Top Ten
October 29, 2012
George Brown College opens waterfront campus
On Friday, George Brown College officially opened its new waterfront campus, which houses Centre for Health Sciences students in the schools of Dental Health, Nursing, Health Services Management, and Health and Wellness. Located in the heart of Toronto's East Bayfront neighbourhood, the new campus includes formal and informal study spaces, modern laboratories and equipment, simulated practice centres, and WAVE (Wellness, Applied Research and Vision Education) clinics providing health services to the community. The campus development was supported by $61.5 million from the Ontario government, $30 million from the federal government, and financial contributions from George Brown College, Waterfront Toronto, the general public, and the private sector. George Brown College Media Advisory
TRU looks at establishing engineering school
While the concept is in a preliminary stage, Thompson Rivers University president Alan Shaver says he'd like to create an engineering program at the institution. TRU's provost and dean of science are initiating discussions with faculty on the matter, Shaver says. Currently, TRU offers a first year of engineering studies, allowing transfer to UBC or the University of Victoria. TRU officials have previously dismissed the idea of introducing engineering to the institution due to its high cost, but Shaver says there might be ways to establish a program in phases. He says following discussions with faculty, TRU would need to meet with industry, professionals in the field, and government. Kamloops Daily News
RRC president on capital projects, Aboriginal engagement
In an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, Red River College president Stephanie Forsyth said the institution wants on-campus family housing, still seeks to grow in Winnipeg's Exchange District, and is considering more degree programs, in particular a bachelor of Indigenous adult education. While RRC's new culinary arts facility and student residence are set to open in the new year, its proposed skilled trades and technology centre still has financial barriers to overcome. The facility was budgeted at $175 million a year ago, a figure that keeps rising. One way to go about that project would be a private-public partnership (P3), but since the Manitoba government owns the Notre Dame campus, RRC cannot pursue P3 deals. That issue is also holding up development of on-campus student housing, particularly family housing that could accommodate Aboriginal students who cannot leave their families behind while coming to Winnipeg to study. "How do we enhance aboriginal engagement? That's critical for Manitoba," said Forsyth. One way to engage Aboriginal students: "We would like to see family housing on this campus." Winnipeg Free Press
Alberta's updated Education Act requires school boards, PSE institutions to collaborate
The Alberta government's proposed new Education Act, introduced last Thursday, includes a provision that requires school boards to work with PSE schools and the community to ensure smooth transitions for students from high school to PSE or the workforce. The registrar at the University of Alberta says they work closely with the provincial education ministry to ensure the high school curriculum is fitting student needs. NAIT president Glenn Feltham says he finds students are generally ready when they enter their first year. "Our high schools and our system, particularly in Alberta, have been doing a good job," Feltham says. "As a province, we are in incredibly good shape with the strength of our kids and the quality they are receiving in high schools." Welcoming the provision, the chair of the Edmonton Catholic Board says "we really recognize the need for communication and dialogue with post secondary." Alberta News Release | Metro Edmonton
Push to bring university to Sarnia continues
Officials in Sarnia say they'll continue to pursue bringing a university campus to the southwestern Ontario city. The Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP) has been considering the idea since 2003, and the provincial Liberal government's plan to select 3 sites for new undergraduate campuses "does make us think about it again," says SLEP's general manager. Sarnia would offer students a safe community with affordable housing, and the area's industrial infrastructure makes it ideal for an institution specializing in engineering, says the SLEP official. An adjacent satellite university campus would be feasible, says Lambton College president Judith Morris. "It has been part of our strategic plan to look at kind of a 'university wing,' so that's not out of the realm of possibility," Morris says. Sarnia Observer
Fanshawe outlines 2% annual enrolment increase goal in draft SMA
In its strategic mandate submission, Fanshawe College sets a goal of 2% enrolment growth each year for 7 years based on the institution's role in helping to supply the local and regional labour markets with appropriate skilled employees. In terms of enrolment, and in addition to direct student recruitment initiatives, Fanshawe now also focuses vigorously on non-direct and mature student; international/immigrant student; and graduate student prospects. To achieve this enrolment growth goal in the short-term, Fanshawe is offsetting its very modest domestic growth with foreign students coming primarily from India, China, and Korea. This year there are 1,044 international registrants at Fanshawe, up from 327 in 2008. In the mid-term, the college expects its non-direct and graduate student strategies (including a new School of Graduate Studies and Hybrid/Residency graduate program offerings) to start to yield favourable incremental changes in domestic enrolment. Fanshawe News | Fanshawe SMA
COU releases report on university career centres
Yesterday the Council of Ontario Universities released a report showcasing the breadth of service and innovation in career services at provincial universities that help to prepare students for their future. The report includes examples of how career centres engage in personal development and skill set identification, provide hands-on experience, distribute information to and connect with students, serve a diverse campus community, prepare students for further studies, offer support to alumni, and collaborate with faculty. The report notes that career centre directors regularly share best practices to ensure that career services bring to bear the latest research and technology. A working group of career centre directors from Trent, uToronto, uWaterloo, uWindsor, and Western U developed a practitioner guide that is a culmination of the group's research and analysis of approaches for evaluating career development services. COU News Release | Report
$2-million gift creates business law chair at uSask
John and Bill Estey, sons of the late Willard "Bud" Estey, former Supreme Court of Canada Justice, have donated $2 million to the University of Saskatchewan's College of Law to establish the Estey Chair in Business Law. The chair is intended to attract outstanding scholars in the area of business law. Chairholders will be expected to teach business law courses at the college, conduct world-class research in their field, and share their expertise and engage in outreach activities with the wider legal community. By founding the chair, it is the benefactors' hope that the initiative will help position uSask's law school as one of Canada's leading institutions in business law. The gift is the largest-ever private donation to the College of Law. uSask News Release
uWaterloo launches Student Athlete Success model
This year, University of Waterloo Athletics instituted a Student Athletic Success model. Since Orientation Week, the department encouraged all varsity coaches to direct first-year players to Student Success Office (SSO) sessions. The goal is to set student athletes off on the right foot for an all-around positive student athlete experience. While coaches help on the field/court/ice, they also meet with the athletes one-on-one to ensure overall success, including academic. The support system goes beyond athletic coaches -- Success Coaches in the SSO are also available for one-on-one sessions in addition to the Orientation sessions. uWaterloo Daily Bulletin
Mount Allison forms security matters committee
Mount Allison University has launched a new committee that will provide a more cohesive means of addressing safety and security concerns at the institution. The security matters committee will meet monthly to discuss student concerns, review any incidents that have happened on campus, and review best practices for student safety and security. The committee's mandate also includes raising awareness of what resources already exist at Mount Allison. The committee's first task is to review best practices for on-campus alcohol consumption. It plans to consult with dons, residence assistants, the student union, event services staff, and bartenders at the campus pub to create a strategy that will be implemented next September. Mount Allison News
