Post-Secondary News Digest for January 15, 2010
Canada
Ignatieff calls for direct post-secondary funding:
(Maclean's) Speaking at the University of Manitoba, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he advocates direct federal funding for post-secondary education. Under the current system, he says there's nothing that prevents money given to provinces for higher education from making its way into general revenues. He also spoke of the possibility of additional funding on a per-student basis, an idea he first cautiously brought forward while speaking at Dalhousie University earlier this week.
McGill profs may testify in Calif. same sex case:
(McGill Daily) Two McGill University professors may be called to testify in California on whether the state's law against same-sex marriage is constitutional. The professors, both from McGill’s Faculty of Religious Studies, are said to be experts on the universal definition of marriage and religious attitudes toward the controversial ban, which was enacted in November 2008. The case opened in California Supreme Court Monday.
UVic to spay rampant rascally rabbits:
( The Martlet) The University of Victoria has begun a program to spay and neuter 150 rabbits on its campus. The plan follows suggestions from university officials that the massive rabbit population may be damaging the campus grounds and posing a potential health risk. Officials will also try to create “rabbit-free” zones on campus. Animal rights groups, including the Rabbit Advocacy Group of B.C., support the university's approach.
Royal Vic students may demand refund:
(McGill Daily) Students at McGill’s Royal Victoria College may demand a partial refund of tuition because renovations have closed their building's cafeteria since September. The college's council sent out an email survey asking if students supported the demand - 178 out of 266 students did. The college’s tuition fees include a seven-day meal plan, which students want partially refunded. College administrators have countered by saying they've made it easier for students to eat at other cafeterias, and set up a snack bar in the residence lobby.
U. Calgary gets $8M to train family doctors:
(Metro News) The University of Calgary is getting an $8-million boost to train more family doctors. Right now, about 18 per cent of medical school graduates at the university go into family medicine. School officials would like to see that jump to 50 per cent by 2013. The funding will be used to train more students and physicians in family medicine, create five new faculty positions and support research. There are currently about 4,000 family doctors in Alberta, with an estimated 1,000 more needed provincewide.
Investigation reopened in Fanshawe College arrests:
(U. of Western Ontario Gazette) A video found on a social networking site has reopened the investigation into a street party at which 11 Fanshawe College students were arrested last October. When police responded to complaints about the Halloween bash, held just off the college’s London, Ont., campus, they were pelted with beer cans and other debris. Twenty-two arrests in total were made, but now police are looking for help in identifying more suspects seen in the new video.
U.S.
Union group creates online college for members:
(New York Times) America’s main labour union umbrella group is teaming up with the Princeton Review and the National Labor College to create an online college exclusively for union members and their families. The AFL-CIO’s 11.5-million members will benefit from the school, tentatively named the College for Working Families, which will be the first and only accredited college exclusively for union members. The classes are slated to begin this fall, offering courses including criminal justice, education, business and allied health sciences.
Harvard gets historic high of 30,000 applications:
(Harvard Gazette) For the first time in Harvard University’s history, more than 30,000 applications have come piling in for undergrad spots at the university. Applications have doubled since 1994, primarily due to an increase in financial aid initiatives over the past five years. A new School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has also drawn students to the school, as have new outreach initiatives using email and message boards.
Int’l students flock to U.S. schools:
(The Business Review) Colleges in Albany, N.Y., are raking in roughly US$65 million from international students coming en masse to study in the U.S. Across the country, colleges and universities are experiencing a spike in international enrolment. The number of students from abroad rose eight per cent to a record total of more than 671,000. The number of Chinese undergraduates enrolled at American universities jumped by 21 per cent in the last year, to a total of 98,500 students. China is now catching up to India, which sends more students to the U.S. than any other country.
College-educated parents more likely to have autistic kids:
(Newspost Online) A study of 2.5 million births in California over five years has found that the number of autistic children is significantly higher in 10 specific geographical areas. Autistic cases were nearly twice as likely to occur inside these areas, which tended to have high levels of schooling among parents. Karla Van Meter, the study’s lead researcher, says these results only show a correlation and not a cause of autism.
MIT: report finds gaps in diversity:
(Inside Higher Ed) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found “uneven” progress and significant gaps in the way professors from underrepresented ethnic groups are promoted. The report, released Thursday, found that professors who are not white or Asian are more likely to leave MIT or report difficulties in discussing issues of race and ethnicity. Currently, the faculty’s proportion of black, Latino and Native American professors rests at six per cent, while these groups make up 30 per cent of the U.S. population.
World
Ancient temple found at Indonesian university:
(ABC) Workers in the early stages of constructing a new library at Yogyakarta’s Islamic University in Indonesia have uncovered a 1,000-year-old temple. Workers were digging to prepare foundations for the library when they found the temple’s still-standing walls three metres below ground. The temple is said to be in excellent condition, although the dig is being conducted under tight security to protect the site from relic thieves.
One in 3 U.K. students won’t get spots in school:
(Guardian) A rise in demand for undergraduate places at British universities means one in every three prospective students will miss out on a spot this year. The government allowed an extra 10,000 students to enter the post-secondary system this year, but schools are predicting they will still have to turn away up to 200,000 well-qualified applicants. Some say the recession has caused more young people to apply to universities because there are not as many jobs available.
Columbia U. opens research centre in India:
(Top News) New York’s Columbia University announced Thursday it will set up a multi-purpose centre in Mumbai in March. The centre will be a resource for the University of Mumbai’s students and faculty, providing research and internship information. It will also facilitate research collaborations in architecture, journalism, international affairs and other disciplines. The centre’s first project will be a water management project run by the university’s Earth Institute.
Animal rights groups stall avalanche experiment:
(Canadian Press) Austrian researchers announced Thursday they have temporarily halted an avalanche experiment due to pressure from animal rights activists. The experiment was meant to examine how it was possible for humans to survive an avalanche in air pockets without suffering permanent brain damage. It involved burying pigs in snow and monitoring their deaths – a practice activists called pointless and cruel. Researchers say the two-week experiment in the Western Austrian Alps is humane because they give the pigs sedatives and painkillers.
U.K., India commit to strengthening education links:
(Web News Wire) British and Indian universities have pledged to foster more successful partnerships in higher education and research. Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister for Human Resource Development, is visiting London and will deliver a keynote address Friday outlining his vision for the expansion of India’s education sector to dozens of education ministers from around the world. The relationship between the two countries has flourished since a joint research initiative was founded three years ago. This renewed pledge is meant to build on this foundation, strengthening ties in key fields such as engineering, nanotechnology and agriculture.
Vietnam to train 10,000 doctors overseas:
(VietNamNet Bridge) Vietnam is planning to train more than 10,000 doctors overseas. The government is setting up co-operative education with several foreign countries, and plans to send 1,000 med students abroad in 2010. The government also hopes to attract overseas Vietnamese scientists to return to the country to give lectures and carry out research at universities in the country. The programs will be funded by loans from the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank with the goal of improving the standards of the country’s universities.