January 3, 2007
The January issue of the
Globe & Mail's Report on Business magazine included a 13-page "information supplement" profiling York University's Schulich School of Business. The opening spread announces "the case study that needs to be written," how Schulich "got to the top by carving out three strategic advantages": a global orientation, innovative programming, and diversity. Articles profile 4 award-winning students, 4 first-place rankings, a list of accomplished alumni, and more.
On December 22, the University of Western Ontario and its faculty association reached a tentative 4-year renewal of the collective agreement, which expired last July. Faculty will vote on whether to ratify the agreement on January 16. Terms will not be released until the faculty and the board of governors have ratified the agreement.
Western NewsResearchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have just released an analysis of a 2003 survey of 15,214 high school students (aged 14 to 18), and found that nearly half admitted to drinking alcohol illegally in the past month (across the US, the drinking age is 21). Moreover, 64% of those drinking teens were binge-drinkers, consuming 5 or more drinks in a row. The study also found binge-drinkers were more likely to have sex, fight, smoke, use drugs, or consider suicide -- and of course, did more poorly in school.
ReutersLast month, London Ontario police chief Murray Faulkner proposed a provincial "keg registry" to curb wild student parties. (London is home to the University of Western Ontario, Fanshawe College, and Academica Group too). Oddly there is more enthusiasm for the idea
outside of London than in: local newscasts report support for the proposal from McMaster University's director of security, as well as a Hamilton police sergeant and a Hamilton city councillor.
A-Channel NewsResearch into the impact of words on real estate sales by uGuelph marketing prof Paul Anglin was featured in the
LA Times and
Chicago Tribune last month, and is interesting to recruitment marketers as well. Anglin found that homes with "motivated" sellers actually took 15% longer to sell, while "beautiful" homes sold 15% faster than average. In Windsor, at least, houses described as a "handyman's special" sold 50% faster, while "rental" homes took 60% longer to sell.
uGuelph media releaseIronically, it is an American university just across the border from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, that for 32 years now has annually announced the "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." On New Year's Day, Lake Superior State University released its 2007 list, based on 4,500 internet nominations of pet peeves -- including "Gitmo," "Bragelina," "awesome," "gone missing," "we're pregnant," "truthiness," "chipotle," and "i-anything." The list also suggests the word "search" be placed on a one-year moratorium, since it has been replaced by "google." For the full list and rationales, or to submit your own pet peeves for next year, visit
LSSU's website.
A recent roundtable discussion including a dozen members of "the net generation" explored the impact of technology on student, and campus, culture. Students who grew up with video games and expect that level of interactivity are using FaceBook, MySpace, iPods, and IM -- and are often too impatient to read newspapers or books. Many watch cartoons, comedy, or TV shows -- on YouTube, not on TV. At university, they are accustomed to submitting essays electronically, think the average lecture is "boring," and prefer the integration of multimedia or hands-on computer work.
Chronicle of Higher Education (requires subscription)
Finland-based Blyk, a telecommunications company, plans to offer free mobile phones to British 16- to 24-year-olds next summer. In return for free voice minutes and text messaging, subscribers will complete an online questionnaire, and advertisements based on their answers will be sent to the phone. If the UK test is successful, it will be expanded elsewhere in Europe. Virgin Mobile and Xero Mobile have advertising-supported offerings in the US.
International Herald TribuneBob Johnson’s internet marketing blog reports that 21 US colleges are now using instant messaging in some way or another to support the student recruitment process. The latest addition, Minnesota’s Gustavius Adolphus College, lets prospects use AOL, Yahoo, or MSN between 3:30 and 4:30pm daily, but discourages IM for "in-depth" answers to things like "personal financial aid questions."
Gustavius Adolphus CollegeThe
New York Times reports that, although life expectancies vary by gender, ethnicity, income and health insurance, the one social factor that research finds consistently linked to longer lives worldwide is education. "If you want to improve health, you will get more return by investing in education than... in medical care." Even students
forced to stay in school an extra year gain 18 months’ life expectancy by age 35 -- and the effect continues unabated for every year of additional education.
New York Times
rtraction