The Academica Top Ten

We prefer to publish strong, nationally-relevant stories from a variety of topics, regions, and sources each day. Stories from the below areas and themes are generally considered for the Academica Top Ten:

• Accreditation
• Admissions/Enrolment/Graduation Trends pertaining to more than one Canadian institution
• Closures/Mergers
• Competitive Rankings pertaining to more than one Canadian Institution
• Capital Projects and New Facilities
• Donations of $500K or greater ($1M or greater preferred)
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Financial Issues
• Fundraising Campaigns
• Government Funding Announcements of $500K or greater (incl. CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC announcements)
• Government Higher Education Policy
• Indigenous Education
• International Education
• Lawsuits/Legal Cases
• Online/Open Education
• Partnerships and Collaborations
• Program/Department Additions, Cuts, and Changes
• Research and Statistics related to Higher Ed
• ROI/Outcomes
• Skills/Labour Market Shifts and Shortages
• Student Services/Engagement

Recently published stories that reflect one or more of the above topic areas are considered for upcoming editions of the Top Ten. This is a competitive process, as we select 10 stories from the hundreds of stories gathered each day, so topical relevance does not guarantee publication. Unless a news item draws significant media attention or otherwise demonstrate national interest, we generally do not cover news outside of these topics.

We also offer sponsored content opportunities for select contact outside of the above list. Please see “I want to advertise an upcoming event or service with the sector.” below for more information

Due to the brief nature of our newsletter, we frequently use common abbreviations to refer to organizations and activities in the sector. Some of the abbreviations that we most commonly use in the Academica Top Ten include the following:

• ARUCC – Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada
• AVP – Associate/Assistant Vice President
• ARUCC – Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada
• BCCAT – BC Council on Admissions and Transfer
• BCCIE – BC Council for International Education
• CACUSS – Canadian Association of College and University Student Services
• CASFAA – Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
• CAUT – Canadian Association of University Teachers
• CBIE – Canadian Bureau for International Education
• CEO – Chief Executive Officer
• Cégep – Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (general and vocational colleges found in Québec)
• CFO – Chief Financial Officer
• CFS – Canadian Federation of Students
• CIHR – Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• CIO – Chief Information Officer
• COO – Chief Operating Officer
• COU – Council of Ontario Universities
• CUPE – Canadian Union of Public Employees
• ESL – English as a Second Language
• FTE – Full-time Equivalent or Full-load Equivalent
• HEQCO – Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario
• KPI – Key Performance Indicator
• MLA – Member of Legislative Assembly
• MPHEC – Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission
• MOOC – massive open online course
• MOU – Memorandum of Understanding
• MP – Member of Parliament (federal)
• MPP – Member of Provincial Parliament
• NACC – National Association of Career Colleges
• NSERC – Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• OCAS – Ontario College Application Service
• OCUFA – Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations
• OPSEU – Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union
• OUAC – Ontario Universities’ Application Centre
• OUSA – Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
• PCCAT – Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions & Transfer
• PSE – Postsecondary Education
• R&D – Research and development
• SSHRC – Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• StatsCan – Statistics Canada
• STEM – Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
• VP – Vice President
• WIL – Work-integrated learning

If you have published a news item within the last 3-5 business days that fits our publishing criteria (See: What do you cover in the Academica Top Ten?), you can submit the URL to the news item by emailing it to the Top Ten team or using the Contact Us form below.

Please note that submission does not guarantee publication due to the sheer number of news items we receive.

We offer advertising and sponsored content opportunities for the following types of content:

• Appointment announcements with additional space to celebrate or welcome an individual (inclusion in the Appointment Notices section is available once at no cost)
• Award nominee or winner announcements
• Event, including conferences and online workshops
• Private sector goods and services, including educational technology, publishing services, and general vendors.
• Professional development opportunities relevant to work in higher ed

Content must be directly relevant to the Canadian postsecondary education sector and is subject to approval. Please note that we do not allow sponsorship of individual stories in the daily digest or any content that we would typically cover as core content. To inquire about advertising and sponsored content opportunities, reach out to us by email or complete the form below.

Every edition of the Academica Top Ten and Indigenous Top Ten features career postings that are pulled exclusively from our Academica Careers portal. If you would like to post a career ad or browse our available career ads, please visit Academica Careers.

Academica Group has been publishing the Academica Top Ten for over a decade. Our website archive includes the Academica Top Ten stories that we’ve published in our daily newsletter since the beginning of 2023.

Please note that due to the sheer amount of stories we cover in a given year, we are unable to monitor or update links on archived news items. If you are searching for an article that we have linked to that is no longer available, we encourage you to follow up with that publisher for copies of their content.