Top Ten

ACAATO Changes its Name

At some time in the past few days, the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (ACAATO) quietly changed its name to "Colleges Ontario," with a new logo for the organization and OCAS, its application centre. We have not found a media release or news item yet, but the new look is evident on their website. ACAATO   

Carleton Referendum Supports Fall Break

In a student referendum last week, Carleton students joined ranks with their peers at uOttawa in support of creating a second student break week in the middle of the Fall term.  uOttawa students had already voted in support of the idea and will now be able to take Carleton's support back to their administration. Because of the close relationship between the schools, a break would have to be approved by both administrations, as class schedules of students that cross-over between campuses would otherwise be disrupted.  76% of Carleton students voted in favour of the new break.  Advocates feel that a Fall Break would reduce stress, particularly among first-year students in the throes of their first term at university, and often their first term away from home.  The Ottawa Citizen 

New Home for Concordia Co-op

In its 25th year, Concordia University's Institute for Co-operative Education unveiled its new home last week -- on the 3rd floor of the BE Building near Ste. Catherine St.  The program celebrates its success and longevity as it watches former participants return as employers for current students.  In one case, a former student hired another student who went on to hire a third Concordian.  Audrey Sylvain, a marketing student who has been placed at a non-profit organization, an insurance company and then at Concordia itself, says the program "allows me to look at different ways I can use my degree before I graduate." Concordia Journal 

Al Gore Talks to uToronto about Global Warming

Al Gore told his sold-out crowd of Toronto admirers and advocates that there is room for improvement in Canada's environmental plan: "Canada, in the past, has always been known for strong leadership, and I think now is a time when some people put a question mark after Canada on this."  Gore spoke to the lucky 1,500 ticket holders who attended his talk at uToronto.  More than 23,000 sought one of the tickets, some offering up to $500 to get a $20 seat.  Digital Journal | City News (VIDEO) 

No Need for Canadian PSE to Choose between Depth and Breadth

Another update from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation investigates the tension between deepening or broadening Canada 's knowledge economy.  While investing in research (deepening) and improving access to PSE (broadening) are not mutually exclusive, proponents of each tend not to mention the other, creating a sense of one or the other that is not actually necessary.  Canada 's classrooms are well-filled with the easier and even some of the more difficult demographics.  To keep our "graduate-production-rate" competitive in a future that promises a smaller applicant pool, methods must be found to enroll demographics that are currently much less likely to attend college or university -- a difficult task.  The Chronicle Herald 

uSask and Faculty Move Away from Strike

The University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association tabled a proposal this week that included key compromises on its behalf, facilitating good relations with the University and jumpstarting negotiations that had previously been headed towards a strike.  The University had refused to budge on the issue of workload during contract negotiations, as they were topics best addressed by other bodies at the university. The Association has accepted the institution's acknowledgement that workload is a critical issue, and is reconciled to take the issue of the table and address it through other avenues outside of the collective agreement.  The Star-Phoenix 

Western Proposes to Increase Tuition

3 to 8% tuition increases have been proposed for each of the next two years by the University of Western Ontario Senate.  First-year programs such as Arts & Humanities, Music, Science and Social Science would see a 4.5% increase this year, and Engineering, Law and Dentistry would see fees go up by 8%.  Almost all graduate programs would increase approximately 3%. The proposed changes put the overall increase at about 4%, just under Ontario's 5% limit.  UWO News Release 

Financial Trouble at Robarts Confirmed

The rumours of financial trouble at Robarts were confirmed last week at a meeting of the Senate of the University of Western Ontario .  While the details of the institute's struggles have not been divulged, it was made apparent that UWO was its "best hope."  The organization has not been able to keep up financially with its rapid growth. The proposal on the table involves a three-way cost split between UWO, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and Robarts itself.  The Robarts brand and name would stay in place, but Western's senate and board of governors would have authority over financial, property, and academic matters.  UWO News Release 

Make YouTube YOUR Tube

At this week's OURA conference, liaison staff from a range of Ontario universities discussed the power -- and danger -- of YouTube in the online world. PSE institutions largely live or die based on their reputations, and a tool that allows anyone with a camcorder and desktop editing software to express their video opinion is a liability that deserves our attention. You can monitor discussion of your institution by setting up RSS feeds for "tags" on YouTube, such as the name of your institution or its location. To set up a feed, just use the following path (but replace "monkey" with your own tag word: feed://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/monkey.rss. College Web Editor