April 11th, 2012
thebriefingroom

UBC Vancouver makes radical changes to undergraduate services

Each new student to be assigned an enrolment specialist and to develop a learning plan.

First-year students entering the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus this fall can expect a more personal touch, thanks to changes the university is making to its enrolment procedures. The enrolment changes are among several UBC is implementing in admissions and student-support services for undergraduates.

All new undergraduate students at UBC Vancouver will be assigned to an enrolment services professional, or ESP, who can answer questions and help students resolve problems involving financial planning, eligibility for bursaries and scholarships, emergency funding, registration and a host of other services.

“This represents a radical change for our organization,” said Lisa Collins, associate registrar and project director for the new enrolment-services model. The program, dubbed Names Not Numbers, aims to establish a stronger relationship between the university and its students and will “bring the small campus experience to what is a large campus here at UBC Vancouver,” said Ms. Collins. It will also help alert university officials should a student run into trouble, she added.

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UBC
April 11th, 2012
thebriefingroom

UBC Vancouver campus proposes housing action plan

Given skyrocketing housing prices in Vancouver, UBC has released potential housing options designed to help develop more affordable housing on its Vancouver campus. The options include the possibility of discounted property purchases and rentals to encourage faculty, staff, and students to reside on campus. A proposed partnership with BC Housing would make UBC the first North American university to offer non-profit rental housing to eligible employees or faculty with an annual income below $64,000. The effort will inform a housing action plan that seeks to improve UBC’s ability to compete with top universities and employers for the best and brightest minds, both internationally and locally, while helping to create a more sustainable, vibrant residential community. UBC Reports (Academicagroup)

UBC University of British Columbia UBC and housing plan
March 16th, 2012
thebriefingroom

uToronto, UBC, and McGill make World Reputation Rankings list

Yesterday Times Higher Education released the 2012 edition of its World Reputation Rankings, and the Canadian universites to make the top 100 list this year are the University of Toronto (16), UBC and McGill University (tied at 25). Published for the first time last year, the reputation rakings are based on an international poll of more than 17,500 academics. Times Higher Education | Top Universities by Reputation 2012 (Academicagroup)

Times Higher Education World University Rankings UBC McGill UofT
January 27th, 2012
thebriefingroom

More than good grades needed to get into UBC

Personal experience to play role in admissions

Getting accepted as an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver is going to take more than good grades from now on.

The school is shifting to what it calls “broad-based admissions” - an application process that assesses grades and personal experiences of potential students. The process will include everyone applying directly to all of UBC’s undergraduate programs at the Vancouver campus beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

The new process requires applicants to answer between four and six “personal profile” questions in addition to providing secondary school grades.

The questions are designed to provoke responses from students about their ability to overcome challenges, take advantage of opportunities and get involved in their community, said UBC’s associate vice-president and registrar, James Ridge. He said an open-ended question will also let potential students share further details about themselves that would have gone unnoticed under the previous system. The school already uses broad-based criteria for some pro-grams, Ridge said, noting that the Sauder School of Business at UBC has used broad-based admissions since 2004.

In 2011, 25 per cent of all new first-year UBC students on the Vancouver campus were admitted with broad-based admissions.

UBC wants more students who volunteer, take part in extracurricular activities and are willing to take advantage of study abroad programs, he said. “We really want to select students who we think are going to be more inclined to engage in those things.” …

(Source: vancouversun.com)

UBC University of British Columbia
January 17th, 2012
thebriefingroom
Zoom UBC begins roll-out of non-academic misconduct policy UBC is taking steps to ensure that its students are conducting themselves properly outside of their studies. As of this month, UBC Vancouver will be a implementing a new, detailed non-academic misconduct policy, which reexamines punishable activity that has nothing to do with grades, classes or schoolwork. The policy is based on what the university has deemed a successful model from UBC-Okanagan (UBC-O). “The goal always was to make sure that…if it was working well we would make the appropriate adjustments to take it to scale at the Vancouver campus,” said Hubert Lai, university counsel at UBC. The policy will involve an completely new process to deal with student discipline and according to UBC legal counsel Kimberly Beck is “99 per cent the same as the Okanagan policy.” The process is intended to be more student-centric than the old one, and will provide students with the option to accept responsibility for their actions and avoid a formal hearing. The new policy is constructed in three main parts. A detailed student code of conduct, according to Lai, is meant to inform students what’s expected of them by their own community. If a student engages in a punishable activity, they will deal directly with a representative from the VP Students office, which Lai estimates will be over 90 per cent of cases. At this stage the student may accept responsibility and help decide what they should do to make amends… Read More

