Top Ten

Ontario Students top "Canada's Next Great PM" on CBC

Joseph Lavoie, a political science student at York University's Glendon campus , was the victor in CBC's 2007 Canada 's Next Great Prime Minister contest.  The remaining finalists included Graeme Cunningham, a 2nd year masters student in biochemistry at uOttawa; Alysia Garmulewicz, a 19-year-old Carleton student in directed interdisciplinary studies; and Balinder Ahluwalia, a uWindsor student headed to law school.  Mr. Lavoie received $50,000 cash and an internship at Magna-Dominion-Fulbright.  Carleton News Release | The Ottawa Citizen | The Windsor Star

Maclean's Student Survey Issue out on Thursday

Maclean's second annual University Student issue will be available on Thursday, March 22.  The issue includes 3 surveys of 70,000 current students and recent graduates on topics such as their experience and the quality of education at their school.  The student issue is meant as a companion to the annual Maclean's University Rankings issue -- which has seen 21 universities opt out of participation.  Maclean's News Release | The Victoria Times-Colonist (Subscription Required)

Honorary Concordia Doctorate to Al Gore

Former US Vice-President Al Gore is to receive an honorary doctorate from Concordia University later this week.  Gore is in Montreal to present the keynote address at Youth Action Montreal's first Youth Summit on Climate Change.  Concordia News Release

34% Increase in NS Students at Memorial

Memorial University, in Newfoundland, saw its number of students from Nova Scotia increase by 185 this year.  University tuition in Nova Scotia is cited as among the highest in Canada , while just across the Cabot Strait, tuition in Newfoundland is among the lowest.  In 2003, the provincial government in Newfoundland & Labrador committed $25 million a year to keep tuition frozen at $2,550 until at least the 2007-2008 school year.  Tuition in NS increased approximately 3.9% last year, making the provincial average $6,571.  The Chronicle Herald

Reuters Gives $2 Million in Service to UWO

Journalism students at the University of Western Ontario have once again been given access to the world's largest news source data feeds for the next five years.  The gift of service from Reuters is valued at $1,950,000. A similar gift was arranged between the two parties in 2001, and has now been renewed through to 2010. UWO has the only Masters program in journalism that combines theory and hands-on experience in a single year of study. UWO News Release

Lakehead TAs & GAs to Strike on Friday

Teaching and Graduate Assistants at Lakehead University are set to strike at the end of this week. The union says, "we pleaded with the university not to force us into this position, but they have consistently refused to work with us on reaching an acceptable contract for our workers."  A wage increase to match a jump in tuition fees and workload has been requested. Other issues on the table are job security, and health benefits for members and their families.  A wage increase was put forth from the school, but it is allegedly the lowest in Ontario .  CUPE News Release

PSE Target Marketing Trend

In both Canada and the US, PSE institutions are starting to aggressively recruit from areas that were once respected as the territory of a local institution.  In the US , schools are spending 50% more on marketing and communication than they were 7 years ago, according to a VP from the Council of Advancement and Support in Education.  For some schools, public advertising is a new development, while others have moved beyond general publicity to targeting specific "kinds" of students that fit their model, with customized print publications and new media strategies like text messaging and MySpace.  The Akron Beacon Journal

Struggling to Retain Low-Income Students

A 2006 US study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that while low-income students are enrolling for PSE at a higher rate, there has been a decline in degree attainment.  The school of choice can apparently make a dramatic difference in a student's chance at graduating.   Approximately 1 in 4 students from families with annual incomes of $25,000 or less earns a bachelors degree within 6 years.  More than half of students from families earning more than $70,000 are earning degrees.  The graduation rate of schools in the US defined as low-income-serving was 39%, compared to an overall 51.4%.  The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required)