April 23, 2024

Aurora College has appointed its first Academic Council, which is the second of three new bodies making up the college’s new tri-cameral governance structure. The Academic Council is an internal body that will focus on the college’s academic quality and standards. Members include 30 staff, faculty, and student representatives; 27 of which are voting members and three of which are non-voting members. The council will provide the Board of Governors with advice, make recommendations on academic matters, and build Aurora’s academic decision-making capacity. The council will become a senate after Aurora becomes a polytechnic university .

Marie Woolf of the Globe and Mail reports that asylum claims from international students have increased by nearly 650% in the past five years. Many colleges have witnessed a particularly steep rise in asylum claims numbers since 2018, reports Woolf, with major universities showing fewer claims. In conversations with various immigration experts and critics, Woolf highlights concerns about the exploitation of the study permit program as a way to enter Canada and the use of refugee claims as a last effort to stay in Canada. Migrant Workers Alliance for Change Executive Director Syed Hussan pointed out that many students have claimed asylum due to changing political circumstances in their home countries.

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested $13.2M to create new seats for students from Saskatchewan at the University of Saskatchewan Western College of Veterinary Medicine. This increased funding will support SK’s veterinary sector by adding five new seats for SK students in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. This brings the total of seats available for SK students to 25. “We continue to see a rising demand for veterinary services in the province,” said SK Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant. WCVM annually accepts an allotted number of applicants from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia based on an interprovincial agreement with the three western provinces.

The University of Waterloo has marked Earth Day 2024 with the launch of an interdisciplinary graduate diploma in climate change that will be available at no additional cost to all of its graduate students. “Climate change is everyone’s business,” said UWaterloo Professor Daniel Scott. Master’s and doctoral students from any faculty across the university can earn the diploma by taking part in a climate fundamentals course, a climate specialization course, and four dedicated seminars and conferences. UWaterloo described the program as the first of its kind in Canada.

Acadia University has received $1M from the Acadia Alumni Association toward the $24M “Build: The Student Centre” fundraising campaign. The aim of the campaign is to raise funds to revitalize Acadia’s student centre into a modern hub for student life, learning, and leadership. The new facility will prioritize inclusivity, accessibility, and wellbeing; provide dedicated spaces for students of African descent, Indigenous students, and international students; and offer health and counselling services and accessible learning resources. “The campaign is about creating a space that reflects the diverse needs and aspirations of today’s students in a space that is modern and efficient,” said Acadia Alumni Association President Matt Rios.

In honour of Earth Week, University of Toronto scholars Preety Sharma and Ayeshah Haque penned an article for The Conversation about how educators can contribute to the fight against climate change. The authors call for supporting educators to impart “green muscle memory” in their students; that is, teaching students to implement eco-friendly habits, routines, and attitudes. They argue that repetitive and consistent actions–like using reusable water bottles–contribute to overall behavioural changes while alleviating climate-related despair and anxiety. Sharma and Haque additionally recommend embedding climate education into all aspects of curricula, offering training for teachers and complementary programs, and exploring opportunities for experiential- and project-based learning; all of which, they say, promotes behavioural changes.

Winnipeg police have charged a 23-year-old man in connection to an incident at Red River College Polytechnic. The charges are related to a fire that was set at RRC Polytech’s Princess Street campus in late February while staff and students were present, which triggering an evacuation of the building. Global News reports that electronic equipment was also stolen from the institution during the incident. Police charged the man with arson with disregard for human life, arson causing damage to property, and theft of over $5K. The man reportedly has no connection with the institution.

Queen’s University School of Law will offer a Taylor-Swift-focused law course this Fall as an upper-year elective. The course focuses on entertainment law, using examples from Swift’s career to illustrate relevant legal and business principles in the areas of contracts, policies, trademarks, privacy, and copyright. “I recognize that historical ideas have a lot of relevance today […] But I also recognize that today’s students are going to be applying legal and business principles in a contemporary setting,” said Queen’s School of Law Associate Dean Mohamed Khimji. “There is value in making course material relatable, which is what this course is really trying to do.” Queen’s added that it is the first Canadian university to offer a Swift-focused law course.

Aftab Erfan (Simon Fraser University) has penned an article for The Conversation about the importance and limitations of campus dialogues. Reflecting on her experiences negotiating deep conflicts on campus such as between student groups during the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement, Erfan describes how she brought students with opposing viewpoints together in dialogue. The author describes using a group agreement that outlined how groups of students with opposing viewpoints would acknowledge each other, what labels and language they would or would not use, and even the pizza that they would order if the conversation went past a certain point of time. Erfan concludes by noting that while these conversations are not always appropriate nor a cure-all, “the capacity to be together is important to pick up while we are students.”

Western University teaching assistants have returned to the picket lines after negotiations with the university reportedly stalled over the weekend. In a news release, Western stated that the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Local 610 (PSAC 610) rejected the university’s latest offer and walked away from negotiations. The university added that it is doing “all that it can to reach an agreement that is fair and equitable” and that it remains “committed to achieving a mutually agreeable contract.” PSAC 610 President Pardis Baha said that the union will return to the bargaining table when Western is “ready to take our concern seriously.”