September 14, 2010
The body of a first-year Queen's University student was discovered early Monday morning behind the institution's largest residence building. Investigators say a group of students found the body on the grass at the rear of Victoria Hall. The deceased is reported to be an 18-year-old male student from Connecticut. The cause of death is not yet known. Queen's lowered flags in memory of the student, and is offering counselling to all students. Kingston Whig-Standard | Globe and Mail | Canadian Press | WestportNow.com
Postscript: Sep 17, 2010
The associate vice-principal and student affairs dean at Queen's University is leading a "critical incident review" into the recent death of a first-year student, whose body was discovered on campus Monday morning. The review, which is part of the university's student death protocol, will include an investigation, assessment, and recommendations, and will take into account the results of the police investigation. Kingston police believe the student died as a result of a fall from his residence room window and that alcohol may have been a factor. Queen's News Centre
In a recent questionnaire, 42% of Ontario university faculty and librarians surveyed said that the quality of education provided to students had declined between 2005 and 2008. This perception rose to 57% when asked about the direction of quality over the past year. More than 55% of respondents reported larger classes over the last year. 46% said that retiring or departing full-time faculty in the past year have not been replaced. 38% reported a decline in the amount of out-of-class assistance to students, and 51% said classes or programs were cancelled to meet budget constraints. The top priorities identified to support the teaching and research mandates of universities were new full-time hires and the expansion of research grants, respectively.
OCUFA News Release |
Read the reportAs part of its election campaign, New Brunswick's NDP promises to eliminate the mandatory summer income contribution for student loan recipients. Under current regulations, students who do not earn an income during the summer have their loans reduced by the amount loan officers calculate that they feel students should have earned, the party says. The current loan regulations discourage students from pursuing unpaid internships in their fields of interest or study, says one NDP candidate.
NB New Democratic Party News |
Daily GleanerAccording to BC's Industry Training Authority (ITA), there has been a 5% decline, year over year, from 2008-09 to 2009-10 in the number of people applying to apprenticeship programs. The root cause is the challenging economy, which has employers thinking twice before sponsoring or hiring anyone, let alone an apprentice, ITA says. There has been a 1% decline in the number of employer sponsors. The agency's CEO says it's imperative that employers and individuals looking toward the trades for jobs remain encouraged, as the Conference Board of Canada projects BC will be short 160,000 trades workers by 2015.
Vancouver ProvinceWith its
largest enrolment ever, the University of the Fraser Valley is concerned it will not have enough bursary funds to accommodate all students needing financial aid. UFV currently has a bursary and scholarship fund of just below $370,000, but it is not enough. As more students choose to attend the university, there will be increased pressure to find the funds to assist students who cannot afford the full costs of their education. Given that the average age of UFV's student body is in the mid-20s, many have other financial commitments, such as family and rent. The university hopes the community will help build up its bursary fund.
Abbotsford NewsWinnipeg Technical College's governing board announced last week the appointment of John Bobbette as the institution's new president and CEO, effective October 18. A graduate of New York's Niagara University, Bobbette has over 15 years of post-secondary senior management experience, which includes a number of senior administrative positions at Georgian College.
WTC News ReleaseThe University of Western Ontario announced Monday a $1-million bequest from the late Bob "Scoop" Gage, a long-time
London Free Press sports reporter who penned a book chronicling the history of Mustangs men's athletics. The bequest will be endowed at Foundation Western to generate annual support for the J. P. Metras Sports Museum and the Bob Gage Athletic Awards. Valued between $1,000 and $3,500, these awards are available each year to first-year students involved in basketball, track and field, men's squash, and football.
Western NewsA typo has resulted in a diploma recall for nearly 1,350 recent graduates of the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus. The error, which incorrectly identifies the title of then vice-president and principal Ian Orchard, was discovered shortly after the convocation in June, so graduates who missed the ceremony and later received their diplomas were not affected. Graduates are being asked to return the incorrect diploma in exchange for a new one. The typo does not affect the validity of the degree, a UTM spokeswoman says.
Toronto StarMount Allison University's Students' Administrative Council teamed up with this year's orientation committee to film the university's first lip dub in the weeks before the arrival of incoming students. More than 200 students participated in the production, which was choreographed to a remix of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" (rebranded as "Party in the MTA"). Members of Mount Allison's athletics department also took part in the lip dub, spelling "MTA" on MacAulay Field. Academica Group's YouTube channel has a
playlist dedicated to campus lib dubs. Please contact us at
[email protected] if you know of other Canadian lip dubs.
Watch the videoNew research from York University finds that narcissists and individuals with low self-esteem are drawn to Facebook as a self-promotional tool and tend to be heavier users of the social network. Examining the online habits and personalities of 100 Facebook users at York U between the ages of 18 and 25, the researcher, a psychology student, assessed 5 features of participants' pages for self-promotion: the "about me" section, the main photo, the first 20 pictures in the "view photos of me" section, notes, and status updates. The study observes that men displayed more self-promotion content in the "about me" and notes sections, while women demonstrated more self-promotion in their profile pictures.
York U News Release
