November 3, 2009
The University of Western Ontario has enlisted the expertise of a former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner to undertake an independent review of the
arrest of a UWO student last month that raised concerns about how a campus safety incident was managed. The review will look at policies and procedures, such as whether the situation was preventable, and the training and resources available to campus police. The review will focus only on campus police as UWO does not have jurisdiction over London police. Recommendations from the review will be made public.
Western News |
London Fress Press 6 members of Campus Pro-Life, a student group at the University of Calgary that defied school officials by refusing to alter a graphic poster campaign, will not go to trial on
charges of trespassing. The charges were stayed after it was determined there was not enough evidence to proceed with the prosecution. In a statement to the media, uCalgary says it "remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of campus and will take some time to reflect on this development. The safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and faculty are paramount issues."
Calgary Herald |
CBCOn Monday, an arbitration board dismissed 5 grievances filed by the University of Regina Faculty Association against First Nations University of Canada concerning the events of February 2005. In that month, the school's chairman at the time directed an investigation that involved the suspension of several senior officials at FNUC, as well as a forensic audit that led to
criminal charges being laid against a former vice-president. The board found no evidence to support the grievances filed by URFA, who alleged the actions in 2005 constituted a lockout and a breach of academic freedom.
Regina Leader-Post The Ontario College Compensation and Appointments Council is challenging a recent province-wide vote by part-time support staff at Ontario colleges to join the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. The council argues the union did not get the required 35% of support staff to sign union membership cards to conduct a valid vote. Depending on the outcome of the challenge, the ballots might never be counted. OPSEU is seeking an Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing as soon as possible to resolve the issue.
NUPGE News Release |
Waterloo Region Record In an interview last month on the issue of attracting more men to university, University of Alberta president Indira Samarasekera said she is "going to be an advocate for young white men, because I can be." Samarasekera's comments prompted a group of uAlberta students to launch a satirical poster campaign last week to protest the president's assertion that young white men need help. One poster states "Only White Men Can Save Our University," while another reads "Women: Stop! Drop! Men: Enroll!" A member of the Samarasekera Response Team says if the president feels the need to advocate for someone, it should be women and people of colour.
Edmonton Sun |
CBCAccording to legislation introduced by the New Brunswick government to make provincial colleges more independent, 2 boards -- one francophone and one anglophone -- will be set up for the New Brunswick Community College system. Each will have its own CEO and president. NB's PSE minister says being arm's-length from the provincial government will give the colleges more opportunities to create partnerships with private companies.
CBCOn Monday, Humber College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Centre for Trades & Technology as part of the launch of Skilled Trades and Technology Week, an annual event hosted by Skills Canada that promotes and raises awareness of skilled trades and technology careers in the country. The 95,000-square-foot facility features 2 full-sized townhomes and dedicated labs for programs including construction, plumbing, welding, electrical, home renovation, woodworking, cabinetmaking, and building systems.
Humber News ReleaseAccording to a
Chronicle of Higher Education analysis of College Board data, 58 private colleges in the US now charge at least $50,000 for tuition, fees, room, and board, up from just 5 colleges last year. Some private-college advocates argue that the listed prices might create a false impression that private institutions are unaffordable. The president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities says 8 out of 10 students receive grants. Among 42 private schools whose list price for tuition and other fees was over $50,000 this year, the average grant per full-time student was just over $13,000 in the 2008-09 school year. Meanwhile, another
Chronicle analysis shows that 23 college presidents earned over $1 million in total compensation, and 110 made more than $500,000 in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) |
New York Times Like
Purdue University, Arizona-based Rio Salado College has developed a predictive modeling system on student success using information collected from learning management systems. The college assesses the risk level of students based on when, and how frequently, they log into their course homepage. Instructors are notified a week into classes about the medium-risk students so they can reach out to those students and try to get them on track. Unlike Purdue, Rio Salado and Capella University, a for-profit online institution, do not inform students about their risk status; however, both schools will eventually start to inform students when a bad outcome is predicted.
Inside Higher Ed
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