Post-Secondary News Digest for January 21, 2010
Canada
Canadian Prof shows up Nobel-Prize winners:
(CBC) A Canadian professor has discovered five crucial errors in the world’s most prominent report on global warming published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Graham Cogly, a professor of geography and glaciers at Trent University, says the slip-ups are copy editing errors. They include factual inaccuracies pertaining to glacier melting speeds, mathematical errors and transposed numbers in dates. Cogly worries an already skeptical public could be dissuaded from climate action because of the report’s Nobel Prize-winning scientists’ blunders.
Study links VLTs to problem gambling in women:
(CBC) Researchers at the University of Manitoba are urging the Canadian government to ban video lottery terminals from restaurants and bars. The study suggests easy access to the machines is the biggest contributor to gambling addictions in women 15 years of age and older. Lead researcher Tracie Afifi is calling on government bodies to help problem gamblers by reducing the availability of VLTs. The study also recommends developing awareness campaigns specifically geared toward women.
SFU appoints former NDP minister as new president:
(Vancouver Sun) Simon Fraser University has appointed its new president, former New Democrat minister Andrew Petter, following an international search. The 56-year-old held several powerful cabinet posts in finance, health and aboriginal affairs between 1991 and 2000 before resuming his post as the University of Victoria’s dean of law. Petter starts his new position at the Burnaby-based school in September.
Construction begins on new NBCC campus:
(Daily Gleaner) Construction has begun on a new $15-million New Brunswick Community College campus going up on Fredericton’s University of New Brunswick campus. Supply and Services Minister Ed Doherty announced Wednesday the facility will offer programs in health, business administration, IT, engineering technology and social services and will create 130 jobs in the provincial capital. The project is scheduled for completion by spring 2011.
Windsor students research psychology of noise:
(Canada.com) An automotive research centre at the University of Windsor has developed a new tool to help the automotive industry appeal to consumers’ senses. Colin Novak, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the university, said consumers often base their first impression of a car on the sound and vibrations of the engine on a highway. The machine at the Centre for Automotive Research and Education simulates the driving experience, information Novak said will help in the production of quieter or louder vehicles depending on the target audience.
U.S.
Students should consider degree value:
(USA Today) The national association of colleges has advised Americans to consider not just getting college degrees, but getting degrees that provide a high quality of learning. The association calls for increased importance to be placed on broad-based knowledge, exposure to different cultures, critical thinking and civic participation. A survey released by the association confirms that most employers look at the quality of education their applicants’ degrees include.
Student aid application process to be simplified:
(U.S. News) Students in 2010 may have an easier time applying for federal aid. The online application form for the U.S. federal government has been simplified and volunteer financial aid experts will be available to help students fill out the form for free. Some of the volunteers will be tax professionals who can help families fill out their tax forms so that information can be immediately included in the scholarship application. Despite this, many states are reducing the amount of scholarship money they give out this year.
Recession affecting 2009 freshmen: study:
(New York Times) Students who entered their first year of college this fall are feeling the effects of the economic recession. According to a nationwide survey released Thursday, two thirds of this year’s freshmen said they had concerns about their ability to pay for their education. Additionally, 53.3 per cent of students took out loans—the highest figure in nine years. The survey has been conducted for 44 years and it encompasses about 220,000 incoming college students at 297 different universities.
College name used for online courses:
(Inside Higher Ed) The seal of West Virginia Wesleyan College is being stamped on online courses that are developed and taught by commercial education providers. Beginning last May, the non-credit courses have been available online and include various liberal arts subjects. The courses were developed without faculty input or oversight and some worry that they could tarnish the college’s reputation. Within 18 months the school should be making about US$50,000 from the online courses.
Video game music course to be offered:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Massachusetts’ Berklee College of Music will offer a course on composing the musical scores of video games. The new program is designed to prepare students to take part in the huge market for video game technology. There is a growing trend among colleges to offer courses in video game design and music. There are similar programs being offered at New York University, Yale University and New England Conservatory.
World
Sex for grades at African universities: study:
(Times Higher Education) A study out of the University of Sussex has found that some male instructors at universities in Ghana and Tanzania believe they have the right to demand sex in exchange for good grades. The study finds that this system has been normalized in the two countries. As a result, female students either fail academically or are viewed at prostitutes, and many male students believe females are given an unfair advantage.
China spends while U.S cuts:
(Times Higher Education) At the World Universities Forum in Davos, Switzerland, speeches brought attention to the contrast in approaches to post-secondary education in the recession. The conference discovered that China is responding to the economic crisis with increased government funding to colleges and universities while in the West, budgets are being cut. Higher education funding is an essential part of China’s economic stimulus packages.
More applicants means less accepted:
(BBC) Applications for university in the U.K. are up 8.7 per cent this year. This means 25,227 more people were accepted to college. But because of the increase in applications, the rate of acceptance fell three per cent. In the last 10 years, acceptance to universities has gone up 44 per cent. Universities UK chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, says she hopes these statistics will help avoid cuts to post-secondary education.
Scholarship causes controversy:
(The Guardian) Queen’s College, an Oxford University College, recently created a scholarship for Iranian students to study philosophy. The scholarship is named after Neda Agha-Soltan, an Iranian student killed during protests in Tehran over the presidential election. The college has received criticism from the Iranian embassy regarding the scholarship, accusing the university of joining a "politically motivated" campaign. Queen’s replied, saying the donor picked the name. Arianne Shahvis is the first recipient of the award and is taking her master’s in the philosophy of physics.
Students lobby for direct beer pipeline:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Carlsberg Brewery in Falkenberg, Sweden has agreed to continue construction on a direct pipeline from the brewery to Chalmers University of Technology after about 50 students marched in protest of delays. The beer pipeline would span 100 km and connect directly to the student union. Chalmers students began lobbying for the arrangement in 1959 by purchasing stock in the brewery. Since then, only two metres of pipeline have been laid. The brewery has now agreed to continue construction with another metre of pipe.