April 30, 2008
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on Monday a five-year, $300-million research and education partnership with the University of Guelph. The funding will go towards innovative research and education in agri-food, environmental sustainability, animal and human health, and veterinary education. The investment is in addition to one-time,
$56-million funding to UoGuelph's Ontario Veterinary College in the 2008 Ontario budget. The school and OMAFRA first entered into an "enhanced partnership" agreement in 1997.
Guelph Mercury |
Ontario News Release |
UoGuelph News ReleaseThe BC government announced on Monday it will grant university status to the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design. The school will be known as the Emily Carr University of Art + Design. For the past 10 years, the school's president has been working toward the status change. For more than 20 years, Emily Carr has been granting undergraduate degrees and, more recently, graduate degrees. The president believes the university designation will attract higher-calibre students and faculty, and give the school access to more sources of funding.
Globe and Mail |
ECIAD News ReleaseYesterday we received word that BC's Capilano College has finally achieved the university status it has been
seeking since the Campus 2020 report was issued last year. The school's new name will be "Capilano University". Capilano has been granting degrees for the past 15 years of its 40-year history. Capilano serves the communities of the Lower Mainland, Howe Sound, and the Sunshine Coast through campuses in North Vancouver, Squamish and Sechelt.
Capilano media releaseStarting in September, the University of Manitoba will launch the country's first university-based Physician Assistant Education Program, which is a graduate-level education program leading to a Master of Physician Assistant Studies. Until now, the only physician assistant training program accredited by the Canadian Medical Association is run through the Canadian Forces. Physician Assistants work under the supervision of a physician in a variety of health-care settings, and can perform a number of duties including conducting physical exams, ordering diagnostic tests, and prescribing medication.
uManitoba News |
CBCLast week, the presidents of Calgary's Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Edmonton's Grant MacEwan College signed a Collaboration Agreement that commits their schools to exploring opportunities for shared initiatives in academic projects, student services and instructional technology. SAIT and MacEwan have previously worked together in creating an online Business diploma through eCampusAlberta.
SAIT News ReleaseAlthough in recent months we've seen a flurry of new and expanded aviation programs (at
NSCC,
CANLink,
uWaterloo, and
Sault College), and enrolment seems to be rebounding after the post-9/11 bust, Montreal's Concordia University has been struggling to make its International Aviation MBA program profitable, or to attract sufficient interest. Last week, Concordia announced it will terminate the program in August 2009, when the last 11 students are expected to graduate.
Montreal Gazette |
Director's MessageThe most recent issue of Statistics Canada's free online publication,
Education Matters: Insights on education, learning and training in Canada, includes an exploration of the question, "Why are the majority of university students women?" StatsCan identifies major leading indicators of the university gender gap: differences in school marks at age 15; standardized test scores in reading at age 15; study habits; parental expectations; and the earnings advantage of university graduates over those with just a high school education.
Statistics Canada |
CBCResults from the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program, administered by CMEC (the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada), show that 13-year-olds in Quebec lead the nation in reading and math. Alberta students took first in science, while Ontario students placed second in math and reading. Overall, 88% of students nationwide met or exceeded the expected level of reading. The test also found female students outperformed their male counterparts in reading, as 26% of girls achieved the superior level, compared to 19% of boys.
Globe and Mail |
Toronto Star |
CMEC News ReleaseIn the wake of Carleton University student
Nadia Kajouji's apparent suicide, Jeff Ryback wonders what's going on in PSE that leaves so many students feeling stressed and hopeless. He argues that one cause may well be that there is too much societal and parental pressure on young people to attend university, when some of them don't belong there. Ryback says the best thing we can do for any student is to make it OK not to be a student. (See Ken's review of
Jeff Rybak's recent book,
What's Wrong with University.)
Maclean's OnCampus The number of students who apply unexpectedly to US colleges and universities is on the rise, according to a survey of admissions deans and enrolment managers by the
Chronicle of Higher Education. 41% of respondents said the number of "stealth applicants" -- students whose applications are their first contact with schools -- has increased greatly at their colleges over the past 10 years, and an additional 37% said the number increased somewhat. These developments pose challenges for enrolment forecasters, who are accustomed to predictive modelling of yield rates based on student visits and requests for information.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required)
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