Top Ten
January 19, 2010
uManitoba shuts down on-campus fight club
The University of Manitoba has disbanded a fight club running in a third-floor squash court in the school's Frank Kennedy Centre. Late last year, a gym member notified recreation staff about seeing a man exiting the court with a bloody face. In its investigation, uManitoba uncovered a Facebook group with 87 members discussing fights at the centre. At least one consensual fight occurred, and there may have been others, possibly with spectators. 4 students and a casual staff member of the recreation centre were suspended from the facility for a month, while the other Facebook group members were found not to be participants. The Facebook group page has since been removed. uManitoba has increased security and monitoring to prevent further organized fights. Winnipeg Free Press | Winnipeg Sun | CBCUBC-O awarded injunction in private road dispute
Access to the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus via Curtis Road has been restored after the university obtained a court order last week to remove a gate constructed by 2 property owners along Curtis Road that blocked bicycle and pedestrian access to the back of the campus. The court also granted a permanent injunction against the land owners, preventing them from blocking or otherwise obstructing the university's access over Curtis Road where the gate was located. UBC-O states the gate construction violated the terms of a right of way put in place many years ago to preserve and protect access for all property owners along Curtis Road and their invitees. UBC-O Public Affairs | Kelowna.comEnhanced recruitment efforts pay off for smaller Ontario universities
With its local high-school population dwindling, Laurentian University "had to improve the way we got our story out." The small, Sudbury-based institution boosted its recruitment efforts, blitzing high schools and introducing new scholarships. It appears Laurentian's efforts are starting to pay off, as figures released Monday show a 12.5% increase in applications among secondary students to the university. At Trent University, also a small institution, applications are up almost 15%, the largest increase among Ontario universities. After tough years of budget and enrolment shortfalls, Trent sought assistance from US recruitment experts. The university focused outreach efforts on mid-sized centres like Barrie and Newmarket, launched scholarships to attract top students, and adopted other strategies its vice-president of research says he can't talk about. Globe and Mail | OUAC Preliminary Stats (by university) | OUAC Preliminary Stats (by program)Ontario TCU minister highlights results of "Reaching Higher" plan
Speaking at the Canadian Club in Toronto Monday, Ontario Training, Colleges, and Universities Minister John Milloy outlined the results of "Reaching Higher," a 5-year, $6.2-million plan introduced in 2005 to transform the province's PSE sector. There are 100,000 more students in Ontario's PSE system since "Reaching Higher" was launched. The number of graduate students has risen by 48% in the last 5 years, and today there are 120,000 apprentices training in the province, double the proportion when the McGuinty government took office. Since the plan's inception, Ontario has increased the amount of student financial support by 250%. Operating funding to universities and college has risen by $1.7 billion. Read the speaking notes
