February 14, 2008
A coalition of Alberta student alliances and faculty associations have launched an advocacy campaign to make PSE an issue in the upcoming provincial election. The "Imagine Alberta" campaign includes television, radio and billboard advertising, and a new web portal targeting parents of students or prospective students. Ads ask parents to "imagine" a world where their children cure cancer, reverse climate change or resolve other hot topic issues.
Ontario college students are not coming to class with the math skills they need for careers in technology and business, according to a new study by Seneca College and York University. The study looked at 10,000 students at six Toronto colleges: 33% were earning failing grades and were at "unacceptable risk" of dropping out of school. The report recommends more information for high school students regarding course selection, as well as more support for students.
The Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) is working with Statistics Canada to close the data gap in Canadian education. Universities are working together to implement reporting standards for enrolment, faculty, class size and graduation rate data.
As we reported last September, a recent OECD report on education ranked Canada "m" for missing data in several areas. 2 recent provincial reports have called for improved data collection in the education sector.
Kevin Chief feels that non-financial support is just as crucial to overcoming barriers to PSE, and aims to provide this support with a special initiative he is designing at the request of the University of Winnipeg's president. Chief's project will reach out to aboriginal students at elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels to help them make it to university. Educators, aboriginal leaders, and government officials across Canada are pushing out similar projects to help increase PSE participation among Aboriginal students.
Memorial University has brought back its "Rant Like Rick" contest for a second year. The marketing recruitment campaign is a joint effort between the Office of Student Recruitment and the Division of Marketing and Communications. Ads will air in movie theatres and on TV in St. John's, Halifax, Ottawa and Kingston, and can be watched on the Rant microsite, as can last year's winners. The campaign asks students to submit "rant" videos -- 3 winners will receive a tuition voucher for 2 terms at Memorial.
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has hired lawyers and is demanding an apology from the Kwantlen Student Association. Controversy surrounded both parties when an email containing CFS campaign plans was accidentally distributed to all student unions in British Columbia. The Kwantlen Student Association was one of the first student unions to let the plans go public. The campaign addressed the upcoming de-federation at Simon Fraser University. SFU, Kwantlen and graduate students at uVictoria will be voting shortly on whether to remain CFS members.
The University of Guelph will launch a new web-based green lifestyle tool on Friday morning. The "Zerofootprint' calculator is a cutting-edge resource that allows users to measure their ecological footprint and "reduce their collective impact on the environment." UoGuelph researchers worked with Zerofootprint, a nonprofit agency, to develop the initiative as part of the university's commitment to environmental sustainability.
The University of Alberta has received the Conference Board of Canada/Spencer Stuart 2008 National Award of Governance in the public sector. The award recognizes innovative and bold leadership on behalf of the Board of Governors, "creating a clear vision and a goal to advance the university's global status."
Kentucky is asking adults with partially-completed degrees to sign up for college, as part of an effort to double its number of degree-holding workers. Educators and government officials are working together to make college education appealing for older students, with initiatives such as financial aid, resources for faculty who teach adults, and student support services.
JuicyCampus promises to offer the latest dirt from campuses, "Always Anonymous ... Always Juicy." Topics include "Hottest Cornell Sophomores" and biggest drug users. Users anonymously cast their votes in categories such as these, and those who are named are asking the site to take down the threads. Pepperdine University's student government is asking university administration to block the site on the campus network.
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