October 28, 2007
uRegina's five-year "Building Dreams and Futures" campaign raised $82 million, above and beyond the $75 million target. The funding will be used primarily for scholarships and bursaries to recruit the "best and brightest" students, but also has been used to enhance the career centre and
mentorship program. Students sense an increasingly international focus.The Financial Times has released its 2007 Executive MBA program rankings, and China's Kellogg/Hong Kong UST Business Schools took first place overall. Schulich School of Business at York University was ranked #17, and was the highest-ranking Canadian program. The Haskayne School of Business at uCalgary came in #28, and Rotman School of Management at uToronto was #32. Ivey at the University of Western Ontario, Queen's School of Business, uOttawa's Telfer School of Business and Concordia's Molson School of Business were also included in the top 100 programs.
It is estimated that there are 60,000 to 80,000 home-schooled students in Canada -- about 1% of the student population. With higher numbers and impressive applications, some colleges and universities are setting up processes to admit home-schooled applicants -- even those without transcripts. 10 years ago, home-schooled students were told they needed to do a makeup year at a formal secondary school; some still do so, to improve their chances of admission.
CUPE 1975 rejected the final offer from the University of Saskatchewan last Friday, a 17% wage increase over 3 years. The university has prepared a contingency plan in event of a strike. uSask and uRegina are required to bargain jointly with CUPE despite "significant differences in issues and approaches" at each school. At this point, talks have broken off and members have voted 89% in favour of a strike.
Citing freedom of speech, students at the University of Victoria voted overwhelmingly to overturn a ban on military recruiters at a career fair held in the Student Union Building. A student society originally decided to exclude military recruiters from the fair, because it could be misrepresented as support for Canada's role in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
The mayor of Wolfville, Nova Scotia says that Acadia University's faculty strike is hurting local businesses. Scores of students have left town now that the strike is in its second week. The downtown core is quiet: grocery stores and restaurants in particular are feeling the most impact. About half of Acadia's 3,000 full-time students are estimated to have gone home to wait out the strike.
The second annual conference, "Strategies for Meeting the Educational Needs of Aboriginal Learners in Rural and Remote Communities," is being co-hosted this year by Northern College in Timmins, Ontario. Representatives from colleges across the country have come together to discuss their discoveries -- and are finding several common threads. Schools are working hard on introducing Aboriginal and Northern perspectives into their programming, but recognize that there is a lot of work to be done before goals are met.
Dozens of student teachers at the University of Ottawa were unable to obtain mandatory placements at local schools this week. Students and administration are blaming SUNY Potsdam, from New York state, for paying more to "buy its way" into Ontario schools. Classroom teachers point out, however, that SUNY arranged placements months ago, while uOttawa called to arrange placements as last as this month.
Students at St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon are unhappy about the proposed sale of the school's only student residence, Ogle Hall. 52 students at the Catholic liberal arts college, an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan, live in the non-smoking, non-drinking dorm. The
40-year-old residence requires $500,000 in renovations and improvements. If Ogle Hall is sold there will be no residence affiliated with the college and no guarantee of student housing.Corporate-style strategic plans have become increasingly popular for academic institutions in recent years, and particularly at for-profit institutions like Capella University, which are "ahead of the curve." Governing boards love the way a good strategic plan sets long-term objectives, sets measurable goals, and focuses limited budgetary resources. The key to an effective strategic plan is to avoid "boilerplate mission statements," and focus externally, on an honest assessment of how the institution relates to the competition. And why do all strategic plans have to be called "Vision for Excellence"??
rtraction