In this interview, provided by the Global University Network for Innovation, Lean Heng Chan from Universiti Sains Malaysia discusses the role of higher education in connecting students, faculty, and staff with the social realities of their environment and engaging them in the development of solutions to societal problems.
Tuesday, 29 June, 2010
Higher education as an agent for social change
Monday, 28 June, 2010
Manitoba rejects most fee increase proposals
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
Advanced Education Minister Diane McGifford has rejected 10 of 12 requests from the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg for tuition cap exemptions.
McGifford has accepted only two of a dozen requests for huge increases in tuition, from U of M's business MBA program and the faculty of dentistry.
Dentistry tuition goes up by 20 per cent in each of the next two years, the amount the faculty had requested.
The I.H. Asper School of Business gets an additional 25 per cent for its MBA program in each of the next two years, for future students only — well short of the 88 per cent increase requested over three years that would have included current students
Friday, 25 June, 2010
UCalgary pro-life group retains club status
From The Calgary Herald:
A University of Calgary pro-life group embroiled in an on-campus dispute over its graphic posters will be able to keep its status as a club.
The Campus Pro-Life Club's standing was under review after the U of C Students' Union club committee moved to revoke it.
Wednesday, 23 June, 2010
Debt loads of Maritime university graduates
A report from the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, titled Five Years On: A Survey of Class of 2003 Maritime University Graduates – Report on Key Findings Among First Degree Holders, notes that 70% of Maritime university graduates who completed their first degree in 2003 continued on to a second program of study within 5 years.
Compared to 1999, the proportion of Maritime students borrowing for a first degree and/or any additional program taken within 5 years increased by 5% to 78%. These students borrowed an average of about $31,000, with 46% borrowing $30,000 or more.
The report also points out that 23% of student borrowers still owed at least $30,000 five years after completing their first degree, while 28% had paid off their loans entirely. Of those who were able to repay their student debts completely, 60% borrowed less than $15,000.
The full report may be downloaded here in .pdf format.
Monday, 21 June, 2010
Steep rise in UK university fees would deter many
Against the backdrop of the on-going review of university and student funding in England, a recent Sutton Trust-sponsored survey of high school students in England and Wales found that four out of five youth are planning to go on to higher education.
The results of the survey also indicate that the proportion of young people planning to participate in higher education would drop dramatically with increased annual tuition fees (the current maximum is £3,225 per year). The impact of increasing fees to £5,000, £7,000, and £10,000 per year is illustrated in the figure below.
The full report may be downloaded here in .pdf format.
Wednesday, 16 June, 2010
Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Hey now, what was that?
In response to a poorly articulated piece from the Montreal Economic Institute on tuition fee increases in Quebec, the Canadian Federation of Students has "demonstrated its complete lack of understanding of post-secondary education policy" with the following nugget:
In Newfoundland and Labrador the effect of lower tuition fees has been pronounced. Prior to the introduction of tuition fee reductions and freezes in Newfoundland and Labrador, university enrollment, high school graduation, and population overall had been declining.No word as of this writing from the CFS on whether the increased incidence of armed robbery in Newfoundland and Labrador is also associated with university tuition fees.
EAN Annual Conference at Södertörns högskola
Today is the final day of the European Access Network Annual Conference at Södertörns högskola (Södertörn University) in Stockholm. The EAN is a Europe-wide, non-governmental organization which advocates widening access to post-secondary education for those who are currently under-represented. Considering the continuing access problems across our country, this sort of access umbrella organization could be advantageous for Canada.
In the picture below, I am with my fellow Ontario Institute for Studies in Education alum Dr. Stacey Young. Dr. Young is currently the Director of Research and Evaluation for Pathways to Education Canada, which is dedicated to improving high school graduation rates in disadvantaged communities and increasing access to post-secondary education among disadvantaged youth in Canada. 
Monday, 14 June, 2010
Supporting students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Newly released from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario:
A new report released today estimates that 5,800 students identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are currently in Ontario’s publicly funded secondary schools. School staff expect that approximately 1,100 of these students will seek to enter college or university between 2009 and 2011.The full report may be downloaded here in .pdf format.
The report, Identifying Trends and Supports for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder Transitioning into Postsecondary, makes a number of suggestions for postsecondary institutions to support students with ASD based on successful practices at the secondary school level. These include:
- more specialists and staff who are trained in meeting the needs of students with ASD working in postsecondary institutions, especially in institutions where there are large numbers of students identified with ASD;
- active partnerships with parents where designated disability service staff, students and their families can work together to build an effective support plan;
- adjustments to the learning environment to make it more accommodating to students with ASD;
- close monitoring of social-emotional needs particularly during transitions periods; and
- training for staff at postsecondary institutions in ASD-specific learning strategies and flexibility for support personnel to work more intensively with students during transition periods.
