February 9, 2010
The University of Manitoba hopes to save $30 million a year by trimming non-teaching expenses, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report found the institution could reduce costs by centralizing supply purchases, co-ordinating services across the university, and reducing the excessive sick days logged in 2 departments. While specific cuts have yet to be decided, if reductions are not made in support services, they will have to come out of academic budgets, says uManitoba's vice-president of administration, who'd rather not cut teaching or research budgets in order not to significantly affect students and faculty. University administration will make its decisions on the cuts some time next month.
Winnipeg Free Press |
CBCMedical students in Saskatchewan do not perform pelvic exams on unconscious patients without consent, contrary to a recent
Globe and Mail article suggesting such a practice is "routine" across Canada, says the University of Saskatchewan's associate dean of medical education. The associate dean says all patients are asked to provide consent for any kind of participation by medical students in a procedure. The Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada also refutes claims made in the
Globe article, stating that describing students performing pelvic exams without a patient's consent is "simply false."
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |
Response from APOG |
Globe and Mail McGill University's senate will be asked today to approve revised research ethics guidelines that remove a 22-year-old clause requiring researchers accepting funds from military sources to indicate whether the research would have "direct harmful consequences." The move is meant to bring McGill in line with other research-intensive institutions in Canada and the US, most of which do not have criteria specifically targeting money from military sources. The proposed policy calls upon researchers "to balance the potential benefits against the possibility of harmful applications." Opponents of the revised policy say no progress has been made on the key issue of "harmful" research, whether funding comes from military sources, Big Pharma, or multinational corporations.
Montreal Gazette |
Demilitarize McGill blogThe University of Ontario Institute of Technology has signed a 30-year lease for use of the Alger Press Building in downtown Oshawa, to be renovated for use by the school's faculty of criminology, justice, and policy studies by September. With UOIT having already committed to leasing academic and office space in a
facility being constructed nearby, the 2 suites ensure the institution will be able to provide all the space and resources for the faculty, which is at over 1,000 students and quickly growing.
UOIT News ReleaseOver the past 30 years, enrolment at for-profit universities in the US has grown by 9% per year, compared to 1.5% annually for all institutions. For-profit schools now educate about 10% of the country's 19 million students who enrol in degree-granting institutions year round. One key reason for-profit institutions have been so successful is that they offer courses at times convenient to their students. The enrolment process is often much quicker at for-profit schools, and once students are registered, these institutions work hard to hang onto them through graduation. For-profit schools also spend a lot of money to recruit students. Apollo Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, the second largest higher-education system in the US, spent $275 million on "selling and promotional" expenses in the 3-month period ending November 30, 2009.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required)
On Monday, the federal government announced a $53.5-million investment over 3 years to support 122 research projects at universities across the country. The funds come from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Strategic Project Grants Program. Target areas for funding under the program include environmental science and technologies, natural resources and energy, information and communications technologies, and health.
NSERC News ReleaseAccording to a new study assessing the socio-economic impact of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, total direct spending by the institution and its undergraduate medical students is pegged at $37 million annually, and the recirculation of these funds generates between $67 million and $82 million in economic activity. NOSM funds more than 230 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and supports between 420 and 510 FTE positions in northern Ontario through various economic effects. Those interviewed for the study say the school has had a positive impact on the host universities -- Laurentian and Lakehead -- and affiliated health-care institutions. Interviewees anticipate that NOSM graduates will relieve the chronic shortage of physicians across northern Ontario, and that francophone and Aboriginal medical learners will help alleviate the shortage of doctors serving these two population groups.
NOSM News Release |
Read the reportSome US college admissions officials are denouncing the marketing strategy of URoomSurf, a roommate matching start-up reaching students directly through Facebook, creating groups with "Class of 2014 -- Looking for Roommates!" in the title. Some of the groups' members might not be aware the schools themselves did not create the groups. While URoomSurf's founders argue they are using Facebook to promote their website, college officials say the company's marketing strategy is inappropriate in that the groups are likely to confuse incoming students and create unrealistic expectations about schools' ability to match students with those they found using URoomSurf. There are also reports of the company posting ads on walls and discussion forums of colleges' official Facebook groups, even after requests not to do so. In the past year,
disingenuous "Class of..." Facebook groups have popped up in the US and Canada.
Inside Higher Ed |
URoomSurf
rtraction