September 19, 2007
BC's Centre for Digital Media celebrated its official opening last Friday at the Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. The Centre will offer Canada's first Master's Degree in Digital Media, credentialed by UBC, SFU, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and BCIT.
The centre received $40.5 million in provincial funding and will take 100 students in its first term. BC is one of the world's largest centres for video game development. BC News Release The Wall Street Journal has ranked the Schulich School of Business at York University #1 in Canada, and #11 among international business schools in its annual survey. The Richard Ivey School of Business at UWO came in #12 in the international rankings, and uToronto's Rotman School of Management ranked #24. Schulich pulled ahead of Chicago, INSEAD, Wharton, Harvard and Stanford in the rankings.
York News Release |
Complete Rankings 700 support staff at Carleton University will shortly return to work after a 2 week strike. The university reached a tentative agreement with its union early yesterday morning. Details of the agreement will not be released until after a ratification vote.
The Globe & Mail |
CUPE 2424 News Release The University of Windsor plans to build "a world-class environmental research station" in Leamington, Ontario. The City of Leamington has agreed to transfer 22 acres known as "the clay pits" to the university at virtually no cost. The site
is near Point Pelee National Park, Lake Erie, and Hillman Marsh Conservation Area. Researchers from around the world are expected to flock to the facility, once up and running. The Windsor Star Concordia University's Board of Governors will consider a proposed tuition increase that would require international students to pay an additional $1,000 per year. The Student Union objects: "University budgets have been tightened by years of inadequate government funding; forcing international students to pick up the tab for government shortfalls is unfair and dishonest." A 10% fee hike has been proposed for 2007-08.
Concordia Student Union News Release The Ontario Liberal party has promised a $300 textbook grant to every full-time post-secondary student, if they are re-elected next month. Students would simply need to register and provide proof of full-time student status. Money would be released directly to students, rather than through schools. The promise would cost $170 million per year.
The Queen’s Journal More than 50% of university students in the US have opted NOT to buy textbooks this year, whether "required reading" or not. Students at uToronto report paying as much as the equivalent of a (Toronto) month's rent to buy a term's worth of books. Students say instructors have a responsibility to make materials available online or at the library.
680 News |
Globe & Mail (subscription required)
A survey this summer of 218 communications and web professionals at North American colleges and universities found that 77% are investing more heavily in electronic publications to save money on print. Most publications are being produced in both formats, particularly application packages and course calendars (at roughly 75%). News publications and those targeting current students are considered the most transferable to electronic only, but 73% felt that printed course calendars could be eliminated.
CollegeWebEditor A university student was tasered and arrested after aggressively trying to ask US Senator John Kerry questions during an on-campus event. Andrew Meyer was asking about impeaching President Bush and membership in a secret society. Kerry had been willing to answer Meyer's "very important question" but officers on the scene persisted in removing the student and shocked him with a taser before subduing him.
Associated Press |
You Tube video A study of 453 admissions departments at US colleges and universities found a higher level of familiarity with social media
(blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, videos and wikis) than the 500 fastest-growing companies in the US (the Inc. 500). Although academia is "simultaneously incredibly innovative and slow to change," 33% are using blogs, 19% online video, and 14% podcasting in their efforts to reach prospective students. Moreover, 26% are investigating applicants via search engines, and 21% via social networks, in the course of making admissions decisions. The Game Has Changed (executive summary available online)
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