Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • National

The College Employers Council and full-time support workers at Ontario colleges represented by OPSEU have reached a tentative deal after more than a month on strike. CEC told CBC that a private mediation session over the weekend “broke a bargaining impasse.” City News shared that the three-year agreement includes a series of wage, benefit, and job security improvements such as an across-the-board raise in the first year, enhanced safeguards against technological changes, and improved reskilling opportunities. OPSEU says that picket lines have come down, with support staff expected to return to work today.

OPSEU, CBC, City News, My North Bay Now, The Spectator, Thunder Bay News Watch

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • BC

Simon Fraser University’s new medical school has received preliminary accreditation from the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools and is accepting applications for its school of medicine. The Government of British Columbia says that this is the first new medical school in Western Canada in over 50 years. Classes will begin in August 2026 at the SFU Surrey campus and will move to a permanent location in Surrey City Centre upon completion of the new site in 2030. While students will be prepared for a career in any specialty, the program will focus on family medicine to help address the shortage in family doctors in the province. SFU School of Medicine Dean Dr David Price said that the program will accomplish this through a unique focus on community medicine, explaining that training will be “in the community, with the community, and for the community.”

BC, City News (Doctors of BC), Times Colonist

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • NB, NL, NS, PEI

The Association of Atlantic Universities has released its 2025-2026 Preliminary Survey of Enrolments, which show the full-time and part-time enrolments at each university in Atlantic provinces as of October 2025. The association celebrated the 4% rise in full-time first-year students. However, AAU pointed to the heavy impact of the federal government’s international student cap: International student enrolments have declined by 28% year-over-year. “Atlantic Canada and our universities have been disproportionately hurt by the federal government’s ‘cap’ placed on international students aspiring to pursue higher education in our region,” said AAU Chair and University of New Brunswick President Dr Paul Mazerolle.

AAU (Release, PDF), AAU (Surveys)

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • AB

The University of Lethbridge has announced a 25-year, $4.25M partnership with South Country Co-op and Federated Co-op to enhance the university’s athletics centre. Now named the Co-op Centre for Sport & Wellness, the centre will be modernized over the length of the partnership to maintain the quality of its services. The ULethbridge Board of Governors has additionally matched a portion of the funding to create a perpetual scholarship for students. ULethbridge Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation Services Neil Langevin said that the centre “has always been about people,” and that funding will ensure that the centre will be able to provide services for students, children, seniors, and athletes.

ULethbridge, CTV News

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • National

Maclean’s has released its 2026 University Rankings, which ranks Canadian universities with at least 1,000 full-time students. The rankings are grouped into three categories: Comprehensive, Medical Doctoral, and Undergraduate. In the Comprehensive category, the top three institutions were Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Waterloo. In the Medical Doctoral category, the top three institutions were McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the University of British Columbia. In the Undergraduate category, the top three institutions were Mount Allison University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and Acadia University.

Maclean’s (Method), Maclean’s (Comprehensive), Maclean’s (Medical Doctoral), Maclean’s (Undergraduate)

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • QC

The Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI) has released preliminary data detailing the decline in international student enrolment at Québec universities. They report that overall, enrolment has declined by 12.1%, while at the master’s level it has dropped by more than 21%. The Canadian Press reports that the sharpest drops were seen at four Université du Québec network institutions, which experienced drops from between 17.1% and 43.5% compared to Fall 2024. Concordia University saw 16.7% fewer students, while McGill University experienced a 5.6% decline.

Brandon Sun (CP)

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • ON

Durham College has announced five new programs which will launch in Fall 2026. These programs will meet industry needs while providing students with the skills and connections they need to begin or advance their careers. The offerings include a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Human Resources Management); graduate certificates in Marketing Management – AI and Automation, Geographic Information Systems for Data Analytics, and Project Management – Information Technology; and a diploma in Cloud and Information Technology Systems. Each program includes hands-on learning to prepare students for their fields.

Durham

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • AB

Education students in Alberta are unable to complete their practicums as the Alberta teachers strike continues. University of Alberta elementary education student Haley Roberts said that students cannot complete their hours anywhere else, but are still expected to meet with practicum facilitators to learn about running a classroom. “It’s a little bit frustrating, because we’ve gone four years now talking about all of that stuff,” said Roberts. “The practicum is kind of where you get to put all of that into play.” Education student Jillian Gulli said that backup plans have not been communicated to students at UAlberta.

Brandon Sun (CP)

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • QC

The Université du Québec à Montréal is introducing two new masters-level program options. UQAM’s department of psychology will offer the maîtrise professionnelle en sciences psychologiques appliquées starting in Fall 2026. This professional master’s program will train professionals in scientific psychology to prepare them to work in areas such as user experience, occupational health and safety advising, and human-machine interaction. UQAM is also offering a new concentration in environmental education that consists of three courses. Students from any master’s program will be able to integrate these courses into their regular curriculum.

UQAM (1), UQAM (2)

Top Ten News

Oct 16, 2025 • International

While part of what is learned during a postsecondary education is the course curriculum, students also absorb “meta-lessons” about knowledge itself during their education, writes Michael Schwalbe (North Carolina State University). Schwalbe argues that these meta-lessons are important to understand because of their impacts on learners’ intellectual processes and civic behaviour. The author outlines seven crucial meta-lessons that a postsecondary education provides learners with, including the distinct differences between empirical claims and moral claims, the importance of weighting evidence, and the reliability and value of hard-won expertise. In his conclusion, Schwalbe calls for more spotlighting of the benefits of this “hidden curriculum” for everyone.

Inside Higher Ed (Acct Req)