Post-Secondary News Digest for November 13, 2009
Canada
Oshawa cracks Maclean’s annual university list:
(Toronto Star) Oshawa’s University Ontario Institute of Technology has managed to break through to Maclean’s university ranking, making it to number 12 on the undergraduate studies list. It beat other popular Canadian universities such as Brock and Ryerson in the same category and is partly because of the grants the university has in humanities and social sciences. It’s the first time the school’s ever been in the ranking and also the first time a new university has been added to the ranking in 11 years.
UNB uses YouTube to attract new students:
(Globe and Mail) The University of New Brunswick went online this year to bring in new students by starting a YouTube contest. Ryan Anstey was the winner, claiming more than $5,000 for tuition and ending up with a spot in the UNB law degree program. With concerns that there will be a decline in the population of young people within the next couple of years, many universities in Canada are using social network sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to get the attention of new undergrad students.
Olympic-size protest:
(Queen’s University Journal) Queen’s University is taking part in Olympic Awareness Week, which runs from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22 and aims to look at problems associated with the 2010 Olympics. Fraser MacPherson is organizing the event, which is headed by Resist 2010. He says the group is concerned with how Vancouver is dealing with homeless people through its Project Civil City, which looks to “solving homelessness and improving public order.” He says the group is also looking at claims to indigenous land being used for the Olympics.
SFU study focuses on sprinting speed:
(Metro News) A new study conducted by two students at Simon Fraser University has found that it’s more than long legs that make sprinters move faster than most. According to the article, Sabrina Lee, a post doctoral fellow at SFU, and Stephen Piazza used 12 people for the study and discovered that along with having longer toes, having a short distance between a person’s Achilles tendon and ankle can make sprinters move faster.
Prof from U of Ottawa dies from H1N1:
(The Ottawa Sun) Just three days after being admitted to a hospital for H1N1 symptoms, Keith Fagnou, a chemistry professor at the University of Ottawa, died on Nov. 11. The award-winning teacher was well known for his work in research, receiving the Polanyi Prize in 2003, just one year after joining the faculty. The university credited him on its website, calling him an “exceptional researcher.” According to the article, he is the fourth person in Ottawa to die from H1N1 in the past two months.
U.S.
U of Purdue students furious over anti-gay blog:
(Inside Higher Ed) Students at Purdue University are calling for he school’s librarian to be fired for his blog denouncing same-sex lifestyles. Bert Chapman’s blog argues that a gay lifestyle is a drain on the economy. Some students say Chapman is spreading “hate-filled propaganda.” The university has not taken any action against Chapman, saying he has made it clear his views are not necessarily those of the university.
Mr. Yale knows no gender:
(Yale Daily News) Yale University is allowin, a female student to compete for the “Mr. Yale” title. Students from Jen Ivers’ residential college voted in favour of making her their representative in the annual pageant. Ivers says she is not trying to make a statement; she just wants to compete and have fun. Some confusion did surround the decision to allow a female to compete. University officials say they will have to make the contest rules clearer for next year.
Liberal arts in jeopardy:
(Inside Higher Ed) The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences met Nov. 12 to discuss the future of liberal arts programs. Colleges across the country have to decide which kinds of programs are useful and which are not. Kristin Fossum, an associate dean at Pomona College said, “We need to make the case that a liberal arts education is not less but more valuable in a faltering economy.” But others say students need education with a more practical application in the real world.
Teacher shortage:
(MSNBC) Students coming out of teacher’s college are having a hard time finding work. The ailing economy has forced many colleges to lay off teachers. Teachers who were going to retire are now staying on. Two years ago, there was a teacher shortage, now, there are too many. Even finding work as a substitute is difficult. Some teachers are having to specialize in math, the only subject still in demand.
Rankings unfair to U.S. higher education -- critic:
(MSNBC) Data hound Cliff Adelman of the Institute of Higher Learning says U.S. higher education is not as bad off as reports say. He says numbers citing the U.S. as falling behind in international education standards are being misread. Adelman says his report balances the statistics, proving that U.S. universities are not doing as bad as everyone thinks. He also suggests it is unfair to compare international universities because there are too many differences between them.
World
U.K. unions angry over breaches to collective salary negotiations:
(Times Higher Education) U.K. unions angry over breaches to collective salary negotiations
A handful of universities in the U.K. have implemented a 0.5 per cent salary increase in the absence of a national agreement. Some of the schools – including University College London are paying the increase “on account” with the intent to backdate pay if an increase is later negotiated. Union representatives are outraged because they feel that this could undermine established procedures.
Debate over language use in Australia:
(Times Higher Education) A paper on pornography submitted to a leading social science journal was met with criticism from academic referees. The language used was deemed vulgar and unscholarly, but a professor at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia argues that vulgarity is not a problem in the humanities: it is the language of the middle class, which is often far more concise than the watered-down language sometimes found in scholarly journals.
Costs of specialist U.K. IT courses top the list:
(Times Higher Education) A report on fees at the post-graduate level have found that specialist information technology courses were the most expensive, averaging $33,597 annually. The average fee overall was $10,822, ranging from $6,811 (languages) to $79,165 at the London Business School. The survey, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, reflects data collected over a two-year period.
Crisis talks: part-timers pose threat to standards:
(Times Higher Education) A speaker at the Third International Conference on World-Class Universities in Shanghai raised concerns about the damning effect casual labour has on the academic profession. The salaries earned at research universities pale in comparison to that of the private sector, making it hard to attract the best and brightest, according to Philip Altbach, professor of higher education at Boston College. This has resulted in a deterioration of the quality of research and is hindering efforts to build world-class institutions.
Scottish students get new courses for the 21st century:
(The Independent) The University of Aberdeen in Scotland is following the example set at Harvard, Melbourne and Hong Kong universities. Aberdeen will radically reform its undergraduate curriculum in order to increase enrolment and climb into the top 100 universities of the world – it currently occupies the 129th position. The university will allow students more freedom and will better equip them in their careers. It could be 15 years before this is fully realized, but Aberdeen is confident.