Top Ten
May 4, 2007
On Wednesday, the Government of Alberta announced $130 million in funding for nanotechnology, including $15 million for grad student scholarships at Alberta universities, $30 million "to build a highly qualified workforce," $15 million for an Industrial Applied Research Partnership program, and $5.5 million to establish NanoAlberta, to lead collaboration in the province. The overall focus of the investment is towards health care, energy, agriculture and forestry, and technology commercialization. uCalgary News Release | uAlberta News Release According to yesterday’s report by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, enrolment at East coast universities is up by more than 13% from a decade ago. 2005-06 statistics on enrolments and credentials granted by all public Maritime universities, including 50 tables and 3 databases, are available for download on the Commission’s website. Undergraduate students represented 88% of reported enrolments. 9.2% of students in 2005-06 were international -- an increase of 6% from 1996-97. The number of enrolments is slightly down from last year, but the number of credentials granted increased by 1.7%. PEI News Release | NS News Release An article in yesterday's Halifax Chronicle-Herald reflects on the recent AUCC 2007 Trends report, and its implications for PSE enrolment in the maritimes. Although the report predicts declining demographics in some regions, it also anticipates increasing university participation rates. The article quotes the AUCC as saying that Ontario and Quebec populations have always supplied many of the students that attend maritime institutions, and the question for Eastern Canada is not how to cope with a decline in the local university-age population, but rather how to continue attracting students from Ontario and Quebec. The Chronicle-Herald Alliance University College and Nazarene University College have received final approval from Alberta Advanced Education to merge as a single school, to be called Ambrose University College. According to one of the new school’s co-presidents, “a single institution is easier to explain and market, and emphasizes openness to the wider community.” There will be no changes to transfer credit, program accreditation or recognition by other PSE institutions. Ambrose is the official Canadian college of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Church of the Nazarene, and starts with 600 students, 40 faculty and 57 staff. Construction on a new campus in West Calgary is scheduled to begin shortly. Ambrose University College News Release Many BC colleges that have in the past been approved to offer degree-level credentials were upset by Campus 2020’s recommendation that this permission be revoked -- forcing colleges to collaborate with full universities in order to provide bachelor degree programs. Capilano College has made public its intention to apply for status as a regional university, to enable it to continue offering its growing list of degree programs. President Greg Lee says, “we’ve told the officials in the ministry this is what we’re doing and this is the case we’ll be making.” The Vancouver Sun Concordia University will host the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences for the first time, in 2010. Last year’s Congress attracted 9,000 delegates to York University. The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CFHSS) looks for enthusiasm and “unequivocal commitment” from a host campus and its surrounding community. Up to 200 rooms will be required at a time on peak days of the conference, and a central location with at least 20,000 square feet of space must be available for registration, constituent societies, and a book fair. Concordia’s location in downtown Montreal was considered a very attractive feature. The Concordia Journal Last September (in the 8th issue of Academica's Top Ten), we reported on the $850,000 lawsuit launched against York University and outgoing president Lorna Marsden by 22-year-old Daniel Freeman-Maloy, for libel, public misfeasance and breach of academic freedom, for barring him from campus in April 2006 for his role in protests against Israeli policies. Yesterday, York announced that it has reached a "mutually satisfactory" settlement, although no details have been released. York News Release Since 9/11, Academica's University Applicant Survey has measured growing concern for safety, both on- and off-campus, among university applicants across Canada. Now, in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings and numerous copy-cat threats across the continent, US college applicants and their parents are starting to ask about campus security and counselling services, and high school guidance offices are asking colleges for safety audit reports. Deseret News Yesterday Statistics Canada posted the latest results from the Follow-up Survey of Graduates (Class of 2000), conducted in 2005. At the time, We saw it earlier this year when Cape Breton University discovered a website for “Cape Breton International University,” with photos taken from a UK university. “Brandjacking” is when “cybersquatters” buy up related domain names and use your carefully-built brand image for their own gain. In the corporate world, many brands are being attacked in this way and others, without the “jacked” companies ever hearing about it. With a relevant enough domain name, many other forms of abuse become possible -- such as search marketing tricks that steal potential traffic. Brand trackers are available to keep an eye on your brand’s online safety. BizReport
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