March 16, 2010
The federal government's Post-Secondary Student Support Program is not meeting its objectives to help Aboriginal students enrol and succeed in higher education, according to a report released Monday by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a new Ottawa-based think-tank. The report's authors propose the creation of an Aboriginal Post Secondary Savings Account, to be opened at birth for every registered Indian, to replace the "failed" PSSSP. The savings account would include a basic sum of money, with additional funds added after the completion of each year of high school. According to the proposal, there would be strict controls to ensure the money intended to cover tuition would be paid directly from the account to a post-secondary institution.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute News Release |
Globe and Mail |
CBC |
Read the reportThe Canadian Screen Training Centre, an Ottawa-based school that trained people in the film and television industry, is closing its doors after 29 years. The centre has been trying to secure long-term funding since the summer of 2008, when the federal government cancelled a program that funded 4 national schools that trained people to work in film and television. The centre will hand over its resources to other non-profit film and television schools in Ottawa.
CBCIf it wants to attract more Chinese students to its cash-strapped high schools and post-secondary institutions, Canada needs to get a little "flirtier," argues the vice-president of the Jin Jielie Group, which specializes in matching Chinese students with foreign schools. Noting that Canada lags behind Australia and the US on international education policies and student visa policies, the VP says more Chinese students would choose to study in Canada if Canadian institutions were more open to Chinese people. Despite Canada's efforts to make the
student visa process less onerous, it's still far harder to get permission to study in Canada than in other nations, the VP observes.
Globe and MailThe Saskatchewan government is providing $2 million to the Saskatchewan Academic Health Sciences Network (SAHSN) to enhance training for health sciences students and help meet the province's need for physicians and nurses. SAHSN will use the funding to develop a distributive medical and nursing education plan. The distributed medical education model will allow medical students to complete some of their years of study and some residencies in Regina, offering an opportunity to train and establish relationships outside the usual practice environment. Expansion to other communities and other health professions is also in the works.
Saskatchewan News Release |
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada is starting the second leg of a 3-part journey to strengthen the nation's medical education system, armed with nearly $1.6 million from Health Canada to evaluate the post-graduate system. The association will examine the transition from medical student to resident, the amount of general medical knowledge physicians should possess, and how many hours residents should work each week. The second part of the evaluation follows the release in late January of a
report detailing a vision for undergraduate medical education in Canada. The third part will focus on the state of continuing education for physicians.
Health Canada News Release |
Canadian Medical Association JournalAccording to a summary prepared by the Council of Ontario Universities, federally and provincially funded infrastructure projects announced last year created over 12,000 new jobs across the province. In 2009, the federal and Ontario governments invested $1.1 billion in shovel-ready projects at 24 institutions. 8 buildings are being constructed to meet LEED standards, and as a result of the funding, 4 university facilities will focus teaching and research activities in variety of important environmental areas. The summary includes a list of projects and funding awarded.
COU News Release |
Read the summaryAcadia University is now offering a co-curricular transcript, with which students can keep track of their volunteer work, participation in athletics, club activities, and part-time work. Students will need to provide contact information on their form so Acadia staff can verify it is accurate before the transcript is finalized. Upon graduation, students will receive the document along with their grade transcript. Other institutions offering co-curricular records include the
University of Calgary and
Seneca College.
Times & Transcript Nova Scotia Agricultural College has launched a video contest in which current students are asked to showcase their top 5 things about NSAC. The top 5 videos submitted will each receive a prize, and the winning entry will be used during orientation activities this fall. First prize is a $170 FLIP video camera, and the 4 honourable mentions will each receive a $25 gift certificate to the school's bookstore. The contest runs until April 9.
NSAC News
rtraction