Top Ten
April 1, 2008
$66-million bursary program, 3-year tuition freeze for Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia's provincial government has announced a 3-year tuition freeze at current levels, as part of an effort to reduce tuition to the national average. The Nova Scotia University Student Bursary is a new $66-million program introduced to reduce the cost of attending university. A memorandum of understanding commits to increased funding for the universities from the province. Students will receive up to $1,283 each through the program. NS News Release | Maclean's | The Globe & Mail | CBCNew Innovation Park at Queen's University announced
Queen's University has confirmed plans to build an innovative technology park on 49 acres of vacant land adjacent to the Novelis Inc. research and development centre in Kingston. The Innovation Park will serve as a co-location centre for technology transfer and public-private partnerships with industry, particularly in the areas of alternative energy and environmental technologies, bioprocessing and bioenergy, and advanced materials. The land was purchased for $5.3 million. Queen's News ReleaseSFU receives $13 million for School for Contemporary Arts
Yesterday, Simon Fraser University received $13.3 million in provincial funding towards its new $72-million School for Contemporary Arts. The School plans to fill 5 floors with public space, performance venues, teaching studios, a 400-seat theatre, and a multimedia lounge. It also plans to increase economic activity in downtown Vancouver by as much as $7.5 million annually. BC News ReleaseWilfrid Laurier considers major new campus in Milton
Wilfrid Laurier University announced yesterday that it is exploring a possible new campus on 150 acres of land adjacent to the Niagara escarpment, on the southwest side of Milton Ontario, the fastest-growing municipality in Canada. Laurier president Max Blouw says, “University demand is expected to continue growing in Ontario, fueled in part by population growth in the Greater Toronto Area... Milton is therefore an excellent location for a university campus, and Laurier — with our success developing satellite campuses in Brantford, Kitchener and downtown Toronto — is an experienced university partner.” Dr. Blouw also has experience building the University of Northern British Columbia from a "greenfield" site. Laurier media releaseNew study profiles Canada's career college students
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation has just released a new study on students attending Canada's private career colleges. 72% are women, with an average age of 29. 60% took a break after high school. Less than 10% would prefer to attend university. More than half anticipate carrying a debt load of $10,000 or more -- compared to only one-third of public PSE students. Career college students are less likely to have family financial support, more likely to have dependents, and were more dependent on government financial aid. CMSF News Release | The Globe & MailYork University's Jewish holidays called discriminatory
An investigator for the Ontario Human Rights Commission has concluded that York University's policy of cancelling classes on Jewish holidays discriminates against students of other religions. For the past 34 years, York has cancelled 3 days of classes each year for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A postal-code analysis suggests that 5.8% of York's student population is Jewish, 4.8% Muslim, 34.9% Catholic and 22.1% Protestant. The Toronto Star | Maclean's
Correction: April 3, 2008
No Human Rights ruling as yet on Jewish holidays: On Tuesday, we noted stories in the Toronto Star and Maclean's that suggested an Ontario Human Rights Commission investigator had made a "ruling" finding York University's observance of Jewish holidays discriminatory. The Commission is correcting these reports, indicating that the case has not yet come before the Commissioners for a decision. The parties have received a case report prepared by Commission staff, which summarizes the results of an investigation, and makes no recommendation one way or the other. CNW
