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On Wednesday, the University of Western Ontario was presented with an independent review into the October 2009 on-campus arrest of a student, which was caught on video that was later posted on YouTube. The UWO-commissioned report makes 8 recommendations, including providing faculty and staff with information and advice on how to recognize and seek assistance for individuals in trouble, establishing a central location where individuals can report concerns relating to behavioural issues, and exploring new technology tools to provide information quickly to students. A review of the amount of force used by police concluded that London and campus police did not use excessive force in the arrest. Western News | Read the report

According to the first national survey on international education and mobility at Canadian colleges, 82% of respondents indicated their institution provides out-of-country learning experiences for Canadian students, but only 1.1% of full-time college students participated in such experiences. Over 80% cited lack of funds or financial support as the primary challenge in increasing international mobility for Canadians. 76% of respondents reported that their school was recruiting international students in 2007-08, and 81% said their institution was planning to recruit more foreign students in the future. More than half of respondents cited increased revenue for institution and creating a vibrant and culturally diverse campus community as primary reasons for recruiting international students. Preparing students to succeed in and contribute to the global economy or developing international competencies in students was chosen as the most important reason for promoting and integrating internationalization in colleges. Read the ACCC report

On Wednesday, Queen's University celebrated the opening of a state-of-the-art medical centre in Belleville that will serve as the academic home to family medicine residents in the university's medical school. The centre is part of a $6.6-million expansion of the institution's family medicine residency program funded by Ontario's health ministry. Queen's has recently expanded the program to Oshawa and Peterborough. Queen's News Centre

Long-time supporters of the University of Saskatchewan's Huskie football program, Ron and Jane Graham are contributing close to $3 million in support of a 2-storey expansion of the Graham Huskie Clubhouse at Griffith Stadium, which will include a training centre, additional meeting space, a film room, and office space for coaching staff. Additional support of $160,000 from David Dubé and Heather Ryan will be used to purchase training equipment and office furnishings in the new facility. Construction on the clubhouse will begin this summer, with the expansion to be completed by early 2011. uSask News Release

new agreement between the BC government and Languages Canada recognizes Languages Canada accreditation as an acceptable quality-assurance mechanism to apply for BC's Education Quality Assurance designation, the province's brand for quality post-secondary education. Previously, language schools were eligible to apply for the designation only if they were accredited through the Private Career Training Institutions Agency. The agreement with Languages Canada will now give ESL schools more options for seeking EQA designation. BC News Release

In a recent survey on attitudes towards funding higher education in First Nations communities, 57% of responding Canadians prefer that federal funding for PSE for First Nations youth go directly to the individuals themselves. The survey was carried out for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, which in a report released in March proposed that the federal Post-Secondary Student Support Program be replaced with a savings account -- an alternative that has been opposed by some Aboriginal groups and the Canadian Federation of Students. Macdonald-Laurier Institute News Release

Yesterday, the eve of the G8 and G20 summits, student organizations from around the world released a public statement calling for a commitment to education and public services. The statement contains a set of principles shared by students worldwide, such as that all people have the right to participate in a free, high-quality post-secondary education system. The statement calls on G8 and G20 leaders to establish plans to meet the principle of the United Nations Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights stating that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education." CFS News Release | Read the statement

A recent report from the US-based Association of College and Research Libraries presents 26 scenarios based on possible developments in PSE over the next 15 years. Among the scenarios association members consider the most plausible is that faculty members have embraced online open educational resources, with more faculty creating and sharing openly their course material, modules, tests, and streaming videos. Other "futures" posit that everyone will be considered a "non-traditional" student, given the interwoven nature of work/life/school; students who are privileged socially and economically will be completely fluent in digital media; and students will "talk" through homework with hand-held devices, which issue alerts when passing a bookstore with material they need to cite. (Of course, that presumes that bookstores still exist.) Inside Higher Ed | Read the report

According to a new survey of 49 of the top-ranked 137 universities, those institutions noticed little or no impact on their reputation within their home nations from either a rise or fall in international rankings. However, the universities did notice that a rise in rankings often increased the number of applications coming from foreign students. A rise in rankings also helped in attracting academic employees and made it easier to form international partnerships. All told, increases in rankings appeared to have more of an international influence on reputation than on an institution's national standing. The Chronicle of Higher Education (free access)

Hundreds of students across the US are cyber-begging for tuition help on SponsorMyDegree.com, a Denver-based website that makes it possible for students to get free money for college through micro-sponsorships from individuals and organizations. To receive assistance, students put together detailed profiles of themselves on the website, to be searched by prospective sponsors. The site describes itself as a "revolutionary service" that allows companies to sponsor students' education and advertise to them simultaneously. Once a company registers with SponsorMyDegree.com, they can create an advertising campaign targeting a subset of registered students based on any criteria the company needs. Students must earn a company's sponsorship money by giving feedback on its advertising. Boulder Daily Camera | SponsorMyDegree.com