July 30, 2007
In an effort to retain students, the Prince Edward Island government announced new financial incentives for PEI students attending PSE institutions in the province. Beginning this September, first- and second-year students studying full-time at UPEI will receive a provincial grant of $400, while Island students attending Holland College and la Societe Educative will receive an increase of $400 for a total bursary of $1,000. The new initiative is set to provide support to 3,500 PEI students, up from 1,200 students under the previous structure.
CBC : In partnership with Toronto Community Housing, the University of Toronto's junior track team has been recruiting new members aged 8 to 14 on a "scholarship program" that is expected to open doors to PSE for underprivileged youth. Providing kids with confidence and self-discipline through positive peer influence from university students, the program pays transportation to the track practice and meets, and is funded primarily from the University and the city. To stay on the team, the youth must maintain a B grade average and are required to attend regularly.
Inside Toronto : In an effort to fill gaps at hospitals and nursing homes in the Thunder Bay area, a joint nursing program involving Confederation College and Lakehead University is showing success at the midway mark. After getting recognition from Queen's Park, Confederation has renewed hopes of expanding its medical training program in Kenora -- hoping for provincial support for medical lab technician, radiation technologist, and dental hygienist programs. Launched in 2005, the community nursing project has $2.4 million worth of provincial funding support until 2009.
Kenora Daily Miner and News : The first of its kind in Canada, York University's pre-orientation program is enjoying an increase of 1,200 participants (for a total of 5,200 visitors so far) in its second year of operation. The RED Zone is an on-campus lounge for incoming students and their parents to visit following admission and prior to orientation, offering incoming students insight into university life. While inside the RED Zone, students can collect information on finances, learn to navigate the York website and access Passport York, as well as explore transit options and much more.
York Media Release : A number of US skeptics are concerned that overseas university branches may be undermining America's economic competitiveness by helping other countries better develop a scientific and technological workforce. Officials from top universities across the US disagree, insisting that their overseas ventures bring America far more benefit than what they might cost. Another debate is quantity vs quality of connection with foreign youth: overseas campuses reach more students, but exchange students on US soil get more connected to American culture.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription required)
The Roosevelt Institution, a US nonprofit group has collected and released 25 proposals by college students to make PSE more socioeconomically diverse. The proposals include ideas to improve how information about college is disseminated, how to prepare more public school students for higher education, ways to make it easier for families to pay tuition and other costs of attending college, and how to expand students' college options.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) |
25 Proposals : According to figures released by the UK National Audit Office on Thursday, one in five students starting full-time university courses this September will drop out. Demonstrating a small improvement over the 1999-2000 rates, more support is still required for students facing particular challenges, especially part-time students. The new report places the UK fifth worldwide for "international survival rates," behind Japan, Ireland, Korea and Greece but well above the US, Australia and Germany.
The Guardian : China's Ministry of Education criticizes foreign education programs for "poor quality, high cost, and lack of oversight", and local Chinese partner institutions for failing to properly evaluate their foreign partners' credentials. The Ministry will now review each request by a foreign institution to set up programs in China, and will also evaluate existing programs on a regular basis. Since first allowing a foreign educational presence in 1995, the number of offerings has exploded to more than 700 foreign academic programs throughout the country.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required)
: Dubbed the "mail moment" by the US Postal Service, it is "the highly interactive ritual that consumers devote to bringing in the mail and discovering what it offers" -- and it is just as powerful for a new generation of Millennials as it was for previous generations. 87% of Millennials bring in the mail the day it's delivered, and 82% sort through it immediately. The key to effective direct mail is to drive prospective students online to your truly interactive content -- landing pages tied to your mailer, student blog pages, and invitations to social networking communities.
TargetX : An effective means of interactive dialogue with prospective students, blogs are becoming an increasingly common PSE recruitment and marketing tool. In a recent blog post of his own, technical writer Tom Johnson outlines 20 principles for bloggers, which can be used to improve your own blog or help to get you thinking more about the technology. The top 3 tips? 1) Pick a topic for your blog. 2) Encourage comments. 3) Make it easy to subscribe.
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