March 21, 2007
The $800 million in additional funding promised to Canada's colleges and universities will not actually transfer to provinces until the federal government has defined to what purposes it can be used, and what measures of accountability will be used to keep track of the money. Several institutions and organizations (COU, AUCC) released statements commending the 2007 federal budget; others have criticisms (CAUT) -- it may take up to a year for funding to actually change hands. The funding is 40% higher than last year, but some feel even more was needed. Several student organizations called for a dedicated PSE transfer, but the funding remains ear-marked within the Canada Social Transfer (CST).
The Globe & Mail |
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required) |
ACCC News Release |
CAS News Release |
CFS News Release |
AUCC News Release |
COU News ReleaseThe Cornell-Queen's Executive MBA program allows students from all over
North America to tune in and earn their MBA, without relocating to a university town. 80 students login from 14 locations across
Canada and the
US to attend virtual classes. Both institutions have highly-rated business schools located in less-than-booming locations, and are often challenged when trying to convince potential students to leave a major city for a smaller one -- such as Queen's hometown of
Kingston , ON . The total cost of the 22-month MBA is $95,000 -- including everything from tuition to books and other course and project materials -- much lower than many other MBA programs, including Cornell's ($122,400).
Inside Higher EducationQueen's University's Monica Walker took first place in "Canada's Next Top Ad Exec," a national university competition that challenged students to present their best experiential marketing campaigns for the new 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer.
Walker received her own $30,000 Lancer along with the first place title. The competition was organized by students at McMaster's DeGroote School of Business. Mitsubishi has said that they were so impressed with
Walker 's ideas that they plan to incorporate some into their 2008 campaign.
Harbinger Communications News ReleaseConestoga College once again has the lowest student loan default rate of any public college or institute in
Ontario . Conestoga had an 8.4% default rate in 2006, more than 5% below the provincial average of 13.6%. Conestoga had the lowest rate of default in 2005 as well, with 14.5% compared to a provincial average of 21.5%.
The Guelph Tribune Mahmoud Zeitoun was detained for 12 hours at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on his way into the US last week, and had his laptop confiscated by US officials. Zeitoun was born in Lebanon but is also a Canadian citizen. He says he may lose credit for this year's studies, as all his work was on the laptop now in the custody of airport officials. He had been travelling with his dentist and her assistant to take part in a professional examination that would qualify the dentist to practice in the US.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required)
The Carleton Ravens won their fifth consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball title with a final score of 52-49 over the Brandon University Bobcats. Until this victory BrandonU, CarletonU, SMU and uWindsor had been locked in a four-way tie for most national titles. uVictoria has won 8 times. The tournament will relocate to Ottawa next year, after 24 years in Halifax.
The Globe & Mail |
The Ottawa Citizen (Subscription Required)
Cambrian College is finding more and more students seeking out its skilled trades programs, with as many as 300 more apprentices than usual in the School of Skills Training. The Mining Industry Training and Adjustment Council of Canada estimates that 81,000 new workers will be needed in the mining industry over the next 10 years; 40% of the field's workforce is expected to retire in that period. A new $130,000 machining lab for Cambrian has been proposed as a way of creating more apprentice spots per year.
Northern Ontario BusinessInstitutions such as Stanford and Berkeley that have received research funding from "Big Oil" companies, like ExxonMobil and BP, are getting backlash from environmentalists who accuse them of allowing the fuel industry to "greenwash" its image. In addition to the $25 million lost by Stanford previously reported, a $500 million research agreement from BP to Berkeley is the focus of protestors as well. Both schools received funds toward climate and energy related projects, seen as pennies in the bucket from oil companies, compared to the positive PR they will receive in return.
The Guardian UnlimitedDespite the fact that China and India are collectively producing engineering graduates at a rate 12 times faster than the US, a report from Duke University says that engineering education in America is not falling behind. They say that there is no shortage of engineers in the US, but rather the dearth is in China and India, so hopefully grads will stay at home. The report consulted 58 businesses that outsource engineering jobs, and found that 80% of engineering jobs were able to be filled within 4 months.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required).
Students seem to view high school as an obstacle to entering university rather than a learning experience, and place little value on anything other than the final grades they receive, even if it means cheating. According to a rep from Student Learning Services at ConcordiaU, many students who get caught cheating aren't even aware that they had violated any rules. Students often get overwhelmed by a combination of procrastination and heavy project demands, and end up resorting to copied work to make ends meet. Poor understanding of citation requirements is also a factor.
The Montreal Gazette
rtraction