradictory. His argument might have held water in the 1980s, but not in the Calgary we live in today. Like he did in the panicked final days of his failed mayoralty campaign, McIver is asserting that allowing secondary suites will destroy single family neighbourhoods. Nothing could be...
3 tags
6 tags
4 tags
Province unveils loan relief
No payments or interest for six months is the usual sales pitch for furniture, electronics and appliance stores.
Now it can be also applied to post-secondary students on the Ontario Student Assistance Plan, who now won’t have to make any payments or incur interest on their student loans for the six months after graduation.
“That was probably the No. 1 issue with students and...
6 tags
Ontarians want PSE system open to the world, poll...
According to a new study, 54% of Ontarians polled believe it is important that provincial post-secondary institutions reach out to the world and attract more international students to come and study in the province. In an apparent contradiction, 58% of respondents also feel that the primary focus should be on offering programs to students here at home. 65% believe it is important to attract...
4 tags
4 tags
5 tags
uManitoba did not "muzzle" math prof in PhD...
A Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench judge said Thursday the University of Manitoba did not “muzzle” math professor Gábor Lukács over academic integrity. The judge reserved her decision on the key issue before her — whether the professor had the legal right to sue uManitoba in order to rescind a PhD awarded to a math student who had twice failed a crucial comprehensive...
3 tags
New book argues US institutions failing at...
A book released Tuesday suggests that for many students, 4 years of undergraduate classes make little difference in their ability to synthesize knowledge and put complex ideas to paper. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses cites data from student surveys and transcript analyses to show that many students have minimal classwork expectations, and then tracks the academic...
4 tags
Langara College Launches Contest to Hatch a New...
The Langara Falcons, one of Canada’s most successful collegiate sports teams, is on the hunt for a new logo to represent its athletic department, following a recent college-wide rebrand. Students, professional graphic designers, and artists are all invited to submit their best creations by March 1, 2011. Winner will receive $1,000 towards Langara tuition or an Apple iPad.
6 tags
6 tags
City hall needs shakeup
…After 30 years, Calgarians are just now realizing that there is no real LRT plan.
The west side LRT does not serve Mount Royal University, but does serve an area where there is no industrial centre.
The previous mayor just happens to own two pieces of land on the designated line.
By contrast, instead of providing additional LRT for the the east side, where most industrial...
6 tags
4 tags
3 tags
Report provides outlook for online learning in...
Despite systemic barriers to online and distance education, including faculty resistance, lack of training in teaching, and lack of a system-wide approach, there is plenty of opportunity for growth and development in online learning, says a new report from Contact North, Ontario’s distance education and training network. Some of the key developments anticipated this year include course...
5 tags
RDC seeking more degree completion options to end...
Red Deer College president Joel Ward wants to stop a “brain drain” at the college, which loses 2,600 university transfer students a year to other institutions. If RDC can add more degree completion programs, Ward is optimistic that half of those students now leaving will choose to stay at the college. Ward says RDC is continually working with the Alberta government and other...