Wednesday, 9 June, 2010
Tuesday, 8 June, 2010
Access to PSE must be increased says think-tank
The Toronto-based Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity has released a new report on economic prosperity in Canada. The report, titled Report on Canada 2010: Beyond the Recovery, says the following about Canadian post-secondary education policy:
The Institute is concerned that governments will cut back severely on their investments in education – which happened the last time they attacked their deficits. We need to avoid repeating that mistake. We must continue making investments in education to increase access for all Canadians to post secondary education, to raise the number of master’s graduates, and to improve the classroom experience for students.The full report may be downloaded here in .pdf format.
Monday, 7 June, 2010
To Spain for EDEN, then Sweden for EAN
I'm heading to Valencia, Spain this week for the annual conference of the European Distance Education Network (EDEN) at Universidad Politecnica de Valencia. The paper I submitted with my colleague Dr. Dennis Sharpe, Intention, Transition, Retention: Examining High School Distance e-Learners' Participation in Tertiary Education, has been short-listed for the EDEN 2010 Best Research Paper Award.
I'm delighted with our nomination, and I'm also rooting for our colleagues Oana Radu and Dr. Tim Seifert who are listed for the award as well. Two of the other four short-listed papers are also authored by Canadian researchers, so the odds are good that the Maple Leafs could win one for a change.
After EDEN, I'm giving a paper at the European Access Network (EAN) annual conference at Södertörn University in Stockholm. My paper is titled Access to Canada’s Quasi-Market Higher Education System: Recent Policy Interventions and Innovations. I expect the main event at the conference will be the final day's debate on: An Enterprise Culture is NO Threat to Equity in Higher Education, which is to include the head of the Swedish National Union of Students facing off against Lapland's answer to Heather Munroe-Blum.
I'm delighted with our nomination, and I'm also rooting for our colleagues Oana Radu and Dr. Tim Seifert who are listed for the award as well. Two of the other four short-listed papers are also authored by Canadian researchers, so the odds are good that the Maple Leafs could win one for a change.
After EDEN, I'm giving a paper at the European Access Network (EAN) annual conference at Södertörn University in Stockholm. My paper is titled Access to Canada’s Quasi-Market Higher Education System: Recent Policy Interventions and Innovations. I expect the main event at the conference will be the final day's debate on: An Enterprise Culture is NO Threat to Equity in Higher Education, which is to include the head of the Swedish National Union of Students facing off against Lapland's answer to Heather Munroe-Blum.
Friday, 4 June, 2010
Abstracted: Tuition fees and student employment
An article in the current edition of the Canadian Journal of Higher Education reports on a study which used data from Statistics Canada’s Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) to examine the relationship between tuition fee levels and Canadian university students’ labour market participation. Here's the abstract of the article, titled Dividing Time Between Work and Study: Are Tuition Fees a Factor?:
This article examines whether rising tuition fees for post-secondary education are a contributing factor in students’ labour market decisions. When labour market decisions for total number of working hours and for participation were measured, the results suggested that concerns about increased tuition fees leading to more work and compromising academic studies were unwarranted. The tuition fee effect was highly seasonal in nature. When tuition fees increased, students devoted more hours and participated more in labour market activities, but they did so only during the summer period, a time when most students are typically not involved in study activities.
Wednesday, 2 June, 2010
Profs slam new copyright restrictions
News release from the Canadian Association of University Teachers:
The group representing Canada’s university and college teachers says the federal government’s latest copyright bill will unduly restrict the rights of students, teachers, researchers and all Canadians.
“We are deeply disappointed that despite the clear message delivered during the copyright consultations, the Harper government has instead caved in to the demands of the American entertainment industry and is unduly limiting the rights of Canadians to access information and entertainment,” said David Robinson, associate executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers.
During the consultations, CAUT and many other participants emphasized that fair dealing — the right to reproduce copyrighted work without permission or payment in certain circumstances such as research, private study, criticism, review or news reporting – needed to be expanded and protected in the digital age.
Another reprieve for First Nations University
As reported by CBC News:
he federal government will give financially strapped First Nations University of Canada another $4 million, relieving concerns that the Regina-based university could close.
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said Wednesday the money will cover the period from Sept. 1 to March 31, 2011, which is the end of the fiscal year.
Strahl announced earlier this year that the Indian Affairs Department was cutting its entire $7 million grant to FNUC, citing concerns that the university had serious problems and wasn't fixing them fast enough.
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