Top Ten

CNA union raises concerns over job cuts

The president of NAPE argues that job cuts at College of the North Atlantic will prevent many adults from upgrading their education or switching careers. CNA says it is cutting 14 support staff and 23 instructor positions. Despite the upcoming reduction CNA is still at a capacity of 468 Comprehensive Arts and Sciences Transition seats province-wide. CNA says the job cuts are connected to the discontinuation of lower-than projected interest or funding for programs from other sources. NAPE News Release | CNA News Release | CBC

This digest has been revised for improved accuracy.

CLASSE takes protest on road as CFS aims for strike movement in Ontario

CLASSE president Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has been recruited to teach Ontario student leaders about Quebec's paralyzing student strikes, as Ontario students seem to be setting the stage for their own protests. The Canadian Federation of Students has organized and funded Nadeau-Dubois and other Quebec activists to tour 10 Ontario universities for its Quebec-Ontario Student Solidarity Tour. "We are optimistic that a general student strike in Ontario can and will succeed, given the right ingredients," says an open letter from Quebec activists to the CFS, adding that the letter "represents a first step towards creating a radical, democratic strike movement in Ontario and beyond." The 9-day tour kicked off yesterday at the University of Ottawa, and Nadeau-Dubois says his organization is considering a September tour to other provinces. National Post

NSCAD student union calls for provincial review of new fees

NSCAD University's student union has requested a formal review by the Nova Scotia government of 3 new fees approved by the institution's board of governors last month. The student union says the fees -- a technology renewal fee, a facility renewal fee, and a graduation fee -- contravene the MOU signed earlier this year between the government and universities. The new fees will amount to an additional $190 per student per year, and $240 per graduating student. CFS-NS News Release | NSCAD News

uManitoba researchers decry state of facilities

Almost from the moment she became president of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association, Sharon Alward heard from scientists who decried the state of their buildings, none worse than the Parker building, where ceiling tiles hang down or are gone altogether, and wires and pipes are exposed. Alward says science faculty members feel they have been left behind in uManitoba's approval and financing of massive projects to refurbish the campus. The university says it has spent more than $48.7 million on upgrading, retrofitting, and renovating its science buildings since 2008. Winnipeg Free Press

Fanshawe to open location in Clinton

Fanshawe College has announced a new location in Clinton, Ontario for its programs. The new location at the Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron will better serve the students and local communities of Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce Counties. 3 courses will be offered beginning this fall, with plans for further expansion already underway. Fanshawe will also have a satellite office at the centre. Fanshawe News

Ryerson Digital Media Zone welcomes fellows from India

This summer, Ryerson University's Digital Media Zone (DMZ) welcomes its first international fellows. The Indian fellows -- 9 individual entrepreneurs in 7 teams -- have been selected for 4-month terms in Toronto. They join the DMZ from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and the Indian School of Business. During their tenure at the DMZ, the fellows will focus on developing forward-thinking and innovative services for launch in India while learning with and alongside the DMZ's other 39 teams. Ryerson News Release

$119-million donation to Oxford to support low-income undergraduates

The University of Oxford has received a record £75-million gift ($119 million) that will be used to support disadvantaged undergraduate students. The gift from billionaire Michael Moritz is the largest donation toward undergraduate financial aid made in European university history. It will be used to help finance a targeted package of support -- worth £11,000 annually per recipient -- for students whose families earn less than £16,000 a year. Approximately 100 students will receive the scholarship in 2012-13, but Oxford wants ultimately to extend the program to all its students from the lowest-income bracket. Times Higher Education | Bloomberg News

Penn State officials covered child abuse to avoid bad publicity, investigation finds

The late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and other senior officials at the university "concealed critical facts" about Jerry Sandusky's child abuse because they were concerned about bad publicity, according to an internal investigation into the scandal. The result of an 8-month inquiry by a former FBI director, the report concluded that Paterno, president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, and vice president Gary Schultz "failed to protect against a sexual predator harming children for over a decade." With the report now complete, the NCAA says Penn State must now address 4 key questions concerning "institutional control and ethics policies," as outlined in a letter sent to the university last fall. Associated Press

Percentage of young Americans with PSE degrees rises slightly

The proportion of young Americans who possess college degrees edged up in 2010, according to data released yesterday by the US Department of Education. The share -- 39.3% of 25- to 40-year-olds in 2010, the most recent data available -- still trails the level needed to achieve President Obama's goal of making the US the country with the highest portion of college graduates by 2020. The figures, which amount to a 0.5% increase over 2009, include associate, bachelor's, and graduate degree recipients. To attain Obama's goal, some 10 million more young people will need to earn a degree, according to department figures. The Chronicle of Higher Education (free access)

China, India to produce larger share of college graduates worldwide

China and India are expanding their influence in the PSE arena -- according to a new OECD report, approximately 40% of young PSE degree-holders in leading nations will come from China and India by 2020. The US and some EU nations will produce about 25%. The gap between China and the US will grow even larger by 2020. China is expected to produce 29% of all PSE graduates studied in the report, and the US is projected to produce 11% of those graduates. Having produced 11% of graduates in 2010, India is slated to overtake the US and produce 12% of the share of graduates by the end of this decade. Canada is expected to produce 2%. Inside Higher Ed | Report