UBC begins roll-out of non-academic misconduct policy

UBC is taking steps to ensure that its students are conducting themselves properly outside of their studies.

As of this month, UBC Vancouver will be a implementing a new, detailed non-academic misconduct policy, which reexamines punishable activity that has nothing to do with grades, classes or schoolwork. The policy is based on what the university has deemed a successful model from UBC-Okanagan (UBC-O).

“The goal always was to make sure that…if it was working well we would make the appropriate adjustments to take it to scale at the Vancouver campus,” said Hubert Lai, university counsel at UBC.

The policy will involve an completely new process to deal with student discipline and according to UBC legal counsel Kimberly Beck is “99 per cent the same as the Okanagan policy.” The process is intended to be more student-centric than the old one, and will provide students with the option to accept responsibility for their actions and avoid a formal hearing.

The new policy is constructed in three main parts.

A detailed student code of conduct, according to Lai, is meant to inform students what’s expected of them by their own community.

If a student engages in a punishable activity, they will deal directly with a representative from the VP Students office, which Lai estimates will be over 90 per cent of cases. At this stage the student may accept responsibility and help decide what they should do to make amends… Read More

non-academic misconduct UBC University of British Columbia
December 15th, 2011
thebriefingroom

UBC overhauls teacher ed program

The ever-evolving role of educators and the increasing concern over job shortages for new teachers prompted the revision of the University of British Columbia’s one-year Teacher Education Program, which includes new mandatory classes on Aboriginal perspectives, teaching English as an additional language, teaching French in elementary school, special education, and research and inquiry seminars. The revised program will also emphasize social and ecological justice and diversity. Student teachers will be required to complete a practicum in a non-traditional teaching setting, which is intended to open students’ eyes to the variety of career options they face. UBC Reports | Vancouver Sun (Academicagroup)

UBC University of British Columbia
November 16th, 2011
thebriefingroom

UBC receives $1M from Bell for online youth mental health outreach and research

Today UBC and Bell announced a $1M gift to establish the Bell Youth Mental Health IMPACT project. This initiative will enable researchers from the University of British Columbia to conduct mental health outreach to youth in need.

The gift was announced today by Mary Deacon, Chair of the Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative, at a ceremony at UBC Robson Square. Ms. Deacon was joined by Bell President and CEO George Cope, UBC Chancellor Sarah Morgan-Silvester, Faculty of Medicine Vice Dean Ross MacGillivray and Psychiatry Professor Michael Krausz.

The Bell Youth Mental Health IMPACT Project will be led by Dr. Krausz, who is also the UBC-Providence Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) Chair in Addiction Research, at the Institute of Mental Health, part of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine.

As part of the project, researchers will develop a mental health web portal that provides educational and self-assessment tools, automated feedback, a list of treatment options, advice on obtaining services, and coping techniques. Additional features, such as online consultations through e-mail, chat rooms, video-conferencing, instant messaging and social media tools, will be added in the future based on research into the effectiveness of this outreach model…Read More

UBC University of British Columbia Bell Youth Mental Health IMPACT project
August 24th, 2011
thebriefingroom
UBC launches Seed Accelerator fund to support community startups In a partnership between the BC Innovation Council, the University of British Columbia, and UBC alumni, the entrepreneurship@UBC Seed Accelerator fund is a UBC-owned-and-operated venture fund offering investments of up to $100,000 to startups from the university community to support their new venture. The fund’s purpose is to provide UBC students, faculty, staff, and recent alumni with much needed early-stage capital in order to set their new ventures up for the greatest chance of success. The new fund reflects a trend in which Canadian universities and governments are fostering student entrepreneurship. The Ontario government recently invested more than $1 million to help University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University students start their own companies, while donations to Carleton University have helped launched an entrepreneurial institute to oversee paid internships for students. UBC News Release (Academicagroup)

