Top Ten
May 31, 2007
Earlier this week, the Canadian Council on Learning released a report suggesting Canada has fallen behind other countries in job training. Employers and government are called on to remedy the situation to prevent Canada’s economy from suffering in the future. “Countries that don’t do well in lifelong learning won’t have the human capital to do well economically and socially [in a global knowledge society].” Less than a third of working Canadians have taken part in job-related training. Maclean’s Laurentian University, Northern University and the Ontario North East University (ONE U) project have put forth a model that will offer previously unavailable degrees in the Northern Ontario market. A need for university access in the region was identified last year. Distance and online learning will be combined with in-class video conference and visiting professors to increase accessibility for learners. ONE U expects to see enrolment increases at all of the institutions involved. The Timmins Daily Press The PEI Liberals will honour a conservative promise to lower UPEI tuition by 10%. The $2,000 grants that were promised to UPEI’s first-year students will now be delayed until September 2008. The decision was based on upholding the Tory budget that was already in place for the year, and setting Liberal promises into action with their first fresh budget next year. CBC 13 students from China who had hoped to study at EJ Canada College were denied entry into Canada. The students are now suing the school for a refund of their tuition deposits. Students are out as much as $2,400 each. They have charged that the deposits were given on the condition that they would be refunded if the students never arrived in Canada. The Vancouver Province Nipissing University’s Bracebridge campus will be located in the centre of the town, according to an announcement detailing the school’s land purchase. The new campus will serve the entire Muskoka region. A 13,000 square foot single storey building was originally proposed, to be built up with growth. Funding from the school’s student union now has put a much larger 26,000 square foot facility on the table, which has also caused a “joyful delay” as the designers go back to the drawing board to add on a second floor. Nipissing News Release
Cambrian College will play host to 51 Aboriginal secondary school students from Northern Ontario at this year’s First Nations College Experience. Those attending the event will participate in workshops covering justice, access and community services, skills training/hospitality, health sciences, business media and mining. They will also be invited to social events introducing them to the Sudbury area, as well as cultural events introducing them to Cambrian’s Aboriginal community and support services available on the campus. Cambrian News Release A global survey of 28,000 prospective international students provides valuable insight into the decisions ahead. Regardless of their country of origin, “strength of the education system” and career preparation were the most cited reasons for traveling to the US or UK to study. Australia was credited with a strong reputation, but lifestyle and the ease of getting a student VISA were also large motivators for students who applied down under. Business programs were popular with students from all corners of the globe. Chinese and Indian students identified scholarships as important. German, Japanese and Nigerian students rely heavily on family funding. Friends were identified as the most valued source of wisdom regarding education, other than in Japan where teachers were preferred. Inside Higher Ed Even with ever-increasing demand for computer skills, enrolment in computer science programs in the US is decreasing. To encourage enrolment and to continue to roll out enough grads to remain globally competitive as a country, US schools are trying to rebrand their programs to better appeal to students. More than 12 schools have positioned their programs as “media computation,” adding in graphic and web design on top of traditional programming courses. Another approach is to specialize in a particularly catchy area of the field, such as robotics. The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required) Last week, Facebook’s founder and CEO officially announced Facebook Platform, which essentially hands the popular website’s future over to public developers. Any developer can build applications that can be integrated directly into the powerful network’s interface. For users, the most notable change is a sudden increase in functionality, as well as an increase in control over what is included on your profile. Unit Structures | The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription Required) | College Web Editor The 2007 national conference of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) takes place next week in Charlottetown PEI, and more than 400 communications, recruitment, alumni and advancement professionals from Canadian colleges, universities and private schools are expected to attend. Academica Group is proud to be a platinum sponsor of the conference, and Ken Steele, Rod Skinkle, and Oded Vanham will be present throughout the conference to chat should you have time to seek us out. See you there! CCAE Conference Website
