Top Ten
September 16, 2019
200 charges laid in first weeks of Kitchener-Waterloo Project Safe Semester
Two hundred charges have been laid in the first two weeks of Project Safe Semester, a program aiming to promote university and college student safety in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, reports CBC. Charges include 84 liquor-license related charges, 89 violations of the highway traffic act, 14 trespassing charges, three bylaw infractions, nine criminal charges, and one charge under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The goal of the project, explains Chief Bryan Larkin, is to “not only discourage unlawful behaviour, but to encourage safe and respectable behaviour.” CBC (ON)
Results from ON student fee opt-out may allow services to demonstrate “usefulness” and “quality”: Opinion
“Why should students have to pay for something they don’t consider useful?” asks Randall Denley in relation to the Government of Ontario’s Student Choice Initiative. Denley notes that the policy, which allows ON postsecondary students to opt-out of “non-essential services,” is a politically “curious” move, but one that has garnered so much controversy that it serves “as a useful distraction from [...] the fact that Ontario tuition fees remain among the highest in the country.” Nevertheless, Denley perceives benefits of the policy, stating that it could force student politicians to contemplate the relevance, usefulness, and quality of services deemed “non-essential.” Ottawa Citizen (ON)
Postsecondary institutions can do more to combat “Red Zone” sexual assaults: Bauer-Wolf
During the “first six to eight week of the semester,” notes Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, “more sexual assaults take place than at any other time in the year.” This phenomenon, known as “the Red Zone,” has been documented through studies which found that the number of sexual assaults among first-year student during September and October were more than the assaults in the next four months combined. While some institutions have attempted to address the problem through measures like altering the timing of student event, such approaches are regarded by experts as less or ineffective. Inside Higher Ed (International)
USask, City of Saskatoon partner to address urban issues
The University of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon are partnering to create a new program that aims to tackle urban issues such as urban planning, reconciliation, transit, and environmental sustainability. The program, titled Research Junction, will mobilize teams comprised of USask researchers and city staff members to connect in more coordinated ways. “This exciting flagship initiative of our university-city partnership draws on the wealth of knowledge and expertise of our research community to help find locally tailored solutions to pressing City of Saskatoon research needs,” states USask President Peter Stoicheff. USask (SK)
Lambton looks to anticipate, lead change with new slogan, name for research department, institute
Lambton College has announced its new institutional slogan, “Change Everything.” This announcement comes in the wake of Lambton’s unveiling of a new logo and shield one year ago. The message behind the new slogan, reports Lambton, is that “Lambton College is not catching up or reacting to transformation, but has in fact, been anticipating it and leading the way.” Lambton has also released a new name and logo for its Applied Research & Innovation Department, now known as Research & Innovation. The newly formed Innovation Institute was also announced under the umbrella of Research & Innovation. Lambton (1) | Lambton (2) (ON)
INRS, UBC, UAlberta, Trent collaborate with mining companies to fight greenhouse gas emissions
L'Institut national de la recherche scientifique of the Université du Québec, The University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, and Trent University will collaborate alongside three large mining companies in a project that aims to combat greenhouse gas emissions by trapping carbon dioxide in mining waste. The project, led by UBC, will receive $2M funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program. The team’s focus will be on creating new technologies that maximize the response between CO2 and magnesium silicate-rich tailings, nickel mining waste, diamonds, platinum, and other materials. UQuebec (QC, ON, BC, AB)
Sheridan, Brampton Library to expand learning options in Downtown Brampton
Sheridan College and Brampton Library have launched the second phase of their project to expand 21st century learning options in Downtown Brampton. Sheridan will offer introductory-level courses in continuing education. The courses are the first step in achieving a certificate in Data Science, Business Analysis, and Project Management. “Through this exciting partnership with Brampton Library, we’re thrilled to offer some of our most in-demand professional courses right here in downtown Brampton,” states Sheridan’s President Janet Morrison. Sheridan (ON)
Camosun opens Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness
Camosun College has opened a new centre to help student prepare for careers in health and social services. The Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness, which brings together most of Camosun’s health and human services programs, is designed for active-learning and includes flexible labs and technology that simulates real health-care situations and environments. “ These students will go on to make life-changing differences to families, communities and patients in the region and beyond,” says Camosun President Sherri Bell. BC (BC)
Improve teacher-student relationships by making a visible effort to connect: Holstead
“One of the key lessons I’ve learned in 28 years of teaching: Show students you are invested in them,” writes Carol Holstead. Several major studies have concluded that while inclusive-teaching practices are important, students also benefit from professors who foster personal connections and demonstrate care and encouragement. Holstead also conducted her own study via student evaluations, asking what a professor could do to make students feel that their instructor was invested in them and their education. The number one response was learning the students’ names, or seeing a professor attempt to learn names. Chronicle of Higher Education (International)
Fighting the “hydra-headed” problem of authorship abuse: Jurow and Jurow
“What are we as an academic community to do about proliferating authorship abuses?” ask Susan and Jordan Jurow. The problem, according to the authors, is two-fold: too many academics are listing the names of persons on papers to which they have not contributed, or withholding the names of those who have. The authors note that because there are already substantial guidelines regarding qualifications for author status for most journals and associations, the real challenge lies in moving toward “a stronger ethical sense towards each other and our research, [and being] willing to engage in some hard conversations about authorship.” Inside Higher Ed (International)