UBC launches Seed Accelerator fund to support community startups

In a partnership between the BC Innovation Council, the University of British Columbia, and UBC alumni, the entrepreneurship@UBC Seed Accelerator fund is a UBC-owned-and-operated venture fund offering investments of up to $100,000 to startups from the university community to support their new venture. The fund’s purpose is to provide UBC students, faculty, staff, and recent alumni with much needed early-stage capital in order to set their new ventures up for the greatest chance of success. The new fund reflects a trend in which Canadian universities and governments are fostering student entrepreneurship. The Ontario government recently invested more than $1 million to help University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University students start their own companies, while donations to Carleton University have helped launched an entrepreneurial institute to oversee paid internships for students. UBC News Release (Academicagroup)

UBC University of British Columbia UBC and innovation entrepreneurship@UBC Seed Accelerator fund student entrepreneurship
August 12th, 2011
thebriefingroom
UBC opts out of Access Copyright contract The University of British Columbia is joining many universities across the country by ending its long-standing contract with Access Copyright, a non-profit organization that allows students and teachers to legally copy protected works. In March 2010 Access Copyright sought approval for a new $45-per-full-time-student fee and access to the premises of client institutions – including to secure networks – to help monitor copying activity. UBC balked at Access Copyright’s demands and decided to end its contract at the end of the month. According to an e-mail UBC’s provost sent to the university community, the increased fees would have cost the institution an extra $1.35 million each school year. Vancouver Sun  (Academicagroup)

UBC opts out of Access Copyright contract

The University of British Columbia is joining many universities across the country by ending its long-standing contract with Access Copyright, a non-profit organization that allows students and teachers to legally copy protected works. In March 2010 Access Copyright sought approval for a new $45-per-full-time-student fee and access to the premises of client institutions – including to secure networks – to help monitor copying activity. UBC balked at Access Copyright’s demands and decided to end its contract at the end of the month. According to an e-mail UBC’s provost sent to the university community, the increased fees would have cost the institution an extra $1.35 million each school year. Vancouver Sun  (Academicagroup)

UBC Access Copyright
March 24th, 2011
thebriefingroom
UBC welcomes federal budget initiatives for universities Today’s federal budget contains a range of initiatives to boost research, innovation, and the global profile of Canadian universities, said UBC President Prof. Stephen Toope. “I believe today’s budgetary commitments to higher education are in line with a growing consensus among Canadians that Canada’s research universities play an integral role in advancing our economy and improving the social and economic well-being of all Canadians,” said Toope. The budget makes a strong commitment to research in Canada by providing continued and growing support to the federal research granting councils and specifically to the Indirect Costs Program. “These investments are all the more notable when we are seeing significant budgetary cuts to higher education sectors in other countries,” said Toope. The budget includes the announcement of a new round of the Canada Excellence Research Chair program. Earlier this year, Canadian universities celebrated the arrival of Canada Excellence Research Chairs from around the world and look forward to other researchers joining their ranks. The program is supporting innovation that is already making an impact in Canada and around the world…

UBC welcomes federal budget initiatives for universities

Today’s federal budget contains a range of initiatives to boost research, innovation, and the global profile of Canadian universities, said UBC President Prof. Stephen Toope.

“I believe today’s budgetary commitments to higher education are in line with a growing consensus among Canadians that Canada’s research universities play an integral role in advancing our economy and improving the social and economic well-being of all Canadians,” said Toope.

The budget makes a strong commitment to research in Canada by providing continued and growing support to the federal research granting councils and specifically to the Indirect Costs Program.

“These investments are all the more notable when we are seeing significant budgetary cuts to higher education sectors in other countries,” said Toope.

