Top Ten
December 5, 2012
Quebec universities reportedly told to cut budgets by 5%
Le Soleil reported yesterday that Quebec Higher Education Minister Pierre Duchesne told provincial universities and CÉGEPs Tuesday they would have to make cuts to their budgets. According to the newspaper's sources, all universities would have to trim their 2012-13 budgets by 5%. Le Soleil reported that a government source confirmed the budget reductions would be announced today during the deposition of departmental appropriations for 2013-14. Duchesne's office did not confirm nor deny the information, the paper said. Radio-Canada reported that the minister was bothered by the revelation of the budget cuts by some university leaders in Quebec media. Duchesne said the reason the meeting with institutions was confidential was to provide them with information that would be made public today. Le Soleil (in French) | Radio-Canada (in French)
Lack of communication theme in report on education-to-employment
Educators, employers, and youth are like "ships passing in the night," unable to connect the millions of unemployed PSE graduates with the companies struggling to fill positions, says the lead author of a new report based on a survey of 8,500 individuals in 9 nations. About 75 million people ages 15 to 24 are unemployed worldwide, the report states. About half of the youth surveyed were not convinced their PSE had improved their chances of finding a job. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of responding employers said entry-level positions remained vacant due to applicants lacking necessary skills. Lack of communication is a theme running throughout the report. Most companies don't speak with educators on regular basis, and whey they do, it doesn't help, the report observes. Many educators are clueless about their graduates' job-placement rates; when they guess, the figures are way too high, the report states. Job applicants are also in the dark. Fewer than half the youth surveyed felt they had been given useful information about the types of jobs and salaries they might expect if they pursue particular disciplines. The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) | Executive Summary | Full Report
UBC to launch Vancouver School of Economics
UBC announced yesterday it will expand its economics department to create the Vancouver School of Economics. With the expansion, the institution will add about 10 global scholars, 328 economics student spaces, and a new undergraduate degree. The 4-year Bachelor of International Economics (BIE) will prepare students for leadership positions in the international economics field. UBC says the program, which pairs international and domestic students together in small classes, will meet labour market demand for undergraduate-level graduates with an in-depth understanding of global economics and commerce, and applied experience through co-ops, exchange programs, internships, and research projects. The BIE program is expected to start next September, conditional on approval by BC's advanced education ministry. UBC News Release
U of King's College students protest new athletic fee
University of King's College students plan to fight a board of governors' decision to approve a new $180 athletic fee despite student opposition. In a referendum held last week in advance of the board's decision, 70% of student voters at King's rejected the fee, which would help fund construction of a new Dalhousie University recreation facility. "We already have two facilities that we, on the students' union, have not heard substantial complaints about," says a King's Students' Union representative. "For us to have this new facility proposed and then approved without hearing any particular mandate from students to construct it strikes us as a bit silly." The institution's registrar says the board is "very sympathetic to the students' position" and that it does not act in contravention of students' wishes without a lot of consideration. But she notes the long-term benefit of having access to Dal's new facility would be significant. "We feel that the advantages the new facility brings will also be a competitive advantage for King's when students are evaluating their choice to come here or not." Chronicle-Herald
MHC to admit more nursing students
Medicine Hat College will have 25% more nursing students on campus during the 2013-14 academic year due to changes in the intake process. Overall, 20 new seats are being opened in the Bachelor of Nursing program offered through the University of Calgary on the MHC campus. The new spots are being added through the creation of a winter intake of students. "Changes in the curriculum enabled us to make this move," says the program's coordinator. "It is one of the college's most high-demand programs and we're excited to be able to offer more students an entry into the nursing program." There will now be 48 seats in each of the fall and winter semesters open to first-year students. Previously, only 76 students were admitted, but all in the fall semester. MHC News
First-year enrolment at Canadore up more than 7%
Canadore College reports that it experienced first-year enrolment growth of 7.7% over the previous year. More than 1,500 first-year students enrol at the North Bay-based institution each year from across Ontario and around the world. While some of these students attend Canadore directly from high school, more than 55% already have previous university or college experience. Canadore News Release
Huron launches 150th anniversary website
At its Founder's Day celebration last Friday, Huron University College kicked off one year of activities leading up to its 150th anniversary on December 2, 2013. Part of the celebration includes a website dedicated to the milestone. Visitors to the site can explore Huron's history through archived photographs, news articles, and videos; peruse a photo gallery showcasing anniversary-related activities; and find information about upcoming celebratory events. The site includes videos of members of the Huron community sharing their memories and stories, as well as vignettes of Huron's past, such as old recruitment videos and historic photographic slideshows. Huron News | Website
QS releases Global 200 Business Schools Report
Yesterday QS published its 2012-13 QS Global Business Schools Report, based on a survey of more than 3,300 active MBA employers worldwide who were asked to identify the business schools from which they prefer to recruit. The top 200 schools have been split into 4 categories, based on the employer recognition: Elite Global, Emerging Global, Elite Regional, and Emerging Regional. The Canadian schools among these categories are Western U, uToronto, McGill, UBC, York U, Queen's, HEC Montréal (Elite Global), uAlberta, SFU, uSask (Emerging Global), Concordia, uCalgary, and McMaster (Elite Regional). Global rankings are also provided in 10 key MBA subject specializations: corporate social responsibility; entrepreneurship; finance; innovation; international management; leadership; marketing; operations management; and strategy. The Canadian schools to make the top 50 in at least one of these specializations include UBC, McGill, uToronto, Western U, and York U. QS News Release | TopMBA.com | Report
SIAST new member of Polytechnics Canada
Polytechnics Canada announced yesterday it has welcomed the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology as its tenth member. "I am very happy SIAST is joining the Polytechnics Canada team," says SIAST president Larry Rosia. "Our overall educational goal, stressing training that produces job-ready, highly skilled graduates, is what we and Polytechnics Canada are all about." The organization's other members are Algonquin College, BCIT, Conestoga, George Brown College, Humber, NAIT, SAIT Polytechnic, Seneca, and Sheridan. Polytechnics Canada News Release
Coursera launches employee-matching service
Coursera, a US-based provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs), announced Tuesday its employee-matching service, called Coursera Career Service. Under the program, a participating employer is given a list of students who meet its requirements, usually the best-performing students in a particular geographic area. If the employer is interested in one of those students, then Coursera e-mails the student asking whether he or she would be interested in being introduced to that company. The employer pays a flat fee to Coursera for each introduction, and the PSE institution offering the MOOC gets a percentage of that revenue. Students and institutions can opt out of the service. The Chronicle of Higher Education (free access)
