Post-Secondary News Digest for February 9, 2010
Canada
UPEI approves new alcohol policy:
(CBC) The board of governors at UPEI voted unanimously in favor of a new policy on alcohol. The school was the only one in the Maritimes that hadn’t developed its own alcohol policy – it has been using provincial laws to regulate alcohol on campus. The policy prohibits free drinks on campus, regulates where alcohol is allowed and gives the university the right to shut down an event if students break the new rules.
Urban Planning program at Ryerson gets accredited:
(Metro) The Canadian Institute of Planners has accredited Ryerson University’s urban planning program. The degree is a one-year or two-year master’s program, depending on the student’s undergraduate degree. Sandeep Agrawal, the program director, says it will help students get jobs because employers now expect recruits to have come through accredited programs. The curriculum focuses on multicultural and environmental impacts on urban development. Tuition will be about $7,000 each year.
McGill takes another look at military-linked research:
(Canada.com) McGill University’s senate will decide this week if it will keep a 22-year old rule which requires researchers to disclose whether their military-related research could have “direct harmful consequences.” The university put the rule in place because it was concerned about air-fuel explosives research for the U.S military. University officials say they want their standards to meet other schools in Canada and the United States, which don’t have rules which target military funding.
Smoking rates decrease with education: StatsCan:
(Canoe.ca) A study from Statistics Canada suggests university graduates are less likely to smoke than other Canadians. While 23 per cent of high school graduates currently smoke, only 10 per cent of university graduates light up. The most surprising numbers from the study, however, concern Canadian smokers between the ages of 20 and 24 whose incidence of smoking dropped seven percentage points to 21 per cent between 2008 and 2009.
Hockey worship analyzed at U de Montreal:
(Oncampus.Macleans.ca) A theology professor at Universite de Montreal has created a class about a new kind of religion -- devotion to the Montreal Canadians. Olivier Bauer, a theology professor, wrote a book on the subject last year, The Religion of the Montreal Canadians, before deciding that it would also make an interesting class. “Cheering for the Leafs,” says Bauer, “is like going to church when you know there is no god. The class has proved popular among theology students and Montreal Canadians fans.
Fired prof accuses U of Ottawa of spying on him:
(Oncampus.Macleans.ca) A fired professor from the University of Ottawa has accused his former employer of hiring a student to spy on him in the months before he was let go. Former physics professor Denis Rancourt alleges the university hired Maureen Robinson to investigate him beginning in September 2007. He says she was investigating students who were lobbying the university to reinstate a cancelled class taught by Rancourt. The class, Science and Society, was known as an course on activism.
Pot doesn’t help treat Alzheimer’s: UBC study:
(Canada.com) Researchers from University of British Columbia were surprised to find that marijuana doesn’t help improve memory or reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. “Originally, we were hoping there would be a positive effect, based on previous research,” says Weihong Song, a UBC psychiatry professor. The scientists had six years of research, which indicated that marijuana would protect brains cells and help cell regeneration. When they began testing on mice, they found the pot smoking mice, were no more likely to retain memory.
U.S.
U of California students protest Israeli ambassador:
(YNET News) More than 100 Arab students at the University of California disrupted a speech in protest against Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the United States. Two groups of about 50 students gathered on both ends of a packed lecture hall, shouting phrases such as “How many Palestinians have you killed?” and “Israel is a murderer.” Police detained 10 of the student protesters at the lecture and the university is considering taking further action.
Civil rights group accuses prof of anti-gay preaching:
(On Top Magazine) The American Civil Liberties Union, a civil rights group, is accusing a professor at Fresno City College in California of teaching anti-gay views as science. The group alleges Bradley Lopez taught that being gay is a “biological misapplication of human sexuality.” It also says he presented gay men and lesbians as a threat to society by using passages from the Bible as empirical evidence. Two students who complained to the union said the administration dismissed their complaints about the professor.
Sorority members plead not guilty to hazing incident:
(Star Leger) Six members of a Rutgers University sorority in New Jersey pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of hazing student pledges. Nathaniel Davis, who represents the five sorority members, said his clients deny allegations that pledges were repeatedly paddled. Each woman is charged with aggravated hazing for allegedly striking several pledges in the buttocks with paddles over seven days in January.
Michigan profs rate Super Bowl ads:
(WLNS.com) Professors in Michigan State University’s department of advertising don’t watch the Super Bowl for the hard hits and team spirit – it critiques Super Bowl advertisements. For 13 years, the professors have rated the advertisements out of 10 on a scorecard, using production value, marketability, and personal connection with audience as criteria. The profs are still working on this year’s report.
World
Bad timing for U.K. grads:
(BBC) The Association of Graduate Recruiters says static wages the U.K., could not have come at a worse time for university graduates. The average salary for post-grads stands at $41,830 for the second year in a row. The low wages will be a further hit to students who are the first batch coming out of university to have paid increasing tuition fees three years in a row. The number of jobs available to graduates fell as well but not as dramatically as feared.
U.K. university applications soar:
(Reuters) Funding cuts paired with skyrocketing applications to British universities may result in a lot of disappointed potential students. The number of applicants has soared 22 per cent since 2009. Forty-six thousand students re-applied this year after trying unsuccessfully last year, which contributes to the growth in numbers. Currently, there are two million university students in the United Kingdom.
Japanese students frustrated with job hunt process:
(The Chronicle) Fewer jobs are available for Japanese graduates and competition is getting fierce amid a declining economy. Students say the gruelling preparation required for corporate interviews and recruitment fairs impedes their studies and is no longer necessary in the poor economy. Students at Tokyo’s Waseda University protested the traditional job hunt system, whereby employers recruit before students have completed their studies. Japan revoked 2,000 job offers last spring in the wake of national bankruptcies.
Higher requirements for education degrees in U.K.:
(The Times Higher Education) British MPs are demanding the entrance requirements for teacher training courses be raised. The report, published Tuesday by the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee, also suggests stopping funding to undergraduate programs. The recommendations aim to raise the status of teachers by increasing the rigor of their training. It also suggests increasing the academic requirements for achieving a postgraduate teaching certificate, and creating a master’s degree in teaching.
Malaysian bill to govern higher education:
(Mysinchew.com) The Malaysian government is proposing a bill to manage and regulate the country’s higher education sector. Until now, no law covered the entire post-secondary education sphere and the Higher Education Ministry had problems with unlicensed institutions. The act, which will be introduced in parliament, will allow the ministry to govern the licensing of institutions and enrolment of foreign students. The ministry will also create a database to document the qualifications of lecturers.