Post-Secondary News Digest for November 18, 2009
Canada
Students protest proposed cuts at Alberta legislature:
(Metro News) University of Alberta students protested proposed budget cuts on the steps of the Alberta legislature Nov. 17. President of the university’s Education Students’ Association Vanessa Moerike said the province has already cut $80 million from education funding this year. The government is proposing an additional cut of $300 million next year. Dave Hancock, Alberta’s NDP leader, wasn’t happy with the cuts either. “Come back to the legislature,” he said. “Bring 10,000 of your friends and we’ll make change, real change.”
Acadia student carries Olympic torch:
(The News) Cole Harbour’s Kevin Morash, a second-year student at Acadia University, was one of many Nova Scotians to be part of the Olympic torch relay through Pictou County on Nov. 17. Though unfamiliar with the area he was to run through, he was thrilled to be part of the occasion. "I feel pretty privileged to be doing this,” he said. “It's the kind thing people dream about.”
Dal med school undertaking curriculum review:
(Telegraph-Journal) The dean of Dalhousie’s medical school is undertaking a comprehensive review of the school’s curriculum following sanctions by a U.S. accreditation body. The review will look at issues such as teaching more communication skills versus teaching more science. The Liaison Committee for Medical Education, a U.S. accrediting body, found the school to be “non-compliant” with 17 of the 132 standards and gave it two years to make changes.
N.B. community colleges to be overhauled by spring:
(Times Transcript) New Brunswick announced that 12 of its community colleges will undergo major changes by spring. The colleges will be redesigned to operate independently from government within this legislative session. "By April 2010, the New Brunswick Community College and the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick will each be led by a president and governed by a board of directors," the governement said in its throne speech. The provincial government says the redesign will allow each community college to better serve the needs of its area, with specialized courses for local industries.
University employment rates misleading:
(The Eye Opener) Universities have begun recruiting graduating students for the next academic year by promoting their graduate employment rates – rates which are often inflated by schools to attract students. Experts say the numbers are based on statistically flawed surveys of recent graduates. Employment rates are like a tiebreaker situation between universities that are even in the other categories,” says Matt Day, a London, Ont., student looking at universities. “If one university has a higher employment rate, naturally it makes me sway toward the higher one.”
U.S.
Students win anti-sweatshop fight:
(New York Times) The nationwide anti-sweatshop movement on U.S. campuses announced its largest victory yet on Nov. 17. The Coalition of Students Against Sweatshops, the student group responsible, got Russell Athletics, one of the largest sportswear companies in the country, to rehire 1,200 Honduran workers who were fired after they unionized last winter. Some universities are now considering renewing contracts with Russell after they suspended million-dollar licensing agreements with the company since January.
Med schools quizzed about ghostwriting:
(New York Times) A U.S. senator questioned the country’s top 10 medical schools about prominent medical professors putting their names on ghostwritten reports. Senator Charles E. Grassley compared the practice to plagiarism, which these same universities admonish in students. Grassley sent letters to the schools, saying this practice not only hurts the academic community, but also contributes to inflating drug prices and medical costs. He called for the schools to review their policies on both ghostwriting and plagiarism in the next year.
Pittsburgh tuition tax rejected:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) An agency reviewing Pittsburgh’s 2010 budget rejected it Nov. 17 because it contained a one per cent tax on college tuition. The tax would have been part of a levy to close a multi-million-dollar deficit that the city would be facing. But the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority voted unanimously against the tax, saying it would be illegal. Pittsburgh’s mayor disagrees, and will continue arguing for it at the next council meeting.
College football coached by white men, study says:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) According to a new study, leadership positions at top college football teams are mostly held by white men, although the majority of the players they supervise are not. The study, released Nov. 17 by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, revealed that there are currently only nine minority head coaches in Division 1-A, which includes 120 universities. It also noted that well over half the players in that same division are visible minorities.
Another university boycotts Kindle:
(Inside Higher Education) The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is boycotting Amazon’s Kindle reading device because it discriminates against blind people. The school joins Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the boycott, all of which claim Kindle needs improvements that would enable blind people to use it. The university said while the read-aloud feature of e-books is a promising step towards accessibility, the Kindle won’t be useful until it includes read-aloud menus and toolbars.
D.C. university awards squash scholarship:
(The Washington Post) George Washington University became the first university to offer scholarships for varsity squash players, and the move is paying off. This fall the university awarded scholarships to one male and one female student playing squash at the varsity level. This week, the university announced that the university went up in the international squash rankings as a result of the scholarship. And for the first time ever, the relatively new squash program is growing faster than other athletic programs at the school – and competing better, becoming the second-highest ranking varsity team at George Washington after men’s rowing.
World
U.K. universities ‘bail out students’ -- survey:
(BBC News) Three quarters of universities say continuing problems with student loans have forced them to spend their own money on tuition, according to a recent BBC survey. Figures suggest there could still be 70,000 students caught in delays. The survey found that, on average, universities had paid $78,144 in emergency funds to support hundreds of students needing money for items such as rent, food and course materials. "Ministers urgently need to get a grip on the crisis so that students are not forced to drop out and those that start university in January get their money on time," said the Conservatives' university spokesman David Willetts.
Austrian student’s sleuthing unmasks suspected Nazi war criminal:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Andreas Forster, a student at the University of Vienna, was researching the killings of 57 Jews in 1945 and found a reference to Adolf Storms, a 90-year-old former SS member. After further investigation, his professor decided to alert German authorities. German prosecutors have indicted the man on 58 counts of murder. Storms, who said he doesn’t remember the incidents, is being accused over his suspected role in the March 1945 massacre of a group of Jewish labourers near the Austrian village of Deutsch Schützen.
U.K. apprenticeship programs and community colleges face cuts:
(BBC News) Adult learning courses in the U.K. are facing cuts by as much as 10 per cent. The proposed cuts will affect colleges and apprenticeship programs. “These savings do represent cuts - at a time when the services of colleges have never been more in demand, says the Association of Colleges chief Martin Doel. The government strategy says colleges are expected to deliver better value for money.
U. of Exeter studies suggest males have more personality:
(University of Exeter) A report published by a U.K. academic journal suggests that there are links between gender personality differences and sexual selection. The research, conducted by the University of Exeter’s Biosciences department, says these differences apply across different species. “Our study suggests that, while males tend to exhibit more pronounced personalities, including more predictable behaviour, in a range of different contexts, females are more receptive to these traits in males. We found a surprising level of similarity across a range of species,” said lead author Dr Wiebke Schuett.
U. Kent’s social work program voted tops:
(University of Kent) The University of Kent's social work degree programme has been voted number one for student satisfaction in the United Kingdom, according to the National Student Survey for 2009. One hundred per cent of Kent's final-year undergraduates said they were pleased with the overall quality of their degree course. The university topped the survey in both 2008 and 2009, coming out on top of more than 60 other higher education institutions, which run similar degrees.