Post-Secondary News Digest for November 5, 2009
Canada
Concordia students fight bedbugs:
(CBC NEWS) The Student Union of Concordia University is launching an awareness campaign about bedbugs by posting a series of recommendations on its website. Various students living off-campus in Montreal have complained to the union about the bedbug problem. The union says it wants to help students make sure the bedbugs don't bite. "They're crying, they haven't had any sleep, they have bites all over their body," said Jonathan Eldon, who is in charge of the union’s housing and job bank.
U of Ottawa uses website to monitor H1N1 symptoms:
(CBC NEWS) The university of Ottawa has created an online form for staff and students to report any H1N1 symptoms. Michael Histed, director of risk management at the University of Ottawa, said more than 250 staff and students have complained of flu symptoms using the form in the last month, with the number of people calling in sick tripling in the last week. The university is looking to see whether that trend will continue to increase or not, although it also admits the number of absent students is normal for the season.
Student in YouTube arrest likely to sue:
(CBC NEWS) A University of Western Ontario student whose violent arrest last month was captured on YouTube will likely take legal action, says his lawyer. He added his client is now in a psychiatric hospital, where he doesn't appear to be faring well. The university announced Wednesday it has hired someone to conduct an independent review of the arrest. University officials say they want the review to look at whether the situation was preventable, if current security procedures are effective and if campus police are adequately trained and equipped.
U of T now recycles coffee cups:
(U of Toronto News) After noticing an increasing number of coffee cups in its waste, the University of Toronto has implemented a program in which the cups, without lids and cardboard sleeves, will be reduced to pulp and recycled. The U of T has colour-coded its waste bins and added purple stickers this month to accommodate the new coffee cup program. This year, facilities and services handed out more than 6,600 reusable mugs.
U of A physicist identifies young neutron star:
(University of Alberta Express News) University of Alberta physics professor Craig Heinke has identified the youngest neutron star ever recorded, whose atmosphere, a thin layer of carbon, is one of a kind. "The neutron star we identified had a temperature of roughly a million degrees Celsius; that's 3,000 times hotter than boiling water," said Heinke. The researchers used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory satellite. Heinke and his collaborator, Wynn Ho of Southampton University in the United Kingdom, have published a paper on their research. It will be published this week in the journal Nature.
U.S.
NCAA punishes Alabama college:
(Inside Higher Ed) The National Collegiate Athletic Association is punishing Miles College in Fairfield, Ala., for violations in all 10 sports in which the college competes. A report released Nov. 4 showed the university repeatedly allowed ineligible students – most for academic reasons – to compete and receive athletic aid. The college provided false information to the NCAA and had students compete under false names. The college will serve four years probation with many conditions.
Harvard coming down to The Wire:
(New York Post) Harvard announced this week that it will offer a class on the HBO show The Wire. The course will be taught by William J. Wilson, one of the most prominent African American history professors in the United States. The show, which portrays life in the Baltimore ghetto in gritty realism, is an important comment on social issues in American life, says Wilson. Harvard is the third – but most prominent – major university to offer a course on the series, following the lead of Duke University and Middlebury College.
Judge sides with U. of Idaho over retirement disputes:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) A state judge has ruled the University of Idaho was within its rights to reduce the retirement benefits of employees who retired early in 1998 and 2002. The ruling came after 268 employees filed a class-action suit against the university because the university reduced the benefits in 2007 to save money. But according to the Faculty-Staff Handbook, the university is allowed to modify benefits as it sees fit.
Man shot by frat member awarded $41,000:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) A homeless man won US$41,000 in damages after he was shot by an Oregon State University frat member. He was asking for more than US$100,000 from the national fraternity, but the court found only the gunman – and not the frat – was responsible. The man was shot when he was looking for food in a dumpster behind the fraternity house. Police found more than two dozen guns in the frat house after the shooting.
Gates funds college collaboration:
(Inside Higher Ed) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will provide US$1.6 million in seed money to cities and colleges working together to help underprivileged students get post-secondary education. Gates says a coordinated effort between cities and colleges to increase graduation rates is essential to the future success of the U.S. economy. The money will be divided between seven communities in Arizona, California, New York and Ohio.
World
U.K. colleges offer January start dates:
(The Independent) A growing number of universities in the United Kingdom are offering January start dates for their programs. The reason for this trend is more people are applying to university and need more time after high school to decide what courses they want to take. Students are looking for flexibility in their programs, as well. The University of Derby is offering 150 undergraduate and post-graduate courses to students in January.
Gen-Y PhDs shun Web 2.0 for research - study:
(The Times Higher Education) Young researchers are failing to use Web 2.0 tools to support their work, according to a study by the British Library. Interim results suggest only a small proportion of those surveyed are using technology such as virtual-research environments, social bookmarking, data and text mining, wikis, blogs and RSS-feed alerts in their work. It is tracking the research behaviour of doctoral students born between 1982 and 1994 - dubbed "Generation Y".
Education plays key role in U.K. economy:
(The Times Higher Education) University education in the United Kingdom has a greater fiscal impact than both the advertising and pharmaceutical industries on the U.K. economy. A report from Universities UK states that education generates 2.3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. The report also states that 372,400 people are employed in education across the U.K.
Australian prof expelled from Fiji:
(The Chronicle of Higher Education) An Australian professor has been expelled from Fiji for criticizing Fiji’s military regime. Professor Brij Lal was born in Fiji but is a citizen of Australia and professor at Australian National University. Lal has criticized the government of Fiji in a number of publications and was arrested while living in Fiji and shortly after was told to leave the country.
Report cards will show employers total package:
(The Telegraph) The United Kingdom is moving toward redesigning student transcripts to include not just grades but extra-curricular activities Professor Bob Burgess of Leicester University and leader of the movement to change degree classification systems says employers want to see both academic and extracurricular involvement in future employees. The six-page document will detail students’ progress throughout university, including a breakdown of scores in exams and coursework. The new degree reports, due in 2012, will list student exam performance as well as awards achieved and involvement with sports and clubs.