February 2012
75 posts
UK undergraduate course offerings cut by 27% over...
New research shows that British university students had fewer choices when selecting courses in 2012 than they did in 2006. According to the Universities and Colleges Union, there were 70,052 undergraduate courses in 2006, but only 51,116 in 2012. The reduction was most severe in England, at 31%, where students have faced dramatic increases in tuition, compared to a decline of only 3% in...
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SMU "Living Learning" Facebook contest offers...
Last month, Saint Mary’s University in Halifax launched the “Living Learning” contest with a Facebook game app that served up information about learning opportunities, both in and out of class, and concluded with a mock newspaper featuring the player’s profile picture and a headline about their future achievements. 3,700 contestants in the game were entered into a draw,...
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University profs up in arms over copyright deal
A copyright licensing agency says concerns about its controversial new agreement with the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario are “unfounded and unjustified.”
Access Copyright collects royalties for course packs, anthologies of readings from books and journals compiled by professors. Under the agreement, the fee has been changed from $3.83 plus 10 cents a page to a ...
Government of Canada Invests to Help Youth Get...
The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today kicked-off nation-wide events to highlight that the Government of Canada is taking action to ensure that youth have the skills and training they need to be successful in the workforce.
“Our government’s top priority is creating jobs and economic growth,” said Minister Finley. “Youth...
Government paper suggests post-secondary schooling...
Ontario universities need to cut undergraduate degrees from four to three years, offer classes year-round and allow students to earn more than half their credits online, says a government paper obtained by the Toronto Star.
The proposals would get students through university or college cheaper and faster — the report says college diplomas should be two years at most — while still offering...
Ontario universities urged to move more classes...
Canadian Federation of Students not a fan of having up to 3 of 5 courses online
A report before the Ontario government is calling for universities and colleges to move a third of their courses online — a proposal that’s received a failing grade from a prominent students’ organization.
The draft report obtained by The Canadian Press calls for a shift toward web-based learning...
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Few men studying abroad
Few men studying abroad: In the 2009-10 academic year, women accounted for close to two-thirds of 270,600 US students studying abroad, while the proportion of men going overseas has remained the same for over 2 decades. Some people attribute the trend to the predominance of women majoring in the fine arts, foreign languages, and other humanities heavily represented in study-abroad programs,...
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Student numbers worldwide projected to reach 262...
The number of students around the world enrolled in PSE is forecast to more than double to 262 million by 2025, reports University World News. Nearly all of this growth will be in the developing world, with more than half in India and China alone. The number of students seeking study abroad could increase to 8 million — almost 3 times more than today. In an essay published in the new...
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Conference Board report examines educational...
Anew Conference Board of Canada report observes that communities in northern Canada often lag behind the south with respect to educational outcomes, but they are leaders in developing innovative ways to improve educational programming and delivery. The report shows that initiatives such as a learner-centred approach incorporating technology to deliver curriculum, schools acting as...
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Quebec tuition fee increases to go ahead, says...
Despite a fast-growing student strike in Quebec that threatens to paralyze many PSE institutions in the coming weeks, “there is no plan to change the tuition increases. It’s being done to assure the quality of teaching here,” says an aide to Education Minister Line Beauchamp. However, protesting students hope that thousands more striking students expected with the next wave of...
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Relationships at home, school, with peers key to...
Interpersonal relationships at home, school and with peers appear to be critical for positive mental health among young Canadian teens, a major study suggests.
The survey-based examination of more than 26,000 students in Grades 6 to 10 is the latest in a series of studies since 1989-90 that takes the pulse of Canadian adolescents for comparison with their peers of the same age in more than...
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Study identifies mental health as a primary...
Canadian girls report higher levels of emotional problems and lower levels of emotional well-being and life satisfaction, while boys tend to experience more behavioural problems and demonstrate less prosocial behavior, a new Queen’s University-led national study of youth health behavior shows. The study also emphasizes the importance of home, school, peers and local neighbourhood in...
