March 27, 2024

According to new financial records, the Government of Alberta has almost doubled the amount of money that it allocates for student loans over the span of the last five years. CBC states that AB spent $279M more than expected on student loans in the last two years alone to keep up with the demand, with a particularly high demand coming from private career college students. Chris Beasley, Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students, told CBC that this should signal to AB that students are dealing with an affordability crisis. “Students have been telling this government that the need is there, that the need is prominent, and that we’re looking for more affordability measures,” said Beasley.

The Government of Canada and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador have struck a $256M bilateral agreement to improve health care that will include investments in medical training at Memorial University. The three-year agreement seeks to improve NL’s health care system by expanding access to family health services, increasing the number of health workers and health services, increasing mental health and substance use services, and modernizing health data systems. As part of these efforts, Memorial will receive new undergraduate medical education seats and new Family Medical Residency positions for international medical graduates.

In an effort to demonstrate transparency, Thompson Rivers University has released a new copy of the report of an investigation into allegations of misconduct that were made against two senior administrators in 2021. The year-long independent investigation cost over $1M to complete and cleared one of the administrators—TRU VP of Finance and Administration Matt Milovick—of any wrongdoing. Infotel and Kamloops BC Now noted that the report that TRU previously released was heavily redacted, which TRU says generated “questions, speculation, discussions, and cynicism” in the local community. “As a board interested in good governance, we wanted ensure that people knew we did our job,” TRU Board Chair Marilyn McLean told CFJC Today. The report is available upon request from the university.

The University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine will launch a Master of Physician Assistant Studies program this August. The university hopes to attract applicants from rural and remote communities, Indigenous communities, and equity-deserving groups. Graduates will be eligible for national physician assistant certification and for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. “The launch of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program is an important next step in providing the highest quality frontline practitioners to sustain our people and our communities,” said UCalgary President Ed McCauley. UCalgary says that this program is the first of its kind in Alberta.

Concordia University’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science has opened a new makerspace facility to support student projects and initiatives. The makerspace contains equipment for 3D printing, electronics and computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining, and manual tools for woodworking and metalworking. It also offers services such as project consultations and fabrication sessions for students. “This facility is an excellent representation of our commitment to experiential learning,” said Concordia Gina Cody School Dean Mourad Debbabi. “It provides Gina Cody School students with practical, hands-on experience that is crucial in today’s engineering and technology fields.”

A sessional lecturer who taught engineering classes at the University of Guelph and University of Waterloo is no longer affiliated with either university after a paper written under his name sparked controversy, reports blogTO. The 20-page paper included broad claims about gender stereotypes, dating, and marriage, as well as a discussion of the difficulties that professors face when attempting to date students. BlogTO and The Star report that the lecturer has denied writing the paper. According to the National Post, the paper sparked backlash on social media and was sent to UWaterloo administration by a student last month. UoGuelph and UWaterloo have since stated that the lecturer is no longer teaching at their institutions.

In a recent interview with the EvoLLLution, Lisa Templeton (Oregon State University) discusses the growing demand for online education and how her university offers high-quality online learning. Templeton discusses the needs and expectations of online learners, as well as the misconceptions and challenges around developing and scaling online education. She also explains the efforts used at Oregon State University to ensure that faculty are well prepared for online teaching. Templeton concludes by highlighting some of the trends affecting online education, such as the development of online labs, AI, alternative credentials, and collaborations with third-party organizations.

The University of Winnipeg cancelled classes on Monday after experiencing a cyber incident on the weekend. Upon discovery of the incident, the university immediately took its systems offline, which impacted services such as the university’s campus Wi-Fi and learning management systems. The University of Winnipeg Collegiate—a preparatory high school located on UWinnipeg’s campus—was also affected by the outage and cancelled its classes on Monday. Classes resumed for both UWinnipeg and UWinnipeg Collegiate on Tuesday, though the university noted that some systems and facilities would remain temporarily offline. Instructors will be able to hold an additional class in April at their discretion to make up for the lost class time.

Western University is reportedly looking for alternative graduation ceremony locations in the future, as its 60-year-old venue, Alumni Hall, is struggling to meet the university’s current and future needs. “We have identified some challenges that will impact the continued use of Alumni Hall as the venue for convocation ceremonies,” said Western University Secretary Amy Bryson. “These include accessibility for our graduates and guests, parking resources, and space constraints as Western plans for enrolment growth.” The London Free Press reports that the university already holds 27 convocation ceremonies in the hall each year and that future enrolment growth would require the university to increase the number of ceremonies it holds.

All postsecondary institutions across Nova Scotia have successfully integrated the ARUCC MyCreds™ digital credentials system on their campuses. MyCreds™ ensures that students and alumni have secure, immediate access to their academic credentials from anywhere, making it simpler to share educational accomplishments with employers and other postsecondary schools. The initiative was conducted as a collaborative project between the Government of Nova Scotia, the Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents, EduNova, and MyCreds™.