January 22, 2024

In an opinion piece for the Calgary Herald, Mount Royal University President Tim Rahilly stresses the pivotal role that universities can play in helping students improve their overall mental health and well-being. Rahilly underscores how the university journey is often one of rewarding personal growth, but can also present unique “pressures to achieve in a new environment.” Importantly, the author argues that universities should provide students with opportunities to build their resilience within the safety of a supportive community. “As the semester ramps up, I encourage students to be kind to themselves and their peers, check in on one another, and get involved with activities […] and communities, both on and off campus,” he concludes.

An anonymous source quoted by CBC has indicated that the Government of Canada is considering limiting the number of international student visas approved for provinces that accept more students than there is housing for. The source said that three provinces—Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia—are most likely to face student visa caps after “unsuccessful conversations” with the provinces. The Globe and Mail reports that the leaders of organizations such as the Canadian Bureau for International Education, Colleges and Institutes Canada, and Universities Canada have cautioned against a federal cap. National Association of Career Colleges CEO Michael Sangster asserted that private colleges are not the problem and welcomed Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s focus on labour force needs.

A recent study conducted by the University of New Brunswick’s New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) has found that only 48% of the province’s Bachelor of Education graduates work as teachers in the New Brunswick school system. Between 2004 and 2020, Université de Moncton graduates most frequently transitioned to work in an NB classroom (72%), followed by graduates from St Thomas University (42%) and UNB (37%). Graduates who were originally from NB were more likely to become teachers in NB (59%) than their domestic out-of-province (11%) and international (10%) counterparts. The study found high retention rates for those who began their work in the NB education sector, with 92% of teachers staying in NB schools after five years.

Queen’s University has reportedly laid off four unionized workers. These layoffs come in the wake of recent discussions around the university’s projected $48M deficit. United Steelworkers Local 2010 President Kelly Orser stated that the union is considering filing grievances, adding that Queen’s current hiring freeze prevents laid off individuals from successfully entering the redeployment pool. “[I]f there are no jobs posted for them to apply for their pension, their benefits could be on the line,” said Orser. In a statement for Global News, Queen’s responded: “While there have been some job losses already and some positions remain unfilled in an effort to balance budgets in the short term, the longer-term outlook requires making careful and deliberate decisions about the use of our resources.”

The Université de Sherbrooke and Assiniboine Community College have both recently received funding from the Government of Canada for environment-focused projects. ACC will receive over $1.3M over the next five years to engage in horticulture production research that supports innovative and sustainable practices and protective system technologies. USherbrooke received up to $772.5K from the Government of Canada for projects focused on climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Initiatives supported by this investment include the Watershed 4 Health project and research on landfill bio-windows.

Students in British Columbia will have more opportunities to become early childhood caregivers with new programs at Capilano University and Sprott Shaw College. CapilanoU has launched a Bachelor of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) at its Squamish campus. It is reportedly the only university in Western Canada to offer this degree program and only one of four in the country. Sprott Shaw has launched a free, 45-week ECE basic certificate program. The provincially-funded program will be offered at the college’s Penticton campus and will include a hands-on learning component through a practicum.

Mira Kim, Jemma Clifton, and Anneli Strutt of the University of New South Wales have published an article on the impact of a personalized autonomous learning model on international PhD students who speak English as an additional language (EAL). The authors note that previous studies have found that English language proficiency is critical to the wellbeing of EAL international students. The personalized autonomous learning model, called PELE, encourages students to explore new ways of enhancing their English skills in a safe learning environment with support from peer mentors. The authors found that the EAL international PhD students who participated in the PELE approach demonstrated improvements to their self-efficacy, interpersonal relationships, sense of belonging to the university community, and more.

In order to relay the traditional land acknowledgement in a different format, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has created a land acknowledgement video. The video includes an honour song performed by NAIT cultural adviser Lonny Potts and his son, Muskwa and features a reading of the acknowledgement by people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. This reading is posed to be symbolic of how people must come together to pursue reconciliation. “It’s a different way for people to absorb the information, which is good,” said NAIT Aboriginal liaison specialist Camille Louis. “It needs to be fresh.” The video is available for students and staff to use at events.

The administration office for North Island College’s Continuing Education and Training (CET) programs in the Comox Valley is moving to its new headquarters. The office, which was previously located on the main NIC campus, will operate out of the former St Joseph’s General Hospital starting next week and will open its doors at the end of January. All continuing education and ElderCollege programming will remain at the Comox Valley campus, with the exception of the First Aid program, which begins at the new site in February.

The University of Toronto’s Rotman Commerce community opened the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) this week in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the university program. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered to ring the TSX bell, marking a century since the first graduating class of U of T’s undergraduate business program received their diplomas. “Our success is only possible with support and partnership from leaders, changemakers and innovators—and a significant part of our community is the thousands of people and companies connected to TMX,” said Rotman School of Management Dean Susan Christoffersen. “For that reason it’s especially meaningful to us that we’re opening the market today.”