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37 protesters arrested following CÉGEP occupation
A total of 37 protesters were arrested early Friday morning following a violent overnight clash with Montreal police when officers were called in to break up an occupation of CÉGEP de Vieux Montréal. The arrested protesters are expected to face a range of charges, such as conspiracy, assault with a weapon on police officers, and mischief. CÉGEP administrators had announced earlier that...
Academic journal urges scientist to lose the...
One of the world’s top academic journals is begging scientists to speak plain English — or German, or Chinese — instead of the “insane newspeak” of jargon that’s only used for showing off.
The editorial in the current edition of Science says that as the technology for communication improves, scientists are becoming worse and worse at talking.
Scientists and people who study the arts long...
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The Canadian University Survey Consortium’s 2011...
Survey shows student satisfaction at 25 schools
The annual CUSC survey measures student satisfaction. In 2011, a questionnaire was issued to a random sample of approximately 1,000 undergraduates at each of 25 participating schools. In total, more than 8,500 students responded to questions about everything from academics to support services. Here are the results you’ll want to see if...
International students lament high cost of earning...
Seven years after moving from her Caribbean island of St. Maarten to study at Toronto’s York University, Vanessa Hunt says she would be happy to call Canada home after graduation.
But after spending her early adult years living, working and studying in the city, the 25-year-old says she still feels unfairly pitted against her Canadian peers because of higher tuition fees.
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Canada eyes China to bolster a key export:...
As the Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in China today, recruiting foreign students to come study in Canada is a top priority. Why? Billions of dollars are at stake making education one of Canada’s most valuable exports.
China already sends the largest pool of international students to Canada and the potential to grow is tremendous.
The problem: Canada was far behind such leaders as...
UVic strikes credit deal for staff
The University of Victoria has reached a deal with two companies to provide credit monitoring services free of charge to nearly 12,000 employees affected by a recent privacy breach.
The university notified employees Monday that they can enrol with either or both of TransUnion and Equifax credit bureaus for up to 12 months.
Credit monitoring services alert clients of any changes to their...
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Queen’s gets $1 million for one-of-a-kind...
Queen’s University can now lay claim to a world first.
Bell Canada announced Tuesday it is giving the university $1 million over five years to establish a Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Chair, the first of its kind in the world.
Dr. Heather Stuart, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the university, will assume that chair.
“There are visiting professorships in mental health,...
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Ottawa plans to raise student debt ceiling to $19...
The federal government has announced plans to increase the legal limit for outstanding Canada student loans from $15 billion to $19 billion. The move follows an actuarial report on the loans program released in 2010 that predicted the limit would be reached by January 2013. Ottawa says the regulatory amendment is necessary to respond to projected increases in PSE enrolment rates, as well as to...
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QS ranks world's best student cities
Yesterday QS released its first-ever Best Student Cities ranking, in which Paris placed first among 50 international cities. Based on a dozen criteria, the ranking takes into account the quality and number of internationally ranked universities, alongside factors such as affordability, quality of living, and the reputation of local universities among employers. The Canadian cities to make...
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5 Canadian universities chosen to lead health...
The University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, Queen’s University, Université Laval, and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine will represent North America as one of 4 global innovation collaboratives chosen to work with the US Institute of Medicine on a project to lead innovation in health education around the world. The Canadian Interprofessional Health Leadership...
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Quebec students initiate unlimited strike
Approximately 11,000 university students in Quebec launched an unlimited strike Tuesday to protest impending tuition fee increases. The number of striking students is expected to double by Monday, and could rise from there as many more student groups hold strike votes over the coming weeks. So far, the striking students are mainly from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and approximately...
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Ryerson launches $200-million fundraising campaign
Ryerson University announced Wednesday the launch of “Make Your Mark,” the institution’s largest fundraising initiative to date. Funds raised in the $200-million campaign will support teaching, innovation, and research ($45 million); academic programs, library, and technology ($40 million); student awards, bursaries, and scholarships ($55 million); and capital projects,...