The budget includes the announcement of a new round of the Canada Excellence Research Chair program. Earlier this year, Canadian universities celebrated the arrival of Canada Excellence Research Chairs from around the world and look forward to other researchers joining their ranks. The program is supporting innovation that is already making an impact in Canada and around the world…

Federal Budget 2011 UBC University of British Columbia PSE in Canada Stephen Toope Canada Excellence Research Chair Program Canada and research
February 10th, 2011
thebriefingroom

UBC board approves creation of student housing financing endowment

The University of British Columbia’s board of governors has unanimously approved the formation of a student housing financing endowment that will direct a large portion of land lease proceeds from creating the residential Utown@UBC community on the Vancouver campus toward student housing projects. Responding to student concerns, the board has set a goal of 50% of full-time undergraduates living on campus. The endowment will allow UBC to pursue student housing objectives without incurring the additional cost of market borrowing normally required as student housing projects do not receive government funding. UBC News Release (Academicagroup)

UBC University of British Columbia board of governors student housing students and housing Utown@UBC
January 24th, 2011
thebriefingroom
UBC defends experiments on monkeys Parkinson’s disease: University vice-president condemns ‘hysterical’ coverage of proposed research The University of B.C. has come out swinging in its defence of its medical experiments on monkeys. A Province front-page story on Jan. 18 revealed that monkeys were to be used in experiments to cure Parkinson’s disease. The experiments would see monkeys injected, tested and then euthanized for post-mortem analysis. UBC vice-president John Hepburn penned a letter to The Province condemning the paper’s coverage of the proposed experiments. “The inflammatory and sensational nature of this article detracts from the tragedy faced by sufferers of Parkinson’s disease and their families,” wrote Hepburn.

UBC defends experiments on monkeys

Parkinson’s disease: University vice-president condemns ‘hysterical’ coverage of proposed research

The University of B.C. has come out swinging in its defence of its medical experiments on monkeys.

A Province front-page story on Jan. 18 revealed that monkeys were to be used in experiments to cure Parkinson’s disease. The experiments would see monkeys injected, tested and then euthanized for post-mortem analysis.

UBC vice-president John Hepburn penned a letter to The Province condemning the paper’s coverage of the proposed experiments.

“The inflammatory and sensational nature of this article detracts from the tragedy faced by sufferers of Parkinson’s disease and their families,” wrote Hepburn.

UBC University of British Columbia experiments Parkinson's disease ethics John Hepburn
September 14th, 2010
thebriefingroom
Arrests made after UBC frat party

Several arrests were made following a 2-day fraternity party at the University of British Columbia. The party began Friday night at UBC’s fraternity village. About 1,000 people attended that evening’s party, where personal property, such as laptops and stereos, were stolen. The party continued Saturday, with between 500 and 1,000 people attending. University RCMP went to the frat house Saturday night to respond to reports that a large fight had broken out. Several officers were assaulted while trying to break up the crowd. The president of Inter Fraternity Council at UBC says the problem was uninvited attendees. In a statement, UBC says fraternities must take responsibilities for their own parties, but the university will work to ensure such behaviour is not repeated. (Academicagroup)

UBC frat party arrests property theft violence
September 13th, 2010
thebriefingroom
Universities adopt textbook rental programs

U of T, UBC first to provide students with new option

textbook rental post secondary education UofT UBC
September 10th, 2010
thebriefingroom

UBC video welcomes the Class of 2014

At a pep rally Tuesday as part of UBC’s orientation activities, the institution played a video showcasing what it means to be a UBC student. The production is a dialogue between incoming and senior students. The video begins with first-years students describing who they are, with reference to Beloit College’s Mindset List for the Class of 2014. Although they are just starting out, the students state, they know they are part of something big, because they are part of a family of peacemakers, beat shakers, and challenge takers. “You are UBC,” the senior students tell the new class, wishing the incoming students will soon call UBC their home, a place where they can meet and exceed the challenges of our time (Academicagroup).

UBC video orientation students

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