June 3, 2009
Sheridan College announced yesterday that its "Student Capital Campaign" closed with a fundraising total of $37 million, well above the $30-million goal. The campaign, launched in 2006, raised funds to meet the space and technology demands of the college's growing student body. Campaign funds have supported 4 priority projects: the Sheridan Animation Centre, the Sheridan Centre for Healthy Communities, the Davis campus student learning commons, and technology and equipment needs of college programs.
Sheridan College News ReleaseOn Tuesday, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council announced $32 million in funding over 6 years under its Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program for 20 projects at universities across Canada. The projects, designed to assist graduates in expanding their professional and personal skills in order to make the transition to the workplace easier, focus on a wide range of areas, including nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, and aquaculture. The initiative aims to attract and retain highly qualified workers.
NSERC News ReleaseAccording to new data from the Ontario Universities' Application Centre, the rate of Ontario high school students accepting admission offers from the Ontario College of Art & Design are up over 33% from the year before -- the largest such increase of any university in the province. Following right behind is the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, whose acceptance rate jumped nearly 15% from 2008. In terms of programs, diploma programs saw the biggest increase at over 58%, followed by education at 16%. 65,203 Ontario high school students have made confirmations so far, up 2.4% from 2008.
OCAD News Release |
OUAC data (by university) |
OUAC data (by program)Officials at Queen's University announced Tuesday the school is not interested in being part of Kingston's proposed $7-million track and field complex project if it were built in the city's west end near Highway 401. Several years ago, Queen's indicated interest in providing up to $200,000 for a running track to be built at St. Lawrence College, whose campus is in close proximity to Queen's. Now that the city is eyeing a much larger complex in the west end, the location would be all but inaccessible for students.
Kingston Whig-StandardThe Saskatchewan government announced Tuesday a $2.2-million investment in student loan enhancements to help students from low- to middle-income families afford PSE. The changes include increasing the student loan limit to $140 per week of study, a new student grant that will provide $58 per week to low-income students enrolled in one-year programs below the undergraduate level, and a new Repayment Assistance Plan that will give student borrowers more flexibility in negotiating affordable payments towards their government loans. These changes are scheduled to take effect on August 1.
Saskatchewan News Release"It's going to be a difficult 2009," says Mount Royal College's parking and transportation services manager. The school will have fewer parking spots while new facilities will take over old parking lots as the college works towards becoming a
university. To accommodate the changes, a 1,200-stall parkade will be erected across the college's business school in about 2 years. Mount Royal will stop designating some lots for students and others for staff, while students living in residences will lose their parking priority. Instead, everyone will be offered the same 3 permit options.
CBCJilin University, the largest university in the world, recently signed a collaboration agreement with the Brain Repair Centre at Dalhousie University. The centre and Jilin U, based in northeastern China, have been working together since 2007 after the university learned about the centre's innovative work through medical journal articles. Interested in creating a brain repair centre of their own, Jilin U staff will receive procedural training by the Dal centre, while the university may help fund joint projects in the future.
Halifax Chronicle-HeraldThe Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations is urging each political party in the province to implement an access guarantee for higher education. ANSSA recommends the creation of a foundation to fund outreach projects to encourage under-represented groups, such as Aboriginal students and those with disabilities, to pursue PSE, as well as target improved financial assistance at such groups. ANSSA says PSE has not been much of an issue in the provincial election campaign, which the association believes is because politicians are taking advantage of the school year being over.
Cape Breton PostOn Tuesday, Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis awarded the University of Prince Edward Island-based Atlantic Veterinary College $1.3 million for a research chair in fish health. The funds cover salary and a portion of research costs over 5 years. As outlined in its contract with the vet college, Novartis will choose the field of study for the research chair.
Novartis News Release |
CBCAs another means of revenue, Facebook has introduced an internal payments system in which users can purchase Facebook "credits" to be used to buy virtual goods from either third-party applications or the social networking site itself. Serving as the payment provider, Facebook will capture a percentage of every transaction. Facebook hopes to encourage more commerce on the site by offering site-wide currency. The revenue generated from the payments system could soon represent a third of Facebook's income.
Financial Times
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