Alberta will make student loans easier
Goodbye parental contribution
Aside from promising no tuition, one of the most interesting ideas in the Alberta Liberals’ platform last week was that they would no longer consider parental income when students apply for loans.
In this week’s budget, the Progressive Conservative government beat them too it, with a plan that does away with parental contributions as of Aug. 1. Students...
Alberta student loans program is now less...
Beginning Aug. 1, Albertan university and college students will be looking to take advantage of the simplified student loans application as new changes were announced on Monday.
In a CBC News report, it stated that the new changes announced are that loan amounts and your eligibility to obtain them will no longer be dependant on your parents’ yearly income, your parents’ contribution, your...
Student-loan program gets makeover
Post-secondary students should have an easier time applying for loans this year, thanks to changes announced Monday. “This is a very important move so that students have access and a chance to get their post-secondary education in this province,” said Greg Weadick, minister of advanced education and technology. Changes to the student aid program, effective Aug. 1, include a flat-rate...
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Alberta establishes 3-year predictable funding for...
Tabled Thursday, Alberta’s 2012 budget establishes a new 3-year funding commitment for higher education. The province’s public PSE institutions will receive 2% increases in operating grants in each of the next 3 years to ensure they can plan to effectively meet growing enrolment expectations and address priorities. The province is investing $200 million in student financial aid,...
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EU nations commit to cutting PSE expenditures
Nearly every European Union country has committed to reducing their expenditures on universities, reports Times Higher Education. Spain is cutting €485 million from education overall, and assistance to local authorities — key supporters of universities — will be reduced by just over €1 billion. Ireland’s budget in December included a 2% reduction in core funding for PSE to...
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Study examines PSE feasibility for Airdrie
Airdrie’s proximity to Calgary and its growing population makes the city a good candidate for a PSE institution in the future, states a feasibility study presented to Airdrie city council last week. One recommendation outlined in the report is for the city to position itself as the best location for a new university in Alberta. Another suggestion is for Airdrie to partner with educational...
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Opposition over uAlberta honorary degree for...
The University of Alberta is drawing criticism over its decision to award an honorary degree to the CEO of controversial global food giant Nestlé Corporation, the world’s largest producer of bottled water and promoter of water privatization. For years Nestlé has been under fire for the way it markets infant formula in Third World nations where mothers do not have access to clean...
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Concordia institute offers perspective on Quebec...
On the question of increasing university tuition fees in Quebec, members of Concordia University’s Simone de Beauvoir Institute suggest that increasing fees will mean that women will pay more for their education now and in the decades it takes to pay off their debt, given that women still do not earn the same salaries as men. The institute argues that a raise in tuition fees will...
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Conference explores Ontario's proposed new...
At a conference Tuesday on the Ontario government’s plan to build 3 new undergraduate campuses, Academic Reform co-author Ian Clark argued that undergraduate universities that focus solely on teaching would create cosier classes, reduce salary costs, and boost student satisfaction. Moreover, Clark says professors at these new institutions should be required to teach twice as many...
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McGill students hold sit-in on campus
A student occupation over funding for 2 campus organizations entered its second day yesterday at McGill University, with a tent set up, apparently overnight, outside the James Administration Building. The sit-in had started late Tuesday morning, when 2 dozen students sprang what they call a “surprise resignation party” on the sixth floor of the building. The protesters are...
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Pride Week coming to MRU
Usually held around the summer months in Calgary and around the world, pride week at Mount Royal University is coming earlier in the year to raise awareness among students.
Joshua Cadegan-Syms, administrator for the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University’s Pride Centre, said the week’s events are meant to get students talking.
“I think it is a good opportunity to meet people you...
Putting the political into service learning
This is a guest post by University Affairs editor Peggy Berkowitz.
In the last 25 years, there has been remarkable growth in “civic engagement” on university campuses in the United States, with widespread programs, new associations and foundations to support it. But accompanying this growth in civic engagement courses and programs – in Canada, often called “service learning” – there’s...