April 8, 2009
As outlined in its latest budget, announced Tuesday, the Alberta government will pledge $2.65 billion in PSE operating funding, an $88-million increase over last year. The budget includes $484 million in capital support for the 2009-10 fiscal year. The province's 2009-12 Capital Plan entails $1.2 billion over 3 years to support post-secondary infrastructure projects. $170 million will be directed to student assistance programs. The budget provides $104 million for innovation, research, and technology commercialization initiatives, as well as $76 million for apprenticeship technical training.
Alberta 2009 Budget Summary |
Alberta News Release 1 |
Alberta News Release 2 |
Calgary HeraldThe federal government announced Tuesday a $58.6-million investment in 61 new or renewed Canada Research Chairs at 14 universities across Ontario. Through this funding, the chairs will be able to conduct further research in areas such as natural sciences, health sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.
Industry Canada News ReleaseOn Tuesday, the Canada Foundation for Innovation announced $26 million in funding for 117 research projects at 29 institutions across the country. The investment, under CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund, will support projects such as enhancing the quality of life for the elderly through new treatment options at the University of Alberta, improving the user experience in digital gaming and immersive environments for use in education at McMaster University, and using new meteorological devices to gather data to help operators make more efficient wind farms at the Université de Moncton.
CFI News ReleaseOn Tuesday, Toronto-based Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, a post-secondary institution devoted to applied health science education, announced a fundraising campaign titled "Stronger, Smarter, Better" to support its $69-million Capital Development Project, which includes the CAE/Michener Centre for the Advancement of Simulation in Healthcare. When completed this fall, the centre is expected to provide team-based training to over 1,500 students and health care practitioners every year.
Michener News Release As outlined in its 2009-10 budget, approved by its board of governors on Tuesday, Camosun College is cutting 18 positions, split between the teaching and non-teaching sectors. 12 of the affected positions are currently vacant. The remaining 6 employees are able to take advantage of various labour-adjustment options in the collective agreement. These options include moving elsewhere in the college, opting for a buyout, or ultimately being laid off.
Camosun News Release |
Victoria Times-ColonistThe University of Windsor has appealed the Ontario government's decision to award the university just 4 of
3,300 new graduate student spaces while the University of Toronto will receive funding for 588 spots. With the assistance of the province's finance minister, uWindsor has initiated talks with the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities to press the point it is not getting its fair share of the government-funded positions. uWindsor's graduate studies dean says it would be a mistake for Ontario to pump more funds into the heavily populated GTA at the expense of community universities such as uWindsor.
Windsor StarAccording to a new survey from the University Presidents' Council of British Columbia, 87.7% of masters and doctoral graduates of 5 BC universities (Royal Roads U, SFU, UBC, UNBC, uVic) said they would recommend their university to prospective students. Royal Roads U graduates were more likely to recommend (94%) and express loyalty (77%) to their school than their counterparts at other institutions. UBC graduates rated their school's reputation higher than other participants, with 89.5% stating "very good" or "good." At 61%, UNBC had the highest proportion of graduates who maintain a relationship with the university.
Royal Roads U News Release |
Read the full reportThis fall, the University of Calgary will open Global Village, a student residence designed to offer a multicultural living experience. The first living learning community at uCalgary, Global Village will pair one international student with a Canadian student in a 2-bedroom suite. The students will participate in programs developed to accomplish 3 key learning outcomes: increasing students' cultural awareness, demonstrating global and local awareness, and developing leadership skills in a multicultural community. Students' participation in the Global Village community will be recognized on their
co-curricular record.
UTodayLast week, the board of governors at the University of Victoria approved a new student residence building. Set to break ground this June, the 7-storey, 106-unit facility will help the university address the increasing demand for residence accommodation from first-year students. The project includes a proposal to relocate the Residence Life department to an accessible and visible location on the lower floor. The building is expected to take in its first residents in September 2010.
uVic RingKwantlen Polytechnic University has unveiled an updated version of its "
Digital Café," a hub for the institution's social media resources. Through the page, visitors can access university-related Facebook groups and pages, blogs, and Twitter updates. Kwantlen has also launched KwantlenUTV, an interactive portal housing Kwantlen videos under an organized menu using YouTube. Visitors can click on the "play video" button on the bottom left-hand corner of the Digital Café page to get an overview of the university's social media community.
Kwantlen Digital Café
